From the Managing Director Here at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, we are feel- ing a surge of positive momentum as we start the new academic year. Over the summer we’ve seen several promising signs on campus of new corporate interest in partnerships, as well as sig- nificant developments in several of our core technology areas. Within our own organization, we’ve brought new talent on board to strengthen our licensing efforts and ability to support campus. Always a champion for the University of Wisconsin– Madison’s innovative research and commercialization efforts, this summer former Chancellor David Ward returned as interim chancellor to provide expert and steady leadership during this IN THIS ISSUE New Wireless Antenna After Discovery, Think Disclosure Volunteer for Adventure, Discovery Wisconsin Science Festival WARF Ambassador Program Electronic Lab Notebook Project Discovery Daybook 3 4 4 5 7 7 8 Campus visits spur interest in new partnerships Carl Gulbrandsen, WARF Managing Director Continued on page 6 > If you’re looking for help starting or man- aging a business, or if you have an idea and aren’t quite sure about the next step, you’ll find answers at the Entrepreneurs’ Resource Clinic in the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery. Located just inside the entrance on the building’s ground floor near the intersec- tion of Randall and University Avenues, the resource clinic offers free services to campus and the broader community through walk-in and scheduled appoint- ments. Advice on legal issues, intellectual property protection, licensing, business development, finance and management mentoring is available thanks to the par- ticipation of multiple campus entities. Teresa Holmes, president of TH Project Consulting, a business and information technology management firm, was among those pleasantly surprised by the breadth and depth of services showcased at an open house event to highlight the new campus-wide collaboration. The opening of the resource clinic marks the first time the services have been brought together under one roof and Holmes says that’s a real benefit for entrepreneurs who may need help with more than one challenge. “As an information technology consul- tant, companies call us when they invest in a technology upgrade and can’t get it to work right, or when they invest in Information Resources Resource clinics offer help to entrepreneurs Continued on page 2 > Rhonda Johnson (left) and Teresa Holmes of TH Project Consulting in Madison attended an open house event to learn more about the Entrepreneurs’ Resource Clinic. NEWS FOR UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN–MADISON FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENTS SEPTEMBER 2011 Discovery BULLETIN SUPPORTING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AT UW–MADISON AND BEYOND…
Transcript
From the Managing Director
Here at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, we are feel-ing a surge of positive momentum as we start the new academic year. Over the summer we’ve seen several promising signs on campus of new corporate interest in partnerships, as well as sig-nificant developments in several of our core technology areas. Within our own organization, we’ve brought new talent on board to strengthen our licensing efforts and ability to support campus.
Always a champion for the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s innovative research and commercialization efforts, this summer former Chancellor David Ward returned as interim chancellor to provide expert and steady leadership during this
in this issue
New Wireless Antenna
After Discovery, Think Disclosure
Volunteer for Adventure, Discovery
Wisconsin Science Festival
WARF Ambassador Program
Electronic Lab Notebook Project
Discovery Daybook
3
4
4
5
7
7
8
Campus visits spur interest in new partnerships
Carl Gulbrandsen, WARF Managing Director
Continued on page 6 >
If you’re looking for help starting or man-aging a business, or if you have an idea and aren’t quite sure about the next step, you’ll find answers at the Entrepreneurs’ Resource Clinic in the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery.
Located just inside the entrance on the building’s ground floor near the intersec-tion of Randall and University Avenues, the resource clinic offers free services to campus and the broader community through walk-in and scheduled appoint-ments. Advice on legal issues, intellectual property protection, licensing, business development, finance and management mentoring is available thanks to the par-ticipation of multiple campus entities.
Teresa Holmes, president of TH Project Consulting, a business and information technology management firm, was among those pleasantly surprised by the breadth and depth of services showcased at an open house event to highlight the new campus-wide collaboration. The opening of the resource clinic marks the first time the services have been brought together under one roof and Holmes says that’s a real benefit for entrepreneurs who may need help with more than one challenge.
