Big 12 Attempts To Foster Innovation Among Universities

Thursday, March 1st 2007, 6:14 am

By: News On 6

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ A conference will bring together administrators and researchers from the colleges within the Big 12 Conference and pair them with industry experts and venture capitalists.

The goal of Wednesday's Big 12 Innovation and Capital Formation Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, is to provide a venue to exchange ideas and build working relationships.

The conference is the first major event for the Big 12 Center for Economic Development, Innovation and Commercialization, an organization founded by Texas-based entrepreneurs Pike Powers and Ron Kessler.

Its purpose is to promote university research as a means of spurring economic development in the Midwest.

Conference topics will focus on clean energy, information technology, animal health and food safety, wireless communications, biotechnology and life sciences, and medical devices.