Mark Crowell Named Vice President of KAUST Innovation and Economic Development

THUWAL, Saudi Arabia, March 30, 2015 /CNW/ - Mark Crowell has been named the vice president of Innovation and Economic Development at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). As of July 1, 2015, his responsibilities will include the development, management and commercialization of our intellectual property portfolio, the creation and support of new businesses, fostering joint ventures and collaborations with industry partners and enabling a strong culture of entrepreneurship at KAUST. In addition, he will oversee the development and management of KAUST's Research and Technology Park and will help drive the strategic positioning and operation of pre-seed, seed and/or venture funding initiatives.

Crowell has over 25 years of experience as a leader in academic innovation and business development. Throughout his career, he has helped elevate and transform university-based innovation enterprises. The innovation programs he has led have helped to launch more than 135 startup companies and numerous products and services. He has consulted for organizations such as the World Bank, BIO, PhRMA, the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Arkansas Research Alliance, Eva Klein & Associates, Wexford Science + Technology, the Research Triangle Institute and others. Crowell's most recent international consulting work includes innovation capacity building initiatives in Eastern Europe on behalf of the World Bank, innovation policy and best practices advisory projects in South America on behalf of BIO and keynote addresses at international conferences and symposia in Singapore, China, Thailand, Japan and Brazil.  

KAUST President Jean-Lou Chameau stated he is "confident that Mark will provide strong leadership and mentoring to our innovation and economic development team, as well as be an advocate for our faculty and researchers in their commercialization efforts."

"I look forward to building upon the momentum created at KAUST and contributing to the university's vision to be a catalyst for innovation and economic development in Saudi Arabia and the world," Crowell said.

ABOUT MARK CROWELL: 

From 2010-2014, Mark Crowell was the founding Executive Director of UVa Innovation at the University of Virginia. Before working at UVa, Mark served as Vice President for Business Development at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, and Jupiter, Florida, following a long career in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, where he led the innovation, technology transfer and industry research enterprises for Duke University (1987-1992), North Carolina State University (1992-2000), and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2000-2008).  Mark was 2005 President of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), and in 2013 was awarded AUTM's Bayh-Dole Award, the Association's highest award, in recognition of his untiring efforts to foster and promote intellectual property activities on behalf of the university and nonprofit community.

ABOUT KAUST: 

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is an international, graduate-level research university located on the shores of the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia. KAUST is dedicated to advancing science and technology through interdisciplinary research, education and innovation. Goal-oriented and curiosity-driven research is conducted by students, faculty, scientists and engineers to address the world's pressing scientific and technological challenges related to food, water, energy and the environment. KAUST seeks to contribute to the transformation of Saudi Arabia to a knowledge-based economy, promoting economic development and achieving the widest public benefit. http://www.kaust.edu.sa

SOURCE King Abdullah University of Science & Technology