UNC Charlotte Office of Technology Transfer gets new Director
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Nov. 8, 2007 – Carl Mahler is taking over the reins at the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He succeeds Ruth Burnett, who has been the acting director for the past year.
The office has primary responsibility for the university's intellectual property, a key component of the university's broader economic development initiatives. In addition, OTT helps faculty and students create new businesses and oversees licensing of university-based intellectual property.
“I look forward to building on the outstanding accomplishments in technology transfer that UNC Charlotte has achieved in the past, as recently reported in BusinessWeek magazine,” Mahler said. “The university’s record of forming new companies is truly impressive and shows a strong entrepreneurial attitude by our faculty.”
BusinessWeek recently featured UNC Charlotte in an article about colleges and universities that have found profitable niches in tech transfer.
“Carl Mahler has considerable experience in all facets of this key position and we are very fortunate to have him aboard,” said Stephen Mosier, vice chancellor for research and federal relations at UNC Charlotte. “We will depend heavily on his guidance as we continue to integrate and expand our activities in regional and statewide economic development.”
Since 2002, Mahler has been Director of Intellectual Property at the Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation at Carnegie Mellon University.
“My plans are to work with the researchers and with others in the community to give our start-up companies even more support, such as assisting in the development of solid business plans, finding mentors and managers for the new companies, and helping those companies to attract early-stage funding,” he said.
UNC Charlotte ranked first last year in the nation among universities in the number of start-up companies formed in a survey by the Association of University Technology Managers. That same ranking also listed the university as second in invention disclosures received and third in patents issued for each $10 million in research dollars.
“Some people don’t understand what a jewel we have here at UNC Charlotte,” Mahler said.
Prior to his job at Carnegie Mellon, Mahler was Director of Research Commercialization Operations at Case Western Reserve University and head of University Technologies Inc. During his tenure there, the licensing income for the university increased from $217,000 to over $3 million annually.
He also worked as a chemical engineer in the research divisions of the BFGoodrich Chemical Co., DiversiTech General, and the Sherwin Williams Co. Mahler was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio in 1993.
A native of Staunton, Va., Mahler said he was very happy to return to his Southern roots.
Meanwhile, Brad Fach also has joined the staff at OTT as Technology Development Associate. He has an MBA, a Masters of Science in Biotechnology and is a Registered U.S. Patent Agent.
About UNC Charlotte
A public research university, UNC Charlotte is the fourth largest campus among the 17 institutions of the University of North Carolina system. It is the largest institution of higher education in the Charlotte region. The university offers 18 doctoral programs, 61 master’s degree programs and 89 programs leading to bachelor’s degrees. Fall 2007 enrollment exceeds 22,300 students, including almost 4,800 graduate students.