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UO technology entrepreneurs visit PNNL
A group of University of Oregon students and their advisors traveled to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on June 22 to discuss PNNL technologies that the students will analyze for commercial potential.
The visit is part of the Technology Entrepreneurship Fellows Program jointly established by UO and PNNL. The program is in its third year, and the founding organizations agree that there are benefits all around.
“It gives our students a chance to get their hands on the newest, coolest technologies and to learn how to develop effective business plans for turning a technology into a product or service,” said Alan Meyer, UO’s Lundquist Professor of Entrepreneurial Management.
Through the program, PNNL, which holds many patents for the scientific discoveries and technologies invented by its researchers, opens its intellectual property portfolio and gives the students full access to certain inventions. “In many cases, these technologies appear to hold promise as products or services. However, PNNL does not have the resources to fully explore the potential of each and every one of them,” said Erik Stenehjem, who leads PNNL’s Office of Regional Programs. “The students can help give us a sense of whether a technology may be a bold new product for the marketplace or, conversely, that it is not ready for commercialization.”
At UO, the program, which offers a paid fellowship to participants, has become popular. Although funding this summer limited participation to six students, there were so many quality applicants that it was decided that three additional individuals would be admitted. “We couldn’t say no,” Meyer said. Four of the students are pursuing master’s degrees in business, four are attending the law school, and one is seeking both business and law degrees.
The program has three basic steps. First, the students, who are divided into three teams, are introduced to various PNNL technologies, as well as inventions from the university’s own intellectual property portfolio. Each team performs research on a selected technology and conducts feasibility studies focused on marketing, strategic, and intellectual property issues.
Next, each team delivers an in-depth assessment of the technology's potential for commercialization. If the assessment is very positive, then the following quarter the students will enroll in a venture planning course and there pursue development of a business plan for taking the technology to the marketplace. The business plans can be entered in prestigious collegiate competitions across the United States.
Finally, if the business plans indicate that a technology appears commercially viable, there is a possibility that Battelle, the organization that operates PNNL for the U.S. Department of Energy, may consider working with the students further and pursuing a startup business.
“This program is helping our students to create solid business plans that have fared very well in competitions,“ said Don Upson, an adjunct professor at the UO Lundquist College of Business. Upson notes that visiting PNNL is like coming to a “technology candy store” and he has been very pleased with the progress of the PNNL/UO partnership.
“The program is beneficial to the students, the university, and the state. It helps us to market our business programs at the UO, and it is emphasizing the role of competition. As we try to create a more competitive society in Oregon to foster economic growth, programs that encourage entrepreneurship are increasingly important,” Upson explained.
Meyer noted the program's key innovation this year is to supplement the knowledge of business and law students with the scientific perspectives of UO doctoral students in physics and chemistry, who have been added to the student teams. “Three of the four participating scientists came along on our visit to PNNL. Having them around to translate ‘science speak’ and ask inventors probing questions is proving to be invaluable,” Meyer said. “It is quite unique to bring deep expertise from business, law and science to bear on a brand new technology.”
Stenehjem agrees and believes the program will have many positive outcomes in the future. “PNNL wants to help energize the economy of the Pacific Northwest. Ultimately, the outcome of this program would be the creation of the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. The Pacific Northwest economy needs innovative, entrepreneurial minds and we are hopeful that our partnership with the University of Oregon will help address that need.”
