USU Technology Commercialization Grant Program Now Accepting Applications

Technology commercialization is a key component of USU’s research and outreach missions. It supports the university’s land-grant mandate to improve the lives of Utah citizens and to disseminate research results to the state, the nation and the world.

Recently, the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative (USTAR) made available $800,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to Utah State University for the specific purpose of funding the newly created Technology Commercialization Grant (TCG) Program.

The USTAR TCG program is designed to assist inventors and researchers in the final stages of idea implementation; funds are intended to drive the commercialization of technology forward.

Therefore, these grants support transitional research in all areas and novel technology development with commercialization potential. Specially, the TCG program is committed to supporting research projects that are most likely to generate patents, technology licenses, and product commercialization in the short term.

TCG awards at USU can be for any amount up to $125,000, however, most awards will be smaller.

Application deadlines for the Technology Commercialization Grant program are Sept. 30,

2009, Dec. 31, 2009, March 31, 2010 and June 30, 2010. Detailed information regarding the application process can be found online.

“USTAR was designed to have a role at Utah’s research universities and assist with economic development and innovation,” said Ned Weinshenker, vice president for Strategic Ventures and Economic Development at USU. “The purpose of the program is to accelerate the movement of innovative ideas and technologies out of USU and into commercial markets quickly in order to create high paying jobs in the state of Utah.”

USU’s internal Technology Commercialization Review Committee will evaluate applications.

Successful applications will be passed along to the USTAR Governing Authority for review. Some of the factors they will weigh include the technical merit of the innovation, size and accessibility of the potential market, potential strength of intellectual property, quality of management team and financial viability of a business built upon the innovation.

If the Technology Commercialization Grant helps the recipient build a successful business, the grant will be repaid in full to fund further technology commercialization efforts. And in this way, success will beget more success.

Contact: Jacoba Mendelkow, Jacoba.mendelkow@usu.edu