Tech-transfer offices harvest innovations for marketplace

Commercialization often isn’t on university researchers’ minds. The reasons can be many.

For one thing, spawning startup companies isn’t what most faculty members were hired for. Often, they’re doing science for the sake of science, simply pursuing better understanding of a process or topic. And even if one does wind up with a marketable discovery or invention, the potential rewards of starting a business don’t always outweigh the risks when the alternative is a secure, tenured faculty position with a high salary.

Davona Douglass, director of the University of Wyoming’s technology transfer office, said there isn’t a lot that anyone can do…