Technology Transfer for Beginners

Lauren Pafumi

February 22  in Education & Training

If you're taking this year's "Technology Transfer for Beginners" class - or just thinking about it - this is the place for you! This class will help you understand what T2 really means, its purpose and what it can accomplish, what it takes to put it into place, and the major mechanisms for accomplishing it.

Our panel of trainers has a great day planned, full of case studies, exercises, and a whole lot of discussion. Chat here about what you might like to see in the class, ask questions, or connect with classmates and trainers.

Continuing Education Reminder

Lauren Pafumi

April 5  in Education & Training

If you’re interested in earning continuing education units for your course, you can still apply! You can earn 0.8 CEUs for participation in the full-day course, and up to 2.05 CEUs for the entire meeting, depending on how much of it you're attending.

To apply for credit, visit eu.montana.edu/flc. It’s best to sign up by April 22 – but our CEU provider will leave the application open for 90 days after the meeting, just in case.

Water Tech Virtual Forum

Aaron Sauers

May 16  in Meetings & Events

Hi everyone,

Here’s my attempt at "distilling" the Commitments to Action on Building a Sustainable Water Future and Water Resource Challenges and Technology Innovation documents into usable topics for the Water Tech Virtual Forum. The original documents aren't well organized, so I’ve attempted to “condense” them into a few key themes. This is just a starting place for us to discuss what's missing and what, if anything, to discard.

 1. Hardware Technologies             

• Materials with increased surface area and reactivity, that occur at the nanoscale, to increase water availability, improve water delivery and use efficiency and enable next-generation monitoring systems
• Dry-cooling
• Sensors (Example: Soil/Plant moisture sensors)
• Water Desalination – Technologies enabling new sources of water
• Water Filtration / Remediation
• Water Security
• Recycled Water Tech

2. Software / IT

• Enhanced Data Collection / Economic Analysis
• Monitoring, Forecasting, Early Warning (Useful for drought, flood, extreme weather, etc.)
• Sensing
• Irrigation scheduling
• Modeling (Flood, Algal Blooms, Crop growth
• Data sharing, IT-supported collaboration, data synchronization, data visualization, mapping
• Decision Support Tools (Groundwater extraction optimization, optimized pumping rates, optimized up-time to reduce energy cost, etc.)

3. Behavioral Initiatives

• Awareness Campaigns
• Conservation
• Reduced / Improved Use
• Water storage / Storm water storage
• Improved Preparedness
• Promotion of new investment models and market-based approaches to increase resilience and efficiency

4. Funding Initiatives

• R&D that reduces the price and energy costs of new water supply technology
• Early Scale Financing / Economic Development
• Water Infrastructure (Government-sponsored dams, canals, storage, conveyance)
• Public-Private Partnerships to leverage federal investment for new projects

5. Innovation Cluster Development (Public Private Partnerships & Incubators)

• Encouraging collaboration among universities, public and private research centers, entrepreneurs, venture capital firms, manufacturers, and the energy industry (CWII, Confluence, H2OTech etc.)

6. Pilot-Scale Deployment/Demonstration Sites / Test-Beds Larger than lab-scale, smaller than commercial deployment Like User Facilities, but not just at FFRDCs. Also PPPs.

FLC 2016 National Meeting

Kaitlyn Anness

February 11  in Meetings & Events

The FLC national meeting is one of the most anticipated annual events in the technology transfer community that offers both training and networking opportunities designed to facilitate attendees’ commercialization endeavors. This year's national meeting will be held in downtown Chicago, Illinois, April 26 – April 28, 2016. The meeting theme, From Discovery to Commercialization, centers on our nation’s continued focus to move federal research and development from out of the lab and into the marketplace by strengthening relationships with the private sector.

The educational training sessions, experiential panels, and networking opportunities offered at the national meeting are a culmination of the FLC’s steadfast efforts to promote, educate, and facilitate technology transfer for the more than 300 federal laboratories, research centers and parent agencies that encompass its diverse network. The knowledge gained from this year’s national meeting will help technology transfer professionals to improve upon their laboratory’s technology marketing strategies, as well as initiate the building of interagency and industry partnerships that can advance our nation’s commercialization success.

