Innovation and Tech Transfer Are Changing the Face of Education
AUTM Insight, August 24, 2022
Volume 4, Issue 17

Across social media this month, feeds are filled with photos of kids on porches and sidewalks posing with big smiles and new shoes to commemorate the first day of school. As the kiddos head back to school, the effects of tech transfer can be seen in innovations throughout the classroom and beyond! Check out these examples of educational innovations from AUTM’s Better World Project.
  • Transforming education through technology. Don Jacobs, a teacher/techie, created a database of curriculum, resources, and professional development for teachers to advance K-12 education. Don’s PLS 3rd Learning provides teachers with more than 40,000 teaching items, data and more.
  • Bringing research to life. School district and university partners across the country integrate the CaseNEX learning model and access the library of case studies to enhance, enliven, and extend their existing programs. Teachers can join the collaborative online learning cohorts to satisfy professional development requirements, earn graduate credits, and complete master's degree programs.
  • Improving reading skills for K-12. Researchers developed Dialect, a program to help assess Spanish reading skills in students from K-12. Kindergarten students who used Dialect showed significant improvements from the beginning to the end of the school year in reading patterns, listening and vocabulary.
  • Identifying at-risk kids in the classroom. To help teachers assess students’ reading skills, monitor their progress, and determine how well they are achieving their literacy goals, researchers created “Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) Online Score Entry and Reporting System,” a diagnostic reading software tool for kindergarten through third grade students. PALS quickly assesses how well children understand literacy fundamentals.
 

Spotlight on Asian American and Pacific Islander Innovators 
AUTM Insight, May 4
Volume 4, Issue 9

 
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.  Congress passed its initial resolution to honor AAPI Week in 1979; in 1992 Congress designated May as AAPI Heritage month. They chose May as it commemorates the first immigration of Japanese to the U.S. (May 7, 1943.) It also marks the anniversary of the transcontinental railroad (May 10, 1869); most workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants. 
Here are nine AAPI Innovators to know:  
  • Ajay Bhatt: A computer architect who invented several widely used technologies, including the USB. 
  • Steve Chen and Jawed Karim: After working together at PayPal, two of YouTube’s cofounders helped launch the video service in 2005. Less than two years later, they sold it to Google for $1.65 billion.
  • Steven Chu: The first Chinese American to serve as U.S. Energy Secretary, as well as the first Nobel Prize winner and first scientist to be appointed to a cabinet position. Chu is the co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on atom trapping and laser cooling. He previously served as director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.
  • David Ho: He has made several scientific contributions to the understanding and treatment of HIV infection.
  • Roseli Ocampo-Friedmann: Ocampo-Friedmann researched extremophiles - organisms that thrive in extreme conditions. She gathered almost 1,000 different cultures of these from all over the world. Her work has been cited in the search for life on Mars, and in 1981 she was awarded the U.S. Congressional Antarctic Service medal.
  • Nainoa Thompson: This native Hawaiian navigator was the first to practice wayfinding again, an ocean navigation technique that fell out of practice in the 14th century. He developed the star compass, allowing navigators to orient themselves by the position of the stars, and trains a new generation of navigators to pass the technique on.
  • Peter Tsai: The University of Tennessee research professor created N95 respirators’ essential technology. It has become vital in protecting frontline workers against COVID-19, and the FDA, CDC, and OSHA also recommend N95 masks for medical and industrial purposes. The N95 also won AUTM's first-ever Better World Project Legacy Award.
  • Ching Wan Tang: He helped pioneer the organic light emitting diode (OLED), found in flat panels such as computers and cell phones. It increases efficiency, battery life, and display quality. Tang is named on 84 patents, and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2018. 
To meet even more AAPI innovators, check out these articles from TED, BIO, History.com, and Idaho National Laboratory.
Celebrating World Intellectual Property
AUTM Insight, Apr. 6
Volume 4, Issue 7


April 26 marks the day the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) came into force in 1970. It’s a day in which organizations around the globe join to increase the general public’s understanding of intellectual property (IP). This year’s theme is “IP and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future,” providing young people the chance to learn “how IP rights can support their goals, help transform their ideas into reality, generate income, create jobs and make a positive impact on the world around them.”
 
