They say you never know when or where the "next big thing" is going to show up.
But if you think about it, you're much more likely to find it in places where ideas and creativity are nurtured as a matter of mission. And in the case of technology, the answer ican be found, more often than not, at local universities. Southeast Michigan certainly has no shortage of those.
In academics, the mix of experienced teachers and researchers with student innovation can result in startlingly creative ideas. And universities often have the patience and resources to take those ideas to invention and when that invention becomes a viable product or process, commercialization is the next logical step.
In recent years, a new type of department has emerged at many academic institutions, one that explores the commercial potential of university-borne research. The exact names of these departments may vary from school to school, but they're widely known by the moniker of "Technology Transfer".
In a nutshell, the goal for Tech Transfer is to take new ideas, inventions, processes and innovations from the academic world and help develop their public commercial value. This provides a win-win-win situation for the school, the inventor and the general public.
This can mean everything from sports drinks (Gatorade was developed at the University Of Florida 38 years ago) to cancer drugs to the portable fuel cells currently produced by Adaptive Materials in Ann Arbor, a U-M spin-out.
Before 1980, less than 250 patents were issued annually to U.S. universities. Today that number tops 10, 000 per year, with hundreds of products and thousands of licenses impacting our economy. Needless to say, the potential revenues to universities is enormous.
Wayne State University, University of Michigan and Lawrence Technological University have each developed their own approach to tech transfer, balancing the needs of faculty and students while advancing their reputations in an attempt to make lasting contributions to the marketplace.
Detroit's Tech Incubator
Take Wayne State, for instance. Partnered with TechTown, the university has found the perfect outside agent to assist with transitioning their inventions into the market. Tech Transfer requires a balanced and objective perspective to provide the proper support for a new idea and TechTown acts as that objective partner.
"Often the person who comes up with a new invention is not the ideal person to commercialize it", says Randal Charlton, director of TechTown. TechTown acts as an incubator to support the inventors with business contacts, legal support and marketing advice to help commercialize their idea.
"New businesses starting out on their own fail at a rate of 4 out of 5." Charlton adds, "but in a business incubator scenario, better than 50 percent succeed."
The first step in the Tech Transfer process, says Charlton, is to protect the idea. "You don't want the professor to write up a white paper and publish their discovery in a journal before the idea is protected," he explains. "First, we get a patent, to protect the inventor, the University, and future investors who may be interested in licensing the invention or starting up a new company around the idea."
Once a patent is in place, Charlton and his staff help promote the invention to the marketplace, including talks with venture capitalists and other investors. This can result in a wide range of solutions, from licensing to creating whole new companies.
If a start up company is possible, TechTown's built in support systems can help with all the details and challenges that entrepreneurs and new businesses face when first getting started.
"There are over 7000 Industrial Technology Centers around the world and TechTown is one of them", said Charlton. "While some of these are found in universities, many are also about technology transfer between countries and cultures." Charlton has worked in 34 countries and most recently founded Asterand in the TechTown One building, before leaving to take the job as head of all TechTown development.
Wayne State University's Tech Transfer Office focuses on research generated by the faculty, providing them with the process of protecting and marketing their ideas to investors who can bring them to commercial use. This acts as a perk for faculty and helps to attract talent to the school. When asked if the faculty ever left to pursue their own inventions, Charlton said, "No, they usually prefer the world of academia. They do receive their share of royalties, and if a company is formed around an idea, they may become a consultant or board member, but usually they continue as before, teaching classes or conducting their research."
One such success story is Lumigen, Inc., which is based in Southfield. Wayne State chemistry professor Paul Schaap's research on tagging specific molecules using light, generated the start-up. From this patented technology, Schapp has shared in the royalties. Now retired, Schapp has shared his good fortune with his old school, with a $7.7 million grant to improve facilities at WSU's Chemistry department.
Each year, Wayne State conducts about $260 million of research across many disciplines, including medical, chemistry and biology (to name just a few).
True blue invention
In Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan engages in an astronomical number of research projects, especially in the biomedical fields. Ranked as high as 6th in the nation for its tech transfer successes, Marketing Manager Mark Maynard is just one member of the team devoted to promoting this research and help guide it toward the commercial market.
