The Government Contracting Institute is Holding Small Business Innovation Resource (SBIR) Day Featuring Federal Speakers for Maryland Tech Incubator Business

Baltimore, MD, February 14, 2015 --(PR.com)-- The Government Contracting Institute located in the bwtech@UMBC Incubator is offering a day of speakers from federal agencies. The SBIR/STTR programs are federal programs that promote small business innovation and profitability. The government has a stake in innovative research and development. Every year, small businesses receive millions of dollars in SBIR/STTR funds for research, development and commercialization purposes. This class will provide an overview of the SBIR/STTR programs; funding sources and eligibility requirements; best practices; commercialization, and retention of IP. The speakers are experts. A box lunch will be provided. The Government Contracting Institute is conveniently located off I-95, just minutes from BWI/Amtrak. Baltimore is easily accessible: travel and hotel.

Date: February 25, 2015
Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Cost: $145
Location: The Courtyard Room
bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park, South
1450 S. Rolling Road
Halethorpe, MD 21227
http://www.bwtechumbc.com//about/directions.html

Free parking near the front of building. Take the elevator to the 2nd floor.

Speakers Bios
G Nagesh Rao, moderator, is the Chief Technologist & Entrepreneur in Residence for the US Small Business Administration in Washington D.C. Metro Area.
▪ Council Member & Government Advisor: LAUNCH: Collective Genius for a Better World
▪ Board Member: Rensselaer Alumni Association Board of Trustees
▪ Advisor & Working Group Member: AAAS-Lemelson Invention Ambassadors Program
▪ Principal: GNRao Consulting (Sole-Proprietorship), San Francisco, Washington D.C., & New York

Honors & Awards
National IP & Technology Transfer Policy Award, Licensing Executives Society International, USPTO’s Patents for Humanity Program was honored by LESI for creation of the groundbreaking and innovative prize challenge (Award), Scott Mackay Commencement Prize, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Alumni Key Award, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute-Alumni Association, Craig W. Angell ’35 Chapter of the Year Award, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Alumni Association Bronze and Silver Awards, Council for Advancement and Support of Education, The RPI DC-Baltimore (two awards for development of creative and innovative alumni programs), Aspiring Leaders Development Program, Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship-China Delegate.

Frank Barros - joined the Department of Homeland Security/SBIR Program in June 2009 as a Program Analyst. Prior to this, Frank was a General Business Specialist in the Project Management Office of the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Group Leader for the Electronics/Photonics Group in the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) at NIST (2002-2009). Prior to joining the Government, Frank spent 20 years in the private sector doing small business debt and equity financing with DSL Capital (a company he co-founded in 1983). DSL did in excess of one billion dollars in financing for over one hundred ten small companies. Frank also spent ten years as Vice-Provost for Research and Academic Development and Associate Professor of Higher Education at The American University, Washington D.C. Prior to that Frank was the Associate Professor and Director of the Higher Education Student Personnel Administration Master’s Program (in conjunction with the Ford Foundation) at Howard University, Washington D.C. (1967-1973).

Frank was born in Hong Kong, educated in Hong Kong, Australia and the United States. He received his BA (1960) in Philosophy and Physics from St. Mary’s Academy, Techny, IL; MA (Education) and PhD (Higher Education Finance and Management with a minor in International Law and Relations) from Catholic University, Washington D.C.

Chris O’Gwin, SBIR/STTR Commercialization Assistance Program Manager, was brought in to the U. S. Department of Energy’s Small Business Innovation Research program to manage the SBIR/STTR Commercialization Assistance Program and conduct small business outreach. In this capacity, he provides leadership for the overall direction for these programs and for serving as the advisor on matters concerning overall program operations and policies, and legislative issues impacting the SBIR/STTR programs. While working for the Department of Energy, Chris has held positions of leadership in both management and technical organizations. He received his BS in Business and Economics from Longwood University and his master’s from the Johns Hopkins University.

Rob Vinson serves as the SBIR/STTR Program Analyst in the Office of Extramural Programs, Office of Extramural Research, at the NIH. In this role he is responsible for providing resources and critical information to the small business community and Federal staffers. His duties include providing technical assistance to SBIR Phase I awardees by managing the NIH Niche Assessment Program. Prior to joining the SBIR/STTR office, he was a Senior Grants Policy Analyst at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). In that role, he managed initiatives and special projects on a variety of grants and administrative policy issues. Rob had been with NHLBI since 1993 where his career began as a Grants Management Specialist and rose to the positions of Team Leader, Grants Management Officer (GM), and Branch Chief. Rob recently served on a short detail to DHHS in the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology where he was part of a cadre of GMOs responsible for establishing Standard Operating Procedures and allocating American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. Additionally, for five years prior to joining NIH, Rob was a commercial loan officer with an emphasis on small business and marketing.