Einstein’s Alley brings together academia, business

An event held by Einstein’s Alley, an organization which seeks to foster technology-based entrepreneurship in New Jersey, drew around 80 participants from a variety of fields to the Frick Chemistry Laboratory’s Taylor Commons on Monday night.

The night began with small group tours for invited guests led by undergraduate and graduate student scientists, highlighting the building’s state-of-the-art research capabilities, teaching spaces and study and work areas.

Einstein’s Alley executive director Katherine Kish said she felt encouraged by the networking and collaboration that occurred at the event. The idea to host the event at the University came from Chemistry Department Chair David MacMillan in a meeting that took place over eight months ago, she said.

“He talked about how important interaction is between the business and academic world,” Kish said. “We decided that this would be a wonderful way to bring people together, especially in such a beautiful building.”

Meanwhile, chemistry professor emeritus Edward Taylor spoke at the event about the importance of integrating industry and academia. Notably, the royalties from Taylor’s collaborations with Eli Lilly and Company on the anti-cancer drug Alimta largely funded the construction of the new chemistry building.

In an interview, Taylor noted that there are differences between business and academic science interests.

“Industry has inhibitions about the kinds of things they can work on,” he said. “We [academics] can take on a project with benefits way down the line.”

However, Taylor acknowledged that his work on the drug Alimta would have never succeeded without collaboration. “There was no way I could have taken a compound into a clinical trial,” he said. “And the University couldn’t have helped, either. We are not equipped to do an evaluation of a specific drug.”

University Dean for Research A.J. Stewart Smith also gave a brief speech at the event. He emphasized the importance of innovation in order for the United States to maintain its strength as a strong country against tough European and Asian competitors.

He described the significant scientific problem, which he dubbed the “Valley of Death,” in which a new idea is initially exciting but dies quickly without funding from industry. However, Smith said that the University was addressing this problem with corporate philanthropy ties where corporations were beginning to help foster, develop and use research from the University.

“We are trying to create a bridge between fundamental pure research and development to product and economic prosperity,” Smith said.

Kish referred to new Frick Chemistry Laboratory as “Professor Taylor’s Intellectual Property” saying it was an appropriate setting for an event centered around collective research and funding.“This building is a good poster child for the types of successful collaborations that can happen between industry and academia,” Taylor said in his address.

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The event ended with a meet-and-collaborate section where academics and businessmen from around central New Jersey mixed. Kish closed the speaking portion by saying, “The only task we have ahead of us is to make connections.”

This year marks the first year that the University has hosted an Einstein’s Alley event, though the organization — which has existed since 2003 — was created in part by former assistant director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Rep. Rush Holt.