The objective of the Commercialization Gap Fund Program is to expand the commercialization of USM technology. The funds are seed support for the development of innovations with commercial potential, with the result that more USM technology reaches the marketplace. The funding is intended to support a range of stages in technology development, to licensing and commercialization. This funding cannot be used for basic exploratory studies or as general funding for a PI’s lab. Existing industry connections are not a prerequisite for funding; however, all projects should have a clear commercial benefit or potential for the state of Maine.  Interdisciplinary proposals are encouraged. Funding per project is expected to range from $10,000 to $75,000. All proposed projects must be designed to be completed within 12-18 months of the start of funding. Competition is open to all tenure-track or tenured faculty, research faculty, and other staff members for whom research and scholarship are assigned as one of their primary job responsibilities and have at least a 50% university appointment during the year of the project.  Proposals will be reviewed by an Application Review Committee that is comprised of faculty and staff involved in economic development and commercialization activities at USM as well as representatives of the external community experienced in evaluating new technology. 

Spring is almost here… and many employers are already looking to hire upcoming recent grads and summer interns.

Are you ready to interview? Ready to compete? The time to get in the right mindset… is now.

To make the most out of every job interview opportunity, and jump way ahead of the competition, consider delivering the three “P” statements: Purpose, Preparation and Polish!

Going to the right business school can give you a huge advantage over the competition. By attending one of the best business schools, entrepreneurs can gain critical business skills and increase entrepreneurial opportunities.

The following 8 business schools have produced some of the best entrepreneurs in our world today.

1. Stanford University Graduate School of Business

Stanford has a full-time enrollment rate of 803 and a 7% acceptance rate. The average tuition is right around $55,000. Stanford offers classes in entrepreneurship, general business management, e-commerce, manufacturing management and more.

Automation Alley is accepting applications for Adams Entrepreneur Fellowships, which will place four entrepreneurs with Southeast Michigan companies.

Each of the four chosen fellows will be placed with a startup company or startup wing of an established company, mentored and paid $60,000 annually.

Interested entrepreneurs have until April 1 to apply, but program director Terry Cross said his team will begin looking at applications right away.

I’m an entrepreneur and I married an entrepreneur.  No, I’m not crazy.  OK, I am a little crazy, but more on that later.

I run an advertising agency called Rocket XL and my wife, Ro Cysne, is the co-founder of Jil Ro clothing.  Like any relationship, it’s not always a bed of roses. Our busy startup lives caused us to change the date of our wedding four times and forget whose turn it was to pick up our son at preschool seven times (and counting).

But there are some big advantages to marrying one of your own if you’re daring enough to take the leap. Namely:

Who is more likely to be an entrepreneur: A 25-year-old guy or his 50-year-old dad? Everyone knows it’s the kid.

After all, middle-aged people have mortgages and families to support. They need a steady pay check. They can’t afford the uncertainty that comes from running your own business. Young people are the ones who can afford to fail and start over.

It’s a good theory. Too bad it isn’t true.

Contrary to popular opinion and the media’s fascination with young entrepreneurs, baby boomers are more likely to run their own businesses than 20-somethings.

As a provocative speaker and evangelist for building innovation economies, Rules of the Rainforest author Greg Horowitt asks questions, lots of questions. Horowitt was back with the EDC board recently and came with a list of questions that demand to be asked and answered if we aspire to take the regional economy to the next level of prosperity and raise awareness of San Diego as a global player. Here is the first question:

Who are your leaders and what are their characteristics and effectiveness? It’s a good group to ask about leadership. Depending on what you read, you might look around to find the “San Diego 20,” as a Voice of San Diego article quoted someone calling them. If you’re a fan of Jim Clifton’s book “The Coming Jobs War,” you might see San Diego’s “tribal leaders.” Representatives of San Diego’s trade associations and the venerable CONNECT in attendance personify what economic competitiveness guru Michael Porter calls the “informal networks” that make San Diego’s innovation economy work.

The Department of Health and Human Services SBIR/STTR grant solicitation aimed at supporting small business innovation research is now available.

Through the PHS 2013-02 SBIR/STTR Omnibus Solicitation, U.S. small businesses are encouraged to submit investigator-initiated SBIR/STTR grant applications in response to a variety of identified topics related to the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the Administration for Children and Families.

Some years ago, there was a big problem at one of America's most treasured monuments -- the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC.

Simply put, birds -- in huge numbers -- were pooping all over it, which made visiting the place a very unpleasant experience.

Attempts to remedy the situation caused even bigger problems, since the harsh cleaning detergents being used were damaging the Memorial.

