The top LSU executive who was the force behind the university’s tech transfer initiatives and a key advocate for entrepreneurs and economic development in Louisiana is taking his expertise to Texas.
Andy Maas, who recently led the team that secured the largest grant ever awarded by the National Science Foundation for a sweeping project called Future Use of Energy in Louisiana, or FUEL, has been named an assistant vice president for technology transfer for the University of Texas at Austin.
There, he will lead the university’s research commercialization and innovation initiatives and oversee the protection and commercialization of UT’s intellectual property for an initiative known as Discovery to Impact.
“Andy is nationally recognized for his expertise in technology licensing and commercialization, and we are pleased to welcome a leader of his caliber to the team,” UTA associate vice president Mark Arnold said in announcing the hire. “We have an ambitious agenda for Discovery to Impact this year — to invest early and strategically in faculty ideas and inventions that will change the world — and there is no doubt that Andy is the right person to help lead the charge.”
In Louisiana, Maas was a major force in securing the $160 million NSF grant for FUEL. It comprises more than 50 private and public partners, including community and technical colleges, energy companies, state agencies and universities. Its primary focus will be Louisiana’s energy transition and the decarbonization of the state’s industrial corridor.
The funding is intended to create jobs in the energy sector, develop innovative solutions to energy challenges and train the energy workforce. It is highly touted as an opportunity to position Louisiana as a global leader in energy-related research and development.
Maas also is serving as the chairman of the global nonprofit organization AUTM, whose members support the commercialization of academic research.
At LSU, he oversaw 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.
He also 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.
“This is a homecoming for me in many ways, and it’s a privilege and pleasure to be back on the Forty Acres,” Maas said in the announcement published by the university, utilizing a nickname for the campus that references its original tract size. “Discovery to Impact is one of the premier research commercializing programs in the country.”