“As an information technology consul-tant, companies call us when they invest in a technology upgrade and can’t get it to work right, or when they invest in
information Resources
Resource clinics offer help to entrepreneurs
Continued on page 2 >
Rhonda Johnson (left) and Teresa Holmes of TH Project Consulting in Madison attended an open house event to learn more about the Entrepreneurs’ Resource Clinic.
news FoR univeRs ity oF wisconsin–MaDison Faculty, staFF anD stuDents septeMbeR 2011
Discovery bulletin
Supporting Scientific reSearch at uW–MadiSon and Beyond…
technology products or services and can’t get them implemented,’’ says Holmes, who is working to expand her entrepreneurial business in Madison. “But while we can get information technology systems up and running, that doesn’t mean we know everything about marketing and finance. The experts in the resource clinic can help point us in the right direction.”
Charles Hoslet, managing director of UW–Madison’s Office of Corporate Relations, said establishment of the Entrepreneurs’ Resource Clinic in the Wisconsin Institutes
for Discovery has cre-ated a center of gravity for business startups on campus. The Office of Corporate Relations teamed up with WARF; the Wisconsin School of Business; University of Wisconsin Law School Law and Entre-preneurship Clinic; and
University of Wisconsin–Extension to make the project a reality.
An added benefit of the collabora-tion involves the use of a shared intake form that prospective clients complete. Previously, entrepreneurs would have con-tacted the individual entities separately and would have had to provide similar background information multiple times.
The shared intake form not only allows multiple service providers to work with cli-ents more seamlessly, it creates a useful way of collecting data to understand the types of challenges small businesses face, Hoslet says. The intake form is available online at http://discovery.wisc.edu/home/discovery/town-center/entrepreneurs-resource-clinic/erc-application/.
Anne Miner, a Wisconsin School of Business professor and director of the INSITE program on campus to inspire
entrepreneurial activity, said the business school staffs its clinic to handle questions that range from writing a business plan to managing marketing challenges. The busi-ness school’s clinic includes student volun-teers from varied backgrounds.
One recent trend among campus entre-preneurs involves starting businesses with a charitable intent similar to the operation of Newman’s Own, a grocery brand estab-lished by the late actor Paul Newman that donates profits to charity. Miner says she’s also seen growing entrepreneurial interest among students in the fine arts who want to be able to support themselves while feeding their creative passions.
“It’s astonishing the directions new businesses are taking,” Miner says. “The upshot for us as we seek to provide rele-vant advice is that it’s not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ proposition. We’re fortunate to be able to share expertise that addresses the chang-ing spectrum of needs thanks to seasoned advisers as well as students themselves.’’
The Business School team also offers a Decision Guide and help for those seeking additional specialized campus resources
such as the Student Incubator program, which offers convenient on-campus space as well as counseling to aspiring entrepreneurs.
Resource clinics offer help to entrepreneurs
information Resources
Continued from page 1.
Courtney Razner (left), Wally Graeber and Mike Filbey share an interest in seeing more students succeed in their entrepreneurial efforts. The three University of Wisconsin–Madison students are among those who have staffed the clinics, helped entrepreneurs tackle problems and shared information about available resources.
Continued on page 8 >
entrepreneurS’ reSource clinic hourS and contact inforMation
To learn more about the Entrepreneurs’ Resource Clinic at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, 330 N. Orchard St., visit: http://discovery.wisc.edu/erc.
The Entrepreneurs’ Resource Clinic is a partnership of:
n UW–Madison Office of Corporate Relations
n Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
n Wisconsin School of Business
n INSITE
n Small Business Development Center
n Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship
n University of Wisconsin Law School Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic
n University of Wisconsin–Extension
n Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Network
n Wisconsin Youth Entrepreneurs’ Network
n UW–Madison Physical Sciences Laboratory
Charles Hoslet of the Office of Corporate Relations
Armed with souped-up smart phones, wire-less laptops and tablet computers like the iPad, consumers today are sending and receiving images, video and other data-rich files faster than ever before. As mobile traf-fic continues to explode, however, industry experts are warning that frequent wireless traffic jams could result.
Now, one possible means of easing the congestion is getting a look from indus-try, thanks to the WARF Accelerator Program. With money from the program and the National Science Foundation, UW–Madison electrical and computer engineering professors Akbar Sayeed and Nader Behdad are building a wireless communication architecture they believe could open information bottlenecks, boost transmission rates and slash the cost of advanced wireless systems.
Dubbed CAP-MIMO, the technology addresses the need for more power and bandwidth efficiency in wireless networks
by combining the best of two earlier solu-tions: large, continuous aperture (CA), or dish, antennas; and multiple antenna sys-tems, known by the acronym MIMO, that send several beams of data simultaneously rather than just one.
