Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Our Commitment

University of Minnesota Technology Commercialization (Tech Comm) is committed to working with all researchers and innovators in its mission to facilitate the transfer of University innovations to the marketplace.

We appreciate that a diversity of experiences, backgrounds, and personal characteristics is essential to our mission. We value innovators from every department and college across the University system as well as every job class. 

We strive to promote a professional culture that emphasizes equity, mutual respect, inclusivity, safety, and support. Tech Comm staff are committed to working together to continuously improve our service to UMN researchers. As part of this commitment, we discuss challenges, set goals, and invest time and effort to actively develop an equitable and inclusive community. In addition, we convene regularly through our DEI Working Group, which is focused on developing a culture of equity through research and discussion of best practices and executing tactics that support innovation and equity. Our mission is affirmed in policies and practices established by the University of Minnesota Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action and the Office of the Vice President and Vice Provost for Equity and Diversity.
 

Diverse Stories of Innovation

• Bridget Ulrich: An Innovator Restoring the Earth
  Bridget Ulrich is working to restore our water resources so they are clean and safe to drink.
• Celebrating Asian/Pacific American Innovators
  Interviews with Arshia Khan and Peng Fang, two Asian/Pacific American innovators we have the honor of working with at the Swenson College of Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD). 
• Emily J. Pomeroy: Innovator Mindset Is Key to Commercialization Success
  UMN grad student Emily J. Pomeroy leveraged her scientific expertise, and a knack for developing new ideas, to innovate new cell therapies for cancer.
• Linda Kinkel: Using Microbes to Produce Healthier Crops
  Plant pathology professor Linda Kinkel used her scientific discoveries to launch a startup company that helps farmers manage crops more sustainably and without using harmful chemicals.
• From Lab to Impact: Alina C. Zdechlik & Gene Delivery Technologies
  Postdoc Alina Zdechlik tapped into the broad network of support and educational opportunities available at the UMN for young innovators to increase her research impact and jump start her career.
• Chan Lan Chun: Environmental Engineer
  Environmental engineer Chan Lan Chun works to remove harmful toxins from Minnesota's freshwater systems in order to preserve and protect our natural ecosystem, including the waterways that support wild rice.
• Beth Lindborg: Helping Those with Osteoarthritis
  Inventor Beth Lindborg is CEO of an early-stage startup company that develops novel treatments for osteoarthritis using stem cells to restore and repair existing joint cartilage.
• Beth Stadler: Nanoheaters for Electronics and Organ Donation
  Professor Beth Stadler invented microscopic nanowires that can be rapidly heated for use in nanoelectronics and potentially help make cryogenically-preserved organs available for donation.
• Qiuge Zhang: Engineering Bacteria to Treat Diseases
  Graduate student Qiuge Zhang develops ways for bacteria to produce and deliver protein drugs to treat human diseases.
• Carrie Haskell-Luevano: Patenting Her Chemical Creations
  Carrie Haskell-Luevano develops novel chemical compounds and molecular tools for healthcare applications.
• Alisha Wackerle-Hollman: Assessing a Child’s Early Literacy Skills
  Alisha Wackerle-Hollman is an innovator and assistant research professor of educational psychology whose research focus is on early childhood development and designing equitable assessments for young preschoolers.
• Yingling Fan: Digitized Activity Data for Behavioral Research
  Yingling Fan is professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and also a technical innovator and startup founder of Daynamica.
• Rhonda Franklin: Expanding Your Network to Innovate & Increase Impact
  This McKnight Presidential Endowed Professor will be celebrating 25 years at the University of Minnesota and has been able to translate her research expertise into working on innovative healthcare problems in the NSF ERC, ATP-BioTM.
• Efraín Torres: Making MRI’s Accessible to All
  Efraín Torres increased the reach and impact of his research by launching a startup company offering affordable, silent, and compact MRI systems.
• Empowering Women's Health Globally: The Vision of Rahel Nardos
  With a career focused on elevating the health of women in underserved communities, Dr. Nardos's works to improve safe surgery for women, especially with pelvic floor surgeries.
   

Resources

Local Resources

• Graduate School Diversity Office
• Minnesota Innovation Corps (MIN-Corps)
• UMN Women’s Innovator Conference
• Women Leading in Technology (WLiT) 

National Resources

• AUTM Women Inventors Toolkit
• AnitaB.org
• Advancing Equity in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VentureWell)

Articles of Interest 

• Female Founders: Dr. Sheilagh Maguiness of Stryke Club On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder (Authority Magazine)
• Who Becomes an Inventor in America? The Importance of Exposure to Innovation (Quarterly Journal of Economics)
• Closing the Gender Gap in Patenting, Innovation, and Commercialization: Programs Promoting Equity and Inclusion (Institute for Women’s Policy Research)
• Technology Transfer in Kentucky with Megan Aanstoos Chair of the AUTM Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (Tech Transfer IP Forum)