Andrew J. Maas, associate vice president for research overseeing the LSU Office of Innovation & Ecosystem Development, has been named chair-elect of AUTM, a global nonprofit whose members support the commercialization of academic research.

Maas has more than 15 years of experience in technology licensing and commercialization. He will succeed AUTM’s newly elected board chair, Almesha L. Campbell, PhD, assistant vice president for research and economic development at Jackson State University, when her term ends in February 2024.

“Andy has been a passionate advocate for the tech transfer profession,” said AUTM CEO Stephen J. Susalka. “I know that when he takes AUTM’s helm as chair in 2024 he will continue to drive forward the association’s vision for a collaborative research commercialization ecosystem worldwide.”

At LSU, Maas’s duties include overseeing the Office of Innovation & Technology Commercialization, helping LSU researchers turn their ideas into meaningful products and businesses; LSU Innovation Park, a business incubator with approximately 40 tech startups as tenants; and the Small Business Development Centers, a state and federally funded Louisiana network to support small businesses. Maas led the effort that resulted in the National Science Foundation making LSU an Innovation Corps site in 2016 and part of the newly established I-Corps Southwest Regional hub in late 2022. I-Corps teaches faculty members how to identify market needs for their research through customer discovery and modify their research to meet those needs.