Transforming academic research findings into economically profitable technologies

The Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) operates on the principle that pooling investment in basic, pre-competitive research permits members to target a larger percentage of their research and development dollars towards devising technologies that will yield a competitive edge. This benefit is mot effectively realized, however, when the research “product” is expeditiously transferred from the research lab into the commercial environment. The product, in this case, may be knowledge, a design or manufacturing tool, personnel who are trained in the use of the tool, or information about a research approach that should be avoided. At the SRC, technology transfer is essential to the success of its cooperative research effort, and consequently, during 15 years of managing this transfer across the university/industry interface, the not-for-profit consortiun has developed and refined structures and methodologies to overcome transfer barriers. The paper written by Lynn Burnett, Gail Massari and Richard LaScala discusses administrative and managerial barriers to technology conversion and transfer and the solutions developed and practiced by the SRC to transcend those barriers.