Carl Gulbrandsen—a champion of WiSys—passed away Oct. 17, 2022.
In addition to serving as the managing director of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation for 16 years, Gulbrandsen was instrumental in the creation and success of WiSys.
He helped found the nonprofit organization in 2000, served as a founding member and past president of the WiSys Board of Trustees and was a trusted advisor to the organization’s leaders.
“Carl was a terrific colleague and friend. I knew him professionally long before I took the position at WiSys and was better for it,” said WiSys President Arjun Sanga. “I will miss the opportunity to talk shop with him over coffee and seek his advice.”
Gulbrandsen’s commitment to WiSys and its mission to serve the innovators at the University of Wisconsin System’s 11 regional universities, led WiSys to name its annual Innovator of the Year Award in his honor.
“Carl was an exemplary leader and a tireless advocate of university technology transfer. In his passing Wisconsin lost an intellectual giant and a dear friend to me and countless others,” said former WiSys Managing Director Maliyaka John.
WiSys is a nonprofit organization that works with faculty, staff, students, and alumni of the UW System to facilitate cutting-edge research programs, develop and commercialize discoveries, and foster a spirit of innovative and entrepreneurial thinking across the state.