Q&A: Tommy Sowers shares vision for Innovate Carolina

Tommy Sowers is on a mission to make Carolina “the easiest major research university in the country to do business with.”

Sowers assumed the role of vice chancellor for innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development and chief innovation officer in April. He brings vast cross-sector experience, with a background that spans academia, the military, building public and venture-backed companies, national security innovation and public sector leadership.

Sowers spoke with The Well about his vision for Innovate Carolina and strengthening UNC-Chapel Hill’s innovation ecosystem.

What drew you to UNC-Chapel Hill and Innovate Carolina, and what excites you most about this work?

I’ve spent a good chunk of my career in organizations where execution really matters, whether that’s the military, startups, government or business. And execution matters here at Carolina. It’s an incredible institution with a long history of innovation, and we find ourselves in a moment where parts of the institution need to innovate again. It’s a changing environment, and I believe in the chancellor, his vision and his approach, and the entire leadership team. I’m honored to join this great institution at this important time.

Why is it important for Carolina to expand and deepen partnerships with industry, venture capital and public sector stakeholders?

Carolina has a fantastic history of partnerships. Usually in moments like this, where there are a lot of external changes, we’ve redefined how the University works with others, whether that’s the state or the people of North Carolina. You can go all the way back to 1892 when a chemical company sent a rock over to the chemistry department here. Our faculty identified it as calcium carbide, the discovery behind Union Carbide. And the people behind it — named Morehead, Kenan and Venable — went on to shape UNC. Today, those are the names that you see around campus. This institution has a fantastic service-to-the-state ethos, and we believe that with strong partnerships, whether those are private companies or public organizations, we can deliver on that promise better going forward.

What opportunities do you see to grow the University’s tech commercialization pipeline and expand startup formation coming out of the University?

Our role is to help turn ideas into impact, and we are here to serve the faculty and our substantial research enterprise. For those who see their path going toward commercialization or launching an idea out, we have a whole host of programs, whether that’s supporting very early-stage ideas, protecting those ideas, navigating technology licensing agreements, or helping faculty form a company. And the same goes for students. We built the community here at the Innovate Carolina Junction between Franklin and Rosemary streets where they can find other visionary people who want to start something. It’s not for the faint of heart. We’re bringing that community together, but then critically, we’re augmenting them — whether that’s with advisers or with funding for faculty or students. What we enable is that entrepreneurial spirit.

One of the missions you and the chancellor have talked about is making Carolina “the easiest major university in the country to do business with.” What does that look like, and how does Carolina get there?

We’ve counted about 2,000 ways right now that faculty and students collaborate with corporate partners, and we like to say 1,000 flowers are blooming around campus. The challenge is that flowers are fragile, and they’re usually here for a set period of time. The feedback from outside entities is that Carolina has many things to offer, but it can be difficult to navigate, understand and work with. So our office is building the single front door, which many institutions have, that allows outside industry and partners to understand how we can help.

One thing we’re doing differently is not waiting for people to come to us. The office is growing, and we’re hiring folks with deep industry expertise who already know leaders both here in North Carolina and beyond so that we can go and simply sit down and ask, “How can we help?” Whether it’s talent, whether it’s research, whether it’s convening, or branding, or access to our early-stage IP, there are a lot of ways to help. We want to make it easy.

People throughout the world — and across the University — are rapidly learning how to innovate with AI. How does AI factor into Innovate Carolina?

I think because of our office’s name, we have a mandate to be on the cutting edge of how people operate with AI. I’ve been here just a short time, but we’ve already launched a university-wide, AI-powered platform that, for the first time, makes clear how people and units across Carolina are partnering with various corporate entities. If I’m someone at the University who plans to talk with a company, I want to know how that company is already partnering with us. Now we have much better visibility into those relationships, as well as alumni who may be able to help strengthen them. Our Innovate Carolina team also works with AI-native students who help us improve our own operations. They come in, learn our workflows and how we operate, and then help us design more productive and efficient ways to work in an AI era.

What kind of opportunity does Carolina North represent in terms of partnering and innovating with industry?

In so many ways, Carolina can offer something that no other university can. We’re the oldest public institution. We are a top-10 research institution. We have phenomenal faculty and students, but a lot of peer institutions would make somewhat of the same pitch. What we can also offer is the future — and a campus where faculty, students, industry partners and AI come together to build not just any future, but a future for the public good. I was just on the phone with one of the leading technology companies, and that ability — not just to say “here’s what we can do in our current state,” but, “here’s what we could do in our future state” — that’s very exciting.

What are some of the ways students, faculty and others on campus and in the local community can get involved with Innovate Carolina?

First off, there’s no wrong door. We have a host of different programs to help faculty and students launch their ideas into the world. I’d say step one is to come to the Innovate Carolina Junction. It’s a beautiful facility. Inside, you’ll find student communities. You’ll find our Office of Technology Commercialization helping faculty. And you’ll also find other companies and partners that are here to help. Just as we’re creating a front door to the University for partners, we have an easy front door for any of the students, faculty or community members who want to launch their ideas.