LSU's Andrew Maas named chair of global nonprofit AUTM
LSU Associate Vice President for Research Andrew J. Maas
BATON ROUGE – Andrew J. Maas, associate vice president for research overseeing the LSU Office of Innovation & Ecosystem Development, has been named board chair of AUTM, a global nonprofit whose members support the commercialization of academic research.
Maas has more than 16 years of experience in technology licensing and commercialization. He succeeds Almesha L. Campbell, PhD, assistant vice president for research and economic development at Jackson State University. Maas’s term as chair ends in February 2025.
“It’s an honor to be selected, and I’m grateful to AUTM’s board for giving me the opportunity to advance the organization’s goals,” said Maas, who will focus his tenure on expanding tech transfer educational offerings. “This year, we are committed to helping AUTM professionals get the training and education needed in a dynamic profession, when, where, and how they want it.”
“Andy has been a powerful and thoughtful voice on the board,” said AUTM CEO Stephen J. Susalka, PhD. “As the Principal Investigator for a $160M Engines Type 2 grant, Andy is poised at the nexus between commercializing innovations and their regional, societal and economic development impact. The board will be well served with him at the helm.”
“Andy has been a key to LSU's successful efforts to advance the commercialization and technology transfer of the useful solutions that have been discovered and developed by our student and faculty inventors for people and industry everywhere,” said Robert Twilley, LSU vice president of research and economic development. “The innovations that emerge from research universities can have direct impact on the world."
At LSU, Maas’s duties include overseeing the Office of Innovation & Technology Commercialization, helping LSU researchers turn their ideas into meaningful products and businesses; LSU Innovation Park, a business incubator with approximately 40 tech startups as tenants; and the Small Business Development Centers, a state and federally funded Louisiana network to support small businesses. Maas led the effort that resulted in the National Science Foundation making LSU an Innovation Corps site in 2016 and part of the newly established I-Corps Southwest Regional hub in late 2022. I-Corps teaches faculty members how to identify market needs for their research through customer discovery and modify their research to meet those needs.
Maas also spearheaded Future Use of Energy in Louisiana, a statewide effort of more than 50 public and private partners that won the largest and most competitive grant ever awarded by the U.S. National Science Foundation – up to $160 million over 10 years. The NSF grant will support Louisiana’s energy industry, create jobs in the energy sector, develop innovative solutions to energy challenges and help train the world’s energy workforce.
About AUTM
AUTM is the nonprofit leader in efforts to educate, promote and inspire professionals to support the development of academic research that changes the world and drives innovation forward. Our community is composed of more than 3,000 members who work in more than 800 universities, research centers, hospitals, businesses and government organizations around the globe. To learn more about AUTM, visit www.autm.net.
About LSU Innovation
LSU Innovation unites the university’s innovation and commercialization resources under one office, maximizing LSU's impact on the intellectual, economic, and social development of Louisiana and beyond. LSU Innovation focuses on establishing, developing, and growing technology-based startup companies. LSU Innovation oversees LSU Innovation Park, a 200-acre business incubator that fosters early-stage tech companies, and the Office of Innovation & Technology Commercialization, which streamlines the process of evaluating, protecting, and licensing intellectual property created by LSU researchers. LSU Innovation serves as the host organization for the Louisiana Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network which oversees all SBDC services across the state as well as the LSU SBDC, which provides free consulting services to small businesses across the state. LSU Innovation helps Louisiana technology companies apply for seed funding through the federal Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer grant programs. LSU Innovation educates faculty, students, and the community on entrepreneurial principles through the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program which trains innovators to consider the market opportunities for pressing scientific questions, leading to increased funding state and federal grant programs as well as potential industry partners and licensees.
Latest LSU News
- LSU Mechanical Engineering Instructor Creates ASPIRE Course for EducatorsLook! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…a drone. Drones are literally taking off and LSU Mechanical Engineering Senior Instructor Andrew Becnel wants students to keep up. Becnel, who is a graduate of LSU’s Mechanical Engineering program and has a master’s degree and Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland, understands the importance of drone technology, especially in Louisiana.
- John Nauright, PhD, Named Director of the LSU School of KinesiologyThe LSU College of Human Sciences & Education announces John Nauright, PhD, as director of the LSU School of Kinesiology and will also serve as the Karen Wax Schmitt and Family Endowed Professor. Nauright will assume his role on June 1.
- LSU Research Team Working to Increase Supply of Affordable, Resilient Housing in High-Risk Areasith hurricane season around the corner, a team of LSU researchers is exploring the feasibility of FORTIFIED® elevated manufactured homes as a solution for lower- and middle-income residents in high-risk areas. The outcomes of the project have the potential to enhance housing supply significantly, particularly in areas prone to natural disasters, offer greater safety to residents, and reduce burden on the National Flood Insurance Program and other disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief endeavors.
- Two LSU Manship School Students Win Hearst Journalism Awards in Audio, Sports Writing CompetitionsThe Hearst Journalism Awards Program, known for recognizing excellence in college-level journalism, has announced its latest round of winners, and two students from LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication have reason to celebrate.
- LSU Recognizes 2024 Distinguished Dissertation AwardeesEach year, the LSU Alumni Association and the LSU Pinkie Gordon Lane Graduate School recognize two LSU doctoral students whose research and writing demonstrate superior scholarship.
- LSU Names Vicki Colvin New Dean of the College of EngineeringLSU has named Baton Rouge native Vicki Colvin the dean of the College of Engineering, effective August 1, pending approval by the LSU Board of Supervisors. Colvin is currently the Vernon Krieble Professor of Chemistry and Engineering at Brown University and Director of Biomedical Engineering.