Stromhaug to oversee tech transfer at University at Buffalo

The University at Buffalo (UB), a public research institution in the US state New York, has hired Per Stromhaug as its senior associate vice-president for economic development.

Stromhaug joins from Binghamton University, where he was executive director of the tech transfer unit, Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships, from 2013 to 2014, then assistant vice-president from 2014 to 202. He was associate vice-president for innovation and economic development for the past three years.

At the University at Buffalo, Stromhaug will be responsible for the economic development strategy and initiatives. He will also oversee the Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships team, which supports industry partnerships, manages tech transfer activities, runs incubators and early-stage startup programmes and links faculty and students to local and regional businesses.

He will also be in charge of grant-funded programmes, including Cultivator, which provides mentorship and support to startups based in western New York. Additionally, he will oversee a series of university centres that match companies located in New York with university resources such as wet labs.

UB is one of a third of the most research-intensive universities in the US that runs a university venture fund, the $10m Buffalo Innovation Seed Fund.

Stromhaug said: “I am extremely excited to take on this role at UB. UB has a strong and growing research portfolio and is a national leader in multiple fields. The Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships team has done a tremendous job translating UB innovation into community benefits, and I look forward to joining the team and helping to grow economic development efforts further.”