Convergent Technology The Role of Engineering Education

1. Convergent TechnologyThe Role of Engineering Education Kenneth J. McLeod, Ph.D. Department of Bioengineering

2. Invention and Innovation • 1970s • Government retained patents on technology derived from federal funding • NASA, for example, owned over 31,000 patents by late 70s • Had licensed back 2100 to developers of technology (<500 were commercialized) • Licensed ~350 to new companies • Approximate licensing rate of - 8% • Approximate commercialization rate - 2%

3. Bayh-Dole Act • 1980 • Bayh-Dole Act allowed institutions to own technology developed with Federal dollars • By 2000, universities were filing over 8000 patents per year • By 2004, universities had patent portfolios with > 100,000 patents • Outstanding licenses ~4000 (AUTM) • New companies formed ~2300 • Current licensing rate: ~ 4% • Current commercialization rate: ~2% • Average University income/license <$10K/yr

4. Implications • Invention rate is not the barrier to commercialization • Patent ownership is not the barrier to commercialization • Financing unlikely to be the barrier as venture capitalists thrived in 1990s • Primary hurdle: • Lack of entrepreneurs • Individuals who know how to innovate

5. Innovation • What is it? • It is not invention – it is not a technical process • Innovation is an economic term: It is, The endowment of a resource with new capabilities, creating economic value. • How does it work? • 1. Identify an economic opportunity. • 2. Apply extant technology in a new way to take advantage of the opportunity, resulting in economic benefit to the community. • Some innovation (disruptive) relies on new technology, but most is based on new applications of established technologies.

6. Classic Innovations I • Fulton’s folly – 1807 • What Fulton didn’t to: • Did not invent the steamboat • Fitch (1790) ran a steamboat on the Delaware • Did not invent a new type of steam engine • Fulton used imported low pressure steam engine Evans built a high pressure steamboat in 1803 • Did not invent sidewheel boat design • “Borrowed” it from a French design

7. Fulton’s Folly • What Fulton did do: • Picked the right opportunity • Hudson River vs. Delaware River • Formed an effective team with Livingston • obtained monopoly on Hudson River traffic • Had mechanics with 20+ years experience working with steam engines • application of established technology to a timely problem

8. Classic Innovations II • Model T – 1908 • What Ford didn’t do: • Did not invent the automobile • Daimler - 1886 • Did not invent concept of using internal combustion engines in automobiles • Seldon patent of 1897 • Did not invent mass production of automobiles • Ransom Olds - 1903

9. The Model T • What Ford did do: • Recognized opportunity for a larger, lighter, less expensive car for families • Hold 5 people, long wheelbase, reliable (under 1000 lbs in weight), under $1000 • Formed an effective team • Harold Wills – engineer • Incorporated an established technology • Vanadium steel

10. Steps to Effective Innovation • Identify the opportunity (i.e. have a problem in search of an answer) • Others (maybe most) won’t recognize this opportunity even when it is pointed out to them • Be aware of established technologies which can be applied to help solve the problem • Technical background/knowledge is essential • Build an effective team which complements your strengths • Individuals who appreciate the opportunity

11. Role of Technology in Innovation • Technology plays a critical role in innovation … but, • Implementation of the technology should not be a hurdle • New technology (high technology) typically requires 15-30 years of incubation before successful incorporation into innovations • Its successful application is rarely for the task it was developed!

12. Convergent Technologies • The convergence of established technologies with new opportunities, setting the stage for innovation. • Technologies are commonly disparate • Little or no previous connection to problem area of interest • Requires broadly educated, and/or diversely exposed individuals to make the connection

13. Implications for Academia • Promote a culture of Innovation • Provide role models for students • Shift (some of) the focus of faculty from discovery to innovation • Emphasize work on interdisciplinary groups • Provide breadth of exposure • Engineering students not commonly exposed to technologies outside of major • Teach students to identify opportunity • Students get little/no practice in identifying opportunity

14. Identifying Opportunity • Practice • More student initiated project work • Explicitly teach students to find opportunity (per Drucker) • Opportunity is associated with change • Demographic shifts • Process need • Incongruities in behavior • Unexpected events • Structural changes • Perceptual changes

15. Can this work? – Yes! • Examples of Bioengineering spin-offs • Exogen, Inc. • Ultrasound and fracture healing • Bioelectronics, Inc. • Flexible electronics and reduction in edema • Juvent, Inc. • Electromagnetic actuators and enhancement of blood flow • Sonostics, LLC. • Microelectromechanical accelerometers and muscle diagnostics

16. “An innovator’s essential contribution is to realize the promise of the known.” - Harold Evans