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Dean Van GalenChancellor Van Galen named to Ideadvance Investment Committee

March 17, 2017—University of Wisconsin-River Falls Chancellor Dean Van Galen has been named to the Ideadvance Investment Committee as the UW Chancellor member to the committee. The Ideadvance program supports University of Wisconsin System innovation towards commercialization and combines grant funding with business mentoring to support development of innovative ideas and potential, scalable business from UW System faculty, staff and student entrepreneurs. Grants are available to support applicants, including alumni, for all UW campuses except UW-Madison.

Ideadvance strives to promote innovation in all disciplines across the state. The program is not limited to STEM fields, but aims to include innovation in music, social sciences, and more.

Van Galen will join the five-member Investment Committee that reviews and selects projects for funding and suggests critical commercialization milestones for follow up support via Ideadvance or outside funding. The Investment Committee awards early stage ideas an opportunity to earn up to $25,000 by exploring and validating key business model assumptions. Companies that have already validated key business metrics are eligible for a competitive $50,000 grant available through the Ideadvance Stage 2 program.

Since 2013, Van Galen has also served on the WiSys Technology Foundation Board of Trustees as the UW Chancellor representative. He also serves as the chair of the WiSys Technology Foundation Advisory Council. The mission of the WiSys Technology Foundation is "to manage the intellectual property of the University of Wisconsin System to support basic research and speed technology transfer from university labs for the benefit of society." WiSys helps to advance scientific research throughout the state of Wisconsin by connecting technologies developed within the UW System to companies for development, through patent development and licensing.

"My involvement with the Ideadvance program, as well as the WiSys Technology Foundation, is a great opportunity to work with Wisconsin business leaders to help connect the innovative work within the UW System with businesses and the marketplace," said Van Galen. "These activities connect especially well with our strategic focus on innovation and partnerships at UW-River Falls."

For more information about the Ideadvance program, call Idella Yamben at 608-263-3315 or visit uwideadvance.org.


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