What’s more, CAP-MIMO employs a special lens for electronically steering data streams in different directions, a capability that’s normally achieved with “phased” arrays of thousands of antennas (hence the “P” in CAP-MIMO).
Big dish antennas offer excellent power efficiency, explains Sayeed, but they can’t deliver needed transmission rates. Meanwhile, arrays of smaller antennas transmit and receive information at very high rates because of their multiple beams, but their power is no match for a single dish antenna of equal size.
To overcome these drawbacks, CAP-MIMO packs four (or more) data streams into the beam emitted by a single CA antenna, rather than using separate anten-nas to send those four streams.
“We get the multiple data stream advantage of multiple antennas with the big power gain we get from a continuous aperture antenna,” says Sayeed.
The result is “a dramatic reduction in complexity,” Sayeed says, which could not only cut the cost of high-end military radar and satellite applications, but also put the technology into consumers’ hands. Installed on a rooftop, for example, the lens might direct one antenna beam to a laptop inside the house, while sending another data stream to an HD-TV.
CAP-MIMO may also find use in smart base stations and other applications requir-ing lightning-fast transmission speeds that have been traditionally achievable only with optical fibers.
For more information about CAP-MIMO and other information technology proj-ects, contact Emily Bauer, WARF licensing manager, at (608) 262-8638 or [email protected]. n
New wireless antenna system steers data to reach consumers on the move
inventor profile
Akbar Sayeed peers through an opening in an experimental setup constructed by his team to test the CAP-MIMO concept. To his left is a grid of thousands of small filters, normally mounted in the space, which together form a special lens. The filters shift the phases of the electromagnetic waves coming through the lens, focusing beams of the waves in different directions.
The rectangular opening in the center of the panel normally holds a special lens that the CAP-MIMO antenna system uses to send beams of electromagnetic waves in different directions. If successful, the new lens could offer a much less expensive alternative to traditional beam steering systems in advanced radar systems and wireless networks.
After discovery, think disclosure!After your eureka moment, but before you let anyone know about your discovery, the members of WARF’s intellectual property team want to hear from you. They are your best resource for determin-ing if a patent should be filed to protect your patent rights for your invention.
WARF wants to assess whether your discovery is:
n Novel, useful and non-obvious (the basic patent criteria established by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office);
n Marketable, with commercial and society value projected; and
n Appropriate for a patent or for other intellectual property protection.
Before you publicly share your discovery, submit an invention disclosure report to a member of WARF’s intellectual property team. The short invention disclosure reports are available online at www.warf.org/inventors.
Actions that might disqualify an invention from earning a patent include premature web postings, presentations, abstracts, papers, grant applications and department seminars.
For more information, contact WARF at (608) 263-2500 or visit www.warf.org/about/staff.jsp for a list of individual intellectual property team members. n
Volunteer for adventure, discoverydiscovery guides needed to take groups on a deep dive into science
Whether your interests extend to engi-neering or reach regenerative biology, the Town Center at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery needs you.
As campus and community interest in the institutes builds, volunteers are needed to help with program development and work directly with visitors interested in learning about topics ranging from science and sustainability to microscopes, evolu-tion, robotics and fossils. Qualifications for potential volunteers include a sense of enthusiasm for bringing the sciences to life, a love of learning and teaching and an outgoing personality.
The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery building is based on a public-private partnership between the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Wisconsin
Alumni Research Foundation. The 300,000 square foot building houses the public Wisconsin Institute for Discovery; the pri-vate Morgridge Institute for Research; and the Town Center, a public space for cam-pus and community members to gather and celebrate science.
With teaching labs available for edu-cation and training programs, entrepre-neurial resource clinics, scientific displays, a forum for lectures and more, the Town Center is guided by the Wisconsin Idea to engage the community and stimulate teaching and learning across scientific disciplines.
The Discovery Guide program offers a rewarding experience for volunteers while expanding opportunities for stu-dents and others to participate in field
trips, after-school programming, Saturday Science sessions and other special events. Volunteers also are needed to support edu-cation and training initiatives offered in Discovery’s three teaching labs.
The Discovery Guide program dif-fers from many other volunteer opportu-nities in that it seeks to pair college stu-dents with seasoned career professionals. This intergenerational pairing is intended to enrich Town Center programming by blending the tech savvy of digital natives with the perspectives of experienced career professionals.
