Forbes Article

[tony]

Live Rich in College Towns by
Rich Karlgaard (http://www.forbes.com/opinions/free_forbes/2005/1128/039.html)

Nice things to say about NDSU and Fargo and Montana State and Bozeman.

[DG_Moore]

During a tour of Alian and other technology park businesses last year; we were told that NDSU graduated 1% of engineering graduates in the U.S. I don't believe this can be literally true but Engineering is our largest College and the country had according to a published report only 70,000 engineering graduates last year much less than China and India to name two so it may not be as far off the mark as I supposed at the time. I do believe the article is right and technology and engineering are the future. (All lawyers do is stall progress.)

[insane_ponderer]

great article...not that i dont love the engineering people and all that, but i wish they would at least acknowledge the biotechnology and chemistry push in fargo as well.

[IowaBisonToo]

great article...not that i dont love the engineering people and all that, but i wish they would at least acknowledge the biotechnology and chemistry push in fargo as well.

The problem is, there is hardly one to speak of. I have my PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology from SU and would love to get back to Fargo to live and work (and get season tickets to the Bison). When I inquired to one of the ag station higher-ups why they messed up and didn't bring what would have been a substantial company to Fargo, I was told I was a jerk for asking and that I didn't know what was going on. This company was out to try and screw NDSU, they were being selfish and they weren't being cooperative. Well, I actually got to talk to the Chief Scientific Officer of the company and got the real low down (of which I won't go into here but NDSU and a certain VP who knows nothing about business was trying to screw the company >:(). That being said, Fargo, as of now, is an engineering and technology hub -- which is fine. It's a niche where they can accel, plus it's good for Fargo :). But, until the life scientists and administration in charge of bringing that type of business to Fargo can pull their heads out of the backsides, Fargo will continue to be known for engineering and technology. Hopefully it will change sooner than later.

[insane_ponderer]

The problem is, there is hardly one to speak of. *I have my PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology from SU and would love to get back to Fargo to live and work (and get season tickets to the Bison). *When I inquired to one of the ag station higher-ups why they messed up and didn't bring what would have been a substantial company to Fargo, I was told I was a jerk for asking and that I didn't know what was going on. *This company was out to try and screw NDSU, they were being selfish and they weren't being cooperative. *Well, I actually got to talk to the Chief Scientific Officer of the company and got the real low down (of which I won't go into here but NDSU and a certain VP who knows nothing about business was trying to screw the company >:(). *That being said, Fargo, as of now, is an engineering and technology hub -- which is fine. *It's a niche where they can accel, plus it's good for Fargo :). *But, until the life scientists and administration in charge of bringing that type of business to Fargo can pull their heads out of the backsides, Fargo will continue to be known for engineering and technology. *Hopefully it will change sooner than later.

very true, there are very few companies to speak of as far as life sciences. basically aldevron and pracs and not much else. hopefully down the road more can be done.

[scottheck]

The problem is, there is hardly one to speak of. *I have my PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology from SU and would love to get back to Fargo to live and work (and get season tickets to the Bison). *When I inquired to one of the ag station higher-ups why they messed up and didn't bring what would have been a substantial company to Fargo, I was told I was a jerk for asking and that I didn't know what was going on. *This company was out to try and screw NDSU, they were being selfish and they weren't being cooperative. *Well, I actually got to talk to the Chief Scientific Officer of the company and got the real low down (of which I won't go into here but NDSU and a certain VP who knows nothing about business was trying to screw the company >:(). *That being said, Fargo, as of now, is an engineering and technology hub -- which is fine. *It's a niche where they can accel, plus it's good for Fargo :). *But, until the life scientists and administration in charge of bringing that type of business to Fargo can pull their heads out of the backsides, Fargo will continue to be known for engineering and technology. *Hopefully it will change sooner than later.

Chapman would be very interested in hearing your take on this subject. He is very open to discussion and would welcome your input, particularly, if you have information on mistakes that have been made and how to correct.

Chapman has done a phenomenal job of repairing many broken relationships.

[IowaBisonToo]

Chapman would be very interested in hearing your take on this subject. *He is very open to discussion and would welcome your input, particularly, if you have information on mistakes that have been made and how to correct.

Chapman has done a phenomenal job of repairing many broken relationships.

I just may have to do that. I would assume he knew exactly what went on in the discussions, but maybe I'm wrong. I know when I emailed the ag station higher up stating my disappointment, I also covered Dr. Chapman. I didn't get a response from his office but I did get one from the ag station person who basically ripped me a new one, telling me I didn't know the scope of the situation -- which I guess I really didn't. But eventually, I did find out and I was right for stating my disappointment and rip of the ag station and the parties that control it. The company was going to set up shop in GF as the CSO is a faculty member at UND. That wouldn't have changed but, NDSU could have gotten a piece of the action by getting a small portion of the company to come to Fargo which in the long run, could have been the start of an influx of biotech companies to Fargo. Without getting into it to deeply, it was strictly political and NDSU wanted 90% :o of the intelectual property the company developed. No company in their right mind would ever go for that and only an uneducated VP would ever seriously ask for that. Absolutely rediculous!!!

Anyway, maybe I'll see what Dr. Chapman has to say on the subject. He is, after all, a scientist first and foremost.

