By WisBusiness Staff
Carl E. Gulbrandsen, WARF managing director, told a recent WisBusiness.com luncheon that the new federal stimulus package is good news for UW-Madison research.
“The university is in the sweet spot of the stimulus package,” Gulbrandsen said, singling out projects like the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery being built on campus, and the medical research, bio-energy and green energy sectors.
He said WARF, which helps spur UW-Madison research then licenses results to the private sector, is an “83-year-old start-up” that has had “one home run after another” dating back to Vitamin D discoveries in the 1920s.
Stem cell research is another home run that will pay benefits for years to come, he said, noting current patents have been reconfirmed and are doing well across the world.
Stem cell research “will change the way research is done and ultimately change the way medicine is done,” he said.
He admitted Madison is “a flyover area” for some and that the city could always use more entrepreneurs and venture capital. But he says those will be enhanced with the new facilities, which aim to foster interaction between research sectors, scientists off campus and the public. He said the venture capital “will come as the science comes.”
The luncheons are organized by WisBusiness.com, Madison Magazine and the Madison Club.
