OLD DOMINION, EVMS TO HOST SMALL BUSINESS WORKSHOP TODAY AND WEDNESDAY
Old Dominion University and Eastern Virginia Medical School will host the sixth annual Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Development Workshop Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 19-20, at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott.
One of the largest SBIR meetings in the country, the workshop provides an opportunity for businesses to garner initial funding of high-risk, high-payoff ideas. Organized by the Virginia Office of Innovative Technology and Office of the Secretary of Technology, the workshop features all 10 SBIR agencies (departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Education, Transportation, Environmental Protection, Health and Human Services, NASA and National Science Foundation).
Research-based innovative, high-risk/high-payoff and breakthrough potential ideas are a particular focus of the program.
The workshop begins at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, with Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim officially opening the exhibits. A general meeting begins at 1 p.m. with Richard Apley, director of the Office of Independent Inventor Programs in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, as the featured speaker.
The law firm of McGuire, Woods, Battle & Boothe will present a panel discussion on "Protecting Your Intellectual Property and Other Legal Issues" at 1:45 p.m. From 2:45-5:10 p.m., Small Business Innovative Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) agencies such as the Department of Defense, Department of Education, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation will give presentations.
Donald W. Upson, secretary of technology for the commonwealth of Virginia, will give the keynote address at the 6:30 p.m. banquet on Tuesday.
Wednesday's general meeting will begin at 8:15 a.m. with a talk by Marc Y.E. Pelaez, vice president of business and technology at Newport News Shipbuilding, on "Research and Technology Opportunities in Virginia." It will be followed by presentations on "Commercialization Strategy and Financial Planning" and "Advanced Technology."
A reception will be held from 5-7 p.m., followed by "Small Business Legislation: Influencing the Process," by Richard W. Carroll, president of Digital System Resources Inc. The two-day workshop will wrap up with concluding remarks by Upson.
The cost for the workshop is $80 and the banquet is $50. Exhibit booths for both days are available for $250.
For more information or to register, call the Office of Innovative Technology at (804) 371-2748.