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Hughes Named Director of UM Joint Research Commercialization Effort |
James L. Hughes, MBA, chief
enterprise and economic development officer and vice president at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB),
has been named director of UM Ventures, an ambitious joint research
commercialization effort of UMB and the University
of Maryland, College Park (UMCP).
UM Ventures is a central part of an initiative between the two
universities called University
of Maryland: MPowering the State.
The presidents of the two universities, Jay A. Perman, MD, at UMB, and Wallace D. Loh, PhD, at UMCP,
announced the appointment in a letter to students, faculty, and staff
on Nov. 16.
In his role as director, Hughes will help combine the commercialization
and entrepreneurial efforts of the two powerhouse universities that
together do more than $1 billion a year in externally sponsored
research, the letter said.
UM Ventures will benefit both institutions and the state as a whole by
bringing innovative products to market, expanding collaborations with
industry, and creating new jobs in Maryland. Under Hughes' direction,
UM Ventures will create a fully coordinated innovation ecosystem across
both institutions. Technology transfer policies and procedures will be
unified and streamlined. Collaboration among faculty will be enhanced
and technologies will be jointly marketed to industry.
Licensing agreements, startup companies, and industry-sponsored
research are expected to increase under UM Ventures, which is a
critical element of a strategy to recruit entrepreneurial, highly
collaborative faculty and students to both institutions.
Hughes brings many years of experience in technology commercialization
to UM Ventures. He was named UMB's first chief enterprise and economic
development officer in July 2011, and he will continue in this role.
Hughes previously served 10 years as UMB's vice president for research
and development, and he manages UMB's Office of Research and Development
and the University of Maryland
BioPark.
Before joining UMB, Hughes worked for the Maryland Department of
Business and Economic Development as director of technology and
international business, and as executive director of the World Trade
Center Institute, a public-private partnership dedicated to expanding
international trade and investment. He has an MBA from the Columbia
Business School and a BA from Davidson College.
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| Posting Date: 11/16/2012 |
| Contact Name: Steve Berberich |
| Contact Phone: 410=706-0023 |
| Contact Email: sberb001@umaryland.edu |
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