Bob Geolas, Executive Director of CU-ICAR

UpstatebizSC:
What is your educational background?  How did you become the Executive Director of CU-ICAR?

Bob Geolas:
I attended N.C. State and spent most of the early part of my career in politics and government. I worked for a time in Washington before taking a role with the Speaker of the House in Raleigh.  It was during my time in Governor Hunt’s administration that I developed a passion for economic development and learned a great deal about how communities and regions can build dynamic and innovative economies that are a magnet for talent.

I started to work on Centennial Campus, the research park for my alma mater, N.C. State.  As with most parks around the country, Centennial Campus was based around a diverse portfolio of research areas such as materials, bioscience and nano technology as well as information technology.  It also combined other community components such as residential housing, a town center and eventually a middle school.  When I joined the project, it was struggling, people were starting to question whether it could become a model for economic growth, and the whole idea was on the verge of being scrapped.  We were able to turn things around and it went on to become one of the best known national research campuses in the U.S.

UpstatebizSC:
Why did you take the job heading up CU-ICAR?

Bob Geolas:
Ten years into my time at Centennial we received a visit from Clemson University officials who were looking for benchmarks for a new research park that was in the conceptual stage.  Conversations with Clemson about what they were planning evolved into more detailed talks about me possibly taking on the role of Executive Director of CU-ICAR. Three main aspects of project intrigued me.

First, it was a new project so it offered me the opportunity to be involved in the early stages of development and planning. I also liked the idea of being able to help shape the internal culture of the new organization.   

Second, unlike many other research projects around the United States, CU-ICAR had already lined up a strong private investment component.  Having the early private buy-in from major global brands like BMW and Michelin was a huge boost.

Third, CU-ICAR was unique in the United States in that it sought to build a research campus around a particular niche in the marketplace; it would be dedicated to automotive, transportation and motor sport related technology.  Under those categories, you potentially had a wide variety of research areas, but no one in the U.S had developed a campus around such a theme.

UpstatebizSC:
What is your role?

Bob Geolas:
My primary link is to the university administration and my job is to carry out the mission for CU-ICAR that was set out by the university president and the University Board of Trustees.  I am responsible for the overall development of CU-ICAR, its marketing, physical development and recruitment of potential new industry partners.  We are primarily a program driven campus; I work with the academic and research leaders of the university to make sure that we are bringing value to our students and faculty.

UpstatebizSC:
Why was CU-ICAR able to deliver on such large early private investment commitments?

Bob Geolas:
Prior to the current vision for CU-ICAR, Clemson explored the development of a wind tunnel with the help of a private partner. They approached BMW to see if they would be interested in buying time on the wind tunnel, but BMW told them that this was a function that they already handled in Germany.  However, BMW was interested in helping build a local, knowledge-based workforce that could feed into its global operations and support the growing automotive cluster in South Carolina. They needed a level of engineering talent that was not currently being offered by any program in the US.
 
Subsequent discussions with Clemson University centered on conceptualizing what a brand new Masters and PHD degree program in automotive engineering might look like.  BMW directed funds toward the bricks and mortar of a new BMW Research Center as well as the new graduate school. They also provided $10M to fund endowed professorships at the university in this new program. 

UpstatebizSC:
How well has CU-ICAR done?  How do you measure success?

Bob Geolas:
The speed with which we have gone from vision to reality over the past six years has been humbling.  In terms of dollars invested and job creation, we have outpaced other research parks that have been around much longer than us. Six years ago this was a green field site; now it has four major completed projects and three others in development. We have nearly $250M invested and were recently recognized as the 2009 Emerging Research/Science Park for all of North America as well as one of the five best global practices in the United States by the National Research Council, a division of the National Academy of Science.

Of the $250M, 70% has come from private investment, truly a remarkable and enviable percentage for any research park.  In addition to the BMW Information Technology Research Center, we have built the Carroll A. Campbell Jr. Graduate Engineering Center, a one of a kind university research center with automotive laboratories, as well as the Koyo Technology and Development Center.  Through these three investments 500 new jobs have been announced. 

In June we broke ground on the new 60,000 square foot, $11M Center for Emerging Technologies, a multi-tenant facility that already has one major announced tenant, SAGE Automotive Interiors. Proterra, a zero emission bus research and assembly center will break ground in August.  American Titanium Works should be starting construction on their new facility in the fall.  These three companies together have announced nearly 1,500 new private sector jobs. 

UpstatebizSC:
Why do you think you have been successful?

