Students to benefit from mentorship and expertise of seasoned entrepreneurs

By Maegan Murray, Ģ������Ƶ

RICHLAND, Wash. – Washington State University Tri-Cities has launched a new Entrepreneurs in Residence program to provide students with direct connections to successful entrepreneurs for mentorship so that students may scale ideas from concepts into reality.

Through the program, students will have the option to meet with entrepreneurs to receive free advice, coaching, as well as networking connections to industry for potential partnerships.

The idea for the program came about as a result of conversations between Ģ������Ƶ Chancellor Sandra Haynes and regional entrepreneurs Paul Carlisle and Christina Lomasney.

“We see an opportunity to build a pipeline of future entrepreneurs starting on the Ģ������Ƶ campus,” Lomasney said. “The pieces are already here: a thriving Tri-Cities economy, a local national laboratory presence, growing venture capital resources and access to a strong academic foundation. We believe Ģ������Ƶ can play an instrumental role in bringing these pieces together to create opportunity for our Cougs, to breed entrepreneurs and to help them take advantage of our unique local resources.”

Carlisle will lead the program at Ģ������Ƶ. He is a graduate of the Ģ������Ƶ Carson College of Business where he developed the business plan for his highly-successful and locally-based technology business, elevate, which provides technology solutions for businesses and organizations across the Pacific Northwest. Carlisle recently announced the sale of his business this month and said he is excited to be a part of the Entrepreneurs in Residence program to give back to students after a career in the tech sector. In addition to his business roles, he serves as an adjunct faculty member with the Ģ������Ƶ Carson College of Business, as well as the Ģ������Ƶ Carson College of Business advisory council. He also received the Sam Volpentest Entrepreneurial Leadership Award in 2016, which recognizes community leaders who provide support to entrepreneurs in the region.

“Over the past 11 years, I have taught entrepreneurial courses around management, marketing and strategy,” he said. “We look to build on the decade of successful coursework in those areas to create wider-reaching pathways that engage students where they are. For example, a young undergraduate, a graduate engineering student and a seasoned business professional would all have a place at the table to access what they need to succeed on their unique journeys.”

Lomasney is volunteering her time as an entrepreneur in residence for the program. She co-founded and served as the company’s president and CEO until 2020. The company partnered with leading Fortune 500 companies to commercialize revolutionary classes of nanostructured metals. Prior to Modumetal, she co-founded Isotron while in graduate school. Through Isotron, she realized a portfolio of advanced materials for environmental remediation and nuclear, biological and chemical defense. Lomasney now serves as an advisor to technology companies in energy, transportation, defense, manufacturing and advanced materials sectors, is a registered patent agent and volunteers as a board director on Washington state’s main initiative to secure critical material supply chains – . She was named by Fortune as one of the “.”

Lomasney said the Ģ������Ƶ program will open an unlimited horizon for business, science and technology students to go beyond learning and to build for a better future.

“I look forward to sharing time enabling students to become better versions of themselves – in tune with the problems of our time and engaged in finding solutions for the future,” she said.

Both Carlisle and Lomasney will spend regular time at Ģ������Ƶ, where in addition to working with business and other classes on campus, they will also meet individually with students and help student groups realize their dreams for projects and concepts.

For more information about the Ģ������Ƶ Entrepreneurs in Residence program, including how to get involved, visit .

 

Media contacts:

• Paul Carlisle, founder of elevate and adjunct faculty with the Ģ������Ƶ Carson College of Business, paul@elevate.net
• Maegan Murray, Ģ������Ƶ director of marketing and communication, 509-372-7333 (office), 619-403-3617 (cell), maegan_murray@wsu.edu

PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University announces the launch of a collaborative program with Amazon titled Amazon Catalyst — a successful innovation grant program.

Amazon will provide up to $300,000 to WSU to launch the initiative, providing funding and mentorship to support bold, globally impactful and disruptive projects proposed by members of the university community. The Amazon Catalyst program will support the expansion of the entrepreneurial ecosystem across the WSU system.

Grants will be available to students, staff and faculty across all of WSU’s campuses, colleges, research stations and extension offices located throughout the state. The grants can be awarded in any field, including the humanities, engineering, physical and life sciences, and the arts. Grant recipients also will join the Amazon Catalyst Fellows, a collaborative community of individuals who share a passion for building solutions to solve complex problems. The grants reward creativity, scholarship, and innovation for devices, products, processes and services.

Amazon first launched Amazon Catalyst at the University of Washington in 2015. In the program’s first two years it funded dozens of projects, ranging from self-cleaning solar panels to eco-friendly self-driving bikes, that tackle difficult challenges.

“We’re excited to bring the Amazon Catalyst program to WSU and to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurial spirit across the entire state of Washington,” said H.B. Siegel, director of engineering at Amazon Web Services, Inc.

“As the state’s research land grant institution, with a mission of supporting and creating innovation that drives the economy of the state of Washington, we are thrilled to have the Amazon Catalyst program at WSU,” said Chris Keane, the university’s vice president of research. “Thousands of exciting ideas are generated across our campuses each year. This program will bring much-needed resources to help translate those ideas into successful endeavors.”

Amazon Catalyst projects must address a key problem faced in the world today. Problems can be diverse and focus on a variety of topics from computer security to immigration to healthcare. Given the complex nature of these issues, the solutions may come from different fields and perspectives. Therefore, grants are open to all members of the university community.

The Amazon Catalyst grant application process kicks off in the fall of 2017, and grants are scheduled to be awarded in early 2018.

 

Media Contacts:

• Ann Goos, director for public affairs, WSU, 206-465-5136, ann.goos@wsu.edu
• Brian Kraft, WSU Office of Research, 509-335-3959, bkraft@wsu.edu
• Marie Mayes, WSU Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, 509-335-5628, mmayes@wsu.edu