School:Boise State University
Contents
Overview
Boise is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States, and consistently ranks in Forbes' top 10 cities for careers and families. Boise State University serves about 21,000 undergraduates and 3,000 graduate students. Engineering enrollment has grown by 75%, to 2,847 students, over the past five years. Key partners include Micron Technology, a top 5 semiconductor company with headquarters in Boise, NASA, and Idaho National Laboratories.
Recently, Boise become home to a business incubator and annual speaking events including TedX and Ignite Boise. New initiatives at Boise State University include the Venture College, which has launched 17 revenue generating businesses, the College of Innovation and Design, a MakerLab, and the New Product Development Lab, and a $25M Center for Materials Research.
Student Entrepreneurship
Business launched through the Venture College include:
Vivid Roots sells apparel and water bottles. A portion of each sale provides potable water to people in need.
txtENGAGE provide customer relationship and marketing platforms.
Gratis Huminatarian Aid Network distributes medical supplies to remote regions in Eastern and Central Africa.
Adventure Data provides real-time data to improve outdoor sports products.
Whitney Hansen provides finanial consulting with a focus on student debt.
Faculty Entrepreneurship
Dr. Peter Mullner specializes in shape-memory alloys. He recently launched a startup to commercialize solid-state electronic devices based on these materials.
Dr. Yanliang Zhang completed successful prototypes of a thermoelectric device designed to replace alternators in cars. This work, funded by a Department of Energy grant, should improve fuel economy by 10-15%. Hyundai (or Honda?) is currently working to commercialize this device.
Dr. Kevin Learned co-founded Idaho's first commercial software company and its first angel investment group.
Ed Zimmer served as the CEO of ECCO Group as it grew from 20 employees to over 500 employees with plants in Boise, England, and Australia.
University-Industry Collaboration
Stuff here
University Technology Transfer Office
Stuff here
Local and Regional Economic Development
Boise top place to live, growing population, university # of students and employees, plans for future, STEM action center, etc.
