An event sponsored by the Iowa Board of Regents will show off how research licensed from Iowa’s three public universities can help private companies.

“Innovation Iowa,” a conference showcasing the research and development prowess of Iowa State, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa, will take place from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center, 1200 Grand Ave., in Des Moines.

John Brighton, university vice provost for research and development, said the event is a “road show” outlining how new ideas from Iowa universities can be turned into products, which is a vital part of commercialization for the private sector.

“We have a job to continually help people know more about what we do, and that’s part of why we’re doing this road show in Des Moines,” he said.

Brighton said Iowa State’s Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer works well, but it needs to improve in some respects.

According to the office’s Web site, it works “in concert to facilitate and enhance the inventive and creative works of Iowa State University’s employees and students and to transfer these works for the benefit of society.”

“My philosophy everyday is to look for some way to look at the processes we’re doing and to make them better,” he said.

“One to get better results and the other is to save the steps to get work done, to make things simpler in how they work and more efficient.”

Doug Jacobson, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, will speak about his experience as a faculty member starting a company from his research.

Jacobson said he founded Palisade Systems, Inc. nine years ago with four members; since then the company has grown to 20 employees. The company produces network security products.

“The university actually funded the initial research through a grant program designed to take research ideas and to make them into technology that can be used by companies,” Jacobson said.

He added that money for these programs is important because Iowa State is a land-grant institution and activities such as these should be encouraged.

Iowa City Regent Robert Downer said he agrees. Last month, board president Michael Gartner went before the Iowa House Economic Growth Committee asking for $20 million this year in funding and $50 million over the next three years.

“A significant part of this would probably go for endowed chairs at the universities dealing for faculty members in areas such as the biosciences that have been identified as areas where there was both significant expertise and significant commercialization potential in the private sector,” Downer said.

He said the money would not be part of the allocation process to each university, but instead rely on proposals received by universities to identify where vital projects are located.

“It would be an attempt to create competitive efforts among the universities to identify these areas,” he said. “The better the proposal, the more likely it would be funded.”

Right now Downer said he is “encouraged” that the Regents will receive the money, but said he is not getting ahead of himself.

“With regards to the Iowa Legislature, it’s not over till it’s over,” he said.

As new funding is in the process of being solicited, Iowa State started to hand out grants to faculty as part of the Grow Iowa Values Fund.

Last week, nine projects were named winners of the first grant contest.

Brighton said the funding will go through the next 10 years in which Iowa State will receive approximately $2 million each year to fund commercial ventures.

“This is a great opportunity for continuity; a 10-year commitment is very helpful to us,” he said.

Brighton said the contest would take place every year.

This year 47 proposals were received from faculty members at Iowa State requesting money from the fund, and from those, the nine winners were selected, he said.

Martha James, associate scientist of biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology, was a winner of one of the grants. She said her product is a form of starch that slows digestion, which could be beneficial for protection against colon cancer and could potentially help people with type-2 diabetes.

“Eventually, if all of our tests show that this actually could be digested more slowly as a food ingredient or food additive, then yes, I do think this has great market potential,” she said.

James said the research is in its initial stages and other forms of starch may be found in the research which could be even more beneficial.

“It is potentially a way to use plant products to improve nutrition and combat disease,” she said.

“So it has some possible health benefits; it [is] also a way to expand the use of corn produced in Iowa.”