To find out more and register for the National Meeting, click here http://bit.ly/1SKn975

Creating a Culture for Commercialization

Lauren Pafumi

February 22  in Education & Training

For this year's advanced training course, we're bringing back perennial favorite Wendy Kennedy to teach you how to create a culture that fosters commercialization at your organization. Be prepared for a highly interactive class! In a series of mini-workshop formats, you'll share your own experiences and lessons learned related to each topic. If you're taking this course, or considering signing up, talk about your goals and connect with others here.

We're pleased to bring back our IP course this year. Featuring an all-new slate of trainers, this class is designed to give technology transfer professionals an understanding of intellectual property protection - patents in particular - and how IP interacts with the federal technology transfer process. If you're thinking about this course or already signed up, chat about it here!

Licensing & Negotiation Workshop

Lauren Pafumi

February 22  in Education & Training

Licenses and negotiation go hand-in-hand! Our intermediate-level class will teach you how licenses work in both GOGO and GOCO environments, and how to negotiate a successful license agreement. Talk about the class and your expectations, or ask questions, here.

CRADA Workshop

Lauren Pafumi

February 22  in Education & Training

CRADAs might just be the most important tool in your T2 toolbox. Learn all about how to use them from our experts in this year's course! Talk about the CRADA course, ask questions, or interact with students and trainers here.

Display License-Ready Tech at CLEO:2016 for Free!

Kaitlyn Anness

March 17  edited March 17  in Meetings & Events

CLEO (Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics) serves as the premier international forum for scientific and technical optics, uniting the fields of lasers and opto-electronics by bringing together all aspects of laser technology, from basic research to industry applications. Attendees have the opportunity to hear and present groundbreaking research, share ideas, and network with colleagues and luminaries.

From June 7 to June 9 at the San Jose Convention Center, a designated space near the Program area will be reserved for tabletops for interested organizations to showcase license ready technologies.

The free space is available on a first-come, first served basis. Please email industry@osa.org to request an application, which will be reviewed and approved by CLEO management and the CLEO Technology Transfer Program Committee. Register for the entire conference here: http://www.cleoconference.org/home/

NASA Technology Transfer Roadshow Stops in Texas, New Mexico

Kaitlyn Anness

March 3  in Meetings & Events

NASA's Technology Transfer program will host events on March 9 and 10 in the El Paso, Texas, area and Las Cruces, New Mexico, to discuss how students and entrepreneurs can capitalize on NASA's technology research and development.

Technology Transfer program executive and Innovation Office director Daniel Lockney will hold public lectures discussing NASA's technology portfolio and the agency's Space Race partnership with the Center for Advancing Innovation (CAI).

The events are:

• 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CST, March 9, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces,
• 10 a.m. to noon, March 10, Tech de Monterrey, Technology Institute, Juarez, Mexico
• 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., March 10, University of Texas, El Paso

Media are invited to attend and should contact Gina Anderson at 202-306-5289 or gina.n.anderson@nasa.gov no later than 5 p.m.on March 8.

NASA has a long history of finding new, innovative uses for its space and aeronautics technologies. Lockney, who grew up in the El Paso region, will discuss the process of moving these technologies from the launch pad and laboratory into the hands of the public and how local business can access this wealth of technology for commercial and research applications. The challenge will feature NASA inventions from the fields of: medical devices; robotics; unmanned aerial vehicles; optics and imaging; power generation, distribution, and storage; and advanced materials coatings.

Lockney also will explain NASA's role in Space Race, a global competition designed to bring commercially viable, NASA-developed technologies to market. It provides competing teams access to patented NASA technology as well as business mentoring. Winning teams also will have access to significant seed funding provided by a third-party venture fund for start-up businesses.

Teams, which require at least two undergraduate, graduate or post-doctoral students, accepted into the challenge will have the opportunity to receive training through CAI's accelerator program and network with CAI mentors, advisors and judges. Teams must enter by March 27 to participate. Up to ten finalists will be selected, and may be awarded between $100,000 and $1.2 million in start-up funding.

For more information about NASA's Technology Transfer Program, the Space Race and the technologies selected for the competition, visit:

http://technology.nasa.gov/

11 NASA Technologies We Use Everyday

Kaitlyn Anness

February 11 in Successes & Awards

From memory foam to GPS, it's not easy to get through a day without benefiting from a NASA technology that was successfully commercialized for public use.

