Robert J. Calcaterra, D.Sc., is a principal of Startup Midwest Bio Seed Fund. 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). His career includes engineering 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 engineering from Washington University. He later completed Harvard University's Industrial Research Institute Executive Management Seminar.