Atlanta vs. the Valley

One current faculty member at Georgia Tech, who declined to be named for fear of getting on the bad side of the administration, said Dr. Laskar’s firing and arrest had had a “horribly chilling effect” on faculty start-ups there. But Stephen R. Fleming, a university vice president who oversees efforts to promote start-ups and other commercial uses of its innovations, denied that this was the case. The number of faculty start-ups created at the university has, with one exception, been nine or 10 a year since 2005, according to Georgia Tech. In 2010, when Dr. Laskar was suspended from Georgia Tech, there were 12, though Mr. Fleming said it was largely an accident that a few more start-ups began that year.

“We haven’t seen a drop-off for any reason,” Mr. Fleming said.

This summer, a Georgia Tech start-up incubator housed in a high-rise office building was packed with early-stage companies beavering away on their products. Mr. Fleming was eager to show the entrepreneurial spirit in Atlanta, comparing it favorably to Silicon Valley.

He hands out buttons to visitors with a red slash through the word “Valley” to underscore the point, and bristles at the notion that all the tech action is in Northern California. Atlanta’s lower cost of living gives it an edge, he says, especially among older entrepreneurs. “This is where you do start-ups for grown-ups,” he said.

Dr. Laskar is now fighting his old employer in court. He filed a civil suit against the board of regents of the University System of Georgia and Georgia Tech’s president, Dr. Peterson, seeking damages for what Dr. Laskar says was violation of his rights when it fired him. The defendants have asked a judge to dismiss the suit. In 2011, the board of regents settled an earlier suit by Dr. Laskar, in which he accused Georgia Tech of violating its own policies by suspending him without pay. The board agreed to pay him $258,000 in back salary, benefits and lawyer fees.

He sold the assets of Sayana to a new company, Centric Technologies, which is now suing the Georgia Tech Research Corporation, an organization that handles licensing of university research, for $30 million to $40 million in damages. Centric accuses the organization of holding back its chip prototypes, preventing it from moving forward with its business. Dr. Laskar owns part of Centric, as does Georgia Tech. The Georgia Tech Research Corporation has denied Centric’s contentions.

Dr. Laskar said he had been unable to find a full-time position in academia since his Georgia Tech dismissal. He moved his family to Silicon Valley and now works for an investment and advisory firm there. He longs to go back to a university.

“What I am is a teacher,” he said, “and inventor.”