About

The Jodsaas Center for Engineering Leadership and Entrepreneurship was made possible by a generous gift from UND College of Engineering & Mines Alum, Larry Jodsaas, Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, 1962.

About Larry Jodsaas

Jodsaas earned an electrical engineering degree in 1962. Following graduation he secured a position with Control Data. There, he held several different roles including president for Control Data’s systems business and vice president of operations for the peripheral products portion of the company. In 1990 Jodsaas bought VTC, Inc., a semiconductor manufacturing business. He sold the brand engineering and sales and marketing portions of VTC in 2000, but kept the manufacturing portion and through it he started PolarFab - the only privately held semiconductor foundry in the United States. Jodsaas, who retired in 2005, funded the Jodsaas Center within UND’s College of Engineering and Mines in 2008. Larry lost his battle with Alzheimer’s disease on April 27, 2020 in the peacefulness of his Summit Hill home in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Larry was a generous benefactor and friend to the College of Engineering and Mines. 

Mission

1. Develop the leadership and entrepreneurship skills of our students
2. Promote the formation and development of student-led entrepreneurial ventures
3. Serve as the link between the College of Engineering & Mines and other established programs on campus, including the Center for Innovation and the Entrepreneurship Program within the College of Business & Public Administration.

Society for Engineering and Entrepreneurial Development

The Jodsaas Center also supports the Society for Engineering and Entrepreneurial Development (SEED), a student organization that assists in the development of new student-led ventures. Students with technology-based ideas submit an application to be considered for support from the group. After the application process is finished, the students will be given the opportunity to present their idea, which is evaluated based on three criteria; market feasibility, technical feasibility, and business model feasibility. The goals of SEED are to prepare teams for participation in business plan competitions and help them make the connections necessary to transition their ideas from academia to the commercial setting.