Spectrum - Volume 18 Issue 19 February 1, 1996 - Martin named executive VP at VTIP Inc.

A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor , a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

Martin named executive VP at VTIP Inc.

Spectrum Volume 18 Issue 19 - February 1, 1996

Michael J. Martin has been named executive vice president of Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties (VTIP) Inc. effective February 1.

VTIP Inc., a non-profit corporation, handles the commercialization of technologies generated at Virginia Tech. The university, with research expenditures in excess of $145 million, is in the top 10 in the nation, among universities without a human medical center, in patenting and licensing activities.

For the last two years, Martin has been manager of technology transfer for the College of Engineering at Michigan State University. He also was licensing associate for research and graduate studies, and associate director of the network for excellence in manufacturing. In these positions, he has been responsible for linking faculty members with industry; increasing invention disclosures, patents, and implementations of research results; and increasing access to the Internet for manufacturers.

He was a co-founder and president of the Capital Enterprise Forum, which provided opportunities for entrepreneurs to present their business plans to potential investors. He is on a number of boards, including: Access BIDCO, an investment bank; Ingham County (Mich.) Economic Development Corporation; Composites Manufacturing Association; Environmental Technology Transfer and Research Institute; and a number of start-up companies.

At VTIP Inc., Martin will plan and conduct marketing to commercialize and license VTIP Inc.-owned technologies.

"Mike has a solid record of accomplishment in marketing technologies to industry and extensive experience in university technology transfer," said Len Peters, who, as vice provost for research and dean of the Graduate School at Virginia Tech, is president of VTIP Inc.

"Mike is personable as well as knowledgeable. We feel sure the business community will welcome the opportunity to work with him," said Ted Kohn, director of VTIP.

Martin earned his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Detroit in 1968 and master's in business administration from the University of Delaware in 1970. Before joining Michigan State, he worked for Ciba-Geigy Inc. and Sybron Corp. in New York, and PPG Industries Inc. in Pittsburgh in new product development, product management, and marketing.

He also has been active with research and academic committees and boards at the university, and has received numerous research grants related to waste management, recycling, composites cost analysis, and entrepreneurship. He has written and given talks on composites, business development, and technology transfer.