The blending of research and teaching with entrepreneurship: The launching of Liquidia Technologies by graduate students

CHED 52

Joseph M. DeSimone, desimone@unc.edu, Departments of Chemistry and Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University, CB #3290 257 Caudill Laboratories, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
A culture of entrepreneurship and its concomitant means for translating discoveries into the marketplace in order to make a difference to society is essential at research universities today. Faculty members who are also entrepreneurs bring a depth of understanding and experience to the classroom that has an unparalleled effect in inspiring and educating the next generation of students. The faculty at the University of North Carolina has been extremely effective over the last decade and their successes have produced many experienced entrepreneurial faculty members who have played leading roles in the commercialization of innovations discovered in their laboratories. They have done this within the confines of a public university that charges them with improving the health, well-being and economy of our society under stringent guidelines. This presentation will focus on the technology and the people behind Liquidia Technologies (www.liquidia.com). Liquidia Technologies uses core expertise in proprietary fluorinated materials to develop products in the life sciences and materials science sectors. This process, in combination with fluorinated materials, allows Liquidia to precisely design and produce nano-structured materials in bulk. These materials can take multiple forms, including particles, arrays of particles, and patterned films.