Trailblazing Tech Transfer Conference

More than 500 technology transfer professionals met in Cleveland for the 2023 Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) annual meeting, the nation’s largest gathering dedicated to moving federal scientific and technological research results from laboratories into the marketplace.

This year’s Conference attendance reached an all-time high in the FLC’s forty-nine-year history. Attendees learned that the updated FLC strategic plan lays the groundwork for maximizing efforts to connect federal technology offices and inventors with potential commercialization partners.

The conference, held from March 28 through March 30 at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown Hotel, brought together federal researchers and inventors, legal professionals, commercialization experts, decision-makers, senior leaders of national laboratories and private and university research centers, and venture capitalists for the FLC’s first in-person assembly in three years.

Conference participants ranged from relative beginners to advanced subject matter experts, and the agenda was geared toward meeting the varying proficiency levels of the attendees.  More than 70 accomplished tech transfer professionals made primary addresses, participated in panel discussions, or led training sessions. 

Technology transfer (T2) comprises many specialties that develop into crucial niche fields where information and insights must be shared. Conference topics included negotiation strategies, effective leadership communication, approaches to marketing, case studies on the latest trends and developments in Intellectual Property, drafting patent license agreements, infusing federal technology into startups, programs to foster tech transfer in Minority Business Enterprises, and the role of foundations designed to promote and support the work of specific federal agencies.

Twenty-four attendees received awards after passing FLC’s rigorous and highly competitive awards process.  Creative networking opportunities were built into the schedule, and exhibits displayed some of the most innovative and sophisticated advances in the booming field of technology transfer.

NIST’s Technology Partnerships Office (TPO) was a strong presence at the FLC conference, and fourteen TPO staffers were in attendance.

A team led by NIST Interagency and iEdison Specialist Bethany Loftin and consisting of experts from both NIST and the National Institutes of Health tasked with modernizing and enhancing iEdison, the central platform for reporting and categorizing inventions and patents resulting from federal research, received the FLC’s prestigious Interagency Partnership Award.

The Negotiation Tips for T2 Professionals course, given by NIST Associate Director for Innovation and Industry Services Mojdeh Bahar, had maximum attendance. 

Hundreds of exciting NIST technologies are ripe for commercialization, and the FLC’s website provides summaries of them and details of the market applications for each technology.

This link will bring you to the NIST portfolio of technologies ready for commercialization: 

https://flc.flintbox.com/portfolios/150a7503-6a64-4d70-9458-4dea050e13ea 

If you would like to search through specific NIST technologies, the best way is to select the Technologies tab at the top of this screen:  https://flc.flintbox.com/technologies.

On the” Filter by Tags” drop-down menu, select DOC - NIST, then type your search keyword in the search bar above that. 

You can also see NIST’s most recent patents at https://www.nist.gov/patents.

Learn more about licensing and commercializing a NIST-researched technology by contacting TPO Deputy Director Jeff DiVietro at jeffrey.divietro [at] nist.gov (jeffrey[dot]divietro[at]nist[dot]gov) or (202) 207-8023.