After 25 years at the university, Taunya Phillips is leaving her role as director of the Office of Technology Commercialisation
Taunya Phillips, image courtesy of LinkedIn
Taunya Phillips is leaving her role as director of the University of Kentucky’s technology transfer arm, the Office of Technology Commercialisation.
She leaves the university at the beginning of August, and will take up a new role as assistant vice president at Wayne State University in the US state of Michigan where she will work to lead the commercialisation of its research output.
Phillips has been at the University of Kentucky for 25 years, beginning in 1999 as a lecturer in mechanical engineering. Since 2008, she has been involved in the commercialisation of university research, taking on her current role in May 2021.
As director of the Office of Technology Commercialisation, Phillips was responsible for managing the university’s startup portfolio, intellectual property and licensing. The office reported five new startups in 2023, as well as the issue of 32 patents.
Phillips is also chair of the advisory board of Launch Blue, an incubator and accelerator affiliated with the university. It works to support startups in a number of sectors, including environmental tech, software and health tech.
Launch Blue’s 2023 pre-seed accelerator cohort included HBH Development, which develop wearable devices to monitor self-injuries sustained by people with autism, and Kind Memorials, producers of a biodegradable cremation urn.
Alongside her main role, Phillips started and ran the UK Women Innovators Network. The group aims to increase female participation in university-backed startups.
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