Laboratory for Applied Science & Research (LASR) People

Mic Armon has more than 36 years of experience in the financial services area and has substantial expertise in start-ups, venture capital and market trading.

Armon’s career started in Havre, Montana with the investment firm DA Davidson & Co. Armon was a financial advisor and branch manager during his 19-year stint with Davidson. He then became the Branch Manager for the Coeur d’Alene, ID office for Smith Barney in 1991 and served in that position until he opened an office for Stifel Financial in 2013. He has been a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) since 1981.

Armon has been very active in the communities that he has resided in. He is past Chairman of the Board of the Havre, MT area Chamber of Commerce. In Coeur d’Alene, he is also a past chairman of the board of the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce, served 12 years on the North Idaho College Board of Trustees, currently serves on the NIC Dormitory Housing Commission and the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee. He has also been a member of Rotary for the past 35 years.

Armon holds a bachelor’s of science degree in environmental microbiology from Montana State University.

Bruce Cyr has more than 35 years of experience in business management, and has developed particular expertise in launching and managing startup companies.

He began his career in Coeur d’Alene at Central Pre-Mix, Inc. as a dispatcher, and worked his way up to a division management position in the company. After 14 years with CPM at various locations and companies, he served as president of CPM subsidiary, Interstate Concrete and Asphalt for nine years, until CPM sold its companies to Oldcastle Materials, Inc.

He worked for five years as president of Oldcastle's Northwest region and was responsible for the company’s acquisitions and management in the region stretching from Montana to the Washington Coast. As president, he executed multiple purchases of companies while in the growth mode.

Cyr served as a business consultant for two years before taking the position of Property Manager for Jacklin Land Co. in Post Falls, which he holds today. At Jacklin Land Co., Cyr is responsible for managing approximately 200,000 square feet of leasable building space, 200 saleable acres of land in the Commerce Park, and an additional 900 acres of land in varying stages of development across Kootenai County.

Throughout his career, Cyr has been active in the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club, Jobs Plus, the North Idaho Building Contractors Association and Kootenai Perspectives. He remains active in Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and Kootenai County issues.

Cyr holds a bachelor’s of science degree in recreation from the University of Idaho.

Foisy brings nearly 20 years of experience in higher education finances to UI, and he most recently served as vice president for Administration and Finance at Minot State University in Minot, North Dakota. Foisy has a bachelor’s degree and Master of Accountancy from Southern Utah University, where he also served as budget director from 1999 to 2004. He served as the assistant commissioner for financial services at the Office of the Commissioner for Higher Education in Salt Lake City from 2004 to 2008, and the vice president for Finance and Administrative Services at Utah College of Applied Technology from 2008 to 2010.

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Robert A. Magonigle serves as a veterinary consultant to the pharmaceutical industry, specializing in the planning, conduct and monitoring of pivotal Good Laboratory and Good Clinical Practices (GLP/GCP) studies for regulatory submission. His career encompasses more than 30 years of research for Pfizer, Inc. in pharmaceuticals and biologics, with emphasis on protocol development and data quality. His work has focused on both food and companion animal species.

Magonigle began his career as a research associate in the University of Idaho Department of Veterinary Science, before joining Pfizer, Inc., as an animal research specialist for the Animal Health Research Dept. at Pfizer Central Research in Terre Haute, Indiana. His career has included work as a scientist in Pfizer’s Animal Health Research Department in Groton, Connecticut; as animal health research scientist for Pfizer Central Research, in Sandwich, England; as senior research scientist in Animal Health Product Development for Pfizer Central Research in Terre Haute; and manager of Pfizer’s Research Quality and Compliance. He retired in 1999 as director of Clinical Development for Pfizer, Inc., North American Animal Health Group at Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

Over the course of his career, Magonigle has authored and co-authored more than 25 scientific journal articles. He is a full member of the Society for Quality Assurance and the Rocky Mountain Regional Quality Assurance Society. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from MacMurray College and a master’s degree in veterinary sciences from the University of Idaho.

Chris Nomura is the Vice President for Research and Economic Development and holds an academic appointment as professor of biochemistry in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Idaho. In his administrative role, he oversees, coordinates and facilitates all U of I research activities.

Nomura works closely with faculty to catalyze, encourage and support research and scholarly activities. He also has management responsibility for the U of I Office of Research and Economic Development, which includes the Office of Sponsored Programs, the Office of Research Assurances, the university institutes and the Office of Technology Transfer.

He serves as the principal point of contact for the university in all research related matters and represents the regional, national and international research interests of the institution to major research funding agencies and foundations, to regional and national research consortia, to national laboratories, to federal and state agencies and to the private sector.

Nomura has a doctorate in biochemistry, microbiology and molecular biology from The Pennsylvania State University, and throughout his academic career, has published and co-authored more than 70 original articles in refereed scientific journals and book chapters.

Mike Wilson’s professional strengths include connecting technology based enterprises with angel group funding. His career focus has been corporate and financial management. Wilson currently serves as a consultant and advisor to small, privately owned companies.

He began his career with Price Waterhouse in Seattle, and most recently served as interim executive director of Connect Northwest, a Spokane based non-profit that supported entrepreneurs and early stage companies, providing access to coaching, mentoring and capital. In that position, Wilson helped manage the activities of the Delta Angel Group, was instrumental in establishing a network of relationships with other angel groups in the Pacific Northwest, and managed relationships with diverse economic development organizations and tech transfer groups in the region.

He has served as interim executive director of the University of Idaho Foundation, CFO of Vivato, a Spokane and San Francisco based startup, and also worked for Advanced Input Systems, Coeur d’Alene, participating in the stabilization, leveraged buyout and eventual sale of AIS to Esterline Technologies.

He is a member and a past chairman of the Idaho Health Facilities Authority, a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Washington Tech Transfer Launch Pad program and has served on the University of Idaho College of Business and Economics Advisory Board and the Alumni Association, including one year as its president.

Wilson has been an active investor in private businesses and local angel and venture funds. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Idaho.