Science Center CEO Named to National Innovation Advisory Board

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--University City Science Center President and CEO Stephen S. Tang, Ph.D., M.B.A. has been named to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s new Innovation Advisory Board, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced May 4, 2011.

The 15-member Innovation Advisory Board, established under the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, will guide a study of U.S. economic competitiveness and innovation to help inform national policies at the heart of U.S. job creation and global competitiveness. The board will advise the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the National Economic Council and other federal agencies, on the development of the study. Board members will serve until the completion of the study in 2012.

“Entrepreneurship and innovation are front and center in the public debate for a good reason. Through my work at the Science Center, whose graduate companies are responsible for 15,000 current jobs in Greater Philadelphia, I have seen first-hand the positive impact of innovation and entrepreneurship on the economy. I am honored to serve on the Innovation Advisory Board and welcome the opportunity to contribute to the national discussion on economic competitiveness.”

Dr. Tang became President and CEO of the Science Center in 2008, following an extensive nationwide search. The Science Center, founded in 1963, is the nation’s oldest and largest urban science research park and also provides business incubation services and support to start-up companies.

A seasoned life science, energy technology, and management consulting executive, Dr. Tang previously served as group vice president and general manager with Olympus America Inc., where he led U.S. operations for the company’s $1 billion global life science businesses. Before joining Olympus in 2005, he was president and CEO of Millennium Cell Inc., an energy technology firm he led through its initial public offering in 2000.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Tang served as vice president and managing director of the global pharmaceutical and healthcare practice of A.T. Kearney Inc., and was vice president and co-managing director of the global chemical and environmental practice for Gemini Consulting Inc., now known as Cap Gemini.

Dr. Tang earned a doctorate in Chemical Engineering from Lehigh University, an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.S. in Chemistry from the College of William and Mary. A graduate of the public school system in Delaware, he has resided in the Greater Philadelphia region for most of his life.

About the Science Center

The University City Science Center accelerates technology commercialization, regional economic development, and the market availability of life-enhancing scientific breakthroughs by bringing together innovations, scientists, entrepreneurs, funding, laboratory facilities, and business services. Established in 1963 and headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, the Science Center was the first, and remains the largest, urban research park in the United States. Graduate organizations and current residents of the Science Center’s Port business incubators have created more than 15,000 jobs that remain in the Greater Philadelphia region today and contribute more than $9 billion to the regional economy annually. For more information: www.sciencecenter.org.