LeFaivre

Seattle venture capitalist Rick LeFaivre and medical device entrepreneur Tom Clement have been named co-directors of the University of Washington's New Ventures Group, a newly-named group charged with spinning out promising technology from the state's largest academic institution.

LeFaivre will reduce his role at OVP Venture Partners -- the Kirkland venture capital firm that he joined nearly six years ago -- to part time status as a result of the new position. And the 62-year-old said he would not be a part of OVP's next venture fund, noting that at his age he didn't want to make the 10-year commitment typically associated with new funds.

LeFaivre is accustomed to life on campus. He started his career as a computer science professor at Rutgers University, and then later served as Executive Director of the Von Liebig Center for Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement at the University of California, San Diego.

Since arriving in Seattle, LeFaivre has made a point of developing relationships with researchers, administrators and professors at the UW. He's a member of the University of Washington College of Engineering Visiting Committee, the University of Washington Information School Founding Board and the University of Washington Institute of Advanced Materials and Technology IP Advisory Board.

He also recently led an investment for OVP in Energ2, a UW clean tech spin out. While LeFaivre said the UW has done a good job of commercializing technologies over the years, LeFaivre said more can be done. And with a $1 billion of R&D dollars flowing through the institution, LeFaivre thinks the UW is "just a gold mine" of opportunity when it comes to the possibility of creating new ventures.

In his new role, LeFaivre said he will look for promising technologies in software, hardware and clean tech. As part of that, LeFaivre said he will make introductions to venture capital firms and help "close the gap" when it comes to outside funding.

Clement

LeFaivre will collect a salary from the UW, and noted with a laugh that he's received a highly valuable campus parking pass.

Clement -- who previously co-founded medical device upstart Pathway Medical Technologies -- also has strong connections to the UW. He received his master's in electrical engineering from the UW in 1981, going on to help create medical device companies with licensed technology from the UW. Just last summer, he was appointed as one of the first entrepreneurs-in-residence at the University of Washington Center for Commercialization (Formerly known as TechTransfer).

After taking on that role, Clement told TechFlash that he felt a little bit like a "kid in a candy store" given all of the cutting-edge research going on at the university.

As co-director of the New Ventures Group, Clement will spend his time investigating opportunities in the life sciences field. Last summer, he also expressed an interest in creating a new incubator in connection with the UW to jumpstart medical device companies.

Both Clement and LeFaivre will report to Linden Rhoads, who has transformed the Center for Commercialization since her arrival as vice provost just over a year ago. As part of the recent hirings, startup guru Janis Machala plans to conclude her one-year assignment with the UW as head of LaunchPad Services, the previous name of the New Ventures Group.

John Cook is co-founder of TechFlash. Follow on Twitter @johnhcook.