For more information or to become involved, please visit: http://discovery.wisc.edu/home/discovery/town-center; or email: [email protected]. n
Wisconsin Science Fest promises enlightening activities, explosive funThe Wisconsin Science Festival will make its debut Sept. 22–25 in the Town Center at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery with an eclec-tic mix of live performances, hands-on activities, lectures and feats of culinary derring-do.
The groundbreaking festival will explore the natural world in new and exciting ways with discussions and demonstrations on topics such as cutting-edge biotech research, the sci-ence of ice cream, an artist’s view of life at the nano level and the physics of football.
Sponsored by WARF and UW–Madison and a broad array of community and corporate partners, the Wisconsin Science Festival seeks to inspire, educate and cultivate global citizens while raising awareness and understanding of advances in key scientific fields.
The four-day festival will kick off with an opening ceremony that marks the campus tran-sition from the Year of the Arts to the Year of the Wisconsin Idea. It also will be the first des-ignated “Arts Night Out” event of the 2011–12 academic year and will introduce the interre-lated nature of science and the arts.
Following are a few program highlights.
thurSday, Sept. 22
n 7:30 to 9 p.m., Opening Ceremony: Arts Night Out at Wisconsin Union Theater. The event is hosted by former UW–Madison Chancellor John Wiley and features collaborative dance, music and science-based performances from campus notables such as Li Chiao-Ping, Bassam Shakhashiri, Steve Ackerman and more.
friday, Sept. 23
n 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Science Festival Street Fair: The event will feature exciting hands-on science activities, demonstrations, displays, per-formances, tours and games as well as exploration stations and digital scavenger hunts. The excite-ment will occupy the entire ground floor Town Center of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery.
n 1 p.m., Woven Lives Film and Discussion: Drawing upon the richness of sights, sounds and beauty of the people and landscape of Oaxaca, Mexico, Woven Lives provides a fas-cinating look at contemporary Zapotec weavers from six different villages.
n 3 to 4:30 p.m., The Essence of Creativity—Pecha Kucha Slam: In the hands of a mas-ter presenter, Pecha Kucha combines the best
elements of a PowerPoint and a poetry slam as audience members are treated to well-chosen words and a rapid cascade of images on topics that transcend traditional disciplines. Channel 3’s Neil Heinen will moderate a Pecha Kucha slam among UW–Madison scientists John Yin, Thomas “Rock” Mackie and Ahna Skop; art faculty Stephen Hilyard, Meg Mitchell, Peggy Choy and Norma Saldivar; humanities researcher Amanda Goldstein; the Institute for Biology Education’s Dolly Ledin; and bioethicist Pilar Ossorio. These scholars and experts will have 20 seconds for each of 20 slides to explore their groundbreaking work.
n 4:30 to 6 p.m., The Science of Murder: Pulitzer prize-winning science journalist Deborah Blum, professor of journalism and author of The New York Times bestseller, The Poisoner’s Handbook, hosts a panel discussion with Stoughton-based murder mystery novelist Beth Amos, author of an acclaimed series of forensics-focused mysteries under the name Annelise Ryan, and Dr. Michael Stier, a UW–Madison forensic pathologist and former Virginia assistant medical examiner.
n 6 p.m., Molecular Gastronomy Dinner at Steenbock’s on Orchard: Join Chef Michael Pruett as he deconstructs dishes from the Steenbock’s on Orchard menu and explores the science of food during a very special din-ner at the restaurant. Reservations required, (608) 204-2733.
n 7:30 to 9 p.m., The Present Moment: Explorations from Music and Neuroscience: Executive Producer Steve Paulson from Wisconsin Public Radio’s To the Best of Our Knowledge moderates an evening discussion and performance featuring two Wisconsin Academy Fellows, UW–Madison neuroscientist Richard Davidson; and musician, author and journalist Ben Sidran. Sidran will be joined by his multi-instrumentalist, virtuoso son, Leo Sidran.
