WBT09 Sponsors

The City of Arlington is an award-winning North Texas City recognized for innovative business practices and its Champion Arlington Economic Development Strategy – the plan for its competitive future.

Business Resource Software, Inc. is the leading provider of marketing and business planning software. BRS products employ expert systems and artificial intelligence technology to create a Knowledge Base of Business Experts. The software products based upon this Knowledge Base provide an evaluation of business conditions and advise the users about situations in their specific business. BRS products are used by thousands of companies in a variety of industries.

The Canadian Consulate General - Dallas is one of the 10 Canadian Consulates General in the United States. The Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., is responsible for our overall bilateral relationship with the United States. The Consulates General are responsible for specific areas in the U.S. and report directly to the Canadian Government in Ottawa. The Consulate General in Dallas covers five states in the U.S. Southwest: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas The portfolio of activities includes managing relations with state governments, promoting academic and cultural exchanges and advocating Canadian policies and economic interests. Business development activities include promoting strategic relationships and encouraging investment and technology transfer.

Capital Formation Institute, Inc. a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was established in 2004 as an independent spin-off from the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds. CFI focuses on research and education on all aspects of early stage investment and enterprise creation, significant and critical elements of success for the nation’s competitive tech-led economy. CFI’s governing Board of Directors are distinguished researchers and practitioners in enterprise creation and capital formation. CFI’s Research Advisory Board are nationally well known professionals in academia and published journals for their research in the applicable fields of study.

Cimarron Capital Partners LLC is the most experienced developer and manager of regionally focused private equity investment programs in the United States.

Fin Econ Partners, Inc provides valuation, market research and competitive intelligence to support intellectual asset management, licensing initiatives and infringement litigation for corporate, legal and inventor clients.

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Consulting Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth. For more information about Frost & Sullivan’s Growth Partnerships, visit http://www.frost.com.

Garland Chamber of Commerce. As a leader and role model of Performance Excellence, the Chamber is the primary force for positive change and growth in Garland. The function of the Chamber is to serve as a catalyst – a vehicle that brings all of the parts together, in order for business people to work in a coordinated effort for the common goals of the community.

The Greater Dallas Chamber Technology Business Council The Technology Business Council’s mission is to develop, promote and sustain the Dallas/Fort Worth region as a global leader in technology talent, innovation, integration and manufacturing.

The Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce, in strategic collaboration with the City of Irving, is the lead organization for Irving’s economic development initiatives.

Grow helps emerging firms access government/private funding, provides expert strategic and tactical business services, and represents them when they cash in on their success.

Industrial Research Institute (IRI) is the nation's leading association of 200+ companies and federal laboratories working together to improve their R&D capabilities. IRI means innovation.

The Licensing Executives Society (U.S.A. and Canada), Inc. is a professional society comprised of over 6,000 members engaged in the transfer, use, development, manufacture and marketing of intellectual property.

Medical Production Innovation is a networked consulting firm specialized in creating strategies for developing medical inventions into successful commercial products.

The Metroplex Technology Business Council (MTBC) is the largest technology trade association in Texas dedicated to the promotion of the high tech industry in the Dallas/Fort Worth region.

MindForce Consulting is a uniquely modern professional services organization. We orchestrate and integrate talent to provide clients with a top-tier project team, product or service clarity, market-focus execution and/or financing. Our two business units provide a range of talent and consulting solutions at each stage of a company's growth life-cycle. We are powered by a central management team and a select group of experienced Independent Consultants & Entrepreneurs from around the globe. Our consultants average 22 years of experience and hail from the world's best business schools.

MRUN was established in 2002 as an alliance of university business development professionals dedicated to facilitating growth of technology spinout companies through start–up formation. MRUN is built around the idea that regional cooperation in new business formation can foster commercialization of university research. To that end, representatives involved with startup business formation at several Midwest research institutions chose to leverage their relative geographic proximity and began meeting quarterly to explore cooperative options. The early MRUN members were from eight Midwest states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. Today MRUN member institutions from throughout the original eight state region and beyond work together informally to address common problems in startup business development and exchange information about angel and seed-stage financing, placement of management talent, and opportunities for collaboration

NanoHoldings LLC has worked with preeminent scientists from the world’s top research universities since 2003, investing $15 million in 14 nano energy companies. These companies are working to resolve the critical problems associated with energy generation, storage, transmission and conservation. NanoHoldings believes that, by partnering with scientists and focusing on these key challenges, the company will provide exceptional returns to investors.

