Washington and the Innovation Ecosystem
GoGreen Seattle
April 30, 2015
Vikram Jandhyala
Vice Provost for Innovation @ UW
Executive Director, CoMotion
Mission
We deliver tools and connections that the UW community needs to accelerate
the impact of their innovations.
Vision
We will be the collaborative hub for expanding the societal impact of the UW
community by developing and connecting to local and global innovation
ecosystems.
UW is Outstanding in Many Metrics
$1.4B
Highest federally
funded state
university.
Second highest
overall.
Ranked
8-15
$12.5B
World ranking of
research impact.
Economic impact
to the State of
Washington.
THE UW IS A HUB FOR
NORTHWEST START-UPS
UW RESEARCH GENERATED MANY OF WASHINGTON’S
SUCCESSFUL TECHNOLOGY AND LIFE SCIENCE COMPANIES
UW IS THE LEADING SOURCE OF LIFE
SCIENCE COMPANIES IN THE NORTHWEST,
AND SECOND ONLY TO MICROSOFT AS THE
ORIGIN OF TECHNOLOGY START-UPS
© University of Washington CoMotion. All rights reserved.
How Do We Evolve?
How do we take these resources
and focus outward to grow and
connect to local and global
innovation ecosystems?
How do we provide an opportunity
for UW community across the
board to experience entrepreneurial
thinking and innovation readiness?
How Do We Evolve?
How do we take these resources
and focus outward to grow and
connect to local and global
innovation ecosystems?
How do we provide an opportunity
for UW community across the
board to experience entrepreneurial
thinking and innovation readiness?
Grow programs,
spaces, and
resources to
scale impactful
innovation
U-District ! Innovation District
Maker
Spaces
Incubators
Start-Up
Hall
Urban@UW
Industry
Partnerships
Programs
Innovation Ecosystems
Innovation Density
Innovation Districts
Inclusive Innovation
img_brookings_innovation_map.png
COLLECTIVELY COLLABORATIVELY Enhance
Strategic Relations with
External Partners
Student Experience
Faculty Opportunities
UW Innovations into the Community
Cross-Boundary Interactions
Innovation Ecosystem
Models for Open Innovation
How do we best mix and
match ideas,
technologies, and people
from UW with synergistic
opportunities outside UW
http://www.maat-g.com/file/25893/
The Innovation Ecosystem
Synergistically connecting with investors,
companies, startups, entrepreneurs, govt, alumni,
community
Be a strong part of building the next “RainForest”
in Greater Seattle and Washington State
Every major innovation ecosystem has at least
one top research university as a key partner and
constituent
http://ghostnews.lanternghosttours.com/wp-content/uploads/rainforests-can-be-spooky-places-atthe-best-of-times-and-even-mor_159_65129_0_14099571_700-660x330.jpg
PNWTOX (Pacific Northwest Toxins) Project
UW oceanographers have developed a computer model
to track when harmful algae will get carried to Washington
and Oregon beaches.
The computer model uses sensors that track ocean
conditions, then combines them with weather forecasts to
generate an ocean prediction for the next few days.
Better predictions for when toxic algae may hit can
prevent last-minute beach closures, and could give
shellfish growers time to prepare and harvest clams
before they become contaminated.
http://www.washington.edu/news/2014/09/04/predicting-when-toxic-algae-will-reach-washingtonand-oregon-coasts/
Former UW doctoral student Amy
MacFadyen (left) deploys instruments to
measure harmful algae off the Washington
coast.
Popcorn-ball design doubles efficiency of
dye-sensitized solar cells
By using a popcorn-ball design – tiny kernels
clumped into much larger porous spheres –
researchers at the University of Washington are able
to manipulate light and more than double the
efficiency of converting solar energy to electricity.
With the popcorn-ball design, results show an
efficiency of 6.2 percent, more than double the
previous performance, using only small particles,
which was 2.4 percent.
Next, they began working on transferring this
concept to titanium oxide based dye-sensitized solar
cells to increase the efficiency past 11 percent.
http://www.washington.edu/news/2008/04/10/popcorn-ball-design-doubles-efficiency-of-dyesensitized-solar-cells/
UW-made tool displays West Coast ocean
acidification data
UW oceanographer and technicians secure NOAA
ocean-acidification sensors to a solar-powered
monitoring buoy in Hood Canal’s Dabob Bay.
The IOOS (Integrated Ocean Observing
System) Pacific Region Ocean Acidification Data
Portal is now a go-to source for ocean acidification
data along the West Coast.
The tool offers real-time ocean chemistry data for the
coast and some Pacific islands, and in protected
bays at shellfish hatcheries in Washington, Oregon,
Alaska and California.
Shellfish growers can use the data to decide when to
grow larvae, when to set baby oysters out into the
field, and when to draw the thousands of gallons of
seawater they need to fill their tanks.
http://www.washington.edu/news/2014/11/21/uw-made-tool-displays-west-coast-oceanacidification-data/
Cyclops 1: five-person submarine
UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory and Everett-based
company OceanGate unveiled the first model of its joint
project to build a new type of submarine for human
research and exploration in the deep sea.
This is the Applied Physics Laboratory’s first project that
can take humans far below the water’s surface.
Cyclops 1 goes down to 1,640 feet (half a kilometer) with
one pilot and up to four passengers who can look out the
vehicle’s single big window.
The vehicle is eventually intended to be rented to clients
for research, resource exploration, photography or even
tourism.
http://www.washington.edu/news/blog/uw-and-local-company-unveil-new-five-person-submarine/
The “Millennium Falcon”
Researchers still don’t fully understand how animals
and fish will be affected by ocean energy equipment,
and this instrument seeks to identify risks that could
come into play in a long-term marine renewable energy
project.
The robot will deploy instruments to gather information
in unprecedented detail about how marine life interacts
with underwater equipment used to harvest wave and
tidal energy:
- Stereo camera to collect photos and video
- Sonar system
- Hydrophones to hear marine mammal activity
- Sensors to gauge water quality and speed
- Click detector to listen for whales and dolphins
http://www.washington.edu/news/2015/02/05/new-tool-monitors-effects-of-tidal-wave-energyinstruments-on-marine-habitat/
The Bulli) Center Image: Architectural Record
“The greenest commercial building in the world.”
- http://www.bullittcenter.org/
© UW Integrated Design Lab, 2014 Achieving Sustainable Impact
Innovation to real societal impact
Broad and diverse
Seattle and Washington State
Partners in a growing innovation ecosystem