The firm announced Conn will join the firm as a managing director on July 1 "to help lead the $350 million Enterprise Partners VI fund, which is targeted to provide seed and first round investments in telecommunications, technology-based life science businesses and enterprise software sectors." The firm's managing director, Drew Senyei, says Conn will help Enterprise continue to identify and build world class businesses based on novel core technologies. "Bob Conn is one of the rare individuals who has both deep fundamental knowledge in a wide range of technical areas, and the creative vision to recognize emerging and converging technologies that can revolutionize the marketplace," says Senyei. "He has a proven track record in building and leading large sustainable enterprises in both industry and academia."
As dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering, Conn strategically led the Jacobs School through an unprecedented period of growth in which, for example, annual extramural research funding grew by 270 percent, from $33 million to $112 million. The Jacobs School is now ranked among the top 10 public engineering schools in the country. He led the efforts to establish major enterprises in key technical areas including the Center for Wireless Communications in 1995 and the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology in 2000. He also helped UCSD win the highly competitive National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure and the Distributed Terascale Facility at the San Diego Supercomputer Center. Conn has worked diligently to build partnerships between the university and industry and most recently, helped establish the Jacobs School's von Liebig Center for Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement.
A member of the National Academy of Engineering and a leader in the field of plasma physics, materials research and fusion energy, Conn co-founded Plasma & Materials Technologies (now Trikon Technologies, headquartered in the U.K.), an international manufacturer of semiconductor etching and deposition equipment. He served as board chairman and senior technologist from 1986 until 1993. He has also served for the last 25 years as an industry consultant in the areas of semiconductor chips and devices, micro and nanofabrication technology, energy resources and development, and computing and information technology. In addition, he serves on the board of directors of Intersil Corp. and ChipPAC Inc., and on the executive board of UCSD CONNECT.
"The creative challenge of building major programs or businesses is my passion and I'm delighted by the opportunity to work with Enterprise Partners to help people with brilliant technical ideas shape those ideas into successful business enterprises," said Conn. "I've always felt strongly that entrepreneurial innovation is critical to ensure the nation's prosperity and is especially crucial for reenergizing the market in times of economic downturn."
Prior to joining UCSD in January of 1994, Conn served as professor of engineering and applied sciences and founding director of the Institute of Plasma and Fusion Research at the University of California, Los Angeles. He co-founded Plasma & Materials Technologies in 1986. From 1970 to 1979 he served on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin, where he held the Romnes Faculty Professorial Chair. Conn received his B.S. in chemical engineering from Pratt Institute in 1964. He earned his M.S. in mechanical engineering in 1965 and his Ph.D. in engineering science in 1968 from the California Institute of Technology.
In a May 9 note to Fusion Power Associates, Conn said he would "continue to help with the fusion program." "I'll be on a two year leave from UC, San Diego, and my closeness will enable me to remain close to our research effort on campus," he said.
About Enterprise Partners: Founded in 1985, Enterprise Partners is a venture capital firm investing in privately held early stage and emerging companies. Enterprise Partners is one of the top-performing venture capital firms in the United States with over $1 billion of capital under active management. The current portfolio of Enterprise Partners includes many companies with disruptive technologies in both the telecom and life science industries as well as revolutionary enterprise software applications. Over the past seven years, Enterprise Partners has invested in more than 125 companies, many of which have led to successful public companies or have been sold to existing corporations. Investors in the firm include top university endowment funds, top tier fund-of-fund managers and Fortune 100 pension plans. For more details about the firm, please visit their website at http://www.epvc.com. Enterprise Partners is headquartered in La Jolla, CA and can be reached at 858.731.0300.