Thomas O'Neal

Dr. Thomas O'Neal serves as the Associate Vice President of Research & Commercialization at the University of Central Florida (UCF). He also directs the UCF Business Incubation Program (UCFBIP) and the Florida Economic Gardening Institute (FEGI). With a career spanning over three decades at UCF since 1991, Dr. O'Neal has played a pivotal role in developing UCF's research infrastructure and commercialization ecosystem.

Dr. O'Neal's educational background includes a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering, an MBA, and an MS in Engineering Management, all from UCF, and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Florida. His career at UCF began in 1991 as Associate Director for the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL).

His research interests focus on business incubation, entrepreneurship, and economic development. Dr. O'Neal's work has helped build innovation ecosystems in Florida, with a particular emphasis on transferring research results into the marketplace. He has secured funding from prestigious organizations including the Kauffman Foundation, NSF, NCIIA, and DOE to support entrepreneurship initiatives.

Under Dr. O'Neal's leadership, the UCF Business Incubation Program has expanded to 10 locations and has helped more than 170 emerging companies that create over $500 million in annual revenue and account for more than 1,650 new jobs in the local area. The program earned 'Incubator of the Year' by the National Business Incubation Association.

• Incubator of the Year by the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA)

Dr. O'Neal serves as a core member of the Florida High Tech Corridor Council and is president of the Florida Business Incubation Association. He has assisted in the formation of numerous companies and the commercialization of technologies developed at UCF. His efforts focus on building strong research programs and transferring research results into the marketplace to build an innovation-based economy for Central Florida.

As an educator, Dr. O'Neal teaches graduate courses including Engineering Management, Technological Entrepreneurship, and Intellectual Property, Technology Transfer and Commercialization. He is dedicated to creating and supporting successful innovation ecosystems in Florida.