UW chooses new vice provost after more than a year of searching

James Severson, president of the Cornell Research Foundation in New York, was named UW's vice provost for intellectual property and technology transfer last week.

"What the office does is to work with people on campus that have made interesting discoveries," Severson said. "We try to assess the commercial potential of those discoveries and then we identify whether or not we can market the product idea to anyone."

For example, if a researcher on campus created a better mousetrap, it would be up to Severson and his department to find a company that could use that mousetrap.

"There's a fairly lengthy time, say about five to seven years, between the time that a deal is done -- or a researcher in a lab says they have something that has something important -- and the time a product hits the market," Severson said.

Severson estimated that last year UW's total external sponsored research exceeded $800 million. In comparison, Cornell University exceeded $450 million.

The office includes two departments: one that manages, markets and licenses inventions from the UW's research activities, and another unit that manages a portfolio of software, databases and digital media.

"From that, you see, there's a difference of $350 million," he said. "UW's office is bigger, and the coverage, if you will, is more extensive."

The vice provost position had been vacant since September of last year. Severson's predecessor, Bob Miller, left for a job in California. A committee formed, and an extensive search began for a replacement.

Bob Roseth, from UW's Office of News and Information, said the search took so long because there are very few people with the experience needed to manage a large research university's technology-transfer department.

Interim UW President Lee Huntsman, in one of his last actions as provost, hired Severson.

Prior to joining Cornell, Severson was director of health technologies in the Office of Patents and Technology Marketing at the University of Minnesota. He also currently sits on the board of directors of the Council on Governmental Relations, a Washington, D.C.-based association of more than 140 research universities that focuses on issues of federally sponsored research programs at universities.

Severson said he is hoping to use students in his office by having students come up with marketing strategies to sell UW products or having students work with researchers to refine technologies.

"We're going to put what students may presume as a stale office into a better light," he said. "Students will help with economic models and come out of the process with real-world experience they could take with them to a full-time job."

Severson said he will start at UW the first week in January.