Panels

Converting Innovation to Commercialization:
Information Re-Use from the Research Sector to the Public Sector

Panel Moderator: Gordon K. Lee, San Diego State University, USA

Panelists:
Du Zhang, Stuart Rubin, Shu-Ching Chen, June Massoud, Gongzhu Hu.

Download pdf version.

There exist many centers within the academic and government environments which have as its mission providing a catalyst for moving ideas to commercialization, in order to create jobs and enhance the economy. For example, The von Liebig Center at the University of California at San Diego, The Deshpande Center at MIT and the Inventor Resource Center at North Carolina State University provide researchers the opportunity to investigate the potential of commercialization. As another example, The Center for Commercialization of Advanced Technology (CCAT) at San Diego State University is a technology commercialization and transition collaborative partnership of academia, industry, and government. The Center is funded by the Office of Naval Research, the Office of Secretary of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security and focuses on identifying innovative technologies that address "critical homeland security and national defense challenges" and in moving these technologies through the prototype stage to full deployment systems in the commercial marketplace.

At a Symposium in 2008 organized by the Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy, Christine Gulbranson from The Kauffman Foundation [1] states that just small levels of funding through these centers for commercialization create a tremendous impact in not only commercialization but also additional benefits such as active mentorship and strong external social networks.

While researchers continue to develop new ideas and technologies, we must focus on how this research can be moved from theory to practice, in order to enhance the economic situation in the world. Some issues we may wish to address include:

• What are some of the political or social barriers that impede the additional use of information re-use?
• Is the use of block funding for large centers for commercialization to way to go for stimulating economic and research programs?
• What is your opinion about the current funding resources available for information re-use and integration research and how can we change the direction of funding/ resources to enhance its use?
• What is our role as researchers and academicians to enhance the use of information re-use?
• Who should take the lead (government, industry, and/or academia) in improving the use of information re-use?

The focus of this IRI 2011 panel is to investigate how information re-use can impact the world economy. Panelists will look at not only the technical issues but also the sociological and cultural issue that need to be addressed in order to make a difference in our world.

[1] Gulbranson, Christine, "Commercializing University Innovation: The Proof of Concept Centers", in the Critical National Needs in New Technologies: Opportunities for the Technology Innovation Symposium, http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/step/PGA_046350.

 

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