Tech transfer: $2 billion NSWC Crane facility partners with University of So. Indiana

From the University of Southern Indiana press room:

The University of Southern Indiana is piloting a Technology Commercialization Academy (TCA) this summer. For five weeks, six engineering students and six business students from USI are working full time to develop ideas and business strategies around commercialization of several Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division (NSWC Crane) patents. The Academy began on May 1 and will wrap up in early June.

The academy was made possible through a Lilly Endowment Sustaining Grant secured by Dr. Mohammed Khayum, dean of the College of Business, and Dr. Scott Gordon, dean of the Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education.

“This is an extremely important project for us to gain insights into and increase the pace of technology transfer between Crane, USI, and others in southwestern Indiana,” said Dr. Khayum. “It’s an illustration of our commitment to engage the students in our business and engineering programs in meaningful ways for their personal and professional development.”

Throughout the process, students are utilizing USI resources to develop a manufacturing plan and produce prototypes of selected technologies. They also have completed preliminary market research and feasibility analysis.

“It’s uncommon for undergraduate students in business and engineering to be submersed in such a real-world, multi-faceted, and potentially high-economic impact area as commercialization of intellectual property,” said Dr. Gordon. “The identification of technology, evaluation of potential markets, and development of business plans helps capture our goal of developing synergy between those with business and those with engineering backgrounds.”

Only 12 of more than 36 applicants for the Academy were accepted. “These are some of our top business and engineering students,” said Andrew Moad, USI Crane partnership manager. “This Academy will help cultivate high-tech commercialization in southwest Indiana and will provide us an opportunity to home grow our own talent and build the intellectual capacity of the region.”

The process and technology

The 12 TCA participants were formed into three teams of four, and include two business and two engineering students.

Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville (GAGE), which came up with the Academy idea in their Tech Transfer Committee, helped to design and kick off the project, and provided business expertise for participants. GAGE facilitated an early session, where teams competed to create the Academy’s logo design. “The focus wasn’t on design as much as it was on making a great pitch,” said Moad.

“I like the mix of engineering and business students,” said Matt Rust, a junior marketing major at USI. “It’s good to get others’ perspectives. They might come up with solutions to a problem that wouldn’t even cross my mind.”

Rust normally spends his summers lifeguarding at a local pool, but this year, the TCA project has taken precedence. Part of the grant funding is being used to provide the opportunity for students to spend their summer working on the projects. “It’s grown into a lot more than I expected,” added Rust. “The real-world application is incredible. What we’re doing here can be applied to what we’ll be doing when we graduate.”

Students were asked to pitch commercialization ideas related to three technologies from NSWC Crane, including a rotary electrical contact ring, a Smart Skin technology, and a milestone and schedule management software program called STMTRC. Students came up with more than 100 ideas, pitched 36, and finally narrowed them down to six finalists. Each team of four students worked on two of the six applications.

Participants meet for two hours each day with faculty, and spend another six hours each day working on their projects and working with USI and community resources.

“This is something completely different and exceptional,” said senior engineering major Katie Shaw. “As an engineer, I can bring my background and skills to a marketing aspect. It’s been exciting to be doing something meaningful and unique over the summer.”

TCA participants chose five projects based on the Smart Skin technology and one using the management software program. In the end, two Smart Skin applications including smart targets and pressure and temperature sensitive hospital beds, and the software program were selected for final presentations.

Shaw’s group, which is working on the hospital beds, was able to meet in person with staff and administrators at Deaconess Hospital, including its president, Linda White. Their project could potentially improve technology and provide a cost savings to the local hospital. Shaw is excited to be pitching her team’s idea to a client for a real-world application, and the Academy has prepared her for that role. “Coming from an engineering background, it’s been important to learn marketing strategies,” she said. “It’s not only about marketing the technology; it’s about being able to sell yourself in front of other people.”

For another team, the Web-based management software is being designed around applications that could be used by universities to help with coordination of registration, advising, calendars, and other university-related needs. “This is an application that could be utilized at USI,” said Moad. “The students have identified some real needs for a program like this and, in the long run, it could even help improve our graduation rates.”

Teams traveled to Crane early in the process to learn about the technology they would be using and met the inventors. A follow up visit to Crane is planned for June 5, at which teams will present their ideas to officials there.

Goals and outcomes

“How do we bring an entrepreneurial mindset to corporate thinking about innovation?” asked Bryan Bourdeau, instructor in business. “We have to build expertise and capacity in the region to commercialize technologies. We can do this by creating an experiential learning environment that gives participants a process, the tools they need, and helps them better understand the resources available to them.”

Providing experience pursuing entrepreneurial ambitions is one outcome the Academy looks to achieve. It provides participants with a look at how to form and market a startup company.

Crane also stands to benefit from the partnership—building its reputation in the region and becoming recognized as an important technological resource. Commercialized technology also becomes a resource for Crane, which can purchase it for its own needs.

“We hope this leads to opportunities to go into internships in the fall of 2012, either at the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville (GAGE) or at regional technology-based companies who bring these students on board to do technology commercialization related work,” said Boudeau. “Other possible outcomes include a start-up based these technologies or a regional company seeing an opportunity to pursue commercialization of an idea coming out of this Academy.”