Cliff Michaels will head Kansas University’s Center for Technology Commercialization after having spent the past three years at Georgia State University.

Headshot of Cliff Michaels

Cliff Michaels takes over as executive director of Kansas University’s Center for Technology Commercialization (KUCTC) today.

Michaels was most recently the assistant vice-president for research and the director of Georgia State University’s Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization. He had joined Georgia State in January 2020.

Before this, he spent 18 years in the Office of Technology Transfer at Emory University, climbing the ranks to become interim executive director for the final year he spent with the institution.

He holds RTTP certification and has been a volunteer with AUTM since 2011. He is also a board member of Southeast Life Sciences.

He said: “I am tremendously enthused to be joining KU, an institution with a long history of high-caliber research and innovation. “KUCTC has a strong foundation for supporting KU innovators, and I look forward to working with our faculty, administrators and other stakeholders to use that foundation as a springboard for the future.”

Michaels replaces Simon Atkinson, vice chancellor for research on KU’s Lawrence campus, who had held the position in an interim capacity since August 2020.

Thierry Heles

Thierry Heles is the editor of Global University Venturing, host of the Beyond the Breakthrough interview podcast and responsible for the monthly GUV Gazette (sign up here for free).