Visitors to the FLC Forum can create discussions, comment on live discussions, find technology transfer opportunities, and more. We encourage everyone to add to the T2 conversation by participating in the forum “discussions.” Discussions should be used to add information or pose a question within a pre-set category such as the “Partnership Opportunities” category.
To start a new discussion, click the “New Discussion” button on the forum homepage. Next, select a forum category relevant to the issue you’d like to discuss from the drop down menu. Then, create a topic for the discussion, enter a description, click “Post Discussion” and wait for the comments to roll in! It’s that simple! Sign In or Register to comment.
Commenting in a discussion
January 27 in Getting Started in the FLC Forums
Anyone is welcome to comment in public FLC Forum discussion groups but must be logged in to do so. To submit a comment to a discussion, simply click the “Leave a Comment” button, type your comment and click “Post Comment” and add to the conversation.
If you’re not ready to respond to the conversation yet, you can always save your comment as a draft, return later, and preview the comment before posting.
Sign In or Register to comment.
Following a forum category or category discussion
The FLC Forum allows visitors to stay up-to-date with the latest T2 discussions taking place in the FLC community. If you’d like to be notified when a discussion or category you’re interested in is updated, you can update your notification preferences through your forum profile.
Simply click the gear icon next to your name in the left corner of your screen. From the drop-down menu, click “Edit Profile.” From here, you can edit your username, set a new password, and edit your notification preferences.
You can also bookmark a discussion by clicking the gold star button “(image of gold star bookmark button)” that appears to the right of each discussion title. Note: “Pop-Up” notifications will only be enabled when you are logged into the FLC Forum. If you’d like to be notified of updates when you are not logged in, please choose to be notified by email.
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Technology Transfer for Beginners
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
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
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
2. Software / IT
3. Behavioral Initiatives
4. Funding Initiatives
5. Innovation Cluster Development (Public Private Partnerships & Incubators)
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
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:
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:
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:
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:
Submission Deadline
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:
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.
