Robert J. Calcaterra, DSc

Robert J. Calcaterra, DSc, is a principal of Startup Midwest Management where he has been co-founded three start up companies. Calcaterra retired in 2008 as president and CEO of the Nidus Center for Scientific Enterprise, a non-profit plant and life sciences incubator, where he worked with over 20 client companies involved in plant and life sciences providing the companies with access to capital and helping them raise more than $140 million. Prior to his tenure at Nidus Dr. Calcaterra was president, founder and chief executive officer of the Arizona Technology Incubator (ATI) and the Boulder Technology Incubator (BTI). His career includes management positions with Monsanto, Coors, and Amoco and he also taught graduate courses in entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado, Arizona State University and Washington University. A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, Calcaterra earned bachelor's and master's degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Nebraska and a doctorate in the same field from Washington University and later completed Harvard University's Industrial Research Institute Executive Management Seminar.