Since Joe DeSimone was named the new director of The Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise last year, the Institute has adopted an exciting new mission. Founded in 1985, the Kenan Institute promotes collaboration among business, government and academia and the use of research and private-sector resources to serve the public interest. With a new mission to be a partner in innovative entrepreneurship, the Kenan Institute hopes to elevate North Carolina as a global leader in innovation and entrepreneurship. Several new objectives have been identified: to increase UNC entrepreneurship, expand multi-university research translation, and to leverage intellectual capital for NC economic development.
In order to accomplish these objectives by 2016, the Kenan Institute will attract additional investment in UNC research and commercialization, support increased commercialization of UNC technology, connect and stimulate UNC entrepreneurial efforts, identify and champion strategic needs for entrepreneurship, support faculty to engage in multiuniversity collaboration, support structural integration between universities, create opportunities for students to collaborate across universities, provide direct assistance to North Carolina entrepreneurs, develop technological solutions to pressing NC challenges and promote a civic and governmental entrepreneurial ecosystem.
This new focus on technology and entrepreneurship comes from Joe DeSimone, a wellknown chemistry scholar and entrepreneur. DeSimone applies his research to design novel nanomedicines for cancer therapy, improve vaccines and drug delivery mechanisms and creates successful new commercial ventures based on his discoveries. He is author of nearly 300 publications, inventor on more than 130 patents and has more than 100 patents pending. He has been elected to both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering, the highest honors that a U.S. scientist or engineer can receive.