Prof. Chuck Bieberich awarded Chair in Entrepreneurship

Chuck Bieberich, professor of biological sciences, has been named The Herbert Bearman Foundation Chair in Entrepreneurship for 2016-2019.

The Herbert Bearman Foundation Chair recognizes and supports outstanding teaching skills, an interest in entrepreneurship, and a strong record of scholarship in entrepreneurial studies or a field related to entrepreneurship. The three-year endowed position will enable Bieberich to offer workshops and related activities to encourage entrepreneurial approaches to expanding research support and commercialization opportunities for faculty.

“For me, being appointed the Bearman Chair is not just a tremendous honor, it’s also a great opportunity to foster entrepreneurialism among my faculty colleagues. A lot of the things we already do to keep our labs running mirror those that are essential to running a business,” says Bieberich.

Bieberich will use his time as Bearman Chair to encourage faculty in the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences (CNMS) and across UMBC to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities. In his own research, he plans to expand the application of the biomarker discovery technology in the growing field of personalized medicine.

“Dr. Bieberich is a faculty entrepreneur. No better exemplar of the intent and prestige of the Bearman Chair can be found than Dr. Charles Bieberich. He is a distinguished leader in his discipline and his research program is the solid foundation for his entrepreneurial endeavors,” says CNMS Dean William LaCourse. “His thoughtful nature and interest in exciting fellow faculty and students about the opportunities associated with the entrepreneurial mindset are highly commendable.”

Bieberich is the training program director for STEM BUILD at UMBC, a research initiative designed to enhance the success of diverse undergraduate students in STEM fields. He also is a member of the Office of Technology Development Advisory Committee, Research Park Advisory Committee and UMBC Research Park Corporation Board of Trustees. In 2015, Bieberich received a Maryland Innovation Initiative Phase II award to develop a business plan and perform market analysis for his work on biomarkers.

“Convincing a study section at the National Institutes of Health to invest in our academic research is not at all unlike convincing venture capitalists to invest in a business,” Bieberich says. He reflects that although he and his fellow scientists “are not accustomed to thinking of ourselves as business people,” exploring those connections will open doors for faculty to make a major impacts on the world.

Established by The Herbert Bearman Foundation, this endowed professorship honors the contributions of Dr. Arlene Bearman, former chair of the administrative services program at UMBC, to the UMBC community.

[the original version of this story is here]