PULLMAN, Wash. – A lightweight, longer-lasting material for human bone replacements and a hand-held laser-radar device for quick, accurate monitoring of winery inventory are among nearly 200 new technologies and patents the Washington State University Research Foundation hopes to license to companies and startups and bring to the marketplace.
The Office of Intellectual Property Administration (OIPA) and the Research Foundation, located in the WSU Research and Technology Park (WSURTP) off Terre View Drive in Pullman, work in concert to accelerate commercialization of faculty-generated research and technologies in a way that benefits WSU, Washington state and the nation.
To facilitate their mission, the entities maintain a growing online database that provides brief descriptions of roughly 200 licensable WSU discoveries with marketable potential.
Beginning this month, anyone with an entrepreneurial bent will be able to sign up to receive periodic descriptions of a few of the available technologies by email. Subscriptions are available online at http://www.wsurf.org/secure/register.aspx, where subscribers also can specify the types of research they are most interested in reviewing.
“We implemented this initiative as a way to further expand our reach and enhance our existing linkages with other institutions, locally and abroad,” said Mary J. Frei, administrative manager of OIPA and business manager of the Research Foundation. “We started spreading this project with our existing mailing list composed of individuals and groups from other academic institutions, the private sector, WSU alumni and venture capitalists.”
Frei said roughly 90 percent of those on the mailing list are primarily interested in biotechnologies, a rapidly growing field that is also a commonly recognized area of research strength of WSU.
“For that reason, the initial issue of our e-newsletter will focus on innovations in biotechnology,” she said. “But future issues will be tailored to focus on patents and innovative technologies that are specific to the interests of each subscriber.”
The Research Foundation website divides available technologies into 20 discipline areas ranging from advanced materials to veterinary science. The technologies can be viewed online at http://www.wsurf.org/AvailableTech.aspx.