Affholter, Joseph

Biography

Joe is an experienced entrepreneur, scientist, and technology commercialization specialist.  He is the Commercialization Program Director of the Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization (MTRAC) initiative at Michigan State University.  He is the former Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU), a former Dow Chemical research scientist, and an experienced life science (biotechnology) industry executive.  He is a named inventor on more than 20 patents.  Those patents cover platform technology innovations in the biomedical, agriculture, chemical and energy industries.  As the founder of a Michigan-based consulting and innovation advancement enterprise, Joe has been involved in leading and advising technical and entrepreneurial teams for >20 years.  He is also a co-founder and former senior executive of the agricultural life science firm, GANTEC Inc (Midland, MI).  His academic and community service interests include building entrepreneur-readiness at the community level, enhancing student- and faculty-level innovation, establishing strengths-based leadership practices in small-to-medium size businesses, and integrating innovation with economic development and environmental improvement initiatives, especially in the U.S. and West Africa.