Sebby segues into Northern Illinois role

Luke Sebby has joined Northern Illinois University (NIU) in the newly created post of director of innovation partnerships and tech transfer.
His responsibilities include forging NIU’s entrepreneurial links to external partners and supervising its innovation and collaboration centre 71 North.
Sebby was previously with Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation, a technical support arm of Virginia Tech, from 2013 onwards and most recently served as the division’s vice-president of operations and development.
Profits at Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation grew during Sebby’s tenure, credited with driving innovation alliances between academics and the US Department of Defense.
Sebby spent five years with the Department of Defense as a civilian-level specialist from 2008 until 2013, following his service as a linguistics-focused US Army staff sergeant in the Third Infantry Division from 2000 until 2006.
In the interim, Sebby was a red team analyst and leader with defence and aerospace company BAE Systems from 2006 until 2008, tasked with simulating combat scenarios that involved improvised explosive devices.
Sebby said: “NIU is not an island. It is part of a broader ecosystem, connected to many different people, places and organisations, like [incubator] Innovation DuPage and [university-industry partnership hub] the Illinois Innovation Network. I am looking forward to strengthening these connections and building new ones.”
– Image courtesy of NIU