Business conference focuses on entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs, innovators and 'Berg alumni will come together for the two-day conference March 23-24 to actively engage students in the exploration of the venture creation process. The conference also will feature Heidelberg alumnus Dr. Raul Cuero, a researcher, scientist and inventor, as the spring Entrepreneur-in-Residence.

Cuero, a 1971 Heidelberg graduate who resides in Texas, specializes in the areas of biotechnology and synthetic biology. He is the founder and research director of the International Park of Creativity in his native Colombia, which aims to produce young inventors. He is an international consultant on biotechnology and the author of several books on creativity. Cuero’s doctorate is in microbiology from Strathclyde University in Glasgow and his master’s degree is in plant pathology from The Ohio State University.

As a research microbiologist in the Cooperative Agricultural Research Center at Prairie View A&M University, Cuero has studied, taught and lectured about microbial biotechnology, microbial control, food safety microbiology and environmental microbiology research. With several patents and 11 inventions to his credit, in 1995, he developed a method for increasing levels of beta-carotene in plants, thus increasing crop yields, plant growth and fruit size. He also developed an enhancement for the purification of crude oil.

As part of the conference, Cuero will deliver a keynote address at 11 a.m. Thursday, March 23, titled How Invention Drives Job Creation & Sustainable Economic Prosperity in Wickham Great Hall. He will also lecture in several classes in the School of Business.

Throughout the two days of the conference, alumni entrepreneurs from around the country will converge to talk about the process of innovation in business. Expected to attend as presenters are John Q. Adams, Jeff Demaree, Stephen Teresi, Rosie Teresi, Bob Aleksandrovic, Ed Hernando and Troy Albright. Additional entrepreneurs spanning local to national ventures also will be on hand for sessions. Topic ranging from chiropractic medicine to pharmaceutical industry, food distribution to equity investing and web marketing to construction management.