Volume 10, Number 3 • May/June 2002 • Cover Story

Working Together for NASA

NTTC’s marketing team supported NASA’s commercial technology efforts at National Manufacturing Week (NDES), held in Chicago, Ill.

The goal of the NASA Commercial Technology Network (NCTN) is to bring NASA-developed technologies to commercialization to turn aerospace program research into beneficial products for everyday use. The Robert C. Byrd National Technology Transfer Center (NTTC) has a pivotal role in helping NASA reach that goal.

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.

“The success that NTTC has had in NASA commercialization efforts is based on a close relationship with the NASA training and marketing committees, and the commercial technology offices at the field centers,” said NTTC president Joseph P. Allen. “These relationships provide a solid foundation for the commercialization partnerships that we facilitate.”

NTTC provides a number of value-added services to NASA, including its market and technology assessment, technology marketing, leads qualification and training services, and is a key player in NASA’s commercialization efforts.

NTTC’s market and technology assessment services are designed to determine which NASA technologies have commercial potential. NTTC assesses the merit and novelty of a technology, identifies and compares competing technologies, evaluates markets to recognize opportunities and identifies potential partnership organizations.

“NTTC provides NASA with third-party, unbiased evaluations of the commercial potential of its technologies,” Allen said. “This is a very valuable service that goes a long way in the commercialization process. It allows NASA to focus its efforts on the technologies that provide the best opportunity and return on investment.”

NTTC’s marketing efforts, including partnership identification and development, are designed to ultimately find qualified companies interested in NASA technologies available for commercialization. NTTC markets the technologies in a number of ways, including participating in and speaking at various conferences and trade shows, directing marketing techniques, visiting companies and showcasing the technologies and their benefits on www.nttc.edu and www.nasatechnology.com–a Web site created and maintained by NTTC.

“NASA research has so much potential, and it is NTTC’s responsibility to make US industry aware of that potential,” said Jerry Miller, NTTC’s vice president of marketing. “It is our job to facilitate the partnerships that make commercialization happen.”

NTTC’s marketing team works closely with the NASA marketing team to develop and utilize a marketing strategy for NASA’s commercial technology. NTTC works to support several centers at technology events on an annual basis, including Sensors Expo, National Manufacturing Week, Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering, and The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. NTTC’s responsibilities in this area include exhibit setup, facilitating presentations, pre-show marketing and relationship development efforts to generate on-going interest in partnership opportunities with NASA.

Another vehicle NTTC uses to market NASA technologies is its own Web site (www.nttc.edu), which is home to TechOps, a focused effort to showcase and commercialize state-of-the-art NASA technologies. TechOps provides detailed information on available technologies that have been evaluated by NTTC and have strong commercial potential. In some cases, TechOps provides a video or animation of the technology that provides an even better understanding of how the technology works and its benefits.

“Technology marketing is all about creating partnerships that are essential to making commercialization happen. TechOps is one venue that helps create these partnerships,” Miller said.

Looking for yet another way to tap into the latest cutting-edge technology from NASA? Visitors to www.nasatechnology.com have the opportunity to view NASA’s hottest technologies. NTTC worked with NASA Centers to identify their most commercially viable technologies and compiled these innovative technologies onto one site. In addition, SPINOFF, an invaluable product resource, is available on the Web site.

NTTC also is responsible for helping the NASA Centers determine the best partner for technology commercialization. In order to narrow down the field of potential commercial partners, NTTC utilizes a leads qualification system. The system includes criteria for partnership set forth by each field center, as well as additional business data gathered by NTTC.

“We want to bring to NASA companies that have been pre-qualified as legitimate companies with a serious interest in a NASA technology,” Miller said. “We do not want to inundate NASA with information on every company that expresses an interest. We provide them with real leads and real opportunity.”

In order to become a qualified lead, Miller said, a company is asked a series of questions based on criteria set forth by each of the 10 NASA Centers. This information, along with other pertinent data, is gathered by engaging in extensive conversations with the company. NTTC collects additional information such as company expertise, strength in the market, commercialization experience and financial viability through innovative research techniques that further qualify the company.

Oscar the Robot helps attract visitors to NASA’s booth at National Manufacturing Week (NDES).

Once this information is collected and all criteria are met, the company is then considered a qualified lead and is entered into NTTC’s Leads Tracking System and sent to the appropriate field center. An e-mail summarizing the information collected on the company is sent to the field center point of contact to alert them that a qualified lead has been entered and to facilitate discussions and eventual partnership negotiations. As a result of NTTC’s efforts, more than 15 deals have been consummated over the past 24 months.

For example, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) recently asked NTTC to perform a market and technology evaluation of a global positioning satellite technology. NTTC determined that the technology had strong commercial potential and identified a targeted list of potential licensing partners. Included in this group was a venture capital firm that was working with a start-up business with a use for this technology. In addition, a license has been executed for use of the GPS technology in precision agriculture.

“This is an example of what NTTC provides NASA in its efforts to support commercialization of its technologies,” Allen said. “It is all about adding value. NTTC evaluates, markets, facilitates and trains. We are truly a full-service technology management organization.”

Complementing its wide range of services is NTTC training, which enhances the technology management and e-commerce skills of its clients. NTTC provides professional development services for members of the NASA commercial technology teams. NTTC training courses are developed in conjunction with subject matter experts who have extensive background in industry, university and/or federal laboratories.

In 2001, more than 1,000 people participated in NTTC training courses.

“We offer both synchronous and asynchronous learning activities over the Web, complemented by facilitator-led classroom courses,” said Tracee Joltes, NTTC vice president of training. “These delivery systems, combined with the knowledge of our experts, help our clients to foster professional growth through learning opportunities and ensure that they receive the best technology commercialization training possible.”

There have been successes in the past, but NTTC is also working to build on its relationships with individual field centers. NTTC has joined forces with NASA Glenn Research Center’s Commercial Technology Office and its flagship technology program, the Ultra-Efficient Engine Technology Program, to create a method for examining NASA’s early-stage research and development. The goal of this effort is to find non-aerospace applications for early-stage NASA research.

NTTC’s Emergency Response Technology Program (ERTP) is also working with NASA to identify and market technologies to meet the needs of America’s first responder community. The goal of the ERTP is to identify technology needs of the first responder and either identify products that are already commercially available or work with federal laboratories, universities and private industry to find solutions to the needs. If NASA has the solution, NTTC will find it, and ERTP will help get it into the hands of the first responders.

“Developing a technology that meets the needs of the first responders who battle for their lives every day protecting America… talk about a return on investment,” Allen said. Q

For more information, visit www.nttc.edu. Please mention you read about it in Innovation.

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