Research on the rise: Expo links business, academia

NORFOLK

Tara Jenkins, a CVS pharmacist, is interested in expanding her consulting business, T&J Associates in Hampton.

A former Hampton University professor, Jenkins hopes to pursue new drug developments, data analysis and research for her 1-year-old company. The New Orleans native also wants to educate minority communities about reducing hypertension and diabetes.

She and about 30 other entrepreneurs and researchers looked for opportunities Wednesday to further their goals during a session about business and academic partnerships at Old Dominion University’s Research Expo. The event at the Ted Constant Convocation Center featured panel discussions on global climate change, conducting research and world democratic principles.

Richard Alley, a researcher at Penn State University and a member of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – which shared the Nobel Peace Prize with former presidential candidate Al Gore last year – also spoke.

Wednesday’s one-day program, also sponsored by Norfolk State University, Eastern Virginia Medical School and the Virginia Tidewater Consortium for Higher Education, represented the fifth annual research expo. This year, for the first time, it offered a corporate networking session designed to bring entrepreneurs such as Jenkins together with university researchers to discuss potential partnerships.

Panel discussions focused on modeling and simulation, a concept that has grown in Hampton Roads. A report issued earlier this year indicated that the sector in 2007 contributed nearly $365 million and 4,420 jobs to the area.

Two organizations mentioned prominently Wednesday that work with business and academic researchers are the Hampton Roads Research Partnership and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

William E. Bean, director of the Technology & Business Center at the College of William and Mary, said the essential thing for good collaboration is identifying an individual on a campus, such as a professor or researcher, who can contribute to a need that a company might have.

Bean said that VIMS, which is part of W&M , has about 600 researchers who are professors and students. The partnerships, he said, provide strong connections.

“What it means is that all of these folks have a vast network,” he said. “It’s all about clever networking.”

Bill Wasilenko, associate dean for research at EVMS, said that in these tough economic times, collaboration between businesses and universities is important. He added that many businesses in the biosciences field, for example, like to be near universities because of the research, expertise and access to graduate students who may become interns and employees.

“It’s important at this time to foster collaborations because of limited funding and competitive growth,” Wasilenko said, referring to colleges and companies. “We bring a new dimension of funding and capability to the region so they won’t be as dependent on federal money.”

The networking proved to be promising for Jenkins, the CVS pharmacist. She said she met several possible business contacts.

“I was really impressed with the collaboration opportunities, and I plan on taking advantages of those,” she said.

Jennifer Jiggetts, (757) 446-2643, jennifer.jiggetts@pilotonline.com