Technology transfer has the ability to bring about enormous positive benefits for the world, and with the multitude of issues that we are currently facing, we need technology transfer professionals more than ever.

The Director of Technology Management and Innovation at Khalifa University is Dr. Sami Bashir, our guest on today’s episode. During our conversation, Sami shares how his passion for R&D led him to the field of technology transfer and provides an overview of his experiences working in different areas of the Gulf region.

His team has only been around for seven years, but they have managed to achieve a lot in this short space of time. Tune in to hear about the challenges they face, how they tackle them, and what they hope to improve upon in the future. 

In This Episode:

[00:38] Introducing today’s guest, Dr. Sami Bashir. 

[02:25] The origins of Sami’s passion for R&D.

[03:45] Sami’s journey in the field of technology transfer. 

[05:50] The evolving state of technology transfer in the Gulf region.

[08:52] The three departments at Khalifa University that focus on technology transfer and innovation.

[12:58] How the government in Abu Dhabi supports the creation and commercialization of innovations. 

[15:22] Sami explains how he and his team are trying to raise awareness around technology transfer. 

[18:56] The biggest challenge that Sami and his team face during the commercialization process.  

[23:23] The number of licenses Sami and his team do annually. 

[25:47] Sami’s thoughts on the importance of technology transfer.  

Resources:

Sami Bashir on LinkedIn

For the past 30 years, Matthew Bryan has played an integral role in the growth and innovation that has taken place at WIPO. Since he joined the organization as a young IP lawyer, it has grown from around 50 member states to 156! 

Matthew is the Director of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Legal and User Relations Division, heading up a 30-person strong team who hail from countries from Morocco to Japan. 

During this episode, he explains why the PCT process is a lot less complex than you may think, how his team dealt with the influx of applications they experienced during the pandemic, their approach to user relations outreach and information services, and his four wishes for the future of PCT. Matthew also provides some very valuable advice on how to maximize your benefit and minimize your chances of making mistakes during the PCT application process! 

In This Episode:

[01:07] Introducing today’s guest, the Director of the PCT Legal and User Relations Division at WIPO, Matthew Bryan.

[02:34] What Matthew loved about his first few years at WIPO.

[03:43] Matthew shares an overview of the work being done by his division and the people who make up his team.

[05:41] How the WIPO recruitment process works.  

[06:47] Examples of how the PCT process has evolved over the years and the implications of these changes for PCT applicants.

[11:41] The number of PCT applications filed in 2021 despite the pandemic, and how Matthew and his team handled them.  

[16:13] Some of the legal tasks associated with the PCT that Matthew and his team are responsible for.

[21:08] Matthew explains how you can access the strategic advice that is available to PCT users. 

[23:35] An overview of the user relations outreach and information services offered by PCT.

[27:20] How WIPO has grown since Matthew first joined the organization.

[30:24] PCT’s efforts to bring the 37 remaining UN member states into the organization. 

[34:58] What Matthew believes to be the biggest misconception that the public has around the PCT process.

[36:21] Reasons for the reduction in mistakes made by PCT applicants over the years, and some of the common mistakes that are still made.  

[39:21] Matthew’s advice for maximizing your benefit during the PCT process. 

[42:38] Four wishes that Matthew has for the future of PCT. 

Resources:

Wellspring 

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

Matthew Bryan on LinkedIn

PCT Information Service Email Address

Out of 65 applicants across seven countries, the winner of the 2022 Better World Project was a lithium-ion battery recycling process that was invented by Yan Wang and commercialized by Todd Keiller and his Technology Commercialization team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). 

When the invention came across his desk, Todd’s first thought was, “Boy, this looks dangerous,” but when he began to understand its potential, he became fully invested in its world-changing capabilities. 

Tune in today to hear about the long road to getting the company to the point it is at today, and what its future trajectory is set to look like! 

In This Episode:

[01:05] Introducing today’s guest, the Director of Technology Commercialization at WPI, Todd Keiller. 

[02:37] Yan Wang; the inventor of the lithium-ion battery recycling process that won the 2022 Better World Project award.

