Newswise — Four new members were elected to the Board of Directors of the Association of University Research Parks (AURP). Two others were re-elected. All were inducted at the AURP annual conference held Dec. 10-12 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The new members are: ➢ Kevin Bryne, Chief Investment Officer with The University Financing Foundation (TUFF) in Atlanta. He has led the firm's deepening involvement in research park development, including crafting full-sale park business plans and innovative investment structures. In 2005, his creative funding strategies and real estate development expertise helped establish Technology Enterprise Park adjacent to the Georgia Tech campus. He is a graduate of Furman University and has a master's from the Wharton School of Business. Byrne also was elected AURP Second Vice President.
➢ Reynold Gonzales, Director of Technology Transfer at the Institute of Innovation and Technology Transfer of Nuevo Leon, Mexico and Director of the Parque de Investgacion e Innovacion Tecnnologica. With a background in the steel and automotive industries, Gonzales joined the project called "Monterrey City of Knowledge" which led to the creation of the Mexico's first research park, which he now heads. He is a native of Monterrey and has a bachelor's and master's degree from Monterrey Tech.
➢ Marcia Mellitz, President and CEO of the Center for Emerging Technologies in St. Louis, an award-winning technology commercialization program and incubation center. She's also involved in the development of the Cortex Life Sciences District. For 15 years she has been a leader in local and national efforts to develop best practices for commercializing innovative technologies, nurturing tech-based entrepreneurial companies and creating the infrastructure to grow the life science industry.
➢ Scott Pickard, Manager of Research Park and Incubation Facilities for the University of Illinois in Champaign. This a master-planned development on campus established in 2000 that ultimately will expand to 200 acres for startups to large corporations engaged in commercializing new technologies. He also manages Enterprise Works, the university's technology business incubator established in 2003. He's a graduate of the University of Illinois with a master's degree in civil engineering.
The re-elected board members are:➢ Brian Darmondy, Associate Vice President of Research and Economic Development at the University of Maryland. During his 20-year tenure at the university, he has worked on various university-wide projects including organizing its first technology transfer office, authoring the state's public/private ethics legislation for university professors and initiating a capital-funding strategy for the university's high-technology incubator building. He received a bachelor's degree and juris doctorate degree from the University of Maryland. Darmondy also was elected AURP First Vice President.
➢ Teresa McKnight, CEO of the South Dakota State University Growth Partnership and Executive Director of the South Dakota State University Innovation Campus, the first university-related research park the state. She accepted the position to develop that 125-acre park in 2006. She has 18 years of research park and technology commercialization experience and received the "Excellence in Rural Economic Development" award from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration. She holds degrees from Utah State University.
In addition to Byrne and Darmody, new AURP officers are:➢ President, Gregory Deason, Vice President of Real Estate and Research Park Development at Purdue Research Park in West Lafayette, Indiana.➢ Immediate Past President, J. Michael Bowman, Chairman and President of the Delaware Technology Park in Newark, Delaware.➢ Treasurer, Greg Hyer, Associate Director of the University Research Park, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The mission of AURP is to promote the development and operations of research parks that foster innovation, commercialization and economic competitiveness in a global economy through collaboration among universities, industries and government. For more information, visit www.aurp.net or call 520-529-2521.
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