The School of Natural Resources’ Department of Environmental Studies will host a public lecture Sept. 11 by Anthony Michaels, a biology professor and former director of the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Southern California.
Michaels, managing director and co-founder of Proteus Environmental Technologies, will speak at UNL East Campus Hardin Hall about how universities can take advantage of a growing trend in business: Improving profits are caused in part by innovations that center on the application of sustainability principles, technologies and practices.
This changing market trend is a great opportunity for universities to fund more research projects and create more jobs for students if universities become more involved with innovative businesses, Michaels said.
Michaels’ lecture —“Taking Agriculture and Sustainability Innovations to Market: A New Private Equity-Academia Partnership Opportunity”—will be held in the Hardin Hall auditorium at 4 p.m.
The California-based Proteus helps find and promote environmental research and innovation in universities and helps commercialize transformative technologies that help solve substantial environmental problems. Michaels also is chief science adviser for Pegasus Capital Advisers, a private equity firm that partners with Proteus.