Technology Transfer Grants

NOTE: This program is temporarily inactive; we hope to resume.

When royalties and licensing fees are collected by the Technology Transfer Office, 27.5% is retained by the Office. A fraction of these funds are used to support the functions of the office (staff salaries, patenting costs, etc.). At the end of each year the surplus revenue is placed in the Scholarly Support Fund. Approximately two-thirds of this revenue is distributed as grants administered by the Academic Vice President. A request for proposals is distributed through the deans of each college. The objective of these grants is to assist in the establishment of programs that show potential for future growth and external funding such as the establishment of a multi-disciplinary research center.

Approximately one-third of the revenues placed in the fund each year is made available to support research and development projects which may result in technologies or products with commercial potential. Appropriate projects may fall anywhere between proof-of-concept experiments to building a product prototype. Investigators are also encouraged to apply for these funds to support later stage development which might not be appropriate work under federal agency research grants. The criteria for selection include a strong emphasis on market potential as well as technical feasibility.

A Request For Proposals will be issued at the beginning of each academic year. Proposals are due by 4:00 PM, September 30th of each year at the Technology Transfer Office, 3760 HBLL. Funding will be effective January 1. Proposals should include the cover sheet and no more than five additional pages including all attachments. An exact format is not required, but the following should serve as a guide for subject matter to be included:

  1. Introduction: A brief summary of the project and why it is important both technically and commercially.
  2. Background: Discuss relevant work done by others, and provide a summary of the investigator's work leading to the proposed project.
  3. Scope of Work: Describe the plan of what is to be accomplished and how it will be accomplished.
  4. Market Potential:
    1. Describe the benefits of the technology or product.
    2. Analyze competitive technologies or products
    3. Estimate and justify the size of the market
    4. Estimate the time to market, what work needs to be done first
  5. Budget:
    1. Include employee benefits with salaries
    2. Overhead is not required
    3. Total budget should not exceed $25,000