Keith D. Strassner, director of UMR's Office of Technology Commercialization and Economic Development -- OTCED for short -- wants to foster a "culture of entrepreneurship" on campus to help move UMR's applied research out of the labs and into the marketplace.

Strassner addressed the University of Missouri Board of Curators this afternoon as part of a session on the university's role in economic development. He described his office's mission as creating a "center of excellence" for technology-based economic development and pointed to UMR's development of a chrome-free inhibitor that is now being used to help prime the Air Force's entire fleet of F-15s.

"We have one of the finest R&D organizations in the state and nation across many technologies and markets," Strassner said. "What we were missing was the marketing department to bring this technology into the marketplace." The OTCED, he added, "provides that front door" to sell UMR research. "This allows us to work with faculty and student entrepreneurs as well as small and large business to accelerate the creation of business opportunities."