National Science Foundation supports basic scientific and engineering research and to promote science and engineering education. A small portion of NSF resources also funds advanced applied research.

NineSigma partners with Global 1000 companies to transform their innovation capabilities by connecting them with the very best innovators from around the world. NineSigma’s proprietary process for Open Innovation enables companies to dramatically improve speed to market while lowering product development costs. NineSigma’s open network of innovators is the largest of its kind and spans industries, geographies, and technical disciplines. Companies such as P&G, GlaxoSmithKline, DuPont, Kraft, General Mills and Unilever engage NineSigma to build new innovation capabilities that leverage research and innovation globally to deliver greater value to their customers. For more information visit: www.ninesigma.com.

Opportunity Houston. The Houston region has world-class infrastructure, and is connected, innovative and welcoming. As a fast-growing technology center, the region has everything you need – a work force of more than 2 million, real estate priced below the national average, a solid transportation infrastructure, appealing business incentives and wage rates that help companies compete around the world.

Research Texas Inc. is an innovative magazine publication covering ongoing research achievements, inventions, patents and programs promoting success to a worldwide audience.

Roche Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world’s leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. As a supplier of innovative products and services for the early detection, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, the Group contributes on a broad range of fronts to improving people’s health and quality of life. Additional information about the Roche Group is available on the Internet at www.roche.com.

Sematech is the world's catalyst for accelerating the commercialization of technology innovations into manufacturing solutions. By setting global direction, creating opportunities for flexible collaboration, and conducting strategic R&D, SEMATECH delivers significant return on investment to our semiconductor and emerging technology partners. Semiconductor and emerging technology research is both high cost and high risk. Our membership represents about half of the world's semiconductor production, and in addition we have built a global network of alliances with equipment and material suppliers, universities, research institutes, consortia, start-up companies, and government partners.

Technology Transfer Tactics provides in-depth guidance designed to hasten and streamline the commercialization process, as well as maximize the financial benefits of that process for your organization. To join the mailing list and receive a free copy of Technology Transfer Tactics' next issue click here.

TXU Electric Delivery, TXU Corp.'s regulated business segment, TXU Electric Delivery, is an electric distribution and transmission business that complements the competitive operations, using superior asset management skills to provide reliable electricity delivery to consumers. TXU Electric Delivery operates the largest distribution and transmission system in Texas, providing power to 3 million electric delivery points over more than 100,000 miles of distribution and 14,000 miles of transmission lines.

The University of Texas at Dallas - UT Dallas serves the Metroplex and the State of Texas as a global leader in innovative, high quality science, engineering, and business education and research.

University of North Texas Health Science Center leads the state in the greatest increase in research growth over the past four years. Our biomedical science research strengths lie in aging and Alzheimer’s disease, women’s health, diabetes, musculoskeletal medicine, cardiovascular disease, cancer and health disparities. Our new Center for the Commercialization of Fluorescence Technology will provide new advances in biosensing using nanophotonics to enhance our capabilities to detect and prevent disease.

The University of Texas System - Serving the educational and health care needs of Texans for more than 125 years, the UT System is one of the nation's largest higher education systems with 15 campuses – including nine academic and six health institutions – and has an annual operating budget of $10.7 billion (FY 2008) including $2.3 billion in research funded by federal, state, local and private sources. Student enrollment exceeded 190,000 in the 2006 academic year. The UT System confers more than one-third of the state's undergraduate degrees and educates nearly three-fourths of the state's health care professionals annually. With more than 80,000 employees, the UT System is one of the largest employers in the state.

United States Department of Defense is America's oldest and largest company with an annual budget of $371 billion and over 2 million employees. It is composed of 3 military department, 15 defense agencies, and 9 combatant commands. The military departments are responsible for recruiting, training and equipping the forces and the combatant commands are assigned operational control of the forces. The mission of the Department of Defense is to provide the military forces needed to deter war and to protect the security of the United States.