|
Tuesday - May 15, 2007 |
| Time |
Topic/Description |
| 7:00 - 8:00am |
Breakfast |
| 8:00am - 4:30pm |
Technology Transfer Fundamentals Training
Moderator: Mary Archuleta, Air Force Research Laboratory
A refresher for technology transfer veterans, this day-long course provided a basic foundation in the background, concepts,
and practical knowledge required to transfer federally funded technologies from the laboratory to the marketplace. The Fundamentals course featured an in-depth view of the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), including an introduction to intellectual property issues. Topics included:
|
| 8:00am - 4:30pm |
Technology Transfer Intermediate Training
Moderator: Laurie Arrants, National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Designed for technology transfer professionals who have a basic foundation in the background, concepts, and processes of
technology transfer or who have completed the Fundamentals training course, this day-long intermediate-level course presented by
a team of technology transfer veterans focused on the technology transfer office, intellectual property issues, licensing, and licensing negotiations. Topics included:
|
| 8:00am - 4:30pm |
Technology Transfer Advanced Training
Moderator: Lynn Murray, John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center
A team of seasoned professionals from industry, academia, and government presented workshops and discussions designed for technology transfer professionals, federal scientists and engineers that focused on developing and commercializing innovative technologies. This day-long program was highly interactive. Topics included:
- Workshop on Commercialization of Innovative Technology
Wendy Kennedy
Whether you are a researcher, scientist, or technology entrepreneur, it's not always easy getting investors and other business backers interested in your ideas. However, a well-constructed business proposition can really help to increase the odds
of your success as you bring your idea from "lab to life." Technology industry executive and educator Wendy Kennedy presented this workshop based on her new book, So what? Who cares? Why you? The Inventor's Commercialization Toolkit.
- Technology Innovation Panel
Each year, literally billions of dollars are invested in R&D at federal laboratories, including technologies that may be transferred to the private sector under CRADAs, licenses, or other agency-approved mechanisms. Once these technologies are transferred from the laboratories to the private sector, how can the actual return—if any—on the taxpayers' investment be determined? That is, how much transferred technology actually results in commercial products and serves to strengthen the nation's economic and/or technological competitiveness? Federal laboratories need to develop methods to track this "qualitative" information
and to report actual "outcomes" rather than simply accumulate quantitative metrics.
|
| 11:30am - 1:00pm |
Lunch |
| 5:00 - 6:00pm |
FLC First-Timers Reception
First time attendees met the FLC Executive Board and learned how to get the most out of the meeting. |
| 5:30 - 7:30pm |
FLC/WBT Joint Reception
This was the perfect setting to meet new T2 professionals as we launched our week in style. The reception offered the opportunity to network with colleagues while gearing up for all that was planned. |
|
Wednesday - May 16, 2007 |
| Time |
Topic/Description |
| 7:00 - 8:00am |
Breakfast |
| 8:00 - 9:00am |
Opening Session
FLC Program Chair Sharon Borland welcomed attendees to a week of technology transfer education and exploration. |
Keynote Session
Ping Fu, Geomagic
Ping Fu is Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer of Geomagic. She co-founded Geomagic and has led its growth from
startup to worldwide leader in the digital shape sampling and processing (DSSP) industry. Geomagic has attracted more than $8 million in capital from private and institutional investors, and won millions of dollars in research innovation grants from NSF and NIST. |
| 9:15 - 10:30am |
Town Hall Meeting: The Role of Technology Transfer Offices in National Competitiveness
Moderator: Rick Brenner, Agricultural Research Service
This session facilitated an interactive discussion of ideas, concerns, and best (and perhaps worst) practices of federal agencies in their day-to-day operations under the general theme of enhancing U.S. global competitiveness. Conventional wisdom is that U.S. competitiveness is contingent, in part, on innovation and effective technology transfer from university and federal labs to private sector enterprises. This is necessary to ensure sustainable economic stability by enhancing the competitiveness of local/regional economic development. If federal laboratories are to excel in this role, innovation must flow unimpeded from concept through IP protection, licensing, and commercialization. Subjects for discussion touched on issues such as the role of federal labs in economic development, building a technology transfer culture within labs and agencies, ensuring compliance of federal scientists in reporting inventions and in being adequately compensated for technology transfer success, and nurturing private-sector research and licensing partnerships. |
| 11:00am - 12:00noon |
FLC Plenary Session
- View From DC
Gary Jones, Washington, DC Representative
- Introduction of FLC Candidates
Ed Linsenmeyer, FLC Chair
|
| 12:00noon - 1:30pm |
Lunch |
| 1:30 - 2:45pm |
FLC Technology Transfer International Issues Panel
Moderator: David Dix, Canadian Consulate General
Creating a Climate for Innovation: Small and medium enterprises (SME) around the globe are faced with various challenges in their efforts to commercialize their technologies. While technology transfer is seen as the key to economic growth and prosperity, governments and other organizations are faced with creating a climate conducive to innovation. An understanding of the challenges and a discussion of some steps that have been taken in both emerging countries and others like Canada were discussed.
|
| 3:00 - 4:00pm |
CCAT: Partnering for Successful Technology Transfer
Tim Gerrity, Center for Commercialization of Advanced Technology
Since 2001, the Center for Commercialization of Advanced Technology (CCAT) has provided prototype development funding, CRADA and licensing help, and other technical transfer assistance for military and security technologies engineered by government scientists, academic researchers and small entrepreneurs. CCAT is funded by the Department of Defense for the purpose of seeking out and evaluating these technologies, then providing resources for commercialization/spinout into defense and commercial markets.
