National Network for Equitable Library Service

Since 1980, when the United States government first allowed universities and laboratories to reap commercial profits from federally-funded projects, top institutions have been licensing their research. Over the past decade, more and more institutions believe the big money is in commercializing the research themselves. To create sustainable technology transfer programs, universities must risk their own capital. In doing so, they find themselves having to set up virtual venture-capital funds - often with sorry results. Yet, technology transfer has had considerable success and continues to hold great promise for universities, scientists, and venture capitalists. What are the approaches and elements involved in bridging the gap between academic research and entrepreneurial commercial success? Mind into Matter explores the history and issues of transferring ideas from university researchlabs to the marketplace, and the commercial and global benefits of this process.