[03:02] When the first patent for the invention was filed.

[04:11] Todd's first thoughts when he heard about the invention. 

[05:58] The process Todd and his team went through to commercialize the invention.

[07:51] How WPI’s investment in the lithium-ion battery recycling company has grown. 

[08:11] Challenges that Todd and his team dealt with during the commercialization process.

[10:01] The approach that has stood Todd’s small office in good stead over the years.

[11:11] Why Todd strongly believes in the world-changing potential of the invention.

[12:09] A shocking discovery about the power of recycled lithium-ion batteries.

[13:02] The huge honor of winning the Better World Project award. 

[13:36] Positive and negative outcomes that have come from winning the award.

Resources:

Wellspring

Better World Project 

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Todd Keiller on LinkedIn

In honor of Indigenous Peoples' Day, I'm speaking with David Petite, a proud Native American and a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa tribe. He is also a founder of the Native American Intellectual Property Enterprise Council, a non-profit organization helping Native American inventors and communities. He's also a technology pioneer. He was a co-founder of StatSignal Systems, Inc., the first business to patent and launch wireless mesh technology in the late 1990s. He is also a founding partner in DIPCO, which has further developed Wireless Mesh technology. His work in wireless networking technology laid the groundwork for IoT technology and wireless mesh. 

He has received over 50 patents and has more than 100 U.S. patents pending, dating back to 1995. David is passionate about his heritage. His father was the chief of the Red Cliff Tribe and taught him native traditions and values. He has always been an inventor and creator and has been passionate about technology solutions to help people. He has now combined his love of inventing and technology to create an organization to help other tribal inventors and creators. His organization helps from ideation to patents and monetization. Lisa dives into how David got started, what he's working on today and his biggest hopes and dreams for the future of his organization and tribal advancement. 

In This Episode:

[02:36] David's father was the chief of the Red Cliff Tribe. His father taught him traditional values, storytelling, music and song.

[04:03] David talks about spiritual transitioning and how everything ties in with the Creator and traditional ways.

[05:35] Becoming an engineer was an easy process for David who was always a problem solver.

[07:04] David has over 50 patents and many still pending. He shares the story of what inspired him to create an ATM security device as his first patent.

[10:02] His first patent wasn't implemented, but it led to his creation of wireless mesh technology. He discovered that the new internet could be used to distribute data. He created a virtual connection using hot terminals and extended it using wireless technology.

[11:21] His technology is integrated into almost all IoT devices. 

[12:37] We learn about David's first product he sold back in the 1990's. He had to write the spec for this for underwriting. He started filing patents on everything he developed. 

[14:48] Almost everything now is based on mesh technology. 

[15:22] The most valuable thing an inventor has is a list of what doesn't work. 

[15:54] He started the Native American Intellectual Property Enterprise Council in 2009. He wanted there to be resources for Native American inventors. It evolved into a council to help the tribes. 

[19:38] He wants to educate tribal people to understand the value of a brand and to create new economic resources.

[20:52] They work with people who live on reservations or represent a tribe. They go from idea, to product, to monetization.

[22:06] TIP is a Tribal Intellectual Property resource. They set up hubs to work with tribes and bring access to the internet and take ideas to the next level. 

[28:21] They helped a remote tribe develop new technology for a lightweight bulletproof vest.

[32:28] Native American culture had a huge impact on food and farming. 

[34:00] David reflects back on his work and how he aspired to having his own business and has always been an inventor and creator. 

[35:58] Tribes are still Sovereign or a country within a country. There are benefits to Sovereignty when it comes to tech. Healthcare is a valuable area that tribes can tap into.

[38:55] David would like his organization to be more expansive and have more resources. He'd also like tribes to have their own patent offices. 

