Update: this verson of the story includes Daniel Baden's new title.

Eyeing opportunities for growth in its marine science sector, University of North Carolina Wilmington is making changes within the Center for Marine Science, officials said Wednesday.

University chancellor Jose Sartarelli confirmed Wednesday that Daniel Baden, who has directed the center for the past 16 years, is assuming a new role. As executive principal, Marine Biotechnology in North Carolina, he will concentrate on marketing the CREST Research Park MARBIONC facility and helping its tenants translate the results of their research into commercial applications. Aswani Volety, dean of UNCW’s College of Arts and Sciences, meanwhile, will oversee the center’s academic aspects.

“We’re getting to the stage now that there is so much going on in the translational side –we have a critical mass now,” Sartarelli said of MARBIONC activity, adding that it was time to split up Baden’s job to narrow his focus.

The chancellor said that the MARBIONC (Marine Biotechnology in North Carolina) facility, part of UNCW’s CREST Research Campus off Masonboro Loop Road, is currently home to five or six “small little companies” but has room for 13.

“Dan is the scientist and gardener, and some plants are growing,” Sartarelli said, adding that he envisions the MARBIONC facility as a place to nurture not only early-stage companies from outside the university but also startups from within UNCW that are focused on marine biotechnology and need “a place to park their gear” and work.

“At [the chancellor’s] suggestion I am taking an administrative reassignment. [MARBIONC] can’t fail: we have too much invested in it,” Baden said. Referring to the $15 million grant UNCW received in 2010 from the U.S. Department of Commerce that financed half of the $30 million facility, he added, “We must stay honest to the Department of Commerce requirements, which state that we are a public-private partnership.”

The remainder of MARBIONC’s initial cost came from the university itself, according to previous statements from UNCW officials. The facility opened in the fall of 2013.

The administrative change has been in the works for a while, Baden said Wednesday. In his new role, he will still be closely linked to the academic side of marine science education, but will be concerned specifically with providing UNCW students opportunities for experiential learning, teaming up with companies housed in the MARBIONC facility. And he said he will be looking for research discoveries from within the university that can move into the world of business, creating products, processes, data sets or applications that have commercial potential.

Baden will also take on a couple of other responsibilities, Ron Vetter said Thursday. Vetter, to whom Baden reports, is associate provost of research and dean of UNCW’s Graduate School.

“I also want Dan to work on collaborations with international marine biotech organizations,” Vetter said, referencing the Biomarine Business Convention held in Wilmington this week as an example of opportunities for Baden to connect with entities in the field and build relationships with them.

Another new task involves the InnovateNC grant recently awarded the city of Wilmington and partner organizations, focused on boosting the area’s life sciences and marine science capabilities and business sector.

“I’ve asked Dan to be the university lead for InnovateNC,” Vetter said. “It fits in nicely: it’s a two-year project and he’s committed to that.”

Baden has also established a MARBIONC community advisory board, and will be working closely with that group as he nurtures the facility. Finding the right tenants for the space is a key objective.

One of MARBIONC’s current tenants, Next Glass, will "graduate" and move later in 2015 to a rehabbed building in downtown Wilmington. In addition to the remaining five tenants, Baden said he has two letters of intent from new companies and one current occupant that is planning to expand into larger space.

In addition to Next Glass, current tenants include Seatox Research, which is developing a faster, easier way to test shellfish for marine toxins; A1 Biochem Labs, a contract research organization that offers chemistry services to pharmaceutical companies and related entities; CMS Technology, which is working on prolonging the shelf life of seafood; QROS, an environmental testing company; and O.TM, an oncology therapeutics company.

Baden said his vision is to integrate MARBIONC tenant companies with university resources and provide students the opportunity to learn from and train with these promising startups.

After spending 16 years developing the Center for Marine Science and watching its physical presence grow from one to four buildings, Baden says it’s hard to let go of the overall responsibilities he has held, but in order to do an excellent job, he said, it is necessary for him to concentrate his focus within a smaller scope.