Letter from the Regional Coordinator

We are in the midst of planning the 2012 annual meeting, which will be held in Dayton, Ohio, with tentative dates of August 13-17.  Please mark your calendars, and let us know of any speaker suggestions you may have or topics you would like discussed. Read more

Confidence in Concepts at a Combatant Command: The History of Technology Transfer at U.S. Transportation Command

Not every technology transfer (T2) success story involves a federal laboratory—at least not in the traditional sense.

The U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), which moves military personnel, cargo and supplies around the world and synchronizes the Department of Defense’s supply chain, is using Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) to investigate new technologies, from blimp-like hybrid airships to satellite tracking of containers to gaming techniques for command center decision-makers. Read more

Dow & Argonne National Laboratory Collaborating on New Battery Materials

The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a multi-year research collaboration to jointly develop the next generation of materials for advanced battery technologies. Read more

White House Directs Federal Agencies to Speed Commercialization

The Obama Administration recently announced two directives to accelerate the commercialization of research and provide small businesses with streamlined access to federal resources. In an announcement, President Obama tied the directives to his administration's recent jobs push, and noted the need to bypass Congress in order to quickly implement the changes. The first memorandum instructs all federal agencies with research facilities to increase research and regional innovation partnerships with the private sector and develop five-year plans. The second calls for the creation of a one-stop shop for small businesses that would give them access to the full range of federal business support services. Read more

Student Program Expands Modeling and Simulation Capability

This fall, if asked to write the standard "what I did on my summer vacation" essay, several local students will be able to truthfully say that they lived in a virtual world. But instead of immersing themselves in an exotic Avatar-like setting, these students spent their time developing a high school course to train the next generation of modeling and simulation (M&S) experts, plus modeling a virtual Joint Command Operations Research Environment (JCORE) to support the training efforts of Wright State University's (Ohio) National Center for Medical Readiness (NCMR). Read more

NASA Technology Demonstrated to Auto Industry

The future of advanced technology looks amazingly bright. From carbon nanotubes to personal supercomputers to fuel cells, we're on the verge of another technological revolution. The future of the U.S. manufacturing sector, however, does not look as rosy. Read more

Report Calls for a Collaborative Infrastructure of Technology Transfer in SE Wisconsin

In Technology Transfer in Southeast Wisconsin, a new report from the Public Policy Forum, researchers call for a "full-fledged collaborative infrastructure" that is adept at transferring technologies developed at the region's research institutions to entrepreneurs who will use them to create businesses and jobs in the region. The report does tout some efforts to develop a collaborative infrastructure for the knowledge economy, including the recently established Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin (CTSI)—a collaborative dedicated to using research to inform and improve medical practice—which includes the region's prominent research and academic institutions. However, according to the report, "many more dollars are spent on research and development than are recouped in licensing royalties or equity positions in new companies" in southeastern Wisconsin. Read more

ACE Closing on Loveland Facility Nears
NASA lines up technical advisory team for Loveland manufacturing park

Prospective buyers of the Agilent Technologies, Inc. campus in Loveland recently said that they hope to close on the deal in mid-December, weeks ahead of a date specified in a contract with the city.

Cumberland & Western Resources, LLC (C&WR) of Bowling Green, Ky., intends to develop the ACE technology manufacturing park at the Agilent site in conjunction with sponsoring agencies NASA and the Colorado Association for Manufacturing and Technology (CAMT).

Read more

Buy Indiana Expo Means Business for Indiana Companies

Buy Indiana Expo is the premier event for companies to connect with NSWC Crane, which spends $1.5 billion doing business each year. During the Expo companies learn about unique opportunities to expand their business into government contracting while government personnel find new and innovative products or services that can help support the Warfighter. Read more

National Expert Deborah Clayton Tells How Technology Drives Economy

As she started to talk about advanced energy storage to a group of local academics, business leaders and entrepreneurs at a Holland luncheon Friday, an official from Argonne National Laboratory paused to explain how new technology affects the lives of ordinary people.

"For somebody that has a mom-and-pop shop, day-to-day dry cleaning business, it may be hard to show the benefit," admitted Deborah Clayton, director of Technology Development and Commercialization at Argonne National Laboratory. Read more

Congressman Fattah Believes Federal Laboratories Key to Job Creation

Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) and related agencies subcommittee, commends the Administration on its new efforts to speed up the commercial application of federally funded research. The plan supports two Fattah initiatives that improve the way federally funded research is transferred to the private sector. Read more

Special Delivery: Nematode-infected Insect Cadavers

A custom-made machine for packaging mealworms infected with beneficial nematodes could improve the delivery, timing and use of the wormlike organisms as biological control agents.

The machine is the result of a cooperative research and development agreement involving U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and Southeastern Insectaries, Inc., of Perry, Ga. Read more

Upcoming T2 Conferences and Events