In a bid to help rev up Indiana's technology and life- sciences sectors, state officials have created a new hobnobbing session matching top researchers from Indiana University, Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame with venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.

The invite-only event, dubbed "Meet the Researcher," is a bit like speed dating for business ideas.

"The biggest push is to get researchers to think about, 'How do I take what I'm working on in the lab and pair up with an entrepreneur, pair up with capital,' " said Nathan Feltman, who is president of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and the state's secretary of commerce.

He said the goal also is to encourage research collaboration among universities across the state.

It's also about luring "angel" investment and venture capital -- the high-risk investments typically used to fuel the growth of tech and biotech startups.

About 200 academics, investors and business leaders are expected to attend today's event, including venture capitalists from Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, Maryland and Kentucky.

Feltman said IU, Purdue and Notre Dame each was asked to send 10 top researchers -- a list that includes Dr. Michael Klemsz, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the IU School of Medicine; Michael Ladisch, director of the Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering at Purdue; and Wolfgang Porod, director of the Center for Nano Science and Technology at Notre Dame.

Local tech or life-sciences companies slated to attend include Carmel-based search engine startup ChaCha and Quadraspec, a West Lafayette-based medical diagnostics startup that licensed technology from Purdue.

Gov. Mitch Daniels, who will speak during the event, said he is eager to welcome "folks with lots of money from other states."

"It's another important initiative to try to strengthen the entrepreneur sector of our state," Daniels said. "Our potential won't be complete until we have a flourishing entrepreneur sector."

Feltman said he is planning to organize quarterly "Meet the Researcher" events that eventually would include other schools in the state such as Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Ball State University.

Indiana still is playing catch-up to plenty of other states when it comes to attracting venture capital.

In the first quarter of 2008, Indiana had $12 million worth of venture investments, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree Report. That compares with $111 million in Illinois and a whopping $3.45 billion in California, the nation's hotbed of venture investing.

Some national experts, though, said Indiana is taking a savvy approach with its "Meet the Researcher" party.

"The thing that jumps out is that the state is being very proactive in trying to bring these competitive schools together and saying we have to work together for the betterment of the state," said Mark Heesen, president of the Virginia-based National Venture Capital Association.

He said cooperation between Duke University, Wake Forest University and the University of North Carolina helped lead to that state's famed Research Triangle, home to many startups and tech facilities.

Even in this age of electronic communication, business deals often still depend on face-to-face meetings.

"Getting together in person is a powerful thing, because it's more special than chatting over the phone," said Matt Marshall, founder of VentureBeat.com, a California-based news Web site that covers venture investing.

"I just held an event with more than 400 people, and afterward the scoops came pouring in from grateful attendees."

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