Two years ago, the entrepreneurial landscape at University Park looked markedly different than it does today. There were 28 fewer startup companies in existence, 70 jobs had yet to be created, $1.3 million in revenue had not been generated, five spots in the business incubator in Innovation Park were still vacant, and 18 research projects at Penn State were not commercialized.

Image: Professor Tony Jun Huang's work in using acoustic waves to sort cells on a chip formed the core of start-up company Ascent Bio-Nano LLC, with assistance from the Ben Franklin TechCelerator program, which helps Penn State faculty bring their research to the commercial marketplace. Image: Patrick Mansell