The University of Nebraska-Lincoln community is invited to an Oct. 22 retirement reception for Brad Roth, past associate vice chancellor for technology development, president and executive director of NUtech Ventures.
The event, hosted by the Office of Research and Innovation, is from 4-6 p.m. at the Lied Commons, 301 N. 12th St. Registration is encouraged.
Upon joining NUtech Ventures in 2013, Roth led the university’s efforts to commercialize technology developed at Nebraska and support Husker innovators and research-based startups, contributing to overall research growth and impact.
Roth’s upcoming retirement was announced July 1. Since then, he has remained with NUtech Ventures in an advisory capacity, with Cheryl Horst serving as interim executive director.
During Roth’s tenure, Nebraska reached several milestones related to research and innovation:
- The University of Nebraska system has been ranked among the world’s top 100 academic institutions for earning U.S. patents for seven consecutive years, a collective effort of NUtech Ventures and UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office serving the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
- UNL’s invention disclosures, license agreements and revenue normalized by research expenditures are in the top half of the Big Ten Academic Alliance.
- UNL became a partner institution of the National Science Foundation’s Great Lakes Innovation Corps Hub in 2022. The program’s goal is to move university research into the marketplace. Membership has strengthened Nebraska’s partnerships with other institutions in the region and expanded training opportunities for faculty innovators.
Under Roth’s leadership, NUtech Ventures developed programs to empower emerging entrepreneurs, including the “From Idea to Startup” workshop series; an engineering pitch competition in partnership with the College of Engineering; and the Business Model Canvas workshop in collaboration with the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship. Additionally, Nebraska’s local NSF I-Corps program has drawn more than 200 innovators and propelled three Husker teams to the national I-Corps program.
2024 marks the 11th consecutive year of NUtech’s internship program, which was formalized during Roth’s tenure to train graduate students and law students to serve as commercialization analysts or contract analysts. Numerous program alumni have pursued professional careers in technology transfer, legal/patent law and corporate environments.
