EAST LANSING — Leading researchers and entrepreneurs from Michigan’s University Research Corridor will testify before the state House March 18 on how universities can help transform Michigan’s economy.
Rep. Ed Clemente, D-Lincoln Park, who chairs the House Standing Committee on New Economy and Quality of Life, will host: Ian Gray, vice president for research and graduate studies at Michigan State University; Steve Forrest, vice president for research at the University of Michigan; and Randal Charlton, executive director of Wayne State University’s TechTown research and technology park.
Gray, Forrest and Charlton will talk about job-creating initiatives and opportunities at their universities and the growth potential of other efforts, such as the Michigan Initiative for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The initiative has awarded grants to all 15 of the state’s public universities, and its partners have set a goal of raising $75 million from foundations to bridge the gap between university research and commercial development.
The URC, an alliance of MSU, U-M and WSU, was launched by the state’s three research university presidents in late 2006 to align their resources to transform, strengthen and diversify Michigan’s economy. The hearing begins at 9 a.m. in room 521 of the Anderson House Building, 124 N. Capitol, in Lansing.
Gray came to MSU in 1978 as a food science and human nutrition expert. He spent 17 years with MSU’s Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, which generates knowledge through strategic research to enhance agriculture, natural resources, families and communities across the state. He has guided MSU’s research efforts since 2004.
Forrest, a professor of physics, and electrical engineering and computer science who personally holds more than 185 patents and has co-founded several private companies, said that remaining on the cutting edge of innovation has made Michigan an economic power in the past and will be in the future.
“The only way to stay on top of this game is through investing in the best research and developing the best intellectual property, because when products go off patent and become cheap to make, the manufacturing tends to go overseas,’’ Forrest said.
Charlton, who is also entrepreneur-in-residence and special assistant to the president for economic development at Wayne State, is also the founder and former CEO of Asterand, a life sciences company he brought to TechTown from his native England.
Clemente, since being elected to the House in 2004, has focused on a number of job-creating measures including legislation to increase the number of grants given to job providers through the Michigan Economic Development Corp. He previously served as president of the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber of Commerce.
For more on the URC, visit: http://urcmich.org/.
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