Purdue jets towards commercialisation

Purdue University has signed a partnership agreement with the US Air Force Research Lab based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to bring more innovations to market.

The university and research lab will work together to create and establish a process to expand the commercialisation channels used by both of them.

Both organisations have solid track records for technology transfer. The university’s 49 spinouts launched in 2014 and 2015 have raised a total of more than $96m, as we previously reported.

The Air Force Research Lab has been involved in the development of technologies such as hypersonics and directed-energy weapons.

The agreement follows on from Purdue University’s 2014 agreement with NSWC-Crane Division, the Naval Surface Warfare Centre. As with that agreement, the latest partnership will also see each partner retaining the rights to their intellectual property.

Purdue University will market the Air Force Research Lab’s innovations alongside its own through its tech transfer office, Office of Technology Commercialization.

Chad Pittman, vice-president of the Office of Technology Commercialization, said: “Because we share so many similar disciplines and industries, the successful marketing and commercialisation methods we utilise will fit well with the innovations and technologies that the Air Force Research Laboratory has developed and patented.”