Brian Rogers named director of commercial innovation technology incubator

January 5, 2011 -- Arkansas State University announced that Dr. Brian Rogers has been named director of the new commercial innovation technology incubator to be housed in the Arkansas Biosciences Institute (ABI) on the ASU campus in Jonesboro.

The incubator, known as the Arkansas Biosciences Institute Commercial Innovation Center (ABI-COM), was developed as part of a long-term vision for economic development  following storms, flooding and tornados that struck the state in 2008. The technology incubator will offer office and laboratory facilities and business services to businesses and entrepreneurs working towards turning innovations into products and services.  It will operate in conjunction with ABI and ASU’s Delta Center for Economic Development to encourage investment in new technology development and commercialization throughout the region in order to ultimately create quality new employment opportunities.   

“We are fortunate that Brian Rogers has joined the ASU team. We look forward to partnering with him to better link the activities of the College of Business, the Delta Center and the ABI Commercial Innovation Center in transforming scientific discoveries into going concerns,” said Dr. Len Frey, dean of ASU’s College of Business. “Brian will play a major role in the College of Business efforts to grow our entrepreneurial capabilities and in making the entrepreneurial spirit systemic across the ASU campus.”

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke made a trip to Arkansas in April 2009 to announce that a grant for $1,750,500 had been awarded to ASU for the development of ABI-COM. The grant was provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration and presented to then-ASU Chancellor Dr. Robert L. Potts. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held that September at the ABI building.  

Prior to joining Arkansas State University, Rogers spent several years as the commercialization manager and attorney for the department of research for Texas A&M University’s research hospital, Scott and White Healthcare. He is a licensed patent attorney and earlier spent several years working for law firms in Dallas and Austin, primarily in intellectual property law. 

Preceding law school, Brian worked at Texas Instruments, Inc., in the Dallas area for several years, managing special projects, supporting manufacturing and conducting research and development related to various semiconductor and electronics assembly processes.

“As a native of Arkansas and the Delta who has been gone a long time, it means a lot to me and to my family for me to have the opportunity to move home and use relationships, experiences and perspectives cultivated elsewhere to contribute directly to creating greater opportunities here,” said Rogers.  “I am excited to fully engage with the community and with efforts already in motion to encourage and reap the rewards of a collective mindset having higher standards for education and innovation.”

A native of the Pine Bluff area, Rogers received an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from the University of Arkansas and a juris doctorate from the University of Houston Law Center.

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