Science Center receives $1 million grant
The University City Science Center has received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) for Phase 1 Ventures, a new multi-institutional commercialization program.
Operating as an accelerator for the launch and growth of new companies, Phase 1 Ventures offers a comprehensive turn-key approach to effectively and efficiently test business feasibility. Phase 1 Ventures will identify promising technologies that have moved beyond the initial technical proof-of-concept stage, provide management and other project development resources, and facilitate funding to get the enterprise up and running.
This is the second Science Center commercialization program that the EDA has supported. In 2011, the Science Center received $1 million for its QED proof-of-concept funding program. Like QED, Phase 1 Ventures leverages the participation of multiple interests in the science and technology sector, including academia, industry, entrepreneurs, venture capital and other groups.
“The Obama administration is committed to helping our nation’s innovators and entrepreneurs move great ideas from the lab to the marketplace to create jobs and economic growth,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Jay Williams. “EDA is proud to support the Science Center’s inclusive, collaborative approach to connecting the creators of emerging technologies with the investors they need to grow and compete.”
“Thanks to this generous support from the EDA, Phase 1 Ventures will be positioned to provide greater access and opportunity to create spinout companies formed around technologies with high commercial potential,” says Science Center President and CEO Stephen S. Tang, Ph.D., MBA. “This in turn will foster and advance the region’s capacity for job creation and economic growth, as well as its burgeoning culture of entrepreneurship and commercialization.”
About the Science Center
The University City Science Center is a dynamic hub for innovation, and entrepreneurship and technology development in the Greater Philadelphia region. It provides business incubation, programming, lab and office facilities, and support services for entrepreneurs, start-ups, and growing and established companies. The Science Center was the first, and remains the largest, urban research park in the United States. Since it was founded in 1963, graduate organizations and current residents of the University City Science Center’s Port business incubators have created more than 15,000 jobs that remain in the Greater Philadelphia region today and contribute more than $9 billion to the regional economy annually. For more information about the Science Center, go to ScienceCenter.org.