[GCWaters]

I just may have to do that. I would assume he knew exactly what went on in the discussions, but maybe I'm wrong. I know when I emailed the ag station higher up stating my disappointment, I also covered Dr. Chapman. I didn't get a response from his office but I did get one from the ag station person who basically ripped me a new one, telling me I didn't know the scope of the situation -- which I guess I really didn't. But eventually, I did find out and I was right for stating my disappointment and rip of the ag station and the parties that control it. The company was going to set up shop in GF as the CSO is a faculty member at UND. That wouldn't have changed but, NDSU could have gotten a piece of the action by getting a small portion of the company to come to Fargo which in the long run, could have been the start of an influx of biotech companies to Fargo. Without getting into it to deeply, it was strictly political and NDSU wanted 90% :o of the intelectual property the company developed. No company in their right mind would ever go for that and only an uneducated VP would ever seriously ask for that. Absolutely rediculous!!!

Anyway, maybe I'll see what Dr. Chapman has to say on the subject. He is, after all, a scientist first and foremost.


Well, my suggestion, first and foremost, would be to bypass the experiment station. While things are certainly getting better--I think the new director is a breath of fresh air--my experience has been that ag, in nearly all forms, is lagging behind the rest of the campus, paricularly College of Science and Math...Ag doesn't get that they're no longer the dominant force on campus and that they're reacting now, not setting the pace...just my.02....

[NDSU_grad]

Well, my suggestion, first and foremost, would be to bypass the experiment station. *While things are certainly getting better--I think the new director is a breath of fresh air--my experience has been that ag, in nearly all forms, is lagging behind the rest of the campus, paricularly College of Science and Math...Ag doesn't get that they're no longer the dominant force on campus and that they're reacting now, not setting the pace...just my.02....


I would disagree with that statement in part. I think the Plant Sciences department has done a tremendous job of adapting with the times. If you look at the bios of the most of the recent hires it's in the molecular biology field. But you're right in that some departmtents haven't kept up. Soil Science is one, IMO.

[IowaBisonToo]

I would disagree with that statement in part. *I think the Plant Sciences department has done a tremendous job of adapting with the times. *If you look at the bios of the most of the recent hires it's in the molecular biology field. *But you're right in that some departmtents haven't kept up. *Soil Science is one, IMO.


That's all fine and dandy. But, having the best of a certain type of faculty does not translate into having good business acumen. That is what is needed in the university. But, when you have faculty and VPs that just don't get it when it comes to the business world, they can try all they like to persuade a company to come to the tech park but it won't happen. If they continue to shoot themselves in the foot because they're too greedy, don't understand business, etc., it will be a long time before any start-up biotech companies show up and put down roots. Those are the types of companies they are trying to attract to the tech park -- start-ups. There is no way you can expect a start-up to sign over 90% of their IP to a university that may provide a little tech support or what have you. That could translate into hundreds of millions of dollars. Yeah, that's going to happen ::)

[insane_ponderer]

there is nothing i would enjoy more than for fargo to get in on the start up, high tech biotech companies...hell, i would love to come back and start my own someday ;)

on a side note though, and i dont remember exactly 100% the details, but there was a small fight in university senate last year about intellectual property, patents, and what percentage the university would get from the patents.

worth looking into for those who are interested, unfortunately i dont remember the details all that well

[scottheck]

It would be interesting to hear Michael Chambers take on the intellectual property issue as he started Aldevron in an NDSU lab.

[IowaBisonToo]

It would be interesting to hear Michael Chambers take on the intellectual property issue as he started Aldevron in an NDSU lab.

My guess is Chambers is a whole other cat. He basically "leased" space from NDSU from my understanding and "rented" equipment or what have you. Doing that I think is fine and, depending on the actual charge the university imposes, may not be a bad deal. It's when you start talking about having some of the faculty do research for a company. This is when NDSU completely fails in their knowledge of business.

The CSO I talked to said they were going to have some of the faculty work on some molecular things (albeit somewhat limited) and the protein purification/formulation would be done in GF. For the limited role NDSU and its employees would have in the business, NDSU wanted 90% :o of the IP. That is plain asinine! The company, however, was willing to give NDSU 50% of the IP -- significantly more than any other company would go for -- just so they could "spread the love" between the two universities. NDSU still balked at the offer. They wanted all or nothing. Now you tell me, why would a company who's CSO is a faculty at UND give 90% of their IP to NDSU??? This is why the owners blew off NDSU and said if you're not going to play nice, we're not going to play with you at all. It is also why NDSU -- to this day -- doesn't have a biotech company coming into the tech park. Nor do I see them attracting a company of any significance into the tech park. Those are the companies that will make NDSU stand out in a crowd -- not the little start ups who are willing to sell their soul just to make themselves a name. Anyone in the life sciences knows that a very small percent of the start-ups actually make anything of themselves. That's why they're willing to give away their IP for some help.

At this rate, I, too, would rather start my company at UND. Whooaa, did I just say that :P

[insane_ponderer]

yeah, the chambers story was a little different. a few years ago, i think in 2000 or 01 they published a great story about aldevron and its start in the ndsu magazine.

i really wish i was back there to put a little pressure on that whole notion, sat in on a lecture yesterday out here at pitt with donald burke from johns hopkins who was talking about vaccine companies and who makes all the vaccines, and its not the big drug companies, but these little off-shore independent, start ups that get the contracts (if your curious why it works this way http://www.jhsph.edu/cir/dburke.html this page should provide more info)

but these are the types of companies that would be awesome to have up there in the tech park. small, start up, specialty, govt contracted vaccine companies...talk about a huge boost for the life sciences in fargo.