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 Volume 9, Number 5 • September/October 2001 • Cover Story

RTTC Network Partners in NASA Knowledge Transfer

Knowledge Transfer

With the benefit of public invest-ment, NASA’s achievements in aerospace research and space exploration have been unparalleled. The knowledge gained in pursuit of space exploration has purposefully found its way into scores of consumer and industrial applications, providing an enormous return on investment for our country.

The benefits of NASA’s efforts can be seen through the high-technology jobs created within globally competitive, domestic companies such as those in the aerospace industry, which employ over one million Americans, generate over $40 billion in exports and provide a $30-billion positive trade balance. Also, NASA research contributes to quality-of-life improvements afforded to our citizens by important medical breakthroughs such as medical imaging, heart monitors and laser surgery.

RTTC Network Formation

Much like the process of innovation, the method for successfully transferring knowledge from NASA to industry is complex. Although each of the 10 NASA Field Centers has its own dedicated Commercial Technology Office (CTO), NASA felt that it needed a broader grassroots effort, providing representation in each of the 50 states.

In 1992, NASA created six Regional Technology Transfer Centers (RTTCs), each with affiliates in every state within its region, to assist local companies interested in commercializing NASA technologies, developing joint research relationships or soliciting awards such as the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. This network was created to focus on representing the interests of industry companies, establishing an advocate for business that understands how to form partnerships with NASA. “These six centers were selected through a nationwide competition in 2000 and formally joined the NASA team in early 2001,” said Dr. Robert Norwood, director of the Commercial Technology Office at NASA Headquarters.

Benefit to Industry

Many services are available to companies seeking the assistance of a local Regional Technology Transfer Center representative. RTTCs routinely provide:

  • Guidance in finding the right technology from an inventory of more than 17,000 NASA inventions, disclosures and patents;
  • Assistance in understanding and navigating the process for licensing technologies;
  • Help in identifying and selecting commercialization partners;
  • Guidance in locating NASA research capabilities that can augment a company’s research and development needs; and
  • Support in pursuing funded research opportunities within NASA.

RTTC and Company Successes

Over the past nine years, RTTCs have assisted numerous companies located in their respective regions. A sampling of some prominent success stories follows.

Praxair, the largest industrial gas supplier in North and South America, sought the assistance of an RTTC to determine if NASA had the capability of producing high-temperature ceramic seals for industrial gas containment. The RTTC was able to match a NASA Glenn Research Center technology with Praxair’s needs. The NASA technology successfully completed a two-phase test program and was subsequently licensed by the company.

In 1999, Pioneer Astronautics, headed by Dr. Robert Zubrin, won a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from NASA to aid in the development of a self-contained breathing apparatus. A subcontractor and regional affiliate of an RTTC, Joe Breddan, worked with Pioneer to find and qualify leads for potential commercialization partners. Interest in the technology generated by RTTC has already produced a partnership for Pioneer Astronautics, and allowed for additional options as well. The strong commercialization interest in the technology helped Pioneer win a Phase II SBIR grant and has preloaded the technical development with commercialization success.

One RTTC linked GSYS Corporation LLC with the design and evaluation expertise of the NASA Glenn Optical Instrumentation Branch to develop a collision avoidance system for the trucking industry. This innovation is an improvement over currently available technology in that truckers can now see what is in their blind spots, not just what is in front of them. Fleet enterprises spend an average of $90,000 to cover losses for each truck accident. The GSYS collision avoidance system offers better protection for the trucking industry’s drivers, trucks and freight. Safeguarding the 19 million trucks on our highways with the GSYS system can reduce accidents and, more importantly, save lives.

An RTTC has been closely working with BreakAway Technologies and NASA Ames Research Center to commercialize a NASA patent for the Multi-Channel Spatialization System for Audio Signals. After licensing the NASA patent, BreakAway Sound was formed as a new company to focus on the development of dynamic sound immersion technology for multimedia development, streaming media for Internet applications, entertainment and game technologies, and other commercial applications. BreakAway Sound technology will be licensed to third-party manufacturers and multimedia, game and software developers for their own audio products or game/software applications. (See related story on page 8)

RTTC Cross-Region Partnerships

The six RTTCs have found that internal communication and cooperation lead to greater opportunities for successful outcomes for both industry and NASA. Industry does not recognize regional boundaries when it comes to customer service and neither does the RTTC network.

Therefore, the RTTCs are focused on providing the best service to industry, whether it means matching a manufacturer and distributor in two different parts of the country to successfully license a technology or finding ways to bring innovations from any NASA Field Center to a company in any region of the country. Several examples of the cross-region partnerships appear below.

The Medical Device Initiative was formed at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) with the assistance of its RTTC. The initiative grew out of JSC’s desire to have companies involved in conducting joint research activities. A second RTTC began searching for potential industry partners and located Viragen, Inc. Viragen successfully utilized the NASA Rotating Wall Bioreactor to produce longer living interferon, an immune system stimulant used to fight diseases such as hepatitis, multiple sclerosis, certain cancers and HIV/AIDS. Bolstered by this successful project, NASA and all the RTTCs are actively involved in promoting this initiative.

The Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) is a 53-member association through which colleges, universities and other organizations may cooperate with one another and with government in acquiring, developing and using laboratories and other research facilities. It also enables collaboration in applying that knowledge in the physical, biological and other natural sciences and engineering. SURA and several RTTCs have embarked on a partnership designed to match NASA’s transitional research needs with the capabilities of SURA member labs. In addition, the RTTCs and SURA will share company referrals, ensuring that industry has the opportunity to tap the best NASA and academic research resources.

A mapped depiction of the NASA Commercial Technology Network and their strategic locations.

 

Commercial Assessment Process (CAP) Tools are online resources developed by an RTTC to perform market research on NASA technologies. CAP Tools reside in a proprietary area of an RTTC computer network. All RTTCs have access to this unique system for generating consistent, up-to-date, primary market research and market assessments of technology. CAP Tools were developed in an effort to standardize the process of generating market assessments of NASA technologies. These online resources were developed with input from NASA Field Centers and members of the RTTC network.

RTTC Network Partnership Is Here to Help

The RTTC Network is a partnership of six regional entities with one common goal: To give any company in any region of the country the best possible access to all opportunities, resources and innovations that NASA offers. Q

For more information, or to reach your RTTC, call 800/472-6785. Please mention you read about it in Innovation.

 
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