For Immediate Release: Tuesday, September 24, 2019
PHED Chair Riemer says enhanced integration of NIH, NIST
and FDA, which are among the world’s most powerful research
hubs, into local economy would enhance County’s tax base
and spur innovation
ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 25, 2019—Tomorrow, Thursday, Sept. 26 at 8:30 a.m. the Montgomery County Council’s Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee will host a roundtable discussion on federal technology transfer in the Council Office Building’s Third Floor Hearing Room (100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville).
This interactive discussion will highlight the federal laboratory technology transfer process, showcase local tech transfer success stories and explore ways to accelerate tech transfer activities within Montgomery County.
The roundtable will include numerous federal commercialization experts, as well as business founders, technical assistance providers and funders. The program is part of an ongoing series of PHED Business Advisory Roundtables being held in partnership with the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC).
“Montgomery County is facing some challenges when it comes to economic development. Our job growth has slowed and if the trend becomes a long term one, there will be profound consequences,” said PHED Committee Chair Hans Riemer. “We need to focus on leveraging the tech resources next door, including the Federal labs that are located in the County. Our federal agencies spin off large benefits, but we can do much more to leverage them. Reforming policies that keep innovations and scientists stuck inside these campuses should be an ongoing priority, not only for the County but for the region.”
The following representatives of the business community are expected to attend the roundtable:
• Julia Brown, CEO of MindX;
• M. Javad Aman, Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer of Integrated BioTherapeutics, Inc.;
• Abhishek Motayed, Ph.D., Founder and CTO of N5 Sensors;
• Richard Bendis, President and CEO of BioHealth Innovation;
• Ron Kaese, Director of Federal Programs, TEDCO;
• Gary Evans, Executive Director of Maryland Defense Technology Commercialization Center;
• Jack E. Pevenstein, Sc.D., P.E., Technology Transfer Advisor/FLC Coordinator, NIST/Federal Laboratory Consortium Mid-Atlantic Region (FLC-MA); and
• Paul Zielinski, Director of NIST Technology Partnerships Office.
Montgomery County is home to a large concentration of federal labs like the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, the Food and Drug Administration in White Oak, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Silver Spring and the National Cancer Institute in Shady Grove.
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