Dear Colleagues:
I am pleased to announce the second round of the Harvard University Technology Development Accelerator Fund. I am delighted to say that the first round, held in 2007, was greeted by the faculty with great enthusiasm. A total of 6 projects were funded at a cumulative level of $1.3M, and one of these projects was recently the subject of an agreement with industry largely because Accelerator funding helped advance it to the "take off" point where it became possible to place it with a strong partner who is continuing to fund it. This provides early and compelling validation of the Accelerator model.
As many of you already know, the Accelerator is an innovative program designed to fund early stage applied and translational research with manifest commercial potential. Providing critical support to advance potentially important but nascent technologies is key, given the absence of early stage funding from industry sources. Funds will be allocated on an annual basis, and are available to researchers who fulfill the following criteria: have rights as a principal investigator, are employed by Harvard University, and are conducting research in the life sciences.
This year, a total of $1.25 million will be allocated, with the hope that the program might expand in the future. We expect the Accelerator to be an "evergreen" fund, meaning that a portion of future revenue and licensing proceeds generated by technologies supported by the Accelerator will be cycled back to the Fund to help sustain it, and in turn, to help sustain future innovations at Harvard in perpetuity.
The Accelerator Fund will be managed by the Office of Technology Development, in consultation with an external advisory committee appointed by the Provost. Recipients will be chosen based on the scientific merit and technology transfer potential of their proposals, with the application process for the current academic year beginning immediately. For additional information on the Accelerator and the application process, please refer to the guidelines posted below on this web site.
As one of the world's foremost research universities, Harvard has a special obligation to foster the development and translation of promising new technologies for the benefit of the public and society at large. I encourage our scientific community to take advantage of this funding opportunity, and look forward to the continued success of this exciting venture.
Sincerely,
Steven E. Hyman