Saturday, Sept. 24
n Pre- and post-game activities, The Science of Football and Everything That Goes With It: Drop in for an exploration of multiple facets of the game including the physics of football and concussions as well as beer, ice cream and brats.
n 7:30 to 8:15 p.m., The Farnsworth Invention: Forward Theater Company and UW–Madison Theatre and Drama Department present a lec-ture and selected scenes from Aaron Sorkin’s award-winning 2005 play The Farnsworth
Invention, about the race to invent televi-sion. It focuses on the dramatic legal battle between Philo Farnsworth, inventor of the tele-vision, and David Sarnoff, president of Radio Corporation of America, who stole his design.
n 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., Old Time Radio Drama—H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine: Wisconsin Public Radio’s Old Time Radio Drama brings the best of 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s entertainment to Wisconsin every Saturday and Sunday night. This special performance for the Wisconsin Science Festival features a live broadcast of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, produced by Norman Gilleland and adapted by Patricia Boyette.
Sunday, Sept. 25
n Throughout the day, workshops for educa-tors, students and parents on stem cells; digital learning; teaching chemistry and nanotechnol-ogy through theater; urban art in the class-room; and more.
n 10 a.m., The Science and Politics of Coffee: Ever wonder how to make a perfect espresso? What’s the ideal temperature for a French press pot? And what’s the deal with “Fair Trade” anyway? Learn all of this and more during a fun and intriguing look at the world’s most popular beverage.
n 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., NOVA in Madison: The popular science feature program from WGBH in Boston will host a series of workshops, discus-sions, hands-on activities and sneak peek screen-ings at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery.
n 1 p.m., Curing Cancer and Self-Replicating Robots—Emerging Technologies and Public Perception: The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters presents Professor Dietram Scheufele’s nanotech discussion.
n 2 p.m., Conversation and The Social Network: The Entrepreneurs’ Resource Clinic adds to the excitement of the Wisconsin Science Festival by hosting a “startup social” with entrepreneurs from a variety of fields. The discussion will be moderated by John Roach, president and founder of John Roach Projects, an Emmy-award winning video and film pro-duction company based in Madison. Building on the discussion will be a free screening of the critically acclaimed film The Social Network, featuring the story of Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The popcorn is on us!
5 WARF Discovery Bulletinwww.warf.org
University technology draws international interest
transitional period in university admin-istration. I am pleased we are able to wel-come Chancellor Ward with upbeat news—and to share it across campus—reporting on WARF’s ongoing efforts to promote, encourage and aid scientific investiga-tion and research at UW–Madison and the Morgridge Institute for Research.
Working with international busi-nesses and organizations is nothing new for WARF or UW–Madison. For decades, WARF has worked alongside university inventors to bring the benefits of their discoveries to people around the world. Vitamin D therapies, organ transplant stor-age solution, parallel computer processing, medical imaging and stem cells are just a few Wisconsin technologies that have had worldwide impact.
It has been the groundbreaking work, talent and intellectual passion of UW–Madison faculty, staff and alumni that have put Madison on the world map. This summer, senior leaders from several global organizations challenged the notion that Wisconsin is a flyover state. Instead, they made it a priority to take that connecting flight to our spot on the world map so they could learn about our new technologies, meet researchers and explore partnerships in person.
Among the leaders visiting this sum-mer were several members of the European Patent Office. The group, which included three of the office’s four examiners spe-cializing in magnetic resonance imaging, met with representatives from our intel-lectual property and licensing teams at WARF and then visited with faculty from the Departments of Radiology and Medical Physics. The College of Engineering cap-tured the attention of the entire senior management team of Rockwell Automation by hosting a full-day discussion at the Town Center on Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics education initiatives. From that meeting, a follow-up visit is planned to focus on campus research and development opportunities.
As we’ve learned, chance meet-ings among leaders from different fields often lead to productive outcomes. At a recent meeting in Chicago, John Dineen, the UK-based president and CEO of GE Healthcare, was seated next to Dr. Tom Grist, chair of radiology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Grist spoke enthusiastically with Dineen about the imaging research taking place at UW–Madison and of the relationship between the university and the company.
Dineen accepted an invitation from Grist to visit campus, and I was fortu-nate to take part in a meeting with Dineen and others at the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research. The meeting was an affirmation for Dineen of the importance of the strong relationship between GE and the School of Medicine and Public Health and we received an invitation from Dineen to expand that relationship—an invitation we plan to follow up on.
In addition, Johnson Controls executed a new master agreement with UW–Madison and UW System that enables the interna-tional manufacturer of industrial controls to pursue collaborative efforts through multiple UW campuses. It is especially gratifying to see global corporate leaders coming to campus and leaving even more interested than when they arrived.
