News releases

January 28, 2020

François Baneyx named UW Vice Provost for Innovation at inaugural meeting of UW Innovation Roundtable

François Baneyx has been named Vice Provost for Innovation at the University of Washington, Provost Mark Richards announced yesterday at the inaugural meeting of the UW Innovation Roundtable. Baneyx was appointed Interim Vice Provost for Innovation in July 2019.

Baneyx is also director of CoMotion, UW’s collaborative innovation hub dedicated to expanding the economic and societal impact of the UW community. In addition, he is the Charles W.H. Matthaei Professor of Chemical Engineering and an adjunct professor of Bioengineering, and the director of the Center for the Science of Synthesis Across Scales, a multi-institution Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the Department of Energy.

As Vice Provost for Innovation, Baneyx drives the long-term strategy and vision for UW’s innovation imperative. He helps promote the economic and societal impact of the university’s innovation activities, as well as explore and leverage emerging opportunities and global strategic partnerships that benefit UW’s innovation ecosystem.

“François will lead the critical work of expanding the economic and social impact of our University’s innovators, and I am deeply grateful to him for bringing his creativity, expertise and commitment to this endeavor,” Richards said.

The position reports directly to the Provost and is part of the President’s Cabinet.

On Monday, January 27, the University of Washington launched its inaugural Innovation Roundtable. Co-chaired by Baneyx and Bryan White, founder of Sahsen Ventures, the UW Innovation Roundtable represents a cross-section of the regional investment and economic development community, including leading venture capitalists, angel investors and innovation leaders. Its aim is to optimize technology transfer effectiveness, create a vibrant life science innovation ecosystem, and identify opportunities for private/public partnerships to advance UW’s economic and societal impact.

“I am very pleased to partner with such a fantastic group of people to help us continue to grow the innovation ecosystem at the UW and beyond,” Baneyx said. “I look forward to learning from them and am excited to see the positive results this group will yield.”

Innovation Roundtable members serve as UW innovation ambassadors in the broader community, providing connections and ideas that may further the university’s innovation strategies. Members include:

• Adriane Brown, venture partner, Flying Fish
• Neal Dempsey, managing general partner, Bay Partners
• Chris DeVore, managing partner, Founders Co-Op
• Emer Dooley, executive director, Alliance of Angels Seed Fund; Faculty Fellow, Foster School of Business
• Greg Gottesman, co-founder and managing director, Pioneer Square Labs
• Mike Halperin, co-chair, UW General Campaign
• Ron Howell, CEO, Washington Research Foundation
• Charlotte Hubbert, partner, Gates Foundation Venture Capital
• Matt McIlwain, managing director, Madrona Venture Group
• Bill McAleer, founder and managing director, Voyager Capital
• Amit Mital, CEO and founder, Kernel Labs
• Susan Preston, managing member, SeaChange Fund, Seattle Angel Fund, and Element 8 Fund
• Sheila Remes, vice president of strategy, Boeing Commercial Airplanes
• Linden Rhoads, former vice provost of the UW Center for Commercialization
• Julie Sunderland, managing director, BioMatics Capital
• Tachi Yamada, venture partner, Frazier Healthcare Partners

Ex-Officio Members:

• Ana Mari Cauce, UW president
• Mark Richards, UW provost

 

Tag(s): CoMotion • Francois Baneyx

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