(Ann Arbor, Michigan) U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke  announced the members of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a group that will support President Obama’s innovation strategy by helping to develop policies that foster entrepreneurship and identifying new ways to take great ideas from the lab to the marketplace to drive economic growth and create jobs. UNC-Chapel Hill’s Holden Thorp and Cary software firm Geomagic’s Ping Fu were named to the list.

Locke made the announcement at a U.S. Department of Commerce University Innovation Forum at the University of Michigan, where participants discussed the role of universities in innovation, economic development, job creation and commercialization of federally funded research.

“America’s innovation engine is not as efficient or as effective as it needs to be, and we are not creating as many jobs as we should,” Locke said. “We must get better at connecting the great ideas to the great company builders. The National Advisory Council will help the administration develop a broader strategy to spur innovation and enable entrepreneurs to develop breakthrough technologies and dynamic companies, and to create jobs all across America.

“I want to extend my gratitude to the leaders selected to The National Advisory Council. Their work will be a key component of America’s economic recovery.”

Throughout U.S. history, basic research in public and private sector research labs has spawned new technologies and inventions that led to new businesses. And those entrepreneurial businesses have been important drivers of job creation. Firms less than five years old have accounted for nearly all net new jobs in America over the last 30 years. Yet, as a share of gross domestic product, American federal investment in the physical sciences and engineering research has dropped by half since 1970.

Since taking office, the president has taken significant steps to turn this trend around. The Recovery Act included $100 billion to support groundbreaking innovations in diverse fields, from healthcare IT and health research to smart grids and high speed trains. Last fall, the president announced a National Innovation Strategy, which called for doubling the budgets of agencies including the National Science Foundation, to better support basic research at our nation’s universities. And the president’s 2011 budget — while freezing domestic discretionary spending overall — increases funding for civilian research and development by $3.7 billion, or nearly 6 percent.

The National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship will help build on this aggressive agenda. Members of the council include serial entrepreneurs, university presidents, investors and non-profit leaders. Steve Case, Mary Sue Coleman, and Desh Deshpande will serve as Co-Chairs. See the full list of council members below.