What happens when research on campus leads to innovations that can be commercialized? Commercial Ventures and Intellectual Property (CVIP) takes the lead in guiding faculty through the invention disclosure and patenting process as well as the transformation of ideas, inventions and creative work into commercially viable products. In addition to working with faculty and researchers from the campus, CVIP actively builds relationships with commercial firms in order to connect researchers with potential markets and sponsored research. Michael Jaremchuk, Associate Director of CVIP, works to make the office a more customer-friendly organization for the campus and the commercial world. Read more.

Michael spends a lot of time getting people from industry involved in collaborations with faculty. "One of our biggest challenges is to promote collaboration with outside entities and create situations that are favorable to further develop and commercialize University technology," noted Michael. CVIP engages outside companies through three primary means. Michael explained, "Faculty will often come to us after attending a conference where they met someone from industry who could be a potential collaborator, or there might already be a relationship with a company and they will contact us about their needs. The third route is direct marketing of a technology. Often we have an invention that requires us to go out and actively seek a suitable company that may be interested in that invention, and sometimes our invention can be the basis upon which to form a start-up company."

The successful patenting and marketing of inventions benefits the campus on several levels. CVIP helps faculty see that the end product of their research doesn't only have to be a conference presentation or publication in a journal. With the help of CVIP, the research can be made useful for the general public and provide UMass, the inventor and their respective department with economic benefits. "Bringing the fruits of research to the public supports the outreach mission of the University," said Michael. "And the successful commercialization and licensing of technology provides revenue to the University, the inventor and their department through licensing agreements that CVIP negotiates." CVIP is approaching 1 million dollars of licensing revenue per year, a substantial portion of which is returned to the Amherst campus and inventors.

Michael came to campus in 2001 with over ten years experience in higher education technology transfer at Georgetown and Northwestern University . He also has over fifteen years of industry experience in technology research and business development in the telecommunications and aerospace industries. "Experience in the commercial side where I was looking for new technology and now on the supply side through the University has been very valuable to me, especially when dealing with industry," noted Michael. CVIP and the campus have been making some changes that will further facilitate working with industry. "The move toward interdisciplinary research is exciting for us since it is leading to some inventions that are more attuned to industry needs. We've seen some new institutes and centers on campus that are beginning to address the outside world with inventions that bring together the work of various perspectives--and that's what industry likes to see. Interdisciplinary research efforts enhance our ability to communicate and work with industry and down the line will also enhance our ability to get sponsored research. We are also now seeing more commercial firms that want to engage the academic community to discover new technology. Firms are also looking to work closely with the University as an advanced development partner to reduce the commercialization phase so that they can bring the next new product into the marketplace in less time and at lower overall cost. "

Looking forward, Michael is excited about CVIP becoming more user-friendly to the campus faculty. CVIP is in the process of making information on intellectual property and related documents available online and redoing some documents, such as disclosure forms, to make them easier for faculty to complete. CVIP is also working closely with MA Technology Transfer Center on setting up a state-wide portal to showcase the University's technology and intellectual property. The portal will allow industry to visit one Web site to learn about technology from all UMass campuses and other research institutions across the state. "We are using technology to promote what we have and make it easier for industry to find what they need," said Michael. "The portal will be up and running in a couple of months." Contact Michael Jaremchuk (413-545-3606) with questions or suggestions. Visit the CVIP Website to learn more about intellectual property, patents, copyrights and available technology.