Ashley Washburn, December 18, 2025
Horst is named executive director of NUtech Ventures
Cheryl Horst has been named executive director of NUtech Ventures, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s nonprofit technology commercialization affiliate. Her role became effective Dec. 15.
As executive director, Horst will provide strategic direction, operational guidance and leadership to ensure NUtech Ventures is at the forefront of academic technology transfer and commercialization. She had held the role in an interim capacity since July 2024.
Horst’s other responsibilities include:
- Collaborating closely with Nebraska Innovation Campus and Industry Relations leadership to grow engagement of UNL with the private sector.
- Engaging faculty in identifying research with potential for commercialization.
- Overseeing NUtech’s annual budget and ensuring appropriate fiscal reporting and analysis.
- Serving on the vice chancellor for research and innovation’s senior leadership team.
As interim executive director, Horst developed a strategic plan for the organization that included a number of new initiatives, including the development of the NUexpress licensing option. This agreement reduces the burden on Nebraska innovators interested in launching startups. NUexpress offers startup-friendly terms in a streamlined format, reducing the time and complexity involved in traditional licensing agreements.
NUtech also recently launched a Faculty Innovation Ambassador Program to help strengthen relationships between UNL faculty and NUtech and improve engagement and dialogue with UNL’s academic departments.
“I am so pleased about Cheryl’s appointment as the executive director of NUtech Ventures, which is an important bridge between university innovators and industry,” said Jennifer Nelson, interim vice chancellor for research and innovation, and a member of NUtech’s board of directors. “Cheryl has demonstrated strong, successful and responsible leadership during her interim role. I am excited for how she will continue to lead the NUtech team in building relationships and programs that expand opportunities for UNL faculty and other innovators, while driving economic growth in Nebraska and throughout the region.”
Prior to her role as interim executive director, Horst was NUtech’s associate director and intellectual property counsel and has over 15 years of experience in technology commercialization. She earned a Juris Doctor from the Nebraska College of Law with a specialization in intellectual property and a master’s degree in bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Horst is a registered technology transfer professional as well as a registered patent attorney with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
