“Access to high-quality technology is critical to the success of the ACTiVATE program,” said Stephen Auvil of UMBC’s Office of Technology Development. “Through this key partnership with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the ACTiVATE program will rely on NASA’s valuable research and long tradition of innovation to provide such technologies.” The agreement with UMBC will also enable Goddard to obtain assessment data from UMBC to assist in future NASA technology transfer efforts. Or, if program participants see sufficient potential in a Goddard technology, they can license it as the foundation for a start-up company. Goddard is the first government lab to participate in ACTiVATE and, according to Auvil, Goddard contributed more technologies than any other research institution in the state of Maryland during the program’s first year.

Benefits of Agreement

• NASA gains the opportunity to potentially license technologies to ACTiVATE program participants.
• NASA gains technology evaluation data from program participants for use in future NASA technology transfer efforts.
• ACTiVATE participants gain access to Goddard invention disclosures and patents, building their experience evaluating new technologies’ start-up potential.
• Program participants may realize financial benefits from start-up ventures launched as a result of licensing Goddard technologies.
• The state of Maryland may benefit from the economic impact of new start-up ventures based on NASA technologies.

Four Goddard Technologies Selected for Program

ACTiVATE participants evaluated four Goddard technologies as part of Phase I of the 2005 program:

• MEMS Devices for Spacecraft Thermal Control Applications
• Capillary-Pumped Loop Body Warmer
• Method for Coding Low Entropy Data
• Method for Coding Multiple Source Data

In Phase I, participants conduct an opportunity analysis for each technology. Multidisciplinary technical/business teams are formed to analyze the business opportunity. Projects are coupled with a rigid entrepreneurial curriculum and the support of Entrepreneurs in Residence and other mentors. Each team completes Phase I by pitching its opportunity to a review committee.

Based on the results of Phase I, Goddard’s Capillary-Pumped Loop Body Warmer (CPL) technology was selected to move on to Phase II, in which larger, entrepreneur-led business teams are formed to establish a business plan for the technology. Final presentations to a review committee will determine which technologies move on to Phase III, a participant-initiated stage in which would-be entrepreneurs seek potential funding and licensing and may form start-up companies based on the licensed technologies.

For those technologies that do not move onto Phase II, NASA will have access to the participants’ assessments, enabling Goddard researchers to leverage the data for future technology transfer efforts.

The Transfer Process

UMBC contacted GSFC personnel to initiate discussions about potential technology transfer efforts to benefit the ACTiVATE program. UMBC’s Stephen Auvil worked with Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office to establish the terms of the agreement and select potential technologies.

Looking Ahead

Program participants are currently working on business plans for Goddard’s CPL technology as part of Phase II. If selected by the final review committee, the technology may be licensed by the participants and marketed for commercial use. Goddard is currently selecting technologies to submit for evaluation in the 2006 ACTiVATE program and expects to complete this selection process by March 15, 2006.