Volume 10, Number 3 • May/June 2002 • Welcome

“Let’s Make a Deal” for NASA

By Joseph P. Allen
President, Robert C. Byrd National Technology Transfer Center

During a recent speech at Syracuse University, NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe discussed the space agency’s mandate to improve life here, to extend life to there and to find life beyond.

“From medical devices to better tires, many of the products we use and experience every day have their origins in NASA technology,” Administrator O’Keefe said. “The American taxpayers’ investment in NASA pays off every day in spin-off technology.”

The Robert C. Byrd National Technology Transfer Center (NTTC) has enjoyed a relationship with NASA for more than a decade, and, as president of NTTC, I appreciate what NASA has to offer to improve life here on Earth. There is little doubt the agency known for landing man on the moon, the space shuttle and the International Space Station is home to world-class research with worlds of potential.

Indeed, the spin-off technology–turning a technology developed for the space program into a technology to benefit life on Earth–to which Administrator O’Keefe is referring has made an impact. Products such as cordless tools, athletic equipment and medical equipment are just a few examples of products today that have their roots in the space program.

“NASA’s job is to develop the technologies of the future to meet its mission and then to turn that technology loose so that government and America’s entrepreneurs can turn them into products for the greater good,” Administrator O’Keefe said as he continued his speech.

Enter the NASA Commercial Technology Network (NCTN). The NCTN is comprised of the commercial technology offices of all 10 NASA Centers, the commercial technology division of NASA Headquarters, the nine NASA-sponsored incubators, Research Triangle Institute, NASA/MSU TechLink Center, Tech Briefs, the six Regional Technology Transfer Centers and NTTC. Together, these individual entities provide NASA with technology development partners, technology commercialization partners and expertise.

Facilitating partnerships between the federal government and US industry in an effort to turn technologies into products–spin-off technologies–for the greater good is what the NCTN and NTTC are all about.

NTTC was established at Wheeling Jesuit University in 1989 by the US Congress to strengthen American industry by providing access to more than $70 billion worth of federally funded research. Today, it is a full-service technology management organization, providing access to federal technology information; technology commercialization training; technology evaluation, marketing and commercialization services; assistance in finding strategic business partners; and electronic business development services.

Through a cooperative agreement with NASA, NTTC provides value-added services designed to ultimately turn NASA research into products by facilitating technology commercialization deals, such as Space Act Agreements. From professional development offerings to technology evaluation and marketing services, NTTC has long worked with NASA to make the most of its commercialization resources.

Consider that NTTC facilitated 13 commercialization partnerships with industry, as well as conducted evaluations on more than 300 technologies for commercial and market potential in FY 2001. NTTC also interacted with more than 2,000 companies, resulting in more than 275 leads being sent to NASA Centers. During the same time period, more NASA personnel than ever participated in NTTC training courses. Add to that the NTTC marketing efforts, including the use of its Web site and www.nasatechnology.com, developed and maintained in-house by NTTC to showcase NASA technology and highlight related partnerships opportunities, and you have a full-service provider dedicated to the aerospace agency and its mission.

Administrator O’Keefe touched on the importance of synergy and collaboration in his speech. Today, for example, NTTC is marketing NASA technologies to meet the technology needs of America’s first responder community through the NTTC Emergency Response Technology Program (ERTP).

The ERTP is designed to determine the technology needs of the first responder and either identify products that are already commercially available or work with various federal laboratories, universities and private industry to find potential solutions to the needs.

NTTC meets NASA’s needs because it creates the spin-off technology that can improve life here. It also meets the need of the first responder who puts his or her life on the line every day for our safety.

Administrator O’Keefe added, “So, how do we get to that impressive picture of the future? Part of the answer is by executing NASA’s mission to understand and protect our home planet, to explore the universe and search for life, to inspire the next generation of explorers... as only NASA can.”

A little help from NTTC can’t hurt. Q

NASA Official: Jonathan Root • Web Design: Printing & Design Office, NASA Headquarters • Credits