A leading authority on technology commercialization, entrepreneurship and innovation, Kane is the Director of Capstone Theses/Projects in the ESTEEM Graduate Program at the University of Notre Dame. He was the co-Executive Director of the Illinois Technology Enterprise Center at Argonne National Laboratory and is the founding CEO of several venture- and angel-backed companies based on university research. He has been an Innovation Corps (I-Corps) mentor and National Science Foundation (NSF) reviewer several times. 

 

Named a 2007 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, he was recognized for Outstanding Entrepreneurship by the NSF and twice was an invited witness on technology transfer for the U.S. House of Representative's Subcommittee on Research & Science Education. He was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to the National Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship & Innovation (2022). He is an ambassador at Right to Start, a grassroots advocacy organization seeking to expand entrepreneurial opportunities for all. Neil is also a Scout for Origin Ventures, a $440 million VC fund based in Chicago.