Blending research and teaching with entrepreneurship: The launching of Liquidia Technologies

POLY 100

Joseph DeSimone, desimone@unc.edu, Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina, CB# 3290, Chapel Hill, OH 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 in assisting the state in economic development. These 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 while doing so within stringent guidelines. This presentation will focus on the technology and the people behind the recent launching of Liquidia Technologies (www.liquidia.com).