According to WIPO:
  • There are around 1.8 billion people under the age of 24, 90% living in developing countries.
  • With IP rights, young people have access to some of the key tools they need to advance their goals and ambitions.
  • Young people are natural agents of change, with energy, creativity and innovation to build a sustainable world.
  • Young people are a largely untapped source of ingenuity and creativity that can help drive the changes we need to move to a more sustainable footing. 
  • WIPO is working with its member states and partners to create a legal and policy environment for young inventors, creators and entrepreneurs to thrive.
Click here for suggested virtual activities on how your organization can engage the public, media, institutions, and help raise awareness.  

For more facts and figures, check out AUTM’s helpful infographic, infosheet, and toolkits. 
AUTM’s 2021 Licensing Activity Survey, our most popular and widely distributed publication, is open! Check your email for details on how to contribute. Your contributions are vital to helping promote the value of IP, licensing, and tech transfer.
Celebrating and Supporting Women in Innovation
AUTM Insight, Mar. 9
Volume 4, Issue 5
March-List.png

What do the circular saw, ice cream maker, and Kevlar all have in common? They were invented by women! Yesterday was International Women’s Day (IWD), and March is Women’s History Month. Here are some highlights on inventors, inventions, and entrepreneurial ways you can celebrate: 
  There is more work to be done, as this year’s IWD #BreakTheBias campaign shows. In tech transfer, research shows that women at universities submit their work to TTOs at a lower rate than their male counterparts. A 2019 U.S. Patent & Trademark Office report revealed just 12.8% of U.S. inventor-patentees are women. 

AUTM’s Women Inventors Special Interest Group (WISIG) focuses on concerns of women in technology transfer offices, exploring ways of leveling the playing field and working to be a catalyst for positive change to increase the participation of women in innovation, invention, and entrepreneurship.  

Its Members recently published a paper, “Engaging More Women In Academic Innovation: Findings and Recommendations,” in Technology & Innovation, from the National Academy of Inventors. It outlines 7 key findings and 6 recommendations for concrete actions to foster greater engagement in all innovation stages, based on a survey of academic women, as well as follow-up conversations and daily experiences. Read the full report here. Its recommendations include: 
 
  • Identify successful programs that engage female innovators in the technology commercialization pathway, create templates for the programs, and scale them;
  • Identify best practices to raise awareness of commercialization resources and training programs among female academics to increase engagement;
  • Establish a virtual national mentoring network or replicate and scale existing programs with strong mentorship;
  • Increase outreach to help raise awareness about tools, resources, and funding designed to assist female academics;
  • Help ensure higher education institutes have strategies that discourage discriminatory behavior by requiring evidence of institutional Diversity and Inclusion Plans as part of federal grant applications; 
  • Tech transfer offices specifically can help make technology commercialization and entrepreneurship more inclusive by: better tracking and reporting of gender metrics; gender intelligence training; more inclusive training and outreach; reviewing standard practices for invention disclosure, patenting, and licensing processes; and developing an adoptable Diversity and Inclusion Pledge.
Get Involved
Honoring Black Inventors 
AUTM Insight, Feb. 9
Volume 4, Issue 3
Feb-List.png
February is Black History Month, an opportunity to highlight the important contributions of Black Americans. In this month’s List, we are highlighting just a few of the Black inventors who have made major impacts on medicine, transportation, technology, and more. Each person highlighted below is an inductee in the National Inventors Hall of Fame, founded and supported in partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Clik the link to learn more about each person, their invention and impact: 
 
For even more on the history and impact of Black innovators, read the Brookings Institution report, “The Black Innovators who Elevated the United States: Reassessing the Golden Age of Invention."

