Science Center gets $1M federal grant to launch biz accelerator

The University City Science Center’s newest program to turn university research into thriving businesses just got $1 million from the federal government.

The program is called Phase 1 Ventures and it aims to get companies founded on university research up and running, said Chris Laing, the Science Center’s VP of Science and Technology.

That means “getting that first funding, management, and mentorship to see if there is really any ‘there there’ from a business perspective,” he said through a spokeswoman.

Phase 1 Ventures rounds out the Science Center’s programming around tech transfer, the process by which university research is commercialized. Think of it as the stage after QED, the Science Center’s tech transfer program that funds university research at an earlier stage, and before the Port, its business incubator, said spokeswoman Jeanne Mell.

The Science Center will manage the program through a combination of existing staff and partnerships, Laing said, instead of hiring new staffers.