University of Nebraska-Lincoln plant pathologist James Van Etten holds patents for discovering a family of viruses that infect algae. That seems esoteric, until you realize that those viruses could become a tool to convert algae into a biofuel.
“The information is out there — but nobody's made practical use of it,” Van Etten said.
That gap is where James Linder, NU's new “czar” of innovation and economic competitiveness, steps in. His mission: to forge new links between researchers and business, to help transform inventions into commercial products.
Linder, a physician, inventor and businessman from Omaha, started last week in the position created expressly for him. NU President J.B. Milliken named him senior associate to the president for innovation and economic competitiveness.
Linder also is the first president of University Technology Development Corp., the umbrella organization that oversees “technology transfer” — the process of making research findings available to a wider range of users — across the University of Nebraska's four campuses. He will be paid $126,514 annually.
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