National online publication Thrillest recently published 11 successfully commercialized NASA technologies we use daily. These products represent innovation from our national laboratories, and the importance of the technology transfer (T2) process.

But NASA is far from the only national laboratory responsible for life-changing technologies. What commercialized technology, past or present, comes to mind for you?

Check out the Thrillest article here: http://bit.ly/1Poo6ho

And check out even more T2 success stories from federal labs here:

https://www.federallabs.org/Success-Stories

Draft White House Source Code Policy

Aaron Sauers

April 15  in T2 News The White House just published a draft for a Source Code Policy. The policy would require every agency to publish their software as OSS. As a pilot, each covered agency would release at least 20% of its newly-developed custom code each year as OSS.

Thoughts?

Call for Submissions: 2017 FLC Planner Images!

Denise Wrench

June 7    edited June 7    in Publications

The FLC invites you to submit images of your lab’s work for its 2017 FLC Planner.

Image submission criteria are provided below. Please read carefully and coordinate your submission with your agency or public affairs office.

Submission Requirements

Each submission must include:

• A high-resolution image or illustration of the featured technology that showcases the R&D conducted at your lab (full size, 300 dpi or greater, and in one of the following formats: TIFF, JPEG, EPS, PSD, or AI)
• A photo caption explaining the technology’s scientific relevance and potential impact (Note: Captions MUST be 100 words or less.)
• A laboratory bio (Note: Bios MUST be 70 words or less.)
• A photo credit
• A high-resolution version of your laboratory's logo.

Submission Deadline

• All content must be submitted by Friday, August 26, 2016, via the online submission form.
• If you have questions regarding the submission criteria or deadline, contact Denise Wainer at dwainer@utrs.com or 856-667-6770, ext. 170.

Submit Now

Check Out Transportation-Focused T2 White Paper in FLC Reference Library

Lauren Pafumi

May 4  in Publications

We’ve just published a new white paper in the FLC reference library! This paper, “Building a Foundation for Effective Technology Transfer through Integration with the Research Process,” was written by staff at the Department of Transportation as a primer for the transportation research community. It aims to help that community understand how to conduct R&D activities that integrate with T2 activities – thus more directly addressing the real-world challenges researchers need to solve, and more effectively leveraging the resources involved. Santiago Navarro, the FLC’s Agency Representative for DOT, is one of the paper’s authors.

After you've checked out this paper, visit the rest of our reference library to get access to more white papers, our Green Book and Desk Reference, and more.

Due Next Week: DHS, Israeli Min. of Public Security to Award Funding for NextGen 1st Responder Tech

Lauren Pafumi

March 1  in Partnership Opportunities

Applications are now being accepted through March 9, 2016 for the NextGen First Responder Technologies solicitation, an opportunity for joint-funding by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and their partners in the Israeli Ministry of Public Security.

The total expected award for the collaborative projects is about $12 million, to be distributed over three years. Large and small companies alike are encouraged to participate, as well as research institutions that can provide innovative technology solutions to improve and enhance the future capabilities of first responders. More information can be found on the website.

“We’re reaching out to innovators, non-traditional partners, and industry for solutions to global homeland security challenges,” said DHS Deputy Under Secretary for Science and Technology, Dr. Robert Griffin, a former first responder. “We’re looking to mobilize the innovation community to help us ensure our first responders are poised now for whatever threats and environments the future may bring.”

The Israel­-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation manages the program on behalf of the two nations, and issued an initial Call for Proposals last December inviting U.S. and Israeli companies to submit joint collaborative projects in the field of NextGen First Responder Technologies based on current critical capability gaps.

The unique U.S.-Israeli partnership, originally outlined as a part of a broader agreement signed between the two nations in 2008, is designed to promote and jointly fund the development of advanced technologies to improve and enhance the preparedness of first responders and their capabilities in the field.

Army Eyes Contract for C5ISR, Supercomputing R&D Services

Kaitlyn Anness

February 29  in Partnership Opportunities

The Army Research Laboratory is looking for information tools and services used to racilitate R&D of command, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems.

ARL is also looking to collaborate with industry to explore supercomputing architectures for the Army and the Defense Department.

