UC Davis Graduate School of Management Professor Andrew Hargadon Wins Olympus Emerging Educational Leader Award

DAVIS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Olympus, a precision technology leader creating innovative opto-digital solutions in healthcare, life science and consumer electronics products, today announced the 2009 winners in the Olympus Innovation Award Program.

Andrew Hargadon, associate professor at the Graduate School of Management, University of California, Davis, and a former design engineer for IDEO Product Development and Apple Computer, captured the Olympus Emerging Educational Leader Award. The award recognizes an individual who has inspired innovative thinking in students in a discrete area and whom the judges believe has the potential to make even greater contributions to the field in the future.

Hargadon was recognized for his leadership as the faculty director of the UC Davis Center for Entrepreneurship, which has had notable success in moving technologies from university labs to the marketplace. The center’s programs are designed for science and engineering graduate researchers and faculty and include four one-week entrepreneurship academies as well as a year-long fellows program. The academies provide a framework for universities to build a network with the investment community and combines a comprehensive and pioneering curriculum developed by Hargadon. These academies offer hands-on exercises that participants use to develop business opportunities and investigate the potential opportunities for commercialization around their research.

Hargadon's further recognition stems from his research and teaching efforts at the undergraduate (as director of the Graduate School of Management's Technology Management Program) and graduate level (MBA courses in organizational behavior and technology management).

The national Olympus Innovation Award Program, executed by Olympus in partnership with the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA), recognizes individuals who have fostered or demonstrated innovative thinking in education. The winners received their awards at NCIIA's 13th Annual Meeting last week in Alexandria, Va.

"This award from Olympus and NCIIA, both tremendous leaders in innovation in their own work, recognizes the impact of our work at the Center for Entrepreneurship and the great potential for our programs as they continue to grow," Hargadon said. "We're extremely proud and grateful to accept it."

The Olympus Innovation Awards Program, now in its fifth year, represents Olympus' ongoing commitment to technological innovation and education. The program includes three awards: The Olympus Innovation Award, the Olympus Lifetime of Educational Innovation Award and the Olympus Emerging Educational Leader Award.

Editor's Note: For more information on the Olympus Innovation Awards Program, as well as photos from the awards ceremony, please see the backgrounder at www.olympuspresspass.com, contact the NCIIA at info@nciia.org, or visit www.nciia.org.

About the UC Davis Center for Entrepreneurship

As a Center of Excellence at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, the Center for Entrepreneurship serves as the nexus for entrepreneurship education and research — and as a springboard for entrepreneurial initiatives at UC Davis. The Center provides researchers with the necessary skills and knowledge to launch a venture, commercialize their research and prepare for a career in industry. To accomplish this, the center brings science, engineering and business students and faculty together with experienced entrepreneurs, investors and corporate leaders in an highly collaborative environment that blends effective theory with hands-on participation and solution-driven innovation.

Learn more at http://entrepreneurship.ucdavis.edu