About DeepTechU Conference 2022
DeepTechU Conference 2022 is a first-of-its-kind venture conference showcasing deep-tech innovation and companies emerging from research universities and national labs in the greater Midwest.
Taking place May 3-5, 2022, the three-day, the all-virtual conference will feature multiple panels and keynotes, and showcase some of the most innovative deep tech companies in the following industry tracks: energy, hardware/software, industrial, and life sciences.
DeepTechU is organized by the University of Chicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which has a 25-year successful track record of applying world-class business expertise from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business to bring new ideas and groundbreaking innovations to market.
The all-virtual conference is presented in collaboration with Centrepolis Accelerator at Lawrence Technological University, Chain Reaction Innovations at Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Indiana University, Innovation Crossroads at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, The Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship at The Ohio State University, Purdue University Northwestern University, Rutgers University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Iowa, University of Minnesota, and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF).
Schedule
DAY 1: Tuesday, May 3, 2022
| 9:30 – 9:37 a.m. CDT | Opening and Welcome Remarks Dan Sachs Executive Director, Education, and Programs, Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Juan de Pablo Executive Vice President for Science, Innovation, National Laboratories, and Global Initiatives, University of Chicago |
| 9:45 – 10:30 a.m. CDT | Panel “Sourcing Deals: The Pipeline of University-Based Research in Deep Tech” Jay Schrankler (Moderator) / Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Associate Vice President and Head Nichole Mercier / Washington University at St. Louis Assistant Vice-Chancellor and Managing Director for Technology Transfer Alicia Loffler / Northwestern University Associate Provost/Associate VP/Executive Director of Innovation and New Ventures Office Kelly Sexton / University of Michigan Associate VP for Research, Tech Transfer, and Innovation Partnerships Erik Iverson / Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Panel Chief Executive Officer |
| 10:30 – 11:15 a.m. CDT | Panel “Partnerships and Innovation” Paul Corson, Moderator/University of Utah Deputy Director; Partners for Innovation, Ventures, Outreach & Technology (PIVOT Center) Mohammad Shahidehpour/Illinois Institute of Technology Professor and Director, Robert W. Galvin Center for Electricity Innovation Simran Trana/Indiana University Associate VP, Innovation and Commercialization Laura Appenzeller/University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Research Park Executive Director Cheryl Turnbull/The Ohio State University Senior Director of the Kennan Center for Entrepreneurship |
11:15 – 11:20 a.m. CDT 11:20 – 11:50 a.m. CDT | Keynote Address Deep Tech and the Great Wave of Innovation Nancy Sullivan/Illinois Ventures CEO and Managing Director Paul Alivisatos /University of Chicago President |
| 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. | Lunch Break |
| Pitch Presentations Energy and Hardware/Software Verticals (9 minutes pitches, no Q&A) Great Lakes Crystal Technologies (energy) Vitus Solace (energy) Eonix Energy (energy) C-Motive Technologies, Inc. (energy) memQ (harware/Software) TERRACOH (energy) Fertility Basics (hardware/software) Simsi qBraid (hardware/software) Ohmic (hardware/software) Resynergi, Inc. (energy) CoinFX (hardware/software) DynamiQ (hardware/software) Influit Energy (energy) Margik (Energy) |
DAY 2: Wednesday, May 4, 2022
9:31 – 9:37 a.m. CDT 9:37 – 9:45 a.m. CDT | Opening and Welcome Remarks Julie Schuster/World Business Chicago Venture Program Manager Bill Jackson /Discovery Partners Institute Executive Director |
9:45 – 10:30 a.m. CDT | Panel 1 Discussion Securing Venture Capital Investments to Fund Your Innovation Margarita Chavez, Moderator/Abbvie Ventureso Managing Director Stephanie Wisner/Centivax Co-founder; Forbes 30 under 30 Gerald Beechum/WorkBox Managing Director Jamie Kasuboski/OMX Ventures Venture Investor Leon Chen/The Column Group Partner |
| 10:30 – 11:15 a.m. CDT | Panel Discussion 2 Trends in SBIR/STTR Pat Dillon, Moderator/Minnesota SBIR/STTR Accelerator Founder and Director Anna Lisa Somera/Rhaeos CEO | SBIR/STTR Grant Mentor (Argonne National Laboratory) John Williams/US Small Business Administration Director of Innovation and Technology (SES) Becky Aistrup/BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting Managing Partner Josh Nichol-Caddy/University of Nebraska Technology Commercialization Director |
11:15 – 11:20 a.m. CDT 11:20 – 12:00 p.m. CDT | Keynote Address Topic TBD Megan Clifford/Argonne National Laboratory Associate Laboratory Director Andrea Belz/National Science Foundation Division Director at Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships |
| 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. | Lunch Break |
| Pitch Session Presentations Industrial/Life Sciences Verticals (9-minute pitches, no Q&A) MFNS Tech, Inc. (industrial) Deminsion Inx (life sciences) |
DAY 3: Thursday, May 5, 2022
9:31 – 9:37 a.m. CDT 9:37 – 9:45 a.m. CDT | Opening and Welcome Remarks Securing Venture Capital Investments to Fund Your Innovation TJ Augustine University of Illinois at Chicago Vice Chancellor for Innovation Rashid Bashir University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Dean, The Grainger College of Engineering; Professor of Bioengineering |
| 9:45 – 10:30 a.m. CDT | Panel Discussion 1 Industry Insights: The Future of Deep Tech is Here Lee Jones, Moderator/Rebotix Founder, President and CEO Danny Sachs/University of Minnesota Earle E. Bakken Medical Device Center Director, Innovation Fellows Leadership Dimitra Georganopoulou/Qral Group General Partner – Qral Ventures Pranav Gokhale/Super.tech CEO and Cofounder |
| 10:30 – 11:15 a.m. CDT | Panel Discussion 2 Topic on Immunotherapy Michael Salgaller/National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute Supervisory Invention Development and Marketing Specialist Emmanuel Akporiaye/Veana Therapeutics Founder and CEO Elizabeth Cho-Fertikh/Meda Angels Co-founder and CEO Thomas Gajewski/University of Chicago Medicine Abbvie Foundation Professor of Cancer Immunotherapy |
11:15 – 11:20 a.m. CDT 11:20 – 12:00 p.m. CDT | Fireside Chat Brad Henderson/P33 Chief Executive Officer Kayla Lee/IBM Quantum Product Manager, Strategic Alliances |
| 2:00 – 1:00 p.m. | Lunch Break |
| Pitch Presentations Life Sciences Vertical (9-minute pitches, no Q&A) 4SR Biosciences Confluence Pharma HeioThera Inomagen Therapeutics Vascugen, Inc. NovoClade, Inc. Sensona, Inc. Cogen Bioscience, Inc. Cayuga Biotech |
Link for more information or to register for the event: