Page 43 - Innovation Delaware 2018

ADVANCED MATERIALS/MANUFACTURING
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Q: You see first-hand the work being done by graduate students at the university and the kinds of product and business ideas they have. What needs to be done to see that they stay in Delaware to develop these projects?
DR. NORMAN WAGNER
NW: The biggest missing component is the bridge needed to retain the talent to keep the people here so that they can spin out these ideas. Graduating students get job offers and are tempted to go elsewhere, and, as they need income, who can blame them? Some other states have funding to give them a “bridge year” where they can take their idea and spin it off and have time to look for federal funding or private investor funding.
Q: We’ve talked about many of the startup activities and startup support. What still needs to be done there?
NW: There are lots of people working on this idea, but what we need is one-stop shopping for entrepreneurs who have this great idea for a product or process, but still have to figure out the business or service side of things — what do you need for insurance, accounting, how to do payroll, protection of intellectual properties, those sorts of services.
Q: What excites you most about the local environment?
NW: Simply that Delaware is becoming very competitive in attracting ideas and people. ID
DRIVING THE FUTURE IN DELAWARE
Our proposed electric vehicle program will provide customers with reduced electric rates, credits, rebates and other incentives to buy and own electric vehicles.
We are working with our partners across the state to provide incentives to install charging equipment in homes and apartment buildings, build public charging stations, and help customers save money by providing cheaper electricity to charge their vehicles during off-peak hours.
Learn more at delmarva.com/ev
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