Headlines
A-B Tech Receives More Than $445,000 in NCCCS BioNetwork Grant Awards
Bailey Congratulates New UNC Asheville Chancellor
TCC To Be Managed By Technology 2020
A-B Tech at the Mall is Official
A-B Tech Drama Seen and Heard Around Town
A-B Tech Fall Festival
Foundation Fundraiser at The Market Place
Jump Start Your Business Day
A-B Tech Well Represented at African-American and Latino Conference
A-B Tech Faculty and Staff to Present at N.C. Community College Conference
Professional Development Opportunities for October
Service-Learning Students Work In Edible Garden
- Tech Notes
A-B Tech Receives More Than $445,000 in NCCCS BioNetwork Grant Awards
A-B Tech's Biotechnology laboratory will benefit from grants awarded in the 2006 grant cycle for the NCCCS BioNetwork.
A-B Tech has received grants of $445,741 to establish a natural products laboratory and to purchase laboratory equipment in the 2006 grant cycle for the North Carolina Community College System BioNetwork.
A comprehensive natural products curriculum proposal has been recommended for full funding of $38,123 as part of the innovation fund awards.
An additional $407,618 equipment grant was awarded for the Biotechnology department to establish a Natural Products Quality Branch Laboratory and for the Biology and Biotechnology departments to purchase equipment for curriculum courses.
"The Biotech innovation grant will allow the Small Business Center to produce a curriculum for natural products," Russ Yelton, Small Business Center and Incubator director, said. "We will be able to assist people to determine what natural products can be produced from the area and how to market and sell items."
The curriculum program will also allow access to the new lab where students will learn some of the basic methods for testing for impurities in the laboratory environment.
"While natural products have long been a hot topic in the Western North Carolina area, this is the first time that the College has received funds to support a curriculum to produce such endeavors. We are excited to support this initiative and the jobs it will create," Yelton said.
"The equipment grant will allow the Biotechnology and Biology departments to purchase or replace equipment used in the laboratory experience students receive," Toby Mapes, Biotechnology chair, said. "The Biology Department will receive 12 new microscopes for the labs. The Biotechnology Department will obtain a filter cassette used for cell harvesting/protein purification and concentration."
The second equipment grant will be used to establish the Natural Products Quality Branch (NPQB) of the Technology Commercialization Center's core laboratory. Equipment to be purchased includes a gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy and a mass spectroscopy for an existing high pressure liquid chromatography system. Both systems are used for the identification and quantitation of natural products and pesticides.
"This demonstrates the BioNetwork's support of activities at A-B Tech," Jon Lawrie, BioBusiness Center manager, said. "There were competitive grant proposals and it was outstanding that A-B Tech received three of them. It's a way to support people in the community who use herbs and a way to support and educate people in the herbal industry. We hope several herbal businesses would like to use the equipment on a regular basis."
The biotech industry is growing by an estimated 3,000 jobs annually, of which 2,000 require education and training at the community college level.
BioNetwork has funded 142 grants since its inception in 2004, totaling more than $12.2 million. The grant process is competitive and review panels are comprised of representatives from industry, the State Board of Community Colleges, the N.C. Biotechnology Center, and the N.C. Community College System office.
Bailey Congratulates New UNC Asheville Chancellor
A-B Tech President K. Ray Bailey congratulates Anne Ponder before her installation as UNC Asheville's sixth chancellor Sept. 15 on the UNC Asheville campus.
TCC To Be Managed By Technology 2020
A-B Tech has entered into an agreement with Technology 2020 to manage its Technology Commercialization Center (TCC) on the Enka campus. This program was made possible, in part, by a grant of $200,000 from Buncombe County.
Located within A-B Tech's Small Business Center Incubator, the TCC has been established to help create, develop, and mentor technology-based companies in Buncombe County.
"We are very excited about this opportunity to bring more technology-based businesses to our county. This is the future and we are happy to be partner with A-B Tech in making this happen," said David Young, Buncombe County Commissioner.
The Center will provide the expertise, programs, training, and access to capital that will enable technology-based clients of the A-B Tech incubator to reach their full potential.
"I am delighted that the partnership between the Buncombe County Commissioners, Technology 2020 and A-B Tech has been finalized," A-B Tech President K. Ray Bailey said.
"The Technology Commercialization Center has the potential to bring strong, new small businesses to the area to enhance economic development," he said.
The Center will work with clients to create an execution plan to achieve both the short-term and long-term goals of their business. More than a business plan, the execution plan contains the technology development roadmap, market research, sales plan, capitalization plan, partnership and alliance analysis, organization, and financials that are required to prepare the company for sustainability or investment by potential capital financiers.
"We provide our program clients with the management training and coaching that they need to build sustainable companies," said Bob Wilson, executive director of the TCC.
Wilson tailored the TCC program from one that was developed at the Center for Entrepreneurial Growth at Tech 2020, a non-profit business development organization in Knoxville, TN. Joining Wilson is Todd Fisher as director of the TCC. Fisher has held senior management positions at Fortune 50 technology-based corporations, start-ups, and as a business consultant.
Max Queen, vice president of Continuing Education, said Technology 2020 will perform four services to ensure success of the project. The services are the Technology Commercialization Center Program, entrepreneurial management development training, TCC commercialization funds, and supporting programs.
"TCC will screen potential companies, assess their current stage of development, and then develop a formal plan to move them through the various stages of growth until they reach graduation criteria," said Queen.
Tech 2020 will staff, manage and deploy the program while A-B Tech will provide the actual facilities and infrastructure services needed to implement the programs.
For more information, contact the Technology Commercialization Center at 254-1921, ext. 5855.