Recently, WARF also completed a num-ber of significant contracts with industry, which promise new revenue in support of university research. One major agreement involves a technology developed by Scott Rankin, a College of Agricultural and Life Sciences associate professor and chair of the food science department. Rankin’s new
teat treatment for cows, licensed to Pfizer Animal Health, promises to reduce the incidence of udder infection, thus improv-ing herd health and dairy product quality.
To further accel-erate the transfer of technology from uni-versity labs to the pub-lic, we have enhanced our licensing team with the additions of Leigh Cagan, chief technology commer-cialization officer, and two new licens-ing associates, Rafael Diaz and Zachary Ellis. In addition, Richard Schifreen has joined WARF as the Accelerator Program manager. This pro-gram improves the commercia l izat ion potential of UW–Madison intellectual property through early identification of high-potential tech-nologies and funding to help achieve key developmental bench-marks critical for industry investment.
In the weeks and months to come, we look forward to sharing news of additional developments with you, particularly our progress in an emerging category of inven-tions known as “clean technologies.” We thank you for your interest and welcome your comments and feedback. n
Carl Gulbrandsen is managing director of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. He can be reached at (608) 263-9395 or [email protected].
WARF Ambassadors expand their reach across campusIn the year since the WARF Ambassador program was initiated to enhance the vital connection between research on campus and technology transfer, the eight students selected as the first wave of ambassadors have been spreading the word about WARF and technology transfer at UW–Madison.
“The ambassadors are showing us the value of getting graduate students involved,” says Laura Heisler, WARF’s director of programming. “The students are so innovative and able to find new ways of enhancing communication between campus researchers and WARF.”
The ambassadors are promoting aware-ness of WARF’s role across campus through departmental seminars, informal contacts and more. Since October, the ambassa-dors have hosted numerous information sessions for researchers and students,
drawing several hundred attendees from departments across campus.
Meanwhile, the program is gaining national attention, with inquiries from other institutions and a feature story in a recent issue of Technology Transfer Tactics.
Heisler says the ambassadors are bringing a new dimension to WARF’s inventor mining project, which was developed to identify those scientists on campus who are creating potential inventions through innovative research but may not be familiar with WARF. The ambassadors are able to talk directly with graduate students and researchers in the labs and are checking out research posters throughout campus buildings.
In addition, the ambassadors are helping with a variety of events. They held a stu-dent poster and demo session for this year’s
Earth Day celebration and assisted with last spring’s entrepreneurship summit.
“The pilot program has been very suc-cessful,” says Heisler. “The ambassadors are highly capable individuals and are already helping to expand and improve the program.”
Five of the original ambassadors are continuing through the 2011–12 academic year, and WARF will be selecting as many as 10 new ambassadors in targeted depart-ments across campus. n
waRF ambassador program
Campus researchers needed to put electronic notebooks to the test Researchers in multiple disciplines work-ing on a variety of projects are needed to help evaluate the features of electronic notebook models during a pilot project this fall.
To ensure a robust assessment of pos-sible products, a variety of research-ers in physical and biological sciences, engineering and agriculture fields are needed. Researchers in—and leaders of— collaborative, interdisciplinary projects are encouraged to participate, as are those with unusual or difficult documentation challenges. An adequate number of vol-unteers and variety of projects will prove invaluable as part of the effort to under-stand whether currently available technol-ogy is feasible for campus-wide use.
Electronic laboratory notebooks are software tools that function much like a page in a paper lab notebook for
entering protocols and observations while also allowing attachment of digital data and analysis files. However, while elec-tronic notebooks are widely used in labs in the private sector, they are relatively rare in academic settings.
In recent months, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and DoIT have worked together to explore whether current commercial products are suited to the needs of researchers as well as cam-pus policies and infrastructure. Through a series of interviews with researchers in a variety of disciplines, the project team determined strong interest in electronic notebooks thanks to the many advantages they offer over paper notebooks.
Specifically, electronic lab notebooks provide enhanced search functions as well as improved record keeping and manage-ment by labs and researchers.
All of the researchers interviewed still use paper notebooks, but in this era of digital instrumentation and data, scientists face increasing challenges when it comes to integrating, referencing and prop-erly archiving digital data using paper notebooks.
In early August, several dozen campus researchers attended demonstration ses-sions by three leading vendors identified through a request-for-proposal process. Attendees provided comments and feed-back that are guiding the team’s choices for products to evaluate in this fall’s pilot test.