IF you think of beef jerky as a last-resort protein to be bought at a gas station, Jon Sebastiani wants to change your mind. Enlarge This Image

Jim Wilson/The New York Times Mr. Sebastiani's product line offers all-natural ingredients and sophisticated flavors. Enlarge This Image

Jim Wilson/The New York Times Jon Sebastiani aims to alter perceptions of jerky, the dried-meat snack. Mr. Sebastiani, 42, represents the fourth generation of a Sonoma Valley wine family, and he vividly remembers when “60 Minutes” ran a segment in 1991 called “The French Paradox.” In it, Morley Safer reported that consumption of wine actually reduced the chance of heart disease, then a radical assertion.

“At the time, wine was considered just alcohol — it was bad for you,” Mr. Sebastiani says. After the report, wine sales skyrocketed and the entire industry benefited, including his family’s business.

Entrepreneur-turned-investor is a classic story arc in Silicon Valley but recently the plot has earned a twist. Certain operators are foregoing the traditional path of joining a traditional VC to instead create a studio-like holding operation. By doing so, they remain engaged with the grit and grassroots challenges of building a startup. They remain company builders.

John Borthwick and his New York City-based technology studio, Betaworks, was one of the recent pioneers of what Borthwick calls a “new asset class” in the VC world. And Bill Gross started this in the nineties with IdeaLab. But we’ve seen many others follow.

New York venture capitalists say they plan to invest this year in a mix of online industries -- good news for technology entrepreneurs who hope their product or service is the next big thing.

At Tuesday's "State of the Union" Venture Capital Lunch Club, an annual panel discussion at law firm Chadbourne & Parke LLP in New York, investors said they hadn't been put off by 2012's lukewarm initial public offerings (including Facebook's), and see plenty of new ventures that are ripe for investment.

The National SBIR Conference will be co-located with the National Innovation Summit and Showcase (NISS) and TechConnect World events, which take place May 12-16, 2013, just outside Washington, D.C., at the Gaylord Hotel & Convention Center, National Harbor, MD.  TechConnect and NISS are designed to accelerate the commercialization of American innovation by providing the world's largest on-site matchmaking program with investors and corporate development partners and will attract 4,000+ attendees to its annual conference.   The SBIR program is the largest source of federal funding - over $2 Billion annually - for small high tech firms.  This new event format efficiently combines all three events, and is the ideal opportunity to speak directly to those from the public and private sector looking to invest in innovative technologies.

“What about manufacturing?”

I thought my question was simple and even logical but it seemed to take my hosts by surprise. In two subsequent meetings in two neighboring cities, I asked both city managers if they had any plans for future industrial growth.

Neither did.

Both communities straddled an interstate highway and while they still retained somewhat of a rural, agricultural nature, it was clear they were bedroom communities for those driving elsewhere to work. Elsewhere was a major US city with an NFL franchise, about 30 miles away.

LinkedIn may be useful for helping professionals research and connect with others in their industry, but Relationship Science hopes to go a step further by showing users how to connect with top influencers who may not even have a social media presence.

The service, which launched earlier this week, provides a comprehensive database of profiles to map out how each user's interests and contacts could connect them to more than two million "influential decision-makers" across finance, business and non-profit industries. If you want to get in touch with an executive at a hedge fund or just find a good contact at a particular venture firm, Relationship Science will help you find the right go-between person to build a relationship with in order to make the proper introduction.

One of the keys to maximizing the productivity of your team, as well as yourself, is motivation. It has been estimated that the average team member at any given time works at less than 50% of his capacity. Thus mastering the art of employee motivation could double your chances of success over the average competitor.

While there are many books written on this subject, most entrepreneurs I know simply assume that their own vision, motivation, and drive will be adopted and maintained by partners and employees, based on a one-hour inspirational talk by the founder or business leader, supplemented a reasonable salary, and a dose of fear for good measure.

Entrepreneurship plays a key role in every economy on earth, whether they are sanctioned or not (even in North Korea!) By innovating, providing jobs and creating wealth, the businesses that these entrepreneurs build play a huge role in the development of the economy.

But what makes some places more successful than others in encouraging start-up and risk-takers? Well, it has everything to do with the “entrepreneurship ecosystem.”

The Michigan Corporate Relations Network has issued a request for proposals from tech entrepreneurs looking to speed up their commercialization efforts.

Under the Small Company Innovation Program (SCIP), small- to medium-sized companies can receive matching funds for research projects at one of the organization’s participating universities: Wayne State University, the University of  Michigan, Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University, University of Michigan-Dearborn, and Western Michigan University.

“A lot of companies come to us and they need something to achieve a milestone,” says Lorelei Davis, associate director of MSU Business Connect. “This is a way to help companies access university resources.”

Irene* is a great colleague. A senior manager in a large consulting firm, she pitches in when the workload gets heavy, covers for people when they're sick, and stays late when needed, which is often.

She's also a leader, serving on boards and raising money at charity auctions. She tries to be home for her kids at dinner time, but often works into the night after they've gone to sleep. That is, on nights when she's not at a business dinner.

But if you catch her in a moment of honesty, you'll find out that she doesn't feel so great. In fact, she's exhausted.