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Dr. Robert J. Calcaterra brings 14 years of experience in incubator management to his position as president and chief executive officer of Nidus Center for Scientific Enterprise. At Nidus Center, Dr. Calcaterra will lead efforts to commercialize technologies in the plant and life sciences by recruiting and nurturing young entrepreneurs with promising ideas and relevant business expertise.
Dr. Calcaterra most recently was president, founder and chief executive officer of the Arizona Technology Incubator (ATI). A public/private partnership, ATI provides technical and business support services to early-stage, technology-based entrepreneurial companies. Under Dr. Calcaterra's leadership, ATI brought more than $50 million and 250 new jobs to the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. ATI won three consecutive national awards (1996-98) in the categories of Incubator Company of the Year, Incubator Innovation of the Year and Incubator Graduate Company.
The Arizona Technology Incubator is Dr. Calcaterra's second successful technology incubator. He established the Boulder Technology Incubator (BTI) in 1989. Much like the Arizona Technology Incubator, BTI serves as a mentor to technology-based entrepreneurial companies providing them with technical and business support. BTI won the National Incubator of the Year award in 1998.
Previously, Dr. Calcaterra worked for numerous Fortune 500 companies. While with the Adolph Coors Company, he was director of Research & Development, Licensing, and Quality Assurance where he managed as many as 325 people. He also formed eight technically-based businesses for Adolph Coors Company. Prior to his work at Adolph Coors, Dr. Calcaterra worked as senior research engineer for long-range strategic planning and technology forecasting and assessments for Amoco Corporation. He was also a research engineer for Alcoa Corporation and Monsanto Company, where he began his career in 1965.
Dr. Calcaterra is well known for his civic work involving small-business related issues. In 1995 he was appointed by President Bill Clinton as a delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business. He is a member of the Advisory Board to the National Business Incubation Association, where he served on the board of directors for two years. He is active in Missouri and St. Louis as a member of the boards of MOBIO, Technology Gateway and Missouri Venture Forum. He serves on the Advisory Board to the Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering Departments at Washington University as well as the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Nebraska. In addition, he Chairs the Missouri Venture Capital Roundtable and is a member of the Coalition for Plant and Life Sciences.
Dr. Calcaterra did his graduate and undergraduate work in chemical engineering at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He received his D.Sc. in chemical engineering from Washington University of St. Louis and later completed Harvard University's Industrial Research Institute Executive Management Seminar. | 