Rose-Hulman Ventures Turns Ideas into Tech Innovations

Student interns work on a variety of projects at Rose-Hulman Ventures

A Rose-Hulman student intern gets hands-on experience working on a client's project at Rose-Hulman Ventures.

Project managers and Rose-Hulman student interns develop game-changing technology impacting lives and helping clients realize their entrepreneurial goals.

Ventures showcases what can happen when education and business work together to bring innovative projects from original idea to creation and, eventually, implementation in the marketplace.”
— Robert A. Coons, President, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA, UNITED STATES, February 11, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- What do you call a place that turns ideas into game-changing technology while giving tomorrow’s science, technology, engineering and math leaders hands-on experience under real-world pressures to produce?

You call it Rose-Hulman Ventures.

You also call it experienced, because, since its opening on Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s South Campus slightly over 20 years ago, Rose-Hulman Ventures has touched thousands of lives while helping clients realize their entrepreneurial goals.

“In the last two decades, we’ve helped hundreds of companies develop life-saving medical devices, improve operational efficiencies, introduce new products, and break new ground in their industries,” said 1993 Rose-Hulman electrical engineering alumnus Brian Dougherty, one of Ventures’ first employees who is now its senior director. "The best part is that our students are deeply involved, gaining first-hand experience and discovering what it’s like to build an idea into a functioning device or product.”

Ventures assisted a record 41 clients in 2020 and has worked on 175 projects during the past three years.
Clients pay Ventures for the expertise of its long-serving project managers and the creative wits and hard work of Rose-Hulman students.

Started in 2000 with a $30 million Lilly Endowment Inc. grant, Ventures was originally a traditional business incubator with an educational component. Ventures partnered with, and invested in, startup businesses to foster economic growth in the Wabash Valley and beyond, while giving hands-on work experience to students. Through the years, Ventures’ focus has shifted totally toward fostering economic growth through new product development, while retaining its educational mission.

“Ventures showcases what can happen when education and business work together to bring innovative projects from original idea to creation and, eventually, implementation in the marketplace,” said Rose-Hulman President Robert A. Coons. “That creation journey has provided our students with valuable hands-on work experiences that have accentuated our education mission and opened avenues for STEM careers.”

Dougherty added, “We’ve developed products and prototypes for clients in virtually every industry, including health care, aerospace, automotive, consumer goods, law, real estate, and robotics.”

An early partnership with NICO Corporation introduced a revolutionary device for minimally invasive brain surgery. Ventures also worked with FAST Biomedical on technology to help patients facing kidney disease, a device to identify patients at risk of sudden, fatal heart attacks and a revolutionary device to help doctors more efficiently treat broken bones.

There are other successful projects and satisfied clients of Rose-Hulman Ventures’ services.

Clients frequently praise the students and project managers at Ventures for their innovative thinking, excellent communication skills, and for allowing companies to retain all of their intellectual property. That’s a major difference between Ventures and other college tech development and transfer enterprises.

“Ventures was super easy to work with,” stated Andrew Dragon, a staff development engineer with BorgWarner. “What they designed was very adaptable and very flexible. But the biggest thing was the turnaround time. That was really great.”

Ventures helped BorgWarner create a more efficient, yet easy-to-develop, stator for electric motors. Like many clients, the Michigan-based maker of automotive parts and components was seeking a fresh perspective on a long-standing technological challenge.

“I had always done everything in house until I ran into Rose-Hulman Ventures. Ventures is perfect for the type of work we do,” said Tom Ward, founder and president of OmniSite, an Indianapolis-based maker of critical systems alarms.

Ventures’ 35,000-square-foot off-campus facility includes 3D printers, Computer Assisted Design machines, software development labs, electronic testing and research equipment, a fully equipped machine shop, and team meeting spaces. More than 1,300 Rose-Hulman students have earned valuable work experience at Ventures.

About Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Founded in 1874, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is dedicated to preparing its students with the world’s best undergraduate science, engineering and mathematics education in an environment infused with innovation, intellectual rigor and individualized attention. The institute is consistently recognized nationally as an elite STEM school for distinctions that include faculty excellence, return on investment, value-added, and career services. Career placement is near 100 percent year after year. Located in Terre Haute, Indiana, Rose-Hulman has an enrollment of approximately 2,000 undergraduate students and nearly 100 graduate students. Learn more at www.rose-hulman.edu.

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY
Senior Director Brian Dougherty can discuss any aspect about Rose-Hulman Ventures’ operations and history. Online interviews can be arranged by contacting Dale Long, director of media relations, at 812-208-5615 or dale.long@rose-hulman.edu

Dale Long
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
+1 812-877-8418
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Rose-Hulman Ventures