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Pankaj Sharma	Biography	Abstract
Associate Director and Professor Discovery Park Purdue University United States

Dr. Sharma holds a Ph.D. in physics and a master’s degree in solid-state physics. He has an MBA from Purdue University and an Advanced Certificate in Applied Computer and Information Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology. Dr. Sharma is Associate Director for Operations and International Affairs at Discovery Park, Purdue's $400 million home to the university's large-scale interdisciplinary research efforts. He also currently holds a courtesy associate professor appointment in Industrial Technology.

Prior to joining Discovery Park, Dr. Sharma was an Associate Director of Purdue’s Rare Isotope Measurement Laboratory at Purdue. He has worked on the application of accelerator mass spectrometry in geological and biomedical tracing. An experimental nuclear physicist with expertise in applications of radioactivity in dating and tracing in geological and biological systems, he has extensively collaborated with scientists from more than 10 countries and published over 90 research papers in national and international journals. His current interests include research administration and strategic planning of interdisciplinary research enterprise in nanotechnology; biosciences; entrepreneurship; healthcare engineering; cyber infrastructure; energy; environment; climate change; global competitiveness; and science, technology, and policy.

Before coming to Purdue in 1993, Dr. Sharma was a researcher at the University of South Carolina, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Rochester.

Discovery with Delivery

Purdue is a prime example of a university that has publicly and prominently embraced the role of being an economic development asset in its state and in the larger global economy. The genesis of a new interdisciplinary research complex, Purdue’s Discovery Park and Research Park, is a bold initiative and a step in that direction.
Discovery Park harnesses Purdue University’s world-class research capabilities to tackle global challenges and respond to the local, state, national, and global environment. Interdisciplinary research teams work at the frontiers of new science and technology, delivering innovation through business development, industry partnerships, and K-12 and college and graduate-level learning. Purdue Research Park in West Lafayette, Indiana, was one of the first five research parks in the nation and was established in 1961. The Purdue Research Park is the result of Purdue University’s commitment to economic growth in Indiana’s high-tech sector. Currently, it houses over 150 start-up companies.

Entrepreneurial ecosystems play an important role in stimulating economic growth. Therefore, the “Discovery” takes place in Discovery Park and the “Delivery” takes place in Research Park. We call this combination, “Discovery with Delivery,” which is the Purdue innovation model. The overall objectives of the proposed study (two projects) are twofold:

Purdue Innovation Model - Discovery with Delivery: (1) What is the economic impact of Purdue start ups? (2) What are the current key issues facing the start-ups? (3) How can Discovery Park and Research Park be of further assistance in seeding and nurturing the start-ups? (4) How can Purdue start-ups be more successful? (5) What are the essential leveraging points in assisting the formation and in seeding the start-ups?