For more information, or to participate in the upcoming round of testing, please visit: https://academictech.doit.wisc.edu/ideas/electronic-lab-notebooks. n
A listing of events and opportunities for investors and entrepreneursDiscoveRy Daybook
The Warf discovery Bulletin is published by WARF Communications, 614 Walnut Street, 13th Floor, Madison, Wisconsin, 53726. Please send comments or story ideas to [email protected].
SepteMBer 13, 20 & 27 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.Supervisory leadership Series
Organized by the Small Business Development Center at the Wisconsin School of Business, the Supervisory Leadership series includes classes on leadership and coaching, Sept. 13; communication and delegation, Sept. 20; and managing conflict, Sept. 27. Classes are available individually, or registrants can sign up for all three and receive a 10 percent discount.
Location: Grainger Hall, 975 University Ave., Madison, Wis. Contact: (608) 262-3909Cost: $569 for all three classes or $199 for Essentials of Leadership and Coaching; $235 for Communication and Delegation Skills; and $199 for Managing Conflict
SepteMBer 15 12:15 to 1 p.m.la crosse Bioresearch forum: “personalized Medicine research at Marshfield clinic”
Hosted by the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders and Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation, the
event will feature Catherine A. McCarty, Ph.D., MPH, of the Center for Human Genetics at Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, Marshfield, Wis.
Location: Overholt Auditorium, Gundersen Lutheran Health System, 1900 South Ave., La Crosse, Wis. If you are attending from off campus, park in the Green ramp or use valet parking. Use the entrances at the north end and northeast side of the medical center. Contact: Send questions to Dr. Ron Go, [email protected] or Simon Shelley, [email protected] Cost: The forum is free and open to the public
octoBer 18 6:30 to 9 p.m.Small Business: the first Step
Organized by the Small Business Development Center at the Wisconsin School of Business, the course Small Business: The First Step helps potential entrepreneurs deter-mine the potential for a business idea. The program explores success stories from other local startups and reviews available resources.
The program is designed for people who have not yet started a business.
octoBer 12, 19, 26; noveMBer 2, 9 8:30 a.m. to noonWeb Marketing SeriesOrganized by the Small Business Development Center at the Wisconsin School of Business, the Web Marketing Series will help startups improve online visibility and build customer engagement. The series includes classes on search engine optimization, Oct. 12; email marketing, Oct. 19; web analytics, Oct. 26; web copywriting, Nov. 2; and building online sales through social networks, Nov. 9. Classes are available individually or registrants can sign up for all five classes and receive a 10 percent discount.
Location: Grainger Hall, 975 University Ave., Madison, Wis. Contact: (608) 262-3909Cost: $482 for all five programs or $119 for Search Engine Optimization;
$99 for Email Marketing that Works; $99 for Web Analytics 101; $99 for Web Copywriting, Branding & Persuasion; and $119 for Increase Online Sales through Social Networks
noveMBer 15–17 8:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.new product development
Hosted by the Executive Education program of the Wisconsin School of Business, the three-day New Product Development class covers topics including how to target customers, regulatory approval processes and streamlining the transition from prototype to production. To maximize the benefits from the program, companies often send cross-functional teams of business development managers, product managers, marketing vice presidents, directors of R&D and research engineers.
Location: Fluno Center, 601 University Ave., Madison, Wis. Contact: (608) 262-8890; (800) 348-8964 Cost: $1,795
information Resources
Resource clinics offer help… Continued from page 2.
One student volunteer from the incuba-tor, Wally Graeber of Twin Lakes, already has earned the distinction of starting multiple businesses. Graeber, a landscape architecture major, has operated lawn care and landscaping businesses in the Twin Lakes area near Kenosha for six years and most recently started working in Madison building a landscape design firm.
His advice to would-be entrepreneurs, especially students:
“Use your age as an advantage in your specific industry; most people looking to start a business will never have the finan-cial freedom you have at this particular moment,” he says. “But also start slowly and don’t overextend yourself.’’ n
WISCONSIN INSTITUTES FOR
DISCOVERYMORGRIDGE INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH
WISCONSIN INSTITUTE FOR DISCOVERY
at the UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSINMADISON
ReseaRcheRs seeking
ReseaRcheRs for Breakthrough Collaborations
FAST, EFFICIENT, PRODUCTIVE
Search for your dream collaborators working right here at UW–Madison:
