UNLV's Division of Research and Graduate Studies has named Dr. Robert Sweitzer to lead its efforts to increase the transfer of faculty and student intellectual property into patents and licenses. He will assume his new duties in early February.

As director of the Office of Technology Transfer, Sweitzer will lead the university's intellectual property (IP) and commercialization program. He will work directly with UNLV faculty and students and provide consultation on patent and copyright procedures, licensing, venture capital, business incubation, and related topics dealing with entrepreneurial activity and economic development. In this position, he will work closely with UNLV's General Counsel Office.

Sweitzer comes to UNLV from the Technology Ventures Corporation in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where from 2005 to 2007 he was director of project development and business assistance and concurrently served on the marketing faculty at New Mexico State University. From 1993 to 2005, he was founder and president of The Matrix Group in Redlands, Calif., where he developed marketing strategies and business development programs for Southern California companies. Sweitzer served on the faculty of Pepperdine University in 2004-2005 and Claremont Graduate University from 1989 to 2004. He holds a bachelor's degree in industrial management from Purdue University and an M.B.A. and Ph.D. from Michigan State University.

The UNLV Division of Research and Graduate Studies is committed to supporting and promoting the performance of superb research and creative/scholarly activity, the provision of excellent graduate education, and the seamless integration of these two critical endeavors.