Resources:

Wellspring

David Petite LinkedIn

IntusiQ

SIPCO

Native American Intellectual Property Enterprise Council

Welcome to the first episode of AUTM on the Air. This episode is brought to you by Wellspring, a leading provider of Innovation Ops software. I’m excited to be talking to Bethany Loftin, an Interagency Policy & iEdison Specialist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

We’ll be talking about the recent redesign of iEdison, the online platform used to report taxpayer-funded innovations. Organizations use iEdison to request extensions and waivers, report progress, and notify the federal government of its limited use rights to patents on taxpayer-funded ideas, in addition to reporting their inventions.

In This Episode:

[02:59] The new version of iEdison launched on August 9th of 2022. A lot of time was put into this launch including several years of feedback and testing.

[04:13] It just made sense to transfer iEdison from NIH to NIST.

[05:43] Bethany breaks down many of the changes to iEdison including the login procedure and the user interface. 

[07:35] Security measures are extremely important. That's one of the reasons they shifted to login.gov. They also have strict user role enforcement, security requirements, and all attachments are virus scanned.

[09:02] Probably the number one mistake that users make is not being aware of the Bayh-Dole requirements. Linking patents and reports can be another issue. 

[10:47] When users need help they can reach out to the help desk from the iEdison home page.

[12:27] The agencies just want to ensure that they are getting accurate timely information about what's happening with federal research funding. 

[15:01] The iEdison home page has many resources from tutorials to user guides. They even have a video tutorial section and will be having training sessions throughout the year. 

[16:45] The new iEdison is still a work in progress, even though it has had a lot of improvements. The system will be continually upgraded and improved. 

[17:36] People should really read the regulations and know what their obligations are. The reporting is a lot easier when you know what you're supposed to be doing. Get the entire team involved.

Resources:

Wellspring

iEdison

NIST

Bethany Loftin LinkedIn

Bethany Loftin

Bayh-Dole Act

Today we have the pleasure of hearing from Theo Edmonds, JD, MHA, MFA. Theo is a co-founder of CU Denver’s Imaginator Academy, a cultural analytics strategy and futurist innovation hub. Theo is a skilled, energetic, culture futurist, and innovator with 25 years of senior level strategic national and international leadership experience, spent in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. As directing co-founder of CU Denver’s Imaginator Academy, Theo is a weaver of ideas who scouts global networks of entrepreneurs, companies, scientists, artists, creative innovators, and change makers.

In our discussion today, Theo describes the Imaginator Academy and the drive to keep innovation, curiosity, and the artistic mindset alive. At times, this isn’t easy, especially within an organization and even more so during the Great Resignation. But Theo has a great outlook on things and by using the data the Imaginator Academy finds, we are seeing constant opportunities for innovation all around us.

In This Episode:

[01:41] Welcome to the show, Theo! Theo shares his background.

[03:05] Theo learned how to do different things to navigate a world he didn’t fit in.

[04:49] The things that promote wellbeing are autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

[06:39] The feeling of belonging and community is something highly valued by Theo.

[07:27] Where did the idea of the Imaginator Academy come from?

[09:04] Theo had his eye on Denver because of what he wanted to be a part of.

[11:12] A futurist is someone who pays attention and understands that there is a timeline that connects past, present, and future in compelling ways.

[13:20] The way things have been established in the United States is for people to work in silos.

[15:18] When you have a lot of innovative opportunities, who is the gatekeeper?

[17:31] People in different societal groups, such as the LGBTQ+ community, have had to navigate dominant cultures that are not their own.

[20:17] When leaders have biases, they have profound implications on resource allocation.

[21:57] We have set ourselves up with systems we’ve created with unrealistic expectations.

[24:09] We don’t need more research on why this is a problem, but rather lean into the existing data to solve the problem.

[26:22] The purpose of the arts has been misunderstood.

[28:27] Theo explains the inspiration for starting a non-profit.

[30:30] There are more artist residencies in organizations now, but it’s not genuine and more for PR. 

[32:56] There are some things involved that make private sector companies uncomfortable.

[33:52] If you are an innovator, the celebration of failure is valuable.

[35:16] Innovation in organizations takes messiness.

[37:01] People are exhausted right now and it is impacting our innovation process.

