The University of Bridgeport has appointed patent expert Gary W. Plourde director of technology transfer and venture.
In his new position, Plourde will manage the university”™s CTNext grant to cultivate innovation, entrepreneurship, technology transfer, and commercialization for the school and its partner institutions, including Fairfield University, Housatonic Community College and Norwalk Community College. The CTNext grant was awarded to the University of Bridgeport in January and is worth $720,000, including the university matching funds, over three years.
Plourde was previously a patent agent at San Francisco-based Janus Angels. Before that, he worked in chemical patent litigation at Goodwin Procter in New York City and as a chemical patent specialist at Pfizer Inc. He has a Master of Science degree in finance from Golden Gate University, an MBA in healthcare management from the University of California, Irvine, a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Clemson University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Richmond School of Law.