For more on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in tech transfer, check out our column series and suggested reading list.  
Get a Jump on 2022 with AUTM’s Annual Meeting 
AUTM Insight, Jan. 12
Volume 4, Issue 1
ListOct-(1).png
Resolve to add AUTM to your list of New Year’s professional development goals. Start by attending the 2022 Annual Meeting this February in New Orleans, where parades will be plentiful and technology transfer deal makers will gather to learn, inspire and partner. Whether you’re from academia or industry, a seasoned pro or new to tech transfer, AUTM has the programming you need to succeed in 2022 and beyond. Here are the highlights: 
 
Educational Sessions: The Annual Meeting is the place for tech transfer education, with 90 educational sessions. This year’s schedule is stellar. Our educational lineup will help in your current role and prepare you for the future. We’ve got something for everyone: first-timers, admin, and more. And watch out, you may even experience a professional “aha” moment - or 10. View the Schedule  
 
Keynote Featuring Lt. General Russel L. Honoré (Ret.): Thought-provoking speakers include problem-solver Lt. General Russel L. Honoré, who helps organizations develop a culture of preparedness for take-charge leaders. With an uplifting dose of candor and real-world leadership lessons, he shares his no-nonsense approach to getting the job done and instills confidence in tomorrow’s leaders. Meet Lt. General Honoré 
 
Keynote Featuring Anna Young, CEO of MakerHealth: Anna Young works from a fundamental belief that, with the right tools, everyday people can use their ingenuity to create devices that heal. Applying years of global experience with the Maker Movement, she brings prototyping tools and makerspaces into hospitals to enhance the natural problem solving abilities of clinicians and patients. She is the Co-Founder of MakerNurse, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation sponsored program to support inventive, frontline nurses. Her roots come from MIT as a researcher in the Little Devices Lab and lecturer in the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science. Meet Anna Young  
 
Training on the Hottest Topics: The AUTM Annual Meeting features add-on sessions to augment your educational experience. These timely, relevant sessions will help you succeed in technology transfer. On Sunday, Feb. 20, you can choose from the Marketing, Startup, or Technology Valuation Courses. On Tuesday, Feb. 22, you can attend the Negotiation Course. View the Details  
 
Networking Galore: AUTM Connect is a powerful networking platform that will allow you to connect with fellow attendees, search for technologies, schedule meetings and more! More than 9,000 face-to-face meetings are held during AUTM’s Annual Meetings to cement connections and get deals done. 
 
The Big Easy Guide to New Orleans: New Orleans was named one of the World's Greatest Places 2021. We’re more than excited to see you there. Get jazzed with our guide to all you’ll experience in the city: music, food, Mardi Gras krewes. It has something for everyone! We've also sourced recommendations from local AUTM Members in-the-know. View the Guide  
 
At-Home: Your in-person registration includes at-home access to audio recordings from the sessions that you couldn’t squeeze in on site in New Orleans, so you can continue the learning throughout the year. That’s real value. If you can’t travel to this year’s Meeting, don’t worry! Order a Virtual registration and you can still participate in partnering with everyone registered, as you’ll have access to AUTM Connect to set up one-on-one meetings with potential partners starting Jan. 3. You’ll also be able to visit the virtual exhibit hall to find the solutions you’ve been looking for. And two weeks after the Meeting, you will receive the digital audio recordings of all the educational sessions to listen to at your leisure. 
 
Convince Your Boss: Think you'll need some help making the case that you should be at the Meeting and not behind your home office desk? We’ve put together a pitch to share with your boss. The question is not whether you and your colleagues should go. The question is whether you can afford to miss out on the insights and networking that will make you immediately more successful at work. Convince Your Boss 
 
Resolve to Save: If you register today, you’ll save $100 off the cost of onsite registration. That’s worth a yoga class or two! Bonus: renew or establish your AUTM Membership BEFORE registering for the Annual Meeting in order to get the Member rate. 
 
Need More? Visit our FAQ!