Fast Facts

Business Development

• CELAA, the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership Alumni Association, is a leading voice for small business in Western New York. It provides resources to help support growth, valuable networking opportunities and the expertise of alumni professionals within many diverse disciplines.

• UB’s Center for Computational Research (CCR) installed $9 million in new equipment in 2010, helping researchers on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus accomplish their work and win grants that translate to more jobs in Western New York. The upgrades also are reducing energy consumption.

• UB’s School of Management partnered with General Motors to develop marketing plans to launch a fuel-cell vehicle that will deliver 60 miles per gallon and have zero emissions. MBA students evaluate technology, identify opportunities and develop marketing plans to launch products successfully.

• The New York State Center for Engineering Design and Industrial Innovation (NYSCEDII) connects businesses to the research of academic partners, including UB, Virginia Tech, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Central Florida and University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

• For more than 20 years, the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL) in the UB School of Management has helped Western New York businesses and entrepreneurs improve their bottom line. Its 700 graduates represent companies with more than 22,000 employees that are worth more than $2 billion to the region’s economy.

Techology Transfer and Entrepreneurs

• When a start-up is affiliated with an incubator it is four times more likely to survive. The UB Technology Incubator, one of the first among more than 900 incubators in the U.S., is a member of the National Business Incubation Association and follows the best practices models developed and supported by NBIA.

• 150 small- and mid-sized companies throughout the state have developed new and improved products and technologies by partnering with researchers in UB’s Center for Industrial Effectiveness (TCIE) and the Strategic Partnership for Industrial Resurgence (SPIR).

• Since its inception, the UB Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition has helped launch 10 local ventures. Most are still in business today.

• The Office of Science Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach (STOR) works on behalf of the university and its researchers to identify, protect and commercialize UB's intellectual property portfolio. The university's portfolio contains more than 200 technologies available for licensing.

• The UB Technology Incubator in Baird Research Park in Amherst supports the creation of new technology-based businesses by providing affordable business services to entrepreneurs. Since its inception in 1988, the program has assisted more than 60 tenants and graduates, boasting a 75 percent success rate. Aggregate employment by these companies is 455 people, and annual revenues exceed $60 million.

Workforce Engagement

• UB’s Regional Institute has concluded an assessment of the region's labor market, yielding insights on strategies for attracting new businesses to the region, improving workforce training and aligning labor supply and demand.

• UB biomedical research contributed to the launch of 40 new companies in Buffalo Niagara since 2001, boosting the growth of a new biotech industry and helping to create or retain 5,000 life-sciences jobs in Western New York.

• Graduates of the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences constitute the majority of the senior engineering and R&D staff at Clarence-based AirSep Corp., world renowned as the premier manufacturer of pSA oxygen generating systems for medical and industrial applications.

• UB’s Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) in downtown Buffalo provides educational job training, college preparation and related support services to economically disenfranchised and academically disadvantaged individuals. It provides services to 2,500 individuals annually.