"We do a very large volume of work, given the number of research projects we do here," said Maynard. "In 2007, we had 329 disclosures, which resulted in 144 patents. And of those, our department helped 91 find their way to commercialization." He continued, "in fact, seven of those ideas created new start-up companies."
Click onto U-M's Department of Technology Transfer website and it's quickly becomes clear how much attention is given to all the players in the process. From inventors to investors and licensees, the department provides a deep well of resources to researchers and entrepreneurs, helping to ensure commercial viability and success.
But making a buck from commercialization isn't the only goal of tech transfer. Helping to create new jobs in Michigan through homegrown start-ups has become one of the department's focuses, as it recognizes that a healthier Michigan economy means a healthier situation for its universities.
A good example of U-M's Tech Transfer efforts is Incept Biosystems, a company that was started in Ann Arbor. Incept provides cutting edge technology that assists fertilization clinics in reducing and eliminating the multiple births that are typical with in vitro fertilization. Co-founders Gary Smith and Shuichi Takayama both continue their work in academia, while their company works in the commercial market.
The tech transfer record at U-M remains one of the strongest in the field, posting some impressive figures over the past six years:
* 1,683 Disclosures
* 484 License/Option Agreements
* 800 Patent Applications
* 50 Start-ups
* $76.4 million in royalties and equity sales
The new kid on the block
Lawrence Technological University is relatively new to the process of tech transfer and follows a different approach. Their philosophy is to focus on practical, real world opportunities that come from their research and work with local businesses.
The school's newly formed office of Economic Development & Government Relations, is headed by Mark Brucki, Executive Director, who explains that Lawrence Tech focuses on real work with real companies as a way to generate innovation and revenue opportunities for the university.
"The success of getting a patent to market involves many people and factors, including changing market conditions, so we focus on the practical," said Brucki. In this case, that means partnering with businesses on real-world projects to conduct their work. Should this joint venture result in any new inventions, then Lawrence Tech shares in the revenues of licensing or sales.
"Our focus is on economic development by creating jobs through applied research that moves projects to reality through our commercial partners," Brucki explains. "While Lawrence Tech owns only about 50 patents, our students and faculty work on real-world projects that result in new product development and commercialization for the companies we work with, and create hundreds of jobs for students who’ve worked on those projects."
The school partners with a variety of local companies, including Chrysler, GM, Ford, TARDEC as well as businesses in other industries. Working as a paid supplier on these commercial projects creates great networking opportunities for students. And the customers get high quality research and work.
"Within a month after graduation, a remarkable 93 percent of our students are either working in their field or pursuing advanced educational opportunities," Brucki adds.
When asked why universities were all developing tech transfer offices, Brucki explained, "The Bayh-Dole Act opened the doors for Technology Transfer in 1980, by allowing schools to keep the IP rights for all research." Brucki added, "Until the Bayh-Dole Act, government funded research all ended up as property of the U.S. government, and then most of it sat unused and wasted. This law incentivized the schools to provide patent protection and pursue commercialization, by keeping the IP rights for themselves and the inventors."
Lawrence Tech has a few other novel ways of supporting new inventions and innovation while keeping with their real world approach. First, they provide tech transfer services to local entrepreneurs as a paid consultant, helping them commercialize their ideas. Second, they offer companies their "Parking Lot ideas", by providing student workers on smaller projects. This set up saves the customer money, while giving students practical work experience that will serve them well in their careers. Many of these ideas are shown to local businesses at Lawrence Tech's annual Innovation Showcase.
Stop by and you may just get a glimpse of the "next big thing."
Scott Paul Dunham is a freelance writer living in Grosse Pointe Park. He contributes to Metromode and is Co-founder of the Creative Energy Alliance and director of the Detroit-Windsor International Film Festival.
Photos:
Lawrence Tech Structural Testing Center
Tech Town lab - Detroit
Randall Charlton on Tech Town's rooftop - Detroit
U-M's Marketing team
Mark Brucki, Executive Director, heads the Economic Development & Government Relations at Lawrence Tech
Lawrence Tech Structural Testing Center
Photographs by Marvin Shaouni
Marvin Shaouni is the managing photographer for Metromode & Model D.