William J. von Liebig Center Completes San Diego Regional Cleantech Initiative Funding Review Panels

Professor Deli Wang from UCSD's Jacobs School of Engineering presents to the cleantech review panel.

After two days and twelve presentations from UC San Diego and San Diego State University faculty members, the 2008 San Diego Regional Cleantech Initiative presentations have now been completed. We saw many eye-opening, disruptive, and potentially “commercializable” clean technology developments. The strength and breadth of this year’s presentations are a testament to the truly superlative researchers we have here in San Diego.

We were also fortunate to attract an incredible cadre of external reviewers—including experts from the energy sector, cleantech consulting firms, and cleantech startups—to assist us in evaluating these technologies. It was a wonderfully informed and collaborative group and we want to thank them for their invaluable contributions.

Professor John J. Love (center) from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at SDSU collects samples from a Gila monster in his lab.

As we move forward with this initiative, the Center will be partnering with Alliant International University and University of San Diego. Teams of MBA students will work with the entrepreneurial faculty and their von Liebig Advisor to conduct market research studies and write business plans that will help refine the commercialization strategy for the technology. In addition, all of the cleantech projects, regardless of funding status, will continue to be eligible to receive business mentoring services from the von Liebig Center.

The broad participation and high-quality projects testify to the Center's success at carving out a crucial and innovative role in catalyzing commercialization at UC San Diego. We eagerly look forward to taking things to the next level as we continue to take our Center across the UCSD campus and beyond.

Thanks again to everyone involved: the faculty presenters, our expert panel of reviewers, SDSU Research Foundation, UCSD TechTIPS, and von Liebig Center staff and advisors. Special thanks to Qualcomm and the City of San Diego, co-sponsors of this solicitation. We look forward to building on this success for the Second Annual San Diego Regional Cleantech Solicitation next year. Look for a release from the Center in the next few weeks as we make the funding decisions.

About UC San Diego's William J von Liebig Center: The von Liebig Center's mission is to inspire entrepreneurism and catalyze commercialization of UC San Diego's inventions through grants, education and business mentoring. Established in the Jacobs School of Engineering in 2001 with a $10 million gift from the William J. von Liebig Foundation, the Center has invested more than $3.8 million in seed grants and advisory services to over 70 technology projects, stimulating more than 20 licenses to corporations and startups. The 16 von Liebig startups have attracted more than $78 million in private capital. A study released in 2008 by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Max Planck Institute of Economics described the von Liebig Center at UC San Diego and the Deshpande Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as models of effectiveness in commercializing early stage university-based innovations.

About the City of San Diego's Cleantech Initiative: The San Diego Cleantech Initiative was launched in April of 2007 to help nurture and accelerate the growth of cleantech companies and foster sustainable development of green enterprises. The City of San Diego has identified the development of a cleantech industry cluster as a key economic development goal for the region. It sees universities and research centers as the main source of breakthrough innovations. The City is already working with several companies, providing a wide array of assistance to assist in their business operations.

About Clean Technology: Clean technology is an emerging sector of a range of products, services and processes that harness renewable materials and energy sources, reducing the depletion of natural resources and reducing or eliminating pollution and waste to create sustainable and secure energy sources. Clean technology encompasses advancements in solar power, wind power, hybrid vehicles, fuel cell technology, tidal and wave power, bio-diesel, green building materials and water treatment systems.