Learn more here: http://bit.ly/24x04bG

Choosing a Career in Technology Transfer

Kaitlyn Anness

February 29  in Partnership Opportunities

The National Institutes of Health Career Options Series recently highlighted what it's like to have a career in technology transfer (T2), and how to get started in one.

On its Careers Blog, NIH listed the following as key skills to have in the T2 field:

• Strong science background and understanding of the needs of scientific community
• Technology transfer knowledge, including: patents, IP, licensing, policies/laws, standard agreements and procedures
• People skills, especially the ability to deal with multiple constituencies while working as a member of a team
• Communications skills, both verbal and written
• Negotiation skills – in tech transfer, negotiations go around license agreements with inventors, owners, other parties, etc.
• Time and management skills

In addition to the resources provided by organizations like NIH, those interested in the T2 field can find a large amount of resources right here on FederalLabs.org to find out more about what a career in tech transfer entails.

DOE Looks to Support Energy-Related Technology Commercialization

Kaitlyn Anness

February 10  in Partnership Opportunities

The Department of Energy is looking to its national laboratories to submit energy-related technology with commercial potential. The agency's Office of Technology Transitions Technology Commercialization Fund has been replenished with $20 million to advance the promise of energy-related technology in the commercial field.

“Every day our national labs are developing innovative new technologies that have the potential to revolutionize the way we generate, store, and transmit energy,” said Jetta Wong, Director of the Office of Technology Transitions, in a news release. “But in order to accelerate the use of clean energy technologies, we need to get more of these breakthroughs out of our labs and into our marketplace. The launch of this fund is an important milestone for OTT as it approaches its one-year anniversary and demonstrates our efforts to expand the commercial impact of DOE’s research and development portfolio.”

Proposals from the DOE national laboratories will be reviewed by DOE personnel and independent evaluators. Proposals showing the most promise in energy technology commercialization, as well as a proposed funding match, will be selected.

Find this information and much more on the DOE website at: http://energy.gov/articles/doe-s-office-technology-transitions-issues-first-call-launch-new-energy-technologies

Open Innovation Request from PepsiCo 

Kaitlyn Anness

January 15    edited February 29   in Partnership Opportunities As a part of our new materials development for snacks packaging, we work with vendors to make blends for a designed ladder study which are then evaluated in small scale film processing equipment for screening studies. We do not currently have this equipment in-house and typically we run trials externally in shops or labs with small scale cast and blown film extruder lines for optimizing process parameters and screening blends for scale-up. We are looking for alternatives to the current facility (PolyWrx) based in Houston, TX.

Solution Requirements:

Must-Haves:

• Blown film line requiring less than 100 lbs of material

o 1 -1.5”extruder, L/D 24/1 to 36/1, die – 5-7” OD

• Cast film line requiring less than 100 lbs of material

o 1 -1.5”extruder, L/D 24/1 to 36/1, die – 5-7” OD

• Capabilities for drying materials before processing

• Varieties of screws and die setups for the extrusion applications

• Ability to run both conventional petroleum based polymer materials as well as emerging bio-based materials

• The lab operates under a fee-for-service business model

Nice-to-Haves:

• Roll slitting capability

• Flexographic or Digital printing capability (1-1.5m wide roll-to-roll)

• Blown film line requiring less than 25 lbs of material

• Cast film line requiring less than 25 lbs of material

• Co-extruders requiring less than 100 lbs of material

• Twin screw extruders for compounding less than 100 lbs of material with pelletizers

• Rand Castle Microtruder (or similar microextruder) for processing as little as 1 lb of material

• Expertise with running bio-based and mineral filled polymer blends

• Testing equipment like melt flow indexer, rheometer, DSC and some expertise in interpreting data etc.

• Small scale MDO (machine direction orientation equipment)

• Small scale laminator (extrusion and or adhesion) to laminate above films

• Thermoforming capabilities

• Small scale roll coater (rod and gravure coating capability)

• Lab fees of $5000/day or less

• Lab located in the continental US

Please get back to me if you have this type of facility or know of someone that does. The PepsiCo team is also willing for open innovation intermediaries to provide proposals to do a scan of the existing US laboratory structure and find some existing matches to our needs.

For more information about this request, contact R&D Director Austin Kozman at Austin.Kozman@pepsico.com.