Staff Bios

Neil Iscoe, Ph.D., Director

niscoe@otc.utexas.edu • 512-471-6597

Neil Iscoe is Director of the Office of Technology Commercialization for The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Iscoe is an experienced entrepreneur, having founded his first technology company, Statcom, in 1979. Formerly he was founder and CEO of eCertain, a company that sold secure transaction solutions for legal and financial markets.

Prior to founding eCertain, he was the Division Manager of Advanced Technology for EDS. In this capacity, he established and managed an R&D laboratory, developed and deployed software technologies that increased revenues for EDS business units, evaluated technology acquisitions, and built an operational Financial Trading and Technology Center at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Iscoe has also worked as a researcher at the Microcomputer and Electronics Consortium (MCC), where he focused on methods of improving software development practices and conducted field studies of large software projects that included telephony, defense, and enterprise applications.

Dr. Iscoe has an engineering degree from the University of Wisconsin and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Sciences from The University of Texas at Austin. He remains an adjunct professor at UT in the Computer Sciences department. Appointed by Texas Governor Rick Perry, Dr. Iscoe serves on the Texas Product Development and Small Business Incubator Advisory Board and was a founding member of The Central Texas Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization Executive Advisory Board. He has also served on the Texas State Strategy on Advanced Technology team and on the Texas Information and Computer Technology Industry Cluster team. Dr. Iscoe was a founding member of the Austin Technology Council and is a frequently requested speaker at international conferences and programs.

Tracy Hatfield, Administrative Manager

that@otc.utexas.edu • 512-475-9795

Tracy Hatfield serves as Assistant to the Director at the Office of Technology Commercialization at The University of Texas at Austin. Ms. Hatfield has over 20 years of experience working in administration.

Licensing

Rick Friedman, Associate Director, Licensing

rfriedman@otc.utexas.edu • 512-471-4738

Rick Friedman serves as Associate Director for Licensing for the Office of Technology Commercialization at The University of Texas at Austin. In this role, Mr. Friedman oversees the licensing team and the evaluation and commercialization of UT Austin's intellectual property.

Mr. Friedman brings 18 years of experience structuring, negotiating and managing complex intellectual property, financial and commercial transactions for technology ventures to the OTC. Most recently, Mr. Friedman served as an independent business development and legal consultant to several private technology companies. Before that, he served in various other executive positions, including as partner at Heller Ehrman LLP, a leading national law firm based in California, and as Vice President and General Counsel of pcOrder.com, a publicly traded software company spun out of Trilogy Inc.

Mr. Friedman holds a B.A. from the University of Rochester, a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, and an M.B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin.

Ray Atilano, Licensing Specialist

ratilano@otc.utexas.edu • 512-471-4919

Ray Atilano serves as a Licensing Specialist for the Office of Technology Commercialization at The University of Texas at Austin. In this role, he evaluates commercial opportunities of life science inventions, markets technology to potential partners, guides investment strategy in patent prosecution, and negotiates intellectual property licenses.

Dr. Atilano brings more than 12 years of experience in evaluating research, presenting technologies to venture groups, angel investors, and companies, marketing early-stage inventions, and negotiating licensing. Most recently, he worked as a technical project director to support the Department of Defense, Air Force Research Labs in a Bio Safety Level 3 Laboratory on commercializing advanced biomaterials, biochem sensors, and product applications as a result of SBIRs and related DoD contractor initiatives. Previously, he held a technical management position with a startup micro-optoelectronic technology company, which spun out of his work as a technical project director with a private foundation focused on biotechnologies, biomedical devices, and prototype development. He has represented the technology of subject matter experts at previous Trilateral Technology and Bio-Defense Summit Meetings, and to the Under Secretary of Defense, DISA, NRO, and NSA.

Dr. Atilano is a Texas Certified Civil & Commercial Negotiator from the Dallas Mediation Institute, and holds a B.S. from Illinois State University and an M.S. and a Ph.D. from Kansas State University. He also holds a Management Certificate from Texas State University Center for Health Services Education & Research.

Max Green, Licensing Specialist

mgreen@otc.utexas.edu • 512-471-9054

Max Green serves as a Licensing Specialist for the Office of Technology Commercialization at The University of Texas at Austin. In this role, he specializes in the physical sciences, where he is responsible for marketing technology to prospective partners, negotiating intellectual property licenses, and guiding investments in patent prosecution.

Prior to joining OTC, Mr. Green assumed the role of account manager in support of NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program at Kennedy Space Center. In this capacity, he was responsible for the commercialization of technologies developed by the space program. Mr. Green also served as a business development consultant to UT's Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) initiative to establish TechBA in Austin. Prior to his role at KSC, Mr. Green served at Applied Materials, Inc. as a project test engineer, where he focused his efforts on the implementation of Built-In-Test systems.

Mr. Green holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an M.S. in Science and Technology Commercialization, both from The University of Texas at Austin.

Jitendra Jain (“JJ”), Licensing Specialist

jjain@otc.utexas.edu • 512-471-9055

Jitendra Jain serves as a Licensing Specialist for the Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) at The University of Texas at Austin. His focus in this role is to protect and to accelerate the commercialization of the university’s physical sciences, engineering, and computing intellectual assets. Mr. Jain specializes in commercially assessing and valuating technologies, cultivating inventions, developing intellectual property (IP) positions, guiding investments in patent prosecution, developing commercialization strategies, nurturing industry/venture-capital relations, marketing to prospective licensees, assisting in the formation of startups, and negotiating complex IP-based collaborative agreements to monetize IP.

