U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY VISITS BATTELLE

Battelle President and CEO Jeff Wadsworth Appointed to National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Battelle President and CEO Jeff Wadsworth, a member of the newly formed National Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, today will host a roundtable discussion on commercialization and innovation with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.

 

The roundtable discussions will focus on public-private collaborations to advance commercialization of key technologies. Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman and leaders of Columbus’s businesses will participate in the discussion. Secretary Locke also will view examples of Battelle’s technology transfer successes such as the new, replacement display units for Blackhawk helicopters that are designed to help the U.S. Army extend the life of aging aircraft and save money.  He also will learn about a Battelle manufactured pCO2 monitor that measures environmental factors in the world’s oceans and advances research into climate change. 

 

Dr. Wadsworth recently was appointed by Secretary Locke to the prestigious National Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The group will support President Obama's innovation strategy by helping to develop policies that foster entrepreneurship and by identifying new ways to take great ideas from the lab to the marketplace to drive economic growth and create jobs. Secretary Locke said the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship will help build on President Obama’s aggressive agenda to commercialize significant inventions. The President’s 2011 budget increases funding for civilian research and development by $3.7 billion.

 

“I’m honored to be on the Council and addressing a topic that is key to America’s future,” Wadsworth said. “Being in the ‘Business of Innovation,’ we at Battelle are very focused on the health of the national innovation enterprise.  While I believe that we have many reasons to be concerned, there also are many opportunities to renew our nation’s leadership in science and technology and to meet our most pressing challenges.”

 

In its 80-year history, Battelle has become world renowned for its innovations and inventions. The organization’s research and development continues to bring bold ideas to the world and has produced technological leaps represented by such diverse inventions as the office copier, compact discs, the universal product code, cruise control, deicing fluids and photovoltaic cells for solar energy.

 

As the world’s largest, independent research and development organization, Battelle provides innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing needs through its four global businesses:  Laboratory Management, National Security, Energy Technology, and Health and Life Sciences.  It advances scientific discovery and application by conducting $5.6 billion in global R&D annually through contract research, laboratory management and technology commercialization.  Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Battelle oversees 20,400 employees in more than 130 locations worldwide, including seven national laboratories which Battelle manages or co-manages for the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and a nuclear energy lab in the United Kingdom.

 

Battelle also is one of the nation’s leading charitable trusts focusing on societal and economic impact and actively supporting and promoting science and math education.

 

Media contacts:

 

Katy Delaney at (614) 424-7208, delaneyk@battelle.org, or T.R. Massey at (614) 424-5544, masseytr@battelle.org.