Public Symposium
Topic:
Research Institutions: Incubators of Innovation
Date & Time:
September 24, 2024
9:00–10:30 a.m.
(informal discussion to follow)
Location:
Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology
Felix-Hausdorff-Straße 2
17489 Greifswald
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Abstract
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hubs are often located in close proximity to or are in some fashion affiliated with research universities and research institutes such as (in Germany) Max-Planck, Fraunhofer, Leibniz, and Helmholtz institutes. This is true in the US, where e.g. Silicon Valley can leverage Stanford, USC, UC Berkeley and other UC universities, where Boston’s Rte. 128 has MIT, Harvard and several U Mass universities in its backyard, and where New York City is home to New York University, Columbia University, the City University of New York, and Cornell Tech. It is also true in Europe, e.g. in Berlin, Munich, Paris, London, Prague, Innsbruck, etc. as well as in Asia (China, India, Japan, Korea, …).
This happens because of the confluence of strong basic research as the foundation; engineering, applied science and technology expertise; a well-educated and highly motivated work force (faculty, students, postdocs, researchers…); access to capital; and the presence of major teach companies, e.g. in New York: Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, IBM, United Technologies, Equinor, etc.
In this presentation I will address the various ways and mechanisms through which research institutions support these innovation and entrepreneurship hubs and contribute to economic development and job creation. While some of the programs I will mention are specific for the US and others, even more narrowly, for New York University, I am sure there will be many similarities and perhaps a few lessons to be learned for German Research Institutions.
Bio
Prior to his retirement, Prof. Dr. Kurt Becker was Vice Dean for Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship at New York University's Tandon School of Engineering ("NYU Tandon") and Professor of Applied Physics and Mechanical Engineering. He was also the founding director of the NYU Tandon Institute for Invention, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (IIIE), which serves as the umbrella for all research, education, and service activities at NYU Tandon related to innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E). He is now the Director of Business Development for CARA Systems Inc., a NYU Tandon spinout in the field of health IT. In his previous role he oversaw the NYU Tandon Future Labs, a network of technology acceleration and commercialization hubs that help deep-tech startups refine their technology and enter the market.
Kurt Becker received his diploma in physics from Saarland University, Saarbrücken in 1978 and his doctorate there in 1981. As a physicist, he worked in the areas of atomic and molecular physics and low-temperature plasma physics and its applications. He published more than 240 articles in peer-reviewed professional journals. He was one of the pioneers in the field of microplasmas in the 1990s and holds 10 patents for the stabilization of atmospheric pressure plasmas and their application in the fields of environmental remediation and biomedicine. He was involved in two startups that commercialized this technology.
Kurt Becker's connections to Greifswald and to researchers in Greifswald (at the university, at the former Zentralinstitut für Elektronenphysik, ZIE, and now at the INP) date back to 1987. He was close to the founding director of the INP, Prof. Dr. Hans Conrads, and advised him on many decisions in the founding and in the early development phase of the INP. Twice he served as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the INP, for 8 years each (1997-2005 and 2009-2017).
Standorte
Schnelleinstieg
Kontakt
Leibniz-Institut für Plasmaforschung und Technologie e.V.
Felix-Hausdorff-Str. 2
17489 Greifswald
Tel.: +49 3834 - 554 300
Fax: +49 3834 - 554 301
