Models for technology transfer in the aerospace industry

From ARPANET to breast cancer imaging, the aerospace industry has developed many new technologies with unexpected applications in the broader marketplace. Unfortunately, further aerospace technology commercialization is inhibited by poor understanding of venture capital, high expectations of small business innovation research grants, and an incomplete knowledge of university best practices. Because today´s economy provides the first opportunities in over a decade for aerospace sectors to provide attractive returns to investors, it is an excellent time to consider accelerating a technology transfer program. In this paper, I will discuss “spin-up” and “spin-out” models to guide management in effective commercialization.