UTEK Corporation (AMEX:UTK - News) (LSE-AIM:UTK), a leading innovation services company, and Sigma Xi, the international honor society of science and engineering, today announced an alliance which will bring together UTEK’s TekScout service and Sigma Xi’s membership of approximately 60,000 research scientists and engineers in 85 countries.

TekScout is an online open innovation network, which brings together independent scientists and engineers from across the world to solve R&D challenges focused in the areas of Life Science, Physical Science, Chemistry, Engineering and Design, Math and Computer Science, and Renewable Energy and Sustainable Product Design.

These challenges are posted in an online forum by large corporations who seek outside expertise. Through this open innovation process, we believe that companies are able to drive product development faster, less expensively, and more effectively than they might be able to do using only internal resources. Sigma Xi scientists and engineers who solve these challenges earn financial rewards and industry recognition.

“Our alliance with Sigma Xi brings a great new pool of talent and innovative knowledge to our base of TekExperts,” stated Edward Weisberg, Vice President of UTEK and General Manager of TekScout. “Sigma Xi’s membership consists of some of the brightest scientific minds in the world. We are honored to incorporate them into our program to help solve TekScout scientific challenges.”

“Sigma Xi’s goal is to encourage support of original work across the spectrum of science and technology and to promote an appreciation within society at large for the role research has played in human progress. We believe that TekScout will provide an additional forum for our members to carry out this effort,” stated Jerry Baker, Executive Director of Sigma Xi.

To view TekScout’s current R&D Challenges and their associated success fees please visit www.TekScout.com/Opportunities.aspx.

About UTEK Corporation

UTEK® is a leading innovation services company. UTEK’s services enable clients to become stronger innovators, rapidly source externally developed technologies and create value from their intellectual property. UTEK is a business development company with operations in the United States and the United Kingdom. For more information about UTEK, please visit its website at www.utekcorp.com. TekScout™ is a service of UTEK, and can be viewed at www.tekscout.com.

About Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society

Founded in 1886, Sigma Xi is the international honor society for research scientists and engineers, with more than 500 chapters in North America and around the world. Membership is by invitation. Over the years, more than 200 Sigma Xi members have received the Nobel Prize. In addition to publishing American Scientist magazine, the non-profit Society awards hundreds of grants annually to student researchers and sponsors a variety of programs that support science and engineering. For more information about Sigma Xi, please visit its website at www.sigmaXi.org.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain matters discussed in this press release are "forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking statements can generally be identified as such because the context of the statement will include words, such as UTEK or Sigma Xi "expects," "should," "believes," "anticipates" or words of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe UTEK's or Sigma Xi’s future plans, objectives or goals are also forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including the financial performance of UTEK or Sigma Xi, as appropriate, and the valuation of UTEK's investment portfolio, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated. Although UTEK and Sigma Xi believe the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it cannot give any assurance that its expectations will be attained. Shareholders, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating any forward-looking statements. Certain factors could cause results and conditions to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements, and some of these factors are discussed below. These factors are not exhaustive. New factors, risks and uncertainties may emerge from time to time that may affect the forward-looking statements made herein. These forward-looking statements are only made as of the date of this press release and UTEK or Sigma Xi do not undertake any obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

UTEK's operating results could fluctuate significantly due to a number of factors. These factors include the small number of transactions that are completed each quarter, the value of individual transactions, the timing of the recognition and the magnitude of unrealized and realized gains and losses of companies in its portfolio, UTEK's dependence on the performance of companies in its portfolio, the possibility that advances in technology could render the technologies it has transferred obsolete, the loss of technology licenses by companies in its portfolio, the degree to which it encounters competition in its markets, the volatility of the stock market and the volatility of the valuations of the companies it has invested in as it relates to its realized and unrealized gains and losses, the concentration of investments in a small number of companies, as well as other general economic conditions. As a result of these and other factors, current results may not be indicative of UTEK's future performance. For more information on UTEK and for a more complete discussion of the risks pertaining to an investment in UTEK, please refer to UTEK's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.