SALT LAKE CITY — Back in 2005, then-Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said a new program to leverage Utah's homegrown scientific innovation into a powerful economic catalyst would make the state a "haven" for forward-thinking researchers and create a system of returns that would expand with each year.
With annual budgets of $20 million to $30 million, the new agency would recruit "rock star" academics and place them at the state's top two research institutions, Utah State University and University of Utah, and provide funding to fast-track research with commercial potential. It would also create a system of grants to help accelerate entrepreneurial pursuits with science innovation at their core — an area, because of its long development arcs, routinely shunned by private capital markets.
