University of Rochester in New York has started a new Technology Development Fund that will award grants to help scientists advance their findings closer to the stage where they can be transferred to the market. Awards from the fund will range from $40,000 to $100,000.
Robert Clark, dean of Rochester’s Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, says in a press release that the fund will support pre-commercialization research and prototype development, adding “The fund will seek to close the gap between the culmination of laboratory research and the initiation of technology transfer through licensing or new venture creation.”
That gap occurs because most discoveries made in academic labs like those at University of Rochester are in basic science and engineering. From a business perspective, however, these research findings are in an early stage of development, and still have high risk of technical failure. Thus, while the discoveries may represent solid engineering or science, they are not yet ready for the marketplace.
The university believes its researchers have plenty of discoveries to offer for commercialization. On average, there are approximately 125 “invention disclosures” -– discoveries that potentially represent new technologies –- reported by University of Rochester researchers, which result in some 40 U.S. and foreign patents and 3-4 new start up companies per year. The university has about 110 current licensing agreements for its technologies.
The Technology Development Fund will solicit proposals twice a year. The university says proposals will be reviewed by a screening committee of external professionals, including members of the commercial sector, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, scientists, and angel investors.
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