Smith School MBAs Secure
Lockheed Martin Investment in UMD Technology in
First Semester of Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship Program
College Park, Md. – February 9, 2011 – MBA students at the
University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business created a business
case that secured a $200,000 investment from Lockheed Martin to develop a
nanotechnology created by university faculty. The investment, secured during the
initial offering of a new technology-transfer course spearheaded by the
Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, Clark School's Mtech
program and Office of Technology Commercialization, is a win for the
university as its first payoff for increased focus on technology transfer
initiatives to bolster the institution’s contributions to the state economy. The Dingman Center has a 25-year history of fueling economic development in
Maryland.
“Helping to commercialize university-developed technology not only benefits
the institution and the state economy, it also gives our students great hands-on
learning experiences,” said G. “Anand” Anandalingam, dean of the Robert H. Smith
School of Business. “This program represents the tremendous value our students
can realize from experiential learning programs that have become the focus of
the Smith MBA curriculum. These programs help our students develop as leaders
with real-world problem-solving skills.”
The experiential course, created by the Dingman Center, has teams of four
students working to commercialize technologies and intellectual property
developed by University of Maryland faculty and researchers. The technology that
attracted the Lockheed Martin investment is a breakthrough nanowire technology
used to detect touch and intensity of touch developed by Clark School of
Engineering professor Alison Flateau. The IT and advanced technology company
plans to apply the nanowire to a variety of research projects it has under way.
“We’re proud to work with leading institutions like the University of
Maryland to develop and field cutting-edge technologies like this nanowire,”
said Douglas Britton of Lockheed Martin. “Partnering with colleges and
universities is one of the many ways we drive technology innovation for our
customers.”
Lockheed Martin entered a strategic partnership with the University of
Maryland in June 2010 to collaborate on innovative solutions for global and
national security challenges. The partnership involves the establishment of
research centers, joint pursuit of business opportunities and enhanced research
and development.
“Securing this investment from Lockheed Martin in such a short time and in
the first offering of the technology transfer course was a great accomplishment
for the students and the Dingman Center,” said Asher Epstein, managing director
of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship. “University-developed technology is
a great source of innovation for growing new businesses and it is a Dingman
Center priority to work with students to foster that growth, here and globally.”
Taught by Brent Goldfarb, associate professor of entrepreneurship, the course
is modeled after a summer program the Dingman Center launched in Israel with the
Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. In that program, Smith MBA students
work closely with their Technion counterparts and researchers to commercialize
Technion technologies and research by developing marketing and implementation
strategies for a North American market entry.
About the Dingman Center for
Entrepreneurship
The Dingman Center has been a hub of campus and regional entrepreneurial
activity for 25 years. Among the Dingman Center’s resources are its Capital
Access Network (CAN), a pipeline that connects startups from regional tech
councils, incubators and state-funded institutions with a network of more than
40 active, accredited angel investors and venture capitalists for early-stage
capital. The center also helps lead the University of Maryland’s Technology
Transfer programs and provides MBA and undergraduate students at the Smith
School with practical experiences and opportunities to pitch their business
ideas, obtain feedback from experienced entrepreneurs-in-residence and access
funding.
About the University of Maryland’s Robert H.
Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader
in management education and research. One of 13 colleges and schools at the
University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate,
full-time and part-time MBA, executive MBA, executive MS, PhD and executive
education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The
school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning
locations in North America and Asia.
