Taking Discovery to the Marketplace
Their motivations for trying to turn scientific discovery into a viable business enterprise are as different as their inventions. For Scott White, it was impatience with the standard business model. For Narendra Ahuja, it was partly a desire to follow his funding agencies' wishes, even if that meant going it alone. For Magnus Andersson it was the challenge.
The reasons why these Beckman Institute researchers took a plunge into the exciting and sometimes frightening world of the start-up company are varied and personal. A deep belief in the science behind the discovery was foremost, they say, but whatever the reasons, the journey from research scientist to start-up entrepreneur is not an easy one.
White, who along with Beckman colleagues Jeff Moore and Nancy Sottos pioneered self-healing materials, led a successful effort this year to start a company that is seeking to turn their groundbreaking discoveries into marketable applications.
"Everybody there is on the same team in some sense. They want to see you succeed."
- Scott White on the University's Research Park.
"I would say this experience has been the best education I've had in 20 years of working at the University," White said. "There are books out there where you can read about it but they don't really give you what you need to know on a daily basis.
"It's been a lot of fun and a lot of stress. There are so many things coming up on a daily basis that you've never had experience dealing with. You have to go with your gut and talk to people who have something to say, and then do it."
White and other campus researchers who are looking to take their discoveries to the market are much better off than someone in their position 15 or even 10 years ago. After failing to capitalize on valuable technologies that came out of University research, Illinois officials began pursuing technology transfer and intellectual property rights issues more aggressively in the late 1990s. The Office of Technology Management (OTM) at the University of Illinois was restructured in 2002, with more staff added, just about the time that the Research Park located on the south end of campus started to take shape.
Steve Wille, a Technology Manager at OTM who maintains an office at Beckman, said U of I researchers can now go from discovery to patent to start-up, all with the help of University or University-related resources.
Those resources include the Office of Technology Management, which facilitates technology transfer to the public, including help with issues like disclosure and the patent process. Illinois Ventures LLC is a start-up services company that offers help to would-be entrepreneurs regarding issues of financing. Finally, the University's Research Park site, home to more than 70 high-technology firms, plays host to EnterpriseWorks (EW), a 43,000 square-foot building that serves as the University's start-up business incubator.
"All of that is right here, right now," Wille said. "It makes it so easy for the researcher."