Commercialization Partners:
Recipients of the Ecosystem Impact Award

"Having the TLA team at UA that is focused on getting the great ideas out of the lab and into society is very important on many levels. Being a Commercialization Partner has allowed me to evaluate these technologies in hopes of helping bring one or more of them to market."

--Seton Glaggett

"Being a commercialization partner allows me the opportunity to “pass it on” in appreciation of all of the mentors in my past. It also affords me the ability to continue my hobby of starting and running businesses, while, hopefully, helping some creative people realize their business potential."

--Allen Freed

“Serving as a Commercialization Partner is an opportunity to give back to the system some of the help I received as an entrepreneur, but it is really more selfish. Working with entrepreneurs recharges my intellectual batteries and gives me hope for our future.”

-- Philip Lacovara, Ph.D.

"Commercialization Partners have the joy of being apprised of the latest cutting-edge technologies, the fun of injecting ideas and experience into a variety of technology areas and experience levels, and the challenge of integrating different opinions and perspectives on business and research. It's also a wonderful opportunity to network with the brightest minds across industries that have a love for the University of Arizona. I find it a treat to ‘volunteer’ time when I get more than I receive. You can't beat that ROI!"

--Patrick Markus, Markus Engineering

"I believe that the University of Arizona provides an amazing amount of innovation. Supporting the inventors to foster their inventions and get them ready for public and commercial use is challenging and rewarding at the same time and I am happy to find a way to contribute my expertise."

--Peter Nestler

"There are so many talented and creative faculty and students at the University of Arizona. Having the opportunity to serve the university and Tech Launch Arizona as a Commercialization Partner allows me to provide input to inventors based on decades of experience working with hundreds of companies around the world.”

--Alexander Schauss, Ph.D.

"The University plays a leading role in Southern Arizona’s innovation ecosystem and TLA makes it possible for innovations in the university to reach our community. As a representative of an incubator in our ecosystem, we look to TLA to feed our community with novel innovation and I am proud to help TLA get that work done."

--Eric Smith, Executive Director, University of Arizona Center for Innovation

"I am a fundamental believer in the power and importance of innovation. Being a commercialization partner provides me the opportunity to give back to my university, help promising technologies gain traction and foster the entrepreneurial spirit I think is fundamental to who we are as a nation."

--Michael Voevodsky