[39:02] Theo explains what the Imaginator Academy is doing regarding the Great Resignation.

[40:45] What the Imaginator Academy does is not provide more surveys.

[42:48] They put a data bridge in place between culture change and innovation.

[45:23] In Denver, they are hosting their first Innovator Summit.

[46:44] There are two components in researching curiosity.

[48:53] Nature self manages creative tension beautifully, but in our human systems we focus on measuring strengths.

[51:08] Theo describes the different types of people on the bell curve.

[54:03] What does the research say about leaders and the people who derisk?

[56:37] Data makes the stories believable and investable. Stories change the world.

[58:16] Theo shares the hopes he has for the Imaginator Academy.

[60:52] Companies will always have a human component.

[62:25] There are opportunities for innovation all around us.

[64:57] The Great Resignation is a result of Americans doing what we’ve always done. We’re seeing Americans showing new signs of life and imagination.

Find Theo:

Email

Today’s guest hails from a small country in the heart of Europe which most people know little about. Luxembourg’s economy was once based on agriculture and coal mining, but central to its success today is its thriving innovation ecosystem that is geared towards the creation and transfer of knowledge.

Christophe Haunold is the Head of Partnership, Knowledge, and Technology Transfer at the University of Luxembourg, and the recently appointed President of ASTP. He believes that knowledge transfer is the key to mitigating many of the issues that plague our world.

Christophe joins us for a discussion about the work that he is doing to advance innovation, some of the most important lessons he has learned during his career, and a few of the biggest professional challenges that he is currently facing. 

In This Episode:

[00:52] Introducing today’s guest, Head of Partnership, Knowledge, and Technology Transfer at the University of Luxembourg, Christophe Haunold.

[01:37] Christophe shares an overview of what his career has looked like to date. 

[03:29] A brief history of Luxembourg.

[05:02] Pros and cons of the knowledge transfer ecosystem in Luxembourg. 

[08:59] The key actions that Christophe and his team focus on. 

[11:52] Factors that Christophe sees as essential to the successful management of innovation. 

[13:33] The University of Luxembourg’s approach to supporting startups and spinouts. 

[16:48] Funding opportunities available for startups and spinouts that come out of the University of Luxembourg. 

[18:22] Examples of corporate partnerships that the University of Luxembourg has entered into. 

[21:22] Valuable lessons that Christophe has learned through failure.  

[23:03] One of Christophe’s favorite success stories. 

[25:13] The biggest challenges that Christophe’s office is currently facing. 

[27:12] The goals of ASTP and what Christophe hopes to achieve as its new president. 

[30:38] Christophe’s three big wishes for the knowledge transfer field. 

Find Christophe:

Email

The collaborations that were formed during the COVID-19 pandemic epitomize the value of technology transfer and intellectual property. In today’s episode, Jennifer Brant, the Executive Director of the Innovation Council and the co-author of Unprecedented: The Rapid Innovation Response to COVID-19 and the Role of Intellectual Property, joins us to explain why! 

After providing an overview of the diverse range of work being done by the Innovation Council (from tackling the IP gender gap to looking at how to expand biomanufacturing networks globally), Jennifer delves into the key findings from the Unprecedented report. 

If you’re interested in learning how companies overcame the enormous challenges of bringing COVID-19 vaccines to the world and how this relates to IP protections (which could be undermined by the TRIPS waiver), this episode is for you!

In This Episode:

[00:52] Introducing Jennifer Brant, Executive Director of the Innovation Council. 

[02:02] Jennifer explains the diverse range of work that the Innovation Council is responsible for. 

[03:55] How the Innovation Council’s Inclusive Innovation Ecosystem is helping to close the IP gender gap. 

[08:12] An overview of the report that Jennifer co-authored about the essential role of IP during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

[13:54] Why the COVID-19 vaccines can be described as an “overnight success years in the making.”

[14:37] Factors that made the pandemic an unprecedented challenge. 

[15:57] Collaboration in times of crisis; stories from the COVID-19 pandemic.  

[21:55] An example that highlights the complexity of value chains relating to COVID-19 vaccines. 

