The university has joined a new alliance of upstate New York education, industry and government partners aimed at generating economic success in the western part of the state.

The Upstate Alliance for Education-made up of UB, the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), the University of Rochester (UR), the mayors' offices in Rochester and Buffalo, High Tech of Rochester (HTR), the Western New York Technology Development Center (TDC) and IP.com-has received a $600,000 National Science Foundation grant for a two-year project to enrich entrepreneurial efforts in the region.

The universities will lend expertise and track records in technology development; the mayors will provide leadership in the communities; the state agencies-HTR and TDC-will connect to technology incubators and the private sector, and start-up company IP.com, housed in HTR's technology incubator, will focus on commercializing new products.

The main outcome of the alliance will be a region "in-the-know," excited about innovation and individuals' roles in expanding the economy, says Donald Boyd, associate provost for outreach programs and director of RIT's First in Class Initiative and principal investigator of the NSF-funded proposal.

"We are all committed to this synergistic project," says Boyd, noting the partnership is one part of a greater plan for the whole upstate region. "The alliance focuses on the importance of growing the high-tech job base in Western New York-especially in terms of intellectual property and tech-business start-ups. By working together, we will be able to combine our strengths to bring in more federal dollars-collaboration, we all realize, is key."

The mission of the alliance, the partners say, is to create a regional community of innovators to act as accelerators for commercialization of their discoveries and technologies, thereby energizing upstate New York and strengthening its economy through the creation of new wealth.

The alliance will create a cohesive group of 100 innovators from all segments of the community who will become expert in the innovation process, intellectual property methods and strategies, business start-up models, and community and private sector economic development resources.

"Alliance innovators should be risk-takers themselves, in their research, in their teaching, and in their interactions with the private sector," says Jerry McGuire, director of technology transfer and licensing for the UB Business Alliance.

Another key alliance goal involves creating more collaborative research between alliance schools and small- to mid-size upstate companies. Additionally, communication among the partners will allow opportunities for bundling and licensing technologies to create new firms.