University director connects USF research with Tampa Bay's high-tech future

Elizabeth Nelson never expected to build a career in technology.

Growing up near Utica, New York, Nelson, was drawn more to the arts than science or engineering, she says. After earning a communications degree from SUNY Plattsburgh, she worked in strategic communications and crisis public relations in New York City before joining the New York State Council on the Arts.

Photo by Mark Wemple

That position introduced her to public service, grant-making and economic development — experiences that would eventually lead her to Tampa and the Florida High Tech Corridor.

Now Nelson is the director of the Florida High Tech Corridor’s initiatives at the University of South Florida, where she connects academic researchers with companies seeking to develop and commercialize new technologies.

Nelson joined USF in 2016 after moving to Tampa Bay with her husband, a USF alum with family in the area. What began as a position overseeing the Corridor’s Matching Grants Research Program gradually expanded as Nelson identified unmet needs across the university and the region’s technology sector.

“I kind of carved it out as I’ve grown at USF and gotten more ingrained in the university community and the Tampa Bay community, seeing where there are needs and gaps,” Nelson says.

Since arriving, Nelson has helped lead collaborations involving more than 370 faculty researchers and over 100 industry partners. Those partnerships have generated $68.5 million in research and development projects in fields including life sciences, defense technology, energy, agriculture and environmental innovation. They have also given more than 900 students opportunities to conduct industry research.

Nelson credits Florida High Tech Corridor CEO Paul Sohl, her mentor, with helping her become more willing to act before every detail is perfected. His advice? Remain curious, take thoughtful risks and treat unsuccessful experiments as opportunities to improve, she says. 

The payoff, Nelson says, is in watching today’s laboratory discoveries and fledgling startups become major companies and employers. Innovation can take years to gain traction, she says, making it that much more rewarding to watch small investments develop into something that can change the world. 

“I love to see the small seeds that you plant start to grow,” Nelson says. “I’m really excited to see some of the projects and faculty and students that we’re supporting now. Where are they going to go? What impacts are they going to have?”