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July 1999 |
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The above individuals met to pursue the idea of working collaboratively
to promote research as a regional economic development tool. This
group decided to establish the Western Research Alliance as the
forum for individuals and organizations that are interested in
the promotion
of research, development, entrepreneurship, and the commercialization
of new technologies and/or services. The Alliance initially focused
on mechanisms to bring together the relevant individuals, businesses,
governmental entities, investment organizations, and universities
from the Black Hills area. The identified mechanisms included:
obtaining an understanding of various research being performed
in this geographic
area, creating opportunities for networking among area
researchers, exploring ideas for joint research projects and related funding,
and advancing concepts to access capital and to enhance marketing viability.
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October 1999
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The WRA kick-off meeting was held October 19 at
the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. In addition to representation
from RCEDP,
SDSM&T, BHSU, and the local community, presentations were given
by the Governor's Office of Economic Development, Rapid City Regional
Hospital, SD SBIR and West River Business Service Center. The kick
-off meeting was both well attended and well received by the area
community, and the consensus was that future WRA meetings should
be topical in nature.
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January 2000 |
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The first topical WRA workshop was focused upon "Materials
Science" and was held on the SDSM&T campus. The general
format for this and subsequent meetings was as follows:
- Identification of Areas of Expertise*
- Relevant University Programs
- Relevant Private Sector Programs
- Idea Generation- Session on Proposed Products, Research Projects,
Related opportunities
- Identification of Potential Collaborative Projects, Markets,
Funding Sources
- Summary of Workshop and Identification of Theme for Next Meeting
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March 2000
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The next topical workshop was focused upon the "Business
of Education Technology," and was held on the BHSU campus.
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April 2000
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RCEDP creates a web page for WRA: http://w-research-alliance.org/
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September 2000
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This topical workshop was focused upon "Geospatial
Information Technology" and was held at the Rushmore Plaza
Civic Center in conjunction with the SD EPSCoR Conference.
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November
2000
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This topical workshop focused upon "Life Sciences" and
was held at BHSU.
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February 2001
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This topical workshop focused upon "Electronics" and
was held at SDSM&T. In addition to the regular WRA agenda, the
Genesis of Innovation for South Dakota/Genesis Equity Fund was introduced.
This group includes founding WRA members and publicly applauded the
efforts of the Western Research Alliance, as they believe the new
economy is all about the commercialization of regional R&D.
Angel investing in early stage projects is a major goal of Genesis,
and
WRA was urged to bring projects forward for consideration by the
Genesis Group.
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October 2001
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WRA competed for and secured the opportunity to
host the National SBIR Conference in Rapid City. The National SBIR
conference
was an unqualified success, both in terms of attendance and visibility
of WRA and its mission. The SBIR conference was held at SDSM&T
and the Ramkota Conference Center.
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February 2002
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This topical workshop focused upon "Value Added
Materials" and was held at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.
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October 2002
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This topical workshop focused upon "New Research
Opportunities in SD" and was held at SDSM&T.
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December 2002
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WRA co-hosts a presentation by Dr. George Garlick
for researchers, entrepreneurs and local politicians on the “Development
and Success of Research Parks." (Later became known as “Technology-Based
Economic Development (T-BED) luncheon series”)
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March 2003
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This topical workshop focused upon "Medical Sciences
and Research" and was held on the SDSM&T campus.
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July 2003
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Western Research Alliance Foundation is formed. The
WRA Foundation will have 501 3C status.
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October 2003
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Second in the T-BED series of luncheons - Joanne
Lang from the Kentucky Science and Technology Corp. on how to develop
a technology-based economy. Legislators met with her at a breakfast
meeting on actual legislation in Kentucky.
Topical workshop at BHSU on Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering
held at BHSU.
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December 2003
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Third in the T-BED series of luncheons – Dr.
Everitt Bloom, Director of the Metals and Ceramics Division at
the Oak Ridge National Laboratory spoke on Maximizing the Impact
of a National Laboratory.
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April 2004
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Topical workshop at SDSM&T on Nano
Materials Science.
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December 2004
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Fourth in the T-BED series of luncheons – Dr.
Duane Sander, co-founder of Daktronics
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