- Part I: An overview of the CCAT program and how the application process works
- Part II: Showcase of many of the federal lab technologies CCAT has helped to commercialize
- Part III: Discussion of the year-round application process open to all federal laboratories with DOD/security technologies
|
| 5:30 - 6:30pm |
FLC/WBT Reception |
|
Thursday - May 17, 2007 |
| Time |
Topic/Description |
| 7:00 - 8:15am |
Breakfast |
| 8:30 - 10:00am |
Industry Perspectives on Technology Transfer, Part 1
Moderator: Bob Coraor, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
Lockheed Martin and Sandia National Laboratories presented information on their Shared Vision Program, with a focus on components of the collaboration that can be used by other federal labs and industrial partners to foster strategic alliances. The Dow Chemical Company has a long history of involvement with high-energy light sources at several federal laboratories, and this presentation covered how these government facilities are important to a company such as Dow, and how Dow and the national labs have been able to structure agreements and work together for the benefit of all involved.
|
Technology Infusion Panel
Wyndham Arlington - Champions Ballroom III
Moderator: John Emond, NASA Headquarters
Technology development and commercialization have undergone significant changes in recent decades. While the federal government was always an important driver in technology development, the private sector is now playing a much greater role in advancing research and technology development. This panel examined the dynamics of infusion: partnerships between the federal government and other sectors to bring technologies into the federal research and development arena, as well as to continue to commercialize government-funded technologies.
|
| 10:30am - 12:00noon |
Industry Perspectives on Technology Transfer, Part 2
Moderator: Bonny Harbinger, National Institutes of Health
Panelists described the vicissitudes of two different collaborations between a federal lab and a company that led to the successful launching of a life sciences-related product. The discussion focused on how the connection was made between the two parties, the type of agreement chosen, roadblocks and how they were overcome, and the importance of the resulting product. In addition, the role of related infringement and interference issues and their impact on the interactions between the federal labs and their private-sector licensees were presented.
|
| 12:00noon - 1:15pm |
Lunch |
|
FLC Award Winners Poster Session |
| 1:30 - 2:30pm |
Laboratory Directors Forum: How Does Global Competition Affect Laboratory Innovation?
Moderator: Ric Trotta, Trotta Associates
Laboratory directors from the Departments of Defense, Agriculture, and Energy discussed their perspectives on technology transfer from federal laboratories and its impact on innovation and global competitiveness. The session provided an opportunity for audience participation in the discussion.
- Carl Bauer, National Energy Technology Laboratory
- Dr. David Swayne, Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory
- Joseph Zarzycki, Edgewood Chemical Biological Center
|
Interaction Between Federal Laboratories and Technology Based Economic Development (TBED)
Moderator: jennelle Derrickson, FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center
This session examined the findings of a recent State Science and Technology Initiative (SSTI) survey of directors of state tech-based economic development programs on their organizations' relationships with federal laboratories. Using these findings and followup interviews, attendees engaged in a lively discussion on the implications for improved partnerships.
|
| 5:30 - 10:00pm |
FLC Awards Banquet |
|
Friday - May 18, 2007 |
| Time |
Topic/Description |
| 7:00 - 8:30am |
Breakfast |
| 9:00 - 10:15am |
Minority Business Development
Moderator: Ronald Langston, Minority Business Development Agency
|
CRADAs in the Courts
Moderator: Bob Charles, U.S. Army Medical Research & Materiel Command
Bob Charles and Blake Sajonia reviewed the case law of Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) and
provided guidance for your CRADA practice. |
| 10:45am - 12:00noon |
Assistive Technology and Technology Transfer
Moderator: Dr. Stephen Bauer, Rehabilitation Eng. Research Center on T2
What is assistive technology (AT)? Take a moment. Your first thought
is probably a cane, crutch, walker, wheelchair or some other simple, low-tech product produced by "mom and pop" manufacturers, serving niche disability markets. Ten or fifteen years ago you may have been right. Today's AT includes cochlear and retinal implants, beam-forming and binaural hearing technologies, advanced language, signal and image processing, brain bio-signal interfaces, GPS/GIS wayfinding systems, information and telecommunication technologies, and speech production and recognition. Small high-tech AT companies have been joined by Microsoft, Whirlpool, Black & Decker and Intel. AT markets numbering in the millions have been swelled by disabled elders numbering in the tens of millions. Disabled veterans have an acute need for improved AT. This panel explored the disability and transgenerational marketplace and highlighted federal laboratory technologies that have been transferred and commercialized. AT manufacturers shared their experiences working with federal laboratories: what worked, what can be improved, and future opportunities. |
Charting a Course for Federal Patent Portfolio Licensing
Mark Thomas, The Reid Group
Should the federal government license portfolios of patents to private entities that neither practice the underlying inventions nor produce related products? Agencies recently approached by patent holding companies are struggling to answer this question in the absence of established policy guidance or meaningful precedent. Existing statutes and related regulations do not expressly address patent portfolio licensing or the legitimacy of prospective licensees who purposefully do not commit to achieving practical application of the related inventions. Instead, ambiguities and contradictions appear to exist within these provisions when applied to this scenario. Moreover, the economic and political consequences of entering into agreements with these entities are potentially staggering, yet largely unknown. What are the potential gains and losses to the agency? What is the impact on the public good? Is the government effectively sanctioning patent trolls? Beyond matters of legal compliance and political fallout, a
potential mine field of implementation issues must be addressed pertaining to exclusivity, royalties, sublicensing, infringement, and other licensing terms. There is a resultant lack of consensus within the federal community regarding how to proceed. This session presented an analysis of these concerns against the backdrop of current law and public policy, charting a proposed course for agencies and licensees alike. |
| 12:00noon - 1:30pm |
Lunch |
|
FLC Election Results |
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