Reading list – ORNL eyes the marketplace

The US Department of Energy (DOE) "manages what many believe is the greatest collection of scientific talent in the world," it proclaims modestly in the latest issue of Oak Ridge National Laboratory REVIEW. So it might be worth watching what they get up to in the way of knowledge transfer, which is the theme for this issue of the magazine from ORNL.

 

The editorial tells us that: "In a world in which high-tech economies are increasingly defined by breakthrough technologies, ORNL is actively engaged in a renewed effort to find new ways of moving our discoveries from the laboratory to the marketplace. Indeed, as the United States marshals the nation’s resources for the economic competition that will shape our future, technology
transfer is emerging as a critical component of the Department of Energy’s research agenda."

 

One article describes a new scheme to inculcate students with the innovation mindset. "University of Tennessee graduate students in business and engineering work part-time nudging ORNL inventions closer to commercialization."

 

Another article highlights an issue that is dear to the heart of most scientists who are urged to hurry their knowledge to the market, what is in it for them? As they do things at ORNL, and probably other labs in the US DOE, the scientists get to spend some of the money on new toys for their research. On top of this "approximately 15 percent goes to staff inventors and 35 percent to technology maturation funds to help make new inventions licensable".