[22:51] How regulatory authorities adapted to the demands of the pandemic response. 

[25:07] Debunking a misconception about the COVID-19 manufacturing process. 

[27:06] Jennifer’s thoughts on the TRIPS waiver.

[29:37] How companies are likely to respond to the removal of IP projections.

[32:04] The patent infringement lawsuit that had been filed against Pfizer-BioNTech.

[33:52] How countries can enhance their biomanufacturing capacity. 

[37:42] Impacts of the Russia/Ukraine war on biologics manufacturing in the region.

Find Jennifer:

Email

This episode is brought to you from the headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland. 

Julio Raffo and Elodie Carpentier, Head of the Innovation Economy Section of the Department for Economics and Data Analytics at WIPO, and postdoc research fellow at WIPO respectively, are my guests on the show today. 

Join us for a discussion around WIPO’s diverse range of projects, what their research has shown about the impacts of war, COVID, and climate change on the evolution of innovation, and what WIPO is doing to hasten the pace of the slowly closing gender gap in the innovation space! 

In This Episode:

[00:50] Introducing WIPO and today’s guests, Julio and Elodie. 

[02:17] The diverse range of projects that Julio is involved in as head of the Innovation Economy Section of the Department for Economics and Data Analytics at WIPO.

[03:28] What Elodie’s role as a postdoc research fellow at WIPO entails. 

[06:13] Some key findings that are highlighted in the 2022 edition of the World Intellectual Property Report. 

[09:55] Two possible explanations for the decrease in green patenting worldwide. 

[11:25] The gender gap in the innovation space and why it is problematic.  

[12:51] Action that WIPO is taking to help close the gender gap.

[14:35] WIPO’s approach to collecting information around gender disparities. 

[17:15] An overview of the WIPO initiatives that promote gender equality and diversity in the innovation space.  

[19:01] How WIPO measures changes in the gender gap. 

[20:28] Topics of discussion that will be covered at the symposium that Julio has been invited to attend. 

Find Julio:

Email

Find Elodie:

Email

TTO Iceland is proof that when it comes to the ability to make an impact, size doesn’t matter!

Prior to the founding of TTO Iceland at the end of 2018, technology transfer was non-existent in Iceland. But thanks to today’s guests, Einar Mantyla and Susan Christianen, the country’s scientists and entrepreneurs now have a much greater chance of impacting society both nationally and internationally. 

Einar and Susan make up half of the small powerhouse team at TTO Iceland, and during this episode, we discuss the challenges and successes that have characterized the last (almost) four years of TTO Iceland and what their future holds! 

In This Episode:

[00:51] Introducing today’s guest, Einar and Susan.

[03:00] Einar and Susan’s role in bringing technology transfer to Iceland. 

[10:24] An overview of what the (almost) four years since the founding of TTO Iceland have looked like. 

[14:48] TTO Iceland’s involvement in the country’s innovation ecosystem.

[17:14] How the Icelandic government has supported TTO Iceland, and how they can do more in the future. 

[20:52] People who make up the small team at TTO Iceland.

[23:20] The fellows program that TTO Iceland is a part of. 

[25:27] Some of TTO Iceland’s measurable achievements. 

[27:32] How TTO Iceland enhances awareness about technology transfer and entrepreneurship. 

[31:11] Examples of the ways in which TTO Iceland supports startups coming out of universities in the country. 

[34:01] The various funding opportunities that are available to startups in Iceland. 

[37:02] TTO Iceland’s corporate partners and the benefits that these partnerships have brought about. 

[41:48] Some of the TTO Iceland successes that Einar and Susan are proud of.  

[44:13] The biggest challenges being faced by TTO Iceland.

[47:38] TTO Iceland’s approach to enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

[50:14] Value that Susan and Einar see in being part of technology transfer organizations.

[51:38] Einar and Susan’s view on credentialing. 

[52:59] Susan and Einar’s hopes for the future of technology transfer in Iceland. 

Find Einar:

Email

Find Susan:

Email