West Virginia University’s focus on innovation and the commercialization of technologies discovered by its researchers is receiving key support from the Benedum Foundation.

WVU Vice President for Research and Economic Development Curt M. Peterson announced that the Benedum Foundation has awarded the University a $132,000 grant to improve its research commercialization and economic impact by nurturing ties to industries and to other universities that are recognized for successful entrepreneurial efforts. Research faculty, administrators and students will all be engaged and exposed to new avenues and resources that help move technologies to the marketplace.

“The award will give WVU an opportunity to establish a stronger innovative culture throughout its research enterprise,” Peterson said. “That will result in a conversion of research results into products that create new industries, new jobs and a better West Virginia economy.”

The initiative is called Linking Innovation Industry and Commercialization or LIINC. Peterson said LIINC is consistent with the WVU 2020 Strategic Plan for the Future that calls for increased emphasis on research and the progress it can spark throughout the regional economy.

He said the grant will allow WVU to pursue three critical activities:
• Site visits for examination of the best practices of key American universities that demonstrate effective technology transfer of research results.
• Interactions with private industries to learn more about market needs and facilitate new collaborations between faculty and private industry counterparts.
• Business development events and gatherings that assist WVU students, faculty and industry representatives in forging new alliances and collaborations for innovation, entrepreneurship and technology transfer.

“Basic research will remain a cornerstone of WVU’s research enterprise,” said Peterson. “But universities have taken on an enhanced presence in today’s Innovation Economy, and we are evolving so our land-grant institution may play a more vital role in economic development.”

About the Benedum Foundation: The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation serves the entire state of West Virginia and parts of southwestern Pennsylvania. During his lifetime in the oil and gas business in the early 20th Century, Michael Benedum operated his worldwide business from Pittsburgh. Benedum and his wife, Sarah, were natives respectively of Bridgeport and Blacksville, W.Va. The Benedums named the Foundation in memory of their only child, Claude Worthington Benedum, who died in 1918 at age 20. The Foundation has authorized grants totaling more than $365 million. The Foundation makes grants in three program areas: education, civic engagement, and economic development.

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CONTACT: Gerrill Griffith, WVU Research Corporation
304-293-3743

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