The new office will pool and provide resources related to entrepreneurship, intellectual property and technology commercialization by facilitating communication between undergraduates and the College's graduate schools. The office seeks to foster a culture of entrepreneurship and expand the breadth of activities and opportunities for community members interested in entrepreneurship.
The office will oversee several existing entrepreneurial and technological organizations, including the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network, regional technology center and technology transfer office.
As one of their first responsibilities, Gerngross and Davis will work with the Provost's Office to form a steering committee to oversee the new office. They will also create faculty and commercial advisory councils.
The startups allowed Gerngross to transform his academic discoveries into "technological developments of real value and impact for patients," he said.
Davis and Gerngross intend to create an "entrepreneurial ecosystem" for all stakeholders at Dartmouth, including faculty members and undergraduate students, Davis said.
Dartmouth already possesses valuable resources to reach this goal, including strong science departments, a small size that expedites collaboration between community members, a wide alumni base and generous policies for intellectual property inventors, Davis said.
"We want to ensure that what we do with respect to entrepreneurship is integral to Dartmouth's mission of providing education, obligation to improve society and priority to attract and retain talented faculty, staff and students," Davis said. "In today's world of innovation and entrepreneurial venture, we want to make sure Dartmouth has an organized approach to this area."
Davis, who founded two successful travel technology companies and taught entrepreneurship classes at UVA, said he will apply his knowledge and skills gained from the field to his new appointment. He said he is excited to work with Gerngross, who he described as "the prototypical entrepreneurial tri-athlete" because of his skills as a scholar, teacher and entrepreneur.
In his role, Davis will devise a unified vision and strategy for the office, and build infrastructure and relationships.
Founding director of the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network and Tuck School of Business professor Gregg Fairbrothers said he sees the office's creation and Gerngross and Davis' appointments as an "exciting, encouraging expansion" of Dartmouth's support for entrepreneurs.
Alla Kan, director of the technology transfer office, said the office of entrepreneurship and technology transfer is an "umbrella organization" to coordinate and complement existing resources. The technology transfer office helps students receive patents and licenses for products that they develop.
The office of entrepreneurship and technology transfer is "absolutely necessary" to promote entrepreneurship at the College, which has not provided entrepreneurs with centralized resources, said Riley Ennis '15, who co-founded Mitosis, a resource network that assists student entrepreneurs.
"The problem at Dartmouth is that those resources are scattered all over the place," Ennis said. "The new office is a very positive change and a step in the right direction in that we now have point people like professors and administrators to create a sustainable platform to promote entrepreneurship."
