Cornell University is overhauling its innovation activities and has appointed Matt Marx as vice provost for entrepreneurship, innovation and external engagement to oversee the refreshed efforts.
Marx joined Cornell in 2021 and has been the Bruce F. Failing Sr professor of entrepreneurship and innovation, and faculty director for the university-wide programme Entrepreneurship at Cornell.
Marx will sit within the Division of Research and Innovation, and report directly to provost Kavita Bala.
He has been tasked with establishing the Cornell Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which will consolidate a series of existing offerings, including the Center for Technology Licensing.
The centre will also bring together Entrepreneurship at Cornell, the Center for Regional Economic Advancement, and the Praxis Center for Venture Development.
Marx plans to tap into AI and machine learning technologies to accelerate commercialisation and venture building, including by using AI to identify commercial opportunities in research and matching potential co-founders, investors, alumni advisors, corporate partners, and employees.
“The aim is to make it easier to create new companies that leverage Cornell’s innovative research to solve the world’s most pressing problems, bolstering programs to incubate and accelerate ventures across all of our campuses,” he says.
Krystyn Van Vliet, vice president for innovation and external engagement strategy since March 2025, has stepped down. She remains a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering.
