USF steals big-name talent away from UF

[Papa_Bull]

BUILD it and they will come. Hopefully, the same will be true for FOOTBALL pretty soon.

Incubating revenue

USF Research Park scores with scientific firms

By Margie Manning

Tampa Bay Business Journal

Updated: 8:00 p.m. ET July 17, 2005

TAMPA - The University of South Florida believes the lure of the laboratory and collegial collaboration will help it attract some big-name talent.

Early in the effort, USF already has scored one big win. Alex Domijan, a University of Florida associate professor known nationally for his work on energy issues, is relocating from Gainesville to USF, which is building a lab for him in the school's new Research Park.

It's exactly what USF officials want to see more of as they work to fill two newly constructed facilities -- a 130,000-square-foot, four-story research building with core and shared laboratories, and a 100,000-square-foot, three-story multitenant office building that includes a technology incubator for fledgling firms as well as lab space and room for large commercial tenants.

The $46 million Research Park has been a top priority for USF President Judy Genshaft since she first interviewed for her job five years ago.

"It just makes so much sense with the cluster of health-related facility around us," she said. "We are hopeful that the companies in the Research Park and the incubator will develop new technologies for patents and licensing and products that can be used in the marketplace."

While the construction dust is still settling in the new buildings, USF already has plans for expansion on land currently owned by Tampa General Hospital across Fowler Avenue from the Research Park. The Florida Legislature this year approved $7 million to help pay for the land. Genshaft said the school would need to come up with another $2 million to complete the purchase.

Energy to grow

The nonprofit USF Research Foundation financed much of Research Park with a $34.9 million bond issue in August 2004. The process allowed private companies to lease space in the buildings, said Rod Casto, executive director of the USF Research Foundation and associate VP for economic development.

As of June 30, 20 firms had offices in the technology incubator, including eight faculty startups, two firms started by USF alumni and three companies that relocated to the Bay area in order to be at USF.

Florida Environmental Research Institute, a south Tampa firm that develops tools to assess, monitor and manage coastal regions, is building a large laboratory on the third floor of the Business Partnership building.

Firms rent space for $21.50 a square foot, more expensive than other nearby space, but the trade-off is companies don't have to meet the credit demands of other landlords and get support from both USF and their neighboring startup firms.

"It's not the cheapest, but the people that want to see your business thrive are so helpful," said Jana Wiggins, president of DocuVantage, a Winter Haven firm that opened an office in the incubator. "There is a lot of energy that says you can grow your company."

That sense of partnership is one factor that persuaded Domijan to relocate to USF.

His lab will focus on power quality and reliability, including work on utility grids. He hopes eventually to link up with scientists concentrating on biomass and hydrogen fuels.

Robots and Microbiology

While most of the building is dedicated to space for researchers recruited to USF, some current faculty have labs in the facility, including Robin Murphy, an engineering professor who heads the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue, and Daniel Lim, a microbiologist developing biosensors to detect pathogenic organisms and microbial toxins in food, air, water and on surfaces.

Lim's lab will be in the Center for Biological Defense, a $12 million, federally funded initiative occupying the entire fourth floor of the research building. USF is recruiting groups to work at the center, which also will concentrate on educating first responders to bioterror incidents and developing the ability to handle deadly bioterror agents.

The concept that scientists with similar interests can share space -- meeting over coffee in the atrium, for instance -- is key to growing a research center, by bringing great minds together, Genshaft said.

"It's a nice location where people bump into one another and can talk about their new drug trials or new inventions or receive advice on business plans," she said.

Swinging for the fences

Operations are funded by lease payments from the companies in the Business Partnership building and by the Research Foundation, as well as Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa, which contributed $200,000 each, and the Florida High Tech Corridor, with a $100,000 contribution. USF Connect, the umbrella program tying together several economic development activities at USF, has a request for $2 million in state funding.

Also helping pay the bills are USF's proceeds from patents and licensing.

"Part of our strategic plan is to commercialize intellectual property to generate revenue for the university," Casto said.

When USF research leads to a commercial development, the inventor gets 45 percent of the proceeds and the university gets the rest.

Recent large deals include a partnership with Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK), which is using USF technology for a mammography computer-aided detection device, and the licensing of a cancer-fighting compound developed by USF scientists at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research to VioQuest Pharmaceuticals Inc. (OTC BB: VQPH). Casto said there are numerous smaller deals, with the potential for many more from the startups in the Research Park.

"These are home runs," Casto said. "We swing for the fences, but we also have to put people on base."

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8613357/

[CyberBull]

Even though this is clearly off topic, perhaps we can keep it around for a couple of days.

It's good for our alumni and visiting fans to learn of these kind of developments. Making Tampa Bay into a biotech hub transcends the University and impacts the entire community.

[Papa_Bull]

I always TRY to keep it on topic.  

These are home runs," Casto said. "We swing for the fences, but we also have to put people on base."

 

[bullwark]

Great hire for USF, this will motivate others to follow the trail he has blazed from Gainesville to Tampa.

[Ricky the Bull]

It's obvious that this is very on topic in that any athletic recruit who is interested in these areas of academic specialties will make USF the obvious choice.

Great article!

Go Bulls!

[Sitting_BULL]

Yes I can see it now......The state's top lineman 6'5" 327lbs choses USF over uf & fsu because of their biothech program.

Hey, anything can happen  

[Papa_Bull]

Yes I can see it now......The state's top lineman 6'5" 327lbs choses USF over uf & fsu because of their biothech program.

Hey, anything can happen  

Actually, Eddie Haupt, one of the state's top lineman this year, chose USF as one of his two top finalists due in large measure to the respect he has for the USF pre-med program and the USF School of Medicine. He eventually chose UF, but maybe he will now tranfer.  

Flashback:

By Eddie Haupt Merritt Island (Fla.) High School

Date: Jul 30, 2004

On Recruiting

July is a dead period for the most part for recruiting. I’ve done a pretty good job of narrowing down my list to what I believe will be the cut for September (when coaches start to call). It’ll be listed at the bottom. I’ve done some research on a lot of different schools into the amount of guys they’ve had go through that have done anything Pre-Med. I don’t think my degree will be a problem, but it’s good to see programs such as Duke; where a guy was given the spring off to study for the MCAT (The MCAT is the major decider into getting into Medical School). I want a school where I have great exposure and a chance to win, and also get my degree.

I will start setting up my visits within the week, and I guess I’ll report to you guys when I know the dates for them.

The Cut (alphabetical)

Duke, Florida, Georgia, Harvard, Maryland, Miami, Michigan State, Penn, South Florida, Stanford, Vanderbilt.

Definite Visits-

UF, USF, Stanford

http://recruiting.scout.com/2/278785.html

The Gators won't need to worry about Haupt qualifying academically. He has a weighted 3.8 grade point average and a 1320 score on the SAT. He plans to major in pre-med with a future career as either a pediatrician or oncologist.

 

[ChiTownBull]

This is awesome.....the future is VERY bright for USF!