At the University of Michigan we are constantly seeking ways to ease and incentivize the development and commercialization of the products of research going on in our laboratories. Clearly, increasing the deal flow, or rate of generation of intellectual property is a key ingredient to making Ann Arbor in particular, and Michigan in general, the new center of entrepreneurism in America.

But the success of this process ultimately depends on the interests of the University researcher to move a new idea from the laboratory bench to a more practical and, ultimately, a commercial product. Before I specifically address this point, it is important to make a distinction between an inventor and an entrepreneur. Many researchers create inventions that ultimately spawn new intellectual property, but not all of those inventors want to develop their ideas into marketable products. Success in that undertaking depends on a set of skills that often differ from those needed for invention. Of course, many of our talented faculty, staff and students are both inventors and entrepreneurs, in which case bridging the gap between idea and practical application is eased.

I argue, however, that many successful professors are entrepreneurs at heart. An entrepreneur, after all, is someone who accepts the challenge of creating something new every day. Indeed, it is a way of life, a permanent condition. Setting up a research group, selling ideas to sponsors, bringing ideas to successful realizations, training a workforce (i.e., the research group) and managing resources, are the same skills that are needed to run a successful enterprise. Hence, it is often not a major leap for a professor to move his or her ideas from the research laboratory into the marketplace.

Putting these thoughts in the context of the needs of our university and the regional economy, it is imperative for the Office of the Vice President for Research to work aggressively to cultivate the entrepreneurial interests of those who have also expressed a desire to move their ideas into the public domain. In effect, the University can not be a passive bystander in this creative process if it wants to attract the best faculty, or if it wants to have a positive influence in transforming the regional economy from one based on manufacturing by a few giant corporations with declining market share, to one based on a diverse knowledge-based economy such as those now powering the economic expansion in states such as California and Massachusetts.

The University of Michigan Innovation Initiative (UMII) is an effort to enhance the entrepreneurial activities of our academic community with these goals in mind. The Initiative is the product of the thinking of some of our most entrepreneurial and successful faculty, along with that of many administrators who have experience in forging agreements that underpin many of our industry-academic partnerships. Without going into the details of this initiative, the general outcome has been to streamline policies and reward faculty interested in partnering with industry. The numerous visible and tangible changes to our traditional way of “doing business” brought by the UMII will ensure that entrepreneurial faculty, staff and students are supported at every level. We are very interested, indeed, in making entrepreneurship a permanent and integral part of our academic culture here at U-M. Its success will ensure that U-M remains a vibrant intellectual environment with deep roots in the fortunes of our region.

Our ultimate goal is that the State of Michigan will once again become one of the economic drivers of our nation and the world, as it was during the 20th century. The “new Michigan” will have an economy primarily based on knowledge, and people in the future will look back and realize that the transformation began at the University of Michigan through the unleashing of our vast wealth of talent and ideas toward the betterment of the economic foundations of our region.

Stephen Forrest is the University of Michigan Vice President for Research and a professor in the departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Materials Science and Engineering, and Physics.