Bob Geolas:
Clemson started with a very bold vision and backed it up with talented faculty and a strong program. Given all the challenges that the automotive industry faces, our focus on automotive technology was the right message at the right time.

Another reason why this project has been so successful is the amazing entrepreneurial spirit that exists in this part of South Carolina.  This is a region where local and county government, businesses and the university have a great sense of teamwork and collaboration. 

UpstatebizSC:
How do you build on your success? 

Bob Geolas:
A private company might want to partner or work in close collaboration with the university for two main reasons: access to talent and joint research.  As with any business, the key to our future is getting in front of as many qualified prospects as we can to see if they might benefit from our model. Going forward, we continue to look to establish relationships with new partners, treating each one independently and listening to their needs. 

I am very focused on making sure that our three major current projects are successful.  The development of Proterra, the Center for Emerging Technologies and American Titanium Work will help us to continue to build momentum. 

UpstatebizSC:
How does CU-ICAR make money?

Bob Geolas:
During these early years, we have operated more like any other start-up by making key investments for a later return. We are moving to a self-sustaining model, where funds from leases support our operation. Of course, the academic and research programs of CU-ICAR operates like other traditional university funding models. 

There is a return on investment model associated with CU-ICAR that has already shown great success in terms of outside investment.

UpstatebizSC:
Is there a possibility for the university to earn income off the intellectual property as the University of Florida does with Gatorade?

Bob Geolas:
Yes, definitely, but that kind of income for a university is often a very small piece of the pie in terms of revenue.  Patented products owned by the university are more often than not licensed out to the entrepreneur. 

UpstatebizSC:
Are there research parks that you admire, where you have learned some best practices? 

Bob Geolas:
I was on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Research Parks for six years so I am very familiar with parks around the country and I have many friends in the business.  We have a saying in the industry: if you’ve seen one research park, you’ve seen one research park.  They are all so different that it is difficult to compare. I do admire the parks at the University of Virginia, the University of Delaware, and the Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico. 

UpstatebizSC:
Are there trends in research park development?  What are some of the challenges that you and all parks face?

Bob Geolas:
My time at Centennial Campus certainly shaped my thinking about research parks, but there have been dramatic shifts in the way industry looks at supporting R&D centers since that time. The days of companies making a major $100M investment in a new R&D center research are gone.  It’s often too costly for companies to move an entire team of people to a new location. A result of this recession, companies are looking for greater flexibility and are being more strategic with their investments. They may, for example, choose to locate a strategic R&D team in a location for three years, and once the job is done, move on.  The trend is towards “pop up” or “virtual” labs, something that all research parks are having to factor into their planning. 

The other big challenge for our industry is the rise of China, Malaysia, and India into the research park domain. These countries are building amazing research parks that are 100% funded by the government.  Then they offer the space to companies for free!  They want to attract talent! The larger issue is how we are going to compete as a country in the face of this competitive threat. 

UpstatebizSC:
So what do we do as a country?

Bob Geolas:
The American experience still has tremendous, unique strengths, not the least of which is our entrepreneurial spirit and competitive drive.  Each region has to build viable and diverse economic clusters.  That is what our state needs most at this moment in history and what we are striving to achieve with CU-ICAR – a long-term sustainable competitive advantage in the automotive sector. 

UpstatebizSC:
What is your leadership style?  How do you lead an organization such as CU-ICAR?

Bob Geolas:
Leadership is all about sharing.  You have to create a team that knows how to share everything – share the credit, share information, and share responsibility.  This is critical when you have so many different players and constituents. 

UpstatebizSC:
What role does architecture play in the planning for CU-ICAR?

Bob Geolas:
Another reason that I was intrigued by CU-ICAR was that the President of Clemson, Jim Barker, an architect by training, had a vision for what CU-ICAR might look like.  He understood that if we were to build a research center that sought to attract international attention, it had to be a bold, modern, innovative statement from an architectural point of view.  If you want someone to make a quality investment, you need to make a quality investment in yourself.

We also have an important and strategic commitment to sustainability with the buildings in our research park by seeking LEED certification. This is an industry that has not typically been thought of in positive terms for its commitment to the environment.  We can help change that!

Also, if you want to attract talented, inspiring people, you need to offer them cool and exciting places in which to work. 

Lastly, architecture itself can be a facilitator of ideas.  In an era of computers and video conferencing, nothing is more important to get the creative juices flowing than eye to eye contact.  Our park is intentionally designed with common spaces and courtyards to promote interaction.