In Memorium: Gregory Pogue
September 4, 2025
“Greg always said that he was the luckiest person in the world to work in an environment that nourished his thirst for critical inquiry and knowledge generation. But those who worked with him, learned with him, and laughed with him were the lucky ones.” – S. Craig Watkins
On August 19, 2025 we lost a brilliant colleague and beautiful friend, Gregory Pogue. Greg was a senior research scientist at the IC² Institute for 14 years. He served as interim executive director from 2016 to 2018 and as deputy director from 2018 until his death.
Thinking and Doing
In our weekly lab meetings with IC² partners, Greg would introduce himself by saying, “I supply the ‘Do’ component of the institute’s “Think and Do” mission. Indeed, Greg was a master at doing. While at IC², Greg designed and launched many programs, created training modules, secured critical funding, and forged connections everywhere he went. Former IC² Director, Art Markman, said, “Greg had a flair for turning ideas into practical projects.”
But to place Greg solely on the “Do” side of the equation is to tell half of the story. He was a prolific thinker; a polymath brimming with ideas that drove inquiry and solutions at IC² and helped refine and strengthen the work of interdisciplinary teams across campus. Greg could whip up a white paper or PowerPoint presentation faster than we could finish lunch. In his thinking and writing, Greg deftly connected seemingly disparate elements – often weaving a song lyric, a bit of scripture, even a cereal brand, into his presentation of concepts.
A loyal Aggie, Greg was perhaps an even prouder Longhorn. He loved UT, McCombs (where he taught classes on entrepreneurship), and especially IC². Greg revered the life and work of our founder, George Kozmetsky, who also died of ALS.
Like Kozmetsky, Greg wanted to, and did, impact IC² and the larger world in significant ways. As his work was winding down due to the physical limitations posed by ALS, Greg shared a list of career achievements with friends and colleagues via Caring Bridge. We’re proud and humbled to share that list here as a lasting tribute to a man whose prodigious gifts and generosity have left a profound impact on so many.
Career Achievements – In Greg’s Words
I remember, and I hope you do too, the work we shared – its impact is measured in thousands of lives (entrepreneurs, UT students, or both!) and hundreds of successful companies. Approaching a billion dollars in impact has been added to the economies of the places we worked … in Austin, rural Texas, selected places around the US surrounding states, and countries around the world.
Together, we:
- Educated and refined science and technology policies.
- Educated leaders in advanced commercialization degrees.
- Mentored business and elected leaders.
- Trained professionals to lead their universities in innovation.
- Taught entrepreneurship in 17 countries.
- Built entrepreneurial ecosystems in universities, cities, and regions representing over 30 countries.
- Designed new technology transfer models.
- Launched new business incubators to give support and opportunity where there was none.
- Accelerated startup access to funding and revenue deals.
- Sought to remove inequities in business opportunity.
- Grew regional economies.
- Tethered regions together to share resources.
- Encouraged small business growth.
- Stimulated regional economic growth by applying startup strategies.
- Guided grants and gifting strategies.
- Strengthened young talent pipelines in rural and disadvantaged places.
- Developed student research capacities.
- Conducted impact measurement.
- Investigated new theory.
- Unpacked learnings in written and presentation forms.
- Reenvisioned public libraries’ role in health.
- Saw the human center of health AI.
- Invented tech and realized patents.
- Made plant viruses do circus tricks.
- Advanced drug candidates in clinical trials.
- Always learned by doing.
- Gave our best to those we served.
Sometimes, I led;
Other times, I followed you;
Always, we collaborated.
Thank you!
…Looking back on my professional life, it is not the science, the impact, or numbers, it was the people that shared the journey with that are most precious. If you are reading this – this probably means you. John Lennon once borrowed a line from Allen Saunders: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” So true. I was pursuing the elusive goal – a product – but the people I met along the way proved to be El Dorado.
Related Content
View some of Greg’s recent work: