Big 12 schools come together to focus on development

BYLINE: MATT OLBERDING, Lincoln Journal Star

March conference will be inaugural meeting of research and tech group.

For more than 10 years, Big 12 universities have been duking it out on athletic fields.

Now the schools are coming together to showcase research and technology being produced on their respective campuses.

The Big 12 Center for Economic Development, Innovation and Commercialization, founded a little more than a year ago, will have its inaugural conference March 1 in Kansas City, Mo.

The conference is being sponsored in large part by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

"Researchers at Big 12 universities are currently developing exciting, innovative technologies that can impact the region's economic future," said Pike Powers, one of the founders of the group. "This conference will feature some of the best innovations from these schools and give insights to civic leaders on how best to leverage top research universities as economic engines for their communities."

Powers and Ron Kessler, who are both businessmen and civic leaders from Austin, Texas, founded the group with the blessing of the Big 12 university chancellors.

John Brasch, associate vice chancellor for technology development at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said this group is unusual.

While there are several university consortiums around the country for various purposes, Brasch said, he's never heard of such a venture developing from an athletic affiliation.

"I don't know of anything similar to this," he said.

The conference's organizers hope it will offer up ideas on fostering innovation and economic development in the central United States, which, according to statistics on the group's Web site, have lower per-capita rates of venture capital investment and investment in research and development than other areas of the country.

It may even lead to some business deals.

There will be venture capitalists at the conference, and some of them may be looking for investments, Brasch said

While the conference is a showcase for work being done at academic institutions, Brasch said, it is not an academic conference.

"It's purely commercial," he said.

Brasch said he will be attending the conference along with Prem Paul, UNL vice chancellor for research, and other UNLofficials.

Also, he said, there will be UNLstudents showing off inventions at the conference.

Another Nebraska contribution to the conference will be one of the keynote speakers:Tom Osborne.

Osborne, the former Nebraska football coach and congressman, will speak on the importance of developing new strategies to address the region's persistent economic challenges, particularly as they relate to rural communities.

While the conference is a first-time event and the Big 12 group is still in its fledgling phases, organizers have high hopes.

Said Kessler: "We look forward to making the Innovation and Capital Formation Conference the region's premier educational event for university, civic and business leaders seeking greater economic growth through regional collaboration."

Reach Matt Olberding at 473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com.