Welch Allyn hands control of Blue Highway incubator to SU
An incubator previously used only for medical research at Syracuse University will now be used for additional research purposes as well.
The Blue Highway incubator was given to SU by medical device manufacturer Welch Allyn on July 1 after being housed in SU’s Science and Technology Center since 2008.
Welch Allyn has committed to giving SU $10 million over the course of four years to support the incubator in exchange for research and development services, said Mary Ann Tyszko, SU’s vice president for Strategic Business Development and Innovation.
Student interns from the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, the College of Law and the Emerging Enterprises at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management have used the incubator to conduct medical and health care research in the past, Tyszko said.
Al Di Rienzo, president and CEO of Blue Highway, said the incubator has previously focused on areas of interest to Welch Allyn, which constrained researchers.
‘Within the new Blue Highway, all research topics are open due to the breadth and depth of Syracuse University’s expertise as well as the expertise of the Blue Highway team and its collaborators,’ Di Rienzo said.
Di Rienzo said Blue Highway will broaden its focus from diagnostics to interventions, therapies and more.
‘Already, Blue Highway has received inquiries that are aerospace, consumer electronics, material science, video gaming, and wireless communications-oriented,’ Di Rienzo said.
Di Rienzo said the incubator will spur economic growth by adding around 12 jobs per year. Welch Alynn will also increase the number of student interns and out-license and sell intellectual property.
Tyszko, vice president for Strategic Business Development and Innovation, said the idea to transfer the incubator to SU was originally Welch Allyn’s idea.
‘Welch Allyn saw this as a win-win opportunity to take Blue Highway to the next level and spur economic growth in the region,’ she said.
Transferring the incubator to SU will be beneficial to both the university and Welch Allyn, Tyszko said.
‘Dozens of students annually will get an opportunity to prepare for the world in the world by interning alongside researchers and collaboration partners at Blue Highway,’ she said.
Tyszo also said SU faculty and research staff will be able to work alongside Blue Highway researchers in order to further their research in applied ways.
‘Going forward, as part of Syracuse University, it has the opportunity to diversify its capabilities and grow new competencies,’ Tyszko said. ‘That is the benefit of being a part of the university.’
Published on July 6, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Contact Stephanie: snbouvia@syr.edu | @snbouvia
