Berry College Alumni Relations
J. Ronald Thorton (61C)
Entrepreneurial Spirit Award
Hall of Fame
June 4, 2005
Ronald’s entrepreneurial career has focused on business development in research and development, technology transfer and commercialization, and economic development. Among many accomplishments, he performed pioneering research in laser and electrooptics for medical and fluid dynamics applications, founded and led a start-up company of medical electronics products, and built and managed a nine-state southeast regional technology transfer network focused on moving federal laboratory-generated technology to the private sector. He currently is a technology business consultant. Past positions have
included director of the Southern Technology Applications Center of the University of Florida and deputy director of NASA. His honors are numerous and include the Technology Transfer Society’s Thomas Jefferson Award for Personal Accomplishment. Ronald is a 1961 Berry graduate.
