Porter wins overall Innovator award: Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth founding director helped OU spin off more than 30 start-ups
by Jessica Mitchell
The Journal Record
4/6/2007


TULSA – W. Arthur ‘Skip’ Porter, the founding director of the Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth at the University of Oklahoma, received the overall 2007 Journal Record Innovator of the Year award at a ceremony honoring business innovation Thursday evening at the Renaissance Tulsa Hotel and Convention Center.

Porter has been instrumental in helping the Norman university spin off more than 30 start-up companies that have generated nearly $12 million in revenue. As the state’s first secretary of science and technology and as vice president of technology development and dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma, he helped pass legislation and put the process into motion that for the first time permitted state universities and faculty members to commercialize their innovations.

Earlier this year, Porter resigned as OU’s vice president for technology development to take a year off before returning to teaching at the College of Engineering.

“I love learning and sharing as an educator what has been learned,” he said. “I also enjoy the corporate world as well as academia, hence I decided that to be involved in both it is better to be ‘based’ in academia where one is encouraged to engage the business world as a consultant and to serve on boards of directors.”

Porter has served as chair of Norman-based SouthWest NanoTechnologies (SWeNT) since it spun off from OU in 2001.

In addition, Porter currently is a board member of Stewart Information Services Corp., Bookham Technology Ltd. and Electro Scientific Industries.

Porter, who said he loves to be involved in the creative process, considers helping others to learn and put their intellectual creations to use to be his most significant accomplishment. Author of The Knowledge Seekers, Porter is currently working on his second book, which will delve into the activities of the corporate boardroom. Prior to coming to Oklahoma, Porter served as founding president of the Houston Advanced Research Center for more than a decade.

At Thursday night’s event, the Kirkpatrick Foundation received the first Creativity Award for its efforts in developing new interest in creativity grants and directed philanthropy toward creative endeavors through the contribution of seed money and support for the project.

Sponsors of the 2007 Journal Record Innovator of the Year Awards were the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science & Technology, i2E, First Fidelity Bank, The State Chamber, OETA, Crowe & Dunlevy and Ernst & Young.

Emcee for the event was Mary Mélon, publisher of The Journal Record, with Lt. Gov. Jari Askins welcoming the attendees.

Sherri Wise, chair of the board of the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, introduced J. Donald Capra as the speaker. Capra, president emeritus of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, received the 2006 overall Innovator of the Year award.

Cathy Gates, partner at Ernst & Young, and Greg Main, president and CEO of i2E, presented the On the Brink awards. First Fidelity Bank President Lee Symcox and Richard Rush, president and CEO of The State Chamber, presented the Innovator Awards. John McCarroll, OETA executive director, presented the Kirkpatrick Foundation with the Creativity Award. Crowe & Dunlevy President Brooke Murphy presented Porter with the award for overall winner.

Other Innovator of the Year award winners

· Advanced Chemical Solutions, Oklahoma City.

· The Banta Companies, Oklahoma City.

· Francis Tuttle Technology Center, Oklahoma City.

· Grant Thornton LLP, Oklahoma City.

· Heartland Homes, Oklahoma City.

· The Homeless Alliance, Oklahoma City.

· JK Autoimmunity Inc., Oklahoma City.

· LifeGuard America LLC, Tulsa.

· Martin Bionics LLC, Oklahoma City.

· The Michael Group, Oklahoma City.

· Monte Cassino School, Tulsa.

· OK.gov, Oklahoma City.

· Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City.

· Oklahoma Department of Commerce, Oklahoma City.

· Oklahoma Digital Forensics Professionals Inc., Tulsa.

· Oklahoma Prosperity Project, Oklahoma City.

· OnlineMedsource.org, Norman.

· P Bar Farms, Weatherford.

· Redlands Community College, El Reno.

· Secure Piers, Oklahoma City.

· sixThings, Oklahoma City.

· SouthWest NanoTechnologies Inc., Norman.

· St. Anthony Heart Hospital, Oklahoma City.

· TAParchitecture, Oklahoma City.

· U.S. Shooting Academy, Tulsa.

· The University of Oklahoma, Norman.

· University of Oklahoma College of Arts and Sciences, Norman.

· Western Oklahoma State College, Altus.

· White Fields, Piedmont.

In addition, the following companies received “On the Brink” awards for their promising new products, services or technologies:

· Altheus Therapeutics Inc., Oklahoma City.

· Blackwell Plastic Solutions, Blackwell.

· Central Oklahoma Wakeboard Center, Guthrie.

· DNA Solutions, Oklahoma City.

· Impact Technologies LLC, Tulsa.

· Laura’s Mix, Tulsa.

· LuXsine Energy Co., Sapulpa.

· ONCONOS LLC, Oklahoma City.

· Payne Farms, Thomas.

· PreDENT, Norman.

· Pure Protein, Oklahoma City.

· Selexys, Oklahoma City.

· Sol Inc., Norman.

· The University of Oklahoma, Norman.

· The University of Oklahoma, School of Electrical & Computing Engineering, Norman.

· TriCord Hurricane Products, Tulsa.

· Veracity Technology Solutions, Midwest City.

· Virtual Technologies, Oklahoma City.

· Wireless Where, Norman.

The Journal Record

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