Mr. Jain brings over 14 years of domestic and international experience in academic technology transfer, product marketing, entrepreneurship, and business development spanning the computing, telecom, and semiconductor industries. Prior to joining the OTC in February 2008, Mr. Jain served as a Senior Licensing Associate at Ohio State University, successfully commercializing engineering properties. Previously, Mr. Jain worked as a Product Marketing Manager for the Communications Group at Advanced Micro Devices (spun out as Legerity), managing voice and broadband integrated chipsets. Later, Mr. Jain ventured into creating his own large-scale events production house and a related web portal. Mr. Jain has also worked as an Associate for the OTC at the Texas A&M University, and as a Sales Manager for Wipro Infotech’s Business Solutions Division, providing turnkey information technology solutions to Fortune 500 clients. Mr. Jain holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and an M.B.A. from Texas A&M University.

Robert Schatz, Licensing Specialist

rschatz@otc.utexas.edu • 512-475-7659

Robert Schatz serves as Licensing Specialist for the Office of Technology Commercialization at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Schatz is responsible for evaluating the commercial potential of life science inventions of the University, guiding investments in patent prosecution, marketing the intellectual property, and negotiating licenses.

Dr. Schatz brings more than 25 years of experience in scientific research, marketing, and business development in academia and the life science industries. Most recently, Dr. Schatz served as Program Manager, Corporate Relations for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. In this capacity, Dr. Schatz initiated several regional economic development programs and taught small business management. Prior to that role, he held management positions in two publicly traded companies, Ophidian Pharmaceuticals and BioTechnica International, and was a partner in the consulting firm Devonshire Biotechnology Group.

Dr. Schatz holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of New Hampshire and a Ph.D. in Anatomy and Cellular Biology from Tufts University. His honors and accomplishments include Advisor for the Governor's Venture Capital Summit for the State of Wisconsin, Founder and Project Director of the Rural Business Enhancement Center at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, and recognition as a Wisconsin Idea Fellow.

Jenny Chang, Administrative Assistant

jchang@otc.utexas.edu • 512-471-2996

Patents

Diane Malner, Associate Director, Patents and Law Firms

dmalner@otc.utexas.edu • 512-471-4735

Diane Malner serves as Associate Director in the Office of Technology Commercialization at The University of Texas at Austin. She oversees the interactions between OTC and outside counsel, industry partners, and inventors on matters relating to intellectual property. Diane and her team are responsible for all aspects of OTC's patent prosecution, federal invention reporting, and patent-related compliance.

Ms. Malner has 18 years of legal administrative experience, 13 of which have been focused on intellectual property law. She managed portfolios and client cases in civil litigation and intellectual property at law offices ranging from leading regional firms to boutique IP firms.

Ms. Malner earned her B.A. summa cum laude in Criminal Justice from St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas.

Samantha Cardona, Intellectual Property Assistant

scardona@otc.utexas.edu • 512-471-2842

Genevieve Williams, Intellectual Property Assistant

gwilliams@otc.utexas.edu • 512-471-4256

Marketing

Betsy Merrick, Associate Director, Marketing

bmerrick@otc.utexas.edu • 512-232-7399

Betsy Merrick serves as Associate Director of Marketing for the Office of Technology Commercialization at The University of Texas at Austin. In this role, Ms. Merrick oversees all internal and external marketing and public relations efforts including communications, strategic objectives and media.

Ms. Merrick has more than 20 years of national and international experience in public relations, marketing and corporate communications. Ms. Merrick's corporate experience includes management roles for Fortune 50 companies including: AT&T, Dell Computer and Bell Atlantic. Prior to joining OTC, she was Vice President/Partner for The Thompson Group, a marketing firm focused on major Texas marketplaces.

Ms. Merrick earned B.A.s from The University of Texas in Public Relations and in Advertising. She has served on the following boards and committees: Texas Emerging Technology Fund/CenTex RCIC Advisory Board, The Association for Corporate Growth, Austin Community College Foundation, Austin Partners in Education, Association for Women in Technology Austin, The UT Austin Women in Engineering Program Advisory Board, The Seton Cove, the Downtown Development Association, and the Sun Bowl.

Kathy Grace, Webmaster

kgrace@otc.utexas.edu • 512-475-9564

Kathy Grace joined the Office of Technology Commercialization at The University of Texas at Austin in 2005 and currently serves as Webmaster for the department. In this role, she maintains the OTC website, manages internal databases, and creates departmental marketing collateral.

Prior to joining OTC, Ms. Grace was a freelance web designer, creating sites for clients including law firms, public health organizations, and retail stores. She has also worked as a multimedia designer and instructor, serving clients such as American Airlines, Informix, and Wal-Mart, and as a publication designer.

Eric Sellars, Programmer

esellars@otc.utexas.edu • 512-471-8612

Accounting

Angela Hodge, Accounting Group Supervisor

ahodge@otc.utexas.edu • 512-471-6601

Angela Hodge serves as Accounting Group Supervisor for the Office of Technology Commercialization at the University of Texas at Austin. In this role, Ms. Hodge oversees the accounting team, financial management functions and compliance issues.

Ms. Hodge brings more than twenty years of experience in the areas of auditing, general accounting, and taxation. Prior to joining OTC in 2007, she served as The University of Texas at Austin's Insurance Accountant and Financial Analyst for the Dean's Office of the College of Fine Arts. Previously, Ms. Hodge worked for organizations such as AT&T Wireless Services, Rector-Duncan & Associates, and Cooper Graci & Company, CPAs.

Ms. Hodge received her B.B.A in Accounting and M.P.A in Taxation after completing the Program in Professional Accounting at The University of Texas at Austin.

Ana Meraz, Admin. Associate

ameraz@otc.utexas.edu • 512-471-9357