Bruce Wright Receives Award for Building Bright Futures in Tucson
(Tucson, Arizona) Bruce Wright received the Lawrence M. Hecker Future of Possibility Award during the annual event Idea Funding. This award is presented to an individual or organization that is committed to building bright futures in the Tucson community, as Mr. Hecker has done for decades.
This year, Bruce Wright, Associate Vice President for Tech Parks Arizona was honored with the Hecker award for his commitment to building Tucson’s economy. Wright is a major contributor in building Tucson’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. As an advocate for technology commercialization, Wright founded the Arizona Center for Innovation (AzCI) which is the longest continuously operating incubators in the state of Arizona serving over 100 start-up companies in its fourteen-year existence. AzCI supports technology-based startups and emerging companies to develop their ideas, inventions, and products for the marketplace. The model includes University of Arizona (UA)-related startups – by faculty or students – and community startup companies who work side-by-side in a fast-moving, collaborative, and creative environment.
He has also helped foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship at the University of Arizona. Wright was instrumental in the development of Innovation Day at the UA, which acknowledged and encouraged the entrepreneurial spirit across the UA campus for ten years. The event was successful in establishing a more entrepreneurial environment and culture among faculty, staff and students. Celebrating entrepreneurship within the UA was key to encouraging the University to move research from the lab to the marketplace. Bruce has been instrumental in fostering technology development and commercialization by supporting and helping new technologies advance into the marketplace for nearly thirty years.
“Bruce has provided great leadership in envisioning and building one of the top tech parks in the nation,” says David Allen, Vice President of Tech Launch Arizona, the UA technology commercialization office that includes Tech Parks Arizona. “We and all of Tucson are fortunate to have someone with his expertise and passion working for our community.”
The award was inaugurated in 2013 with Larry Hecker being the first awardee based on his dedication to supporting entrepreneurship in the Tucson community. The IdeaFunding committee decided to make this an annual recurring award in Mr. Hecker’s name to honor an individual based on the above criteria.
Past recipients include:
2013 – Larry Hecker
2014 – Rick Myers
2015 – Harry George
2016 – Sherry Hoskinson
2017 – Bruce Wright
About Tech Parks Arizona
Tech Parks Arizona creates the “Interactive Ground” that generates, attracts and retains technology companies and talent in alignment with the research, mission and goals of the University of Arizona (UA). Tech Parks Arizona directs the UA Tech Park, the UA Tech Park at The Bridges and the Arizona Center for Innovation, placing the highest priority on recruiting companies desiring connectivity to the University of Arizona. Tech Parks Arizona is part of Tech Launch Arizona (TLA), an office of integrated teams creating an ecosystem of invention and commercialization throughout Arizona and beyond.
