LOCKE NAMES ROSEANN ROSENTHAL OF BEN FRANKLIN TO NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ON INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
News Media Contact:
Nick Kimball, (202) 482-4883, nkimball@doc.gov
Council will advise the president on ways to foster entrepreneurship and transform laboratory ideas into new businesses and jobs
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today announced the members of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a group that will support President Obama’s innovation strategy by helping to develop policies that foster entrepreneurship and identifying new ways to take great ideas from the lab to the marketplace to drive economic growth and create jobs. Locke made the announcement at a U.S. Department of Commerce University Innovation Forum at the University of Michigan, where participants discussed the role of universities in innovation, economic development, job creation and commercialization of federally funded research.
“America’s innovation engine is not as efficient or as effective as it needs to be, and we are not creating as many jobs as we should,” Locke said. “We must get better at connecting the great ideas to the great company builders. The National Advisory Council will help the administration develop a broader strategy to spur innovation and enable entrepreneurs to develop breakthrough technologies and dynamic companies, and to create jobs all across America.
“I want to extend my gratitude to the leaders selected to The National Advisory Council. Their work will be a key component of America’s economic recovery.”
Throughout U.S. history, basic research in public and private sector research labs has spawned new technologies and inventions that led to new businesses. And those entrepreneurial businesses have been important drivers of job creation. Firms less than five years old have accounted for nearly all net new jobs in America over the last 30 years. Yet, as a share of gross domestic product, American federal investment in the physical sciences and engineering research has dropped by half since 1970.
Since taking office, the president has taken significant steps to turn this trend around. The Recovery Act included $100 billion to support groundbreaking innovations in diverse fields, from healthcare IT and health research to smart grids and high speed trains. Last fall, the president announced a National Innovation Strategy, which called for doubling the budgets of agencies including the National Science Foundation, to better support basic research at our nation’s universities. And the president’s 2011 budget – while freezing domestic discretionary spending overall – increases funding for civilian research and development by $3.7 billion, or nearly 6 percent.
The National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship will help build on this aggressive agenda. Members of the council include serial entrepreneurs, university presidents, investors and non-profit leaders. Steve Case, Mary Sue Coleman, and Desh Deshpande will serve as Co-Chairs. See the full list of council members below.
First Last Title
Tom Alberg Managing Director, Madrona Venture Group
Tom Baruch Founder and Managing Director, CMEA Capital
Claude Canizares Vice President for Research and Associate Provost, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Curtis Carlson President & CEO, SRI International
Steve Case Chairman & CEO, Revolution; Co-Founder, AOL
Robin Chase Co-Founder, Zipcar
Marcelo Claure Founder, Chairman, President & CEO, Brightstar
Mary Sue Coleman President, University of Michigan
Michael Crow President, Arizona State University
Desh Deshpande Chairman, A123 Systems, Sycamore Networks, Tejas Networks, and Sparta Group
Judith Estrin Co-Founder, Bridge, NCD, Precept, Packet Design; Former CTO, Cisco Systems
Ping Fu Co-Founder, Chairman, President & CEO, Geomagic
Christina Gabriel Director, Innovation Economy, The Heinz Endowments
Barron Harvey Dean, Howard University School of Business
Krisztina Holly Vice Provost for Innovation, University of Southern California; Executive Director, USC Stevens Institute for Innovation
Ray Leach CEO, JumpStart
Kenneth Morse Co-Founder, 3Com and Aspen Technology; Founding Managing Director, MIT Entrepreneurship Center
G.P. “Bud” Peterson President, Georgia Institute of Technology
Michael Roberts Founder & CEO, The Roberts Companies
RoseAnn Rosenthal President & CEO, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania
Carl Schramm President & CEO, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Ellen Siminoff CEO, Shmoop; Founding Executive, Yahoo!
Holden Thorp Chancellor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Charles Vest President, National Academy of Engineering; former President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Jeffrey Wadsworth President & CEO, Battelle
Jerry Yang Co-Founder and Chief Yahoo, Yahoo!
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About Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania
Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania is the region’s catalyst for Stimulating Entrepreneurial Potential. Since 1982, we have invested in innovative enterprises and created commercialization pathways and partnerships that generate wealth through science and technology.
Ben Franklin is part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Ben Franklin Technology Partnership. We provide entrepreneurs and established businesses with the Capital, Knowledge and Networks to compete in the global marketplace. We have provided more than $140 million to grow more than 1,600 regional enterprises across all areas of technology.
Our partnerships with universities and others strengthen the innovative fabric of our region. We are founding partners of The Nanotechnology Institute™ (NTI), Mid-Atlantic Nanotechnology Alliance (MANA®), Pennsylvania Green Growth Partnership (PAGGP), Pennsylvania Advanced Textiles Research and Innovation Center (PATRIC), Pennsylvania Environmental Technologies for the Pharmaceutical Industry (PETPI) (part of the The Water & Environmental Technology (WET) Center) and the PA Biotechnology Center of Bucks County. We are founding partners of the Energy Commercialization Institute (ECI) and other partnerships emerging through our Regional Energy Strategy, funded through the Commonwealth’s Alternative Energy Development Program. Ben Franklin is also a founding partner of the Emerald Stage2 Venture Fund, the Minority Angel Investor Network, and is a partner of the Mid-Atlantic Angel Group (MAG) Fund I & II and DreamIt Ventures.
For additional information, please visit www.sep.benfranklin.org, Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter.
BFTP/SEP Contact:
Jaron J. Rhodes
Manager, Marketing and Communications
(215) 972-6700, ext. 3214
jaron@sep.benfranklin.org
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