Purdue expands Trask Innovation Fund startup award categories, putting more emphasis on market potential of technologies

The Purdue Research Foundation is making changes to the Trask Innovation Fund that provides assistance to Purdue faculty working to commercialize their innovations, putting more emphasis on technologies showing the most promise of having an impact and adding a third track to its format.

The foundation’s Office of Technology Commercialization made the changes to further boost the impact of Purdue-affiliated technologies and support the market potential of those innovations.

“We’ve taken steps in recent years to remove obstacles and to expedite the process of moving life-changing technologies to the marketplace,” says Brooke Beier, vice president in PRF’s Office of Technology Commercialization. “Defining the technology categories and putting more focus on the commercialization level is the next step to advance these important technologies.”

The Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the United States. In the past five years, the office has seen a significant increase in entrepreneurial and licensing activity. Nearly 130 startups using Purdue intellectual property have been created.

The new format categorizes the Trask Innovation Fund in three divisions:

* Innovation Sparks: Life Sciences. Technologies with applications in life sciences including therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices and agriculture.

* Innovation Sparks: Physical Sciences. Technologies with applications in physics, chemistry and engineering.

* Entrepreneurship Sparks. Technologies for which researchers are on path to create a startup (pre-startups) or technologies for which OTC has already executed an option with a Purdue or a non-Purdue startup.

Proposals are due in February and September each year. The fund’s objective is to support short-term projects that will enhance commercial value of Purdue intellectual property assets. Financial support is designed to provide an individual technology portfolio up to $50,000 for a period of six months. Inventors should work with their Sponsored Program Services Pre-Award Center for preparation of submission by Pre-Award Staff to the Office of Technology Commercialization.

Funding is provided to Purdue researchers to perform proof-of-concept work, compile critical commercial relevant data or develop working prototypes. The fund does not support basic research.

The fund aligns with Purdue's Giant Leaps celebration, celebrating the university’s global advancements in health as part of Purdue’s 150th anniversary. The fund supports the four themes of the yearlong celebration’s Ideas Festival, designed to showcase Purdue as an intellectual center solving real-world issues.

For more information, visit Trask Innovation Fund.

About Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization

The Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university's academic activities. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2016 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Innovation from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org. For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at otcip@prf.org.

Writer: Tom Coyne, 765-588-1044, tjcoyne@prf.org
Source: Brooke Beier, blbeier@prf.org