New Program Seeks Community Mentors to Help Align University Researchers with Industry’s Technology Needs.
A strong relationship between businesses and universities is an important factor in accelerating technology advancement and commercialization for both town and gown. With this in mind, the University of Nevada, Reno/DRI Technology Transfer Office (TTO) is launching a new program called The Industry/Faculty Partnering Clinic.
The clinic will foster relationships linking faculty from the University of Nevada, Reno, and DRI with industries relevant to the researcher’s interest areas. By understanding the technology needs of relevant companies, faculty can better position their research programs to produce new discoveries having more immediate commercial impact. In some cases, relationships formed through the program can allow companies and researchers to work together to further develop or refine products while linking the university with critical technology transfer opportunities.
Over a five-month period, a multidisciplinary team makes introductions between the researcher and relevant industry. The team is comprised of a principal investigator, an entrepreneurial lead, a TTO intern, and an entrepreneurial/business mentor.
Be A Mentor
Members of the business community are invited to become mentors, either for this inaugural class or future clinics, by filling out a brief online contact form at http://tto.dri.edu/tto-form.php.
Research Areas
The first four faculty participants in the program have been identified. Their technology expertise areas include:
- water purification and energy production systems
- computer algorithms to aid in drug discovery
- plants genetically engineered to produce gasoline and enzymes to produce insect pheromones and flavorants/fragrances
- renewable energy production, such as waste water sludge conversion and utilization, biomass pre-treatment and conversion using hydrothermal and torrefaction methods, and life cycle analysis of hydrothermal geothermal energy extraction.
Meet these professors and learn more about their research online at the Industry/Faculty Partnering Clinic faculty participants biographies website.
Developing the Program
The Industry/Faculty Partnering Clinic is one of three community engagement programs recently devised by TTO Director Ryan Heck and NIREC Vice President Li Han Chan. The two collaborated to conduct a strategic review of the office and develop a strategic roadmap, goals, and tactics for engaging industry and community with UNR and DRI.
The Industry on Campus program is a further effort to educate faculty as to industry needs, and to help industry identify faculty with which to partner. At periodic meetings, faculty share brief technology overviews, industry representatives discuss their technology needs, and time is allotted for a group discussion.
The Community Support Network harnesses the collective expertise of our local community to assess new technologies and identify potential licensees and collaborators. The TTO is building a network of community members to periodically review brief technology summaries and provide very brief feedback on the value proposition of the technology and provide contacts interested in moving the technology to the market place.
We encourage you to consider taking part in this important collaborative program that helps solve industry challenges while building relevant technology transfer from Nevada’s research institutions.
Visit the TTO website for more information these new programs.