Um, this webinar is sort of an extension of one that we did last year on being inclusive with your inventors and undergrads, postdocs, grad students.

sort of expanding your reach on who your innovators and entrepreneurs are.

But also about educating those people about the career that you're in, and that their path might take you… them to tech transfer as much as it took you there.

Uh, and so this follow-on version of this, we wanted to explore the Howard Bremmer winners.

These are folks, right, that won that award early in their career, and generally that award is for folks.

who I say in this career, right, long-term. And so, highlighting these folks we thought was another good example of all the different paths that we can take to coming to this field, as well as all the different things you can do even within it, and how different it is, just to say tech transfer.

isn't just a, you know, a very simple box that you can put folks in.

Um, so I have a few questions. We're going to go around through for the panelists, and we'll take Q&A. Ashley, you're moderating Q&A in the chat, or should I… Uh, we'll keep an eye on the chat for that in between to ask folks.

Um, and, uh, in between questions, right? And I'll go through. Uh, but so the first one is sort of an easy one to give yourself a brief introduction, right? Tell us what your role is currently at your current institution in tech transfer.

And how you heard about it in the first place, right? So where are you now, but how did you hear about it?

Uh, and I'm going to start with Rozi.

You're gonna make me go first. Um, hi, I'm Rosie, I'm a licensing officer at Virginia Tech.

before I was at Virginia Tech, I… actually ran the office at the University of South Dakota.

Um, and that's how I got into tech transfer.

I was doing a postdoc in Sioux, South Dakota, and my postdoc ran out of funding.

Uh, we were living about an hour south in Vermilion at the time.

And I needed a job. And there was an opening, and I was like, oh, I guess I'll buy a suit and apply, because it seems like it would be a neat fit.

We'll give it a shot. Don't know if it'll stick.

Um, and that was more than 10 years ago now? Um… So it just happened.

And it's awesome, so I stuck around. Yeah, it just… it just kind of stuck.

It's stuck.

Um, and so I think… I think I've answered the question, um, so I will pass it off to Beth.

Yep.

Yep.

Oh, wow, I'm really big. Uh, hi, I'm Beth Sheckler, um, I'm a Senior Business Development Manager for Creative and Digital Works at NYU and NYU Langone Health.

Um, so I… The question is, how did I get into tech transfer, right? Um, I got into tech transfer because.

like Rozi, uh, I was pursuing a PhD, and I ran out of funding.

During, um, my dissertation writing period, and I had some good friends on campus, and I had been active in student governance there at the University of New Hampshire.

And the dean of the grad school was like, you should apply for this job. And I was like, you're crazy, but I guess I'll do that.

Um, I'm a bit of a black sheep. uh, in tech transfer, because my background is English literature.

Um, and so what the UNH Innovation Office was looking for was actually someone who.

could support copyright-protectable innovations and not patentable innovations. And so it turned out that I was a really good fit for what they needed at that time.

So I started there, and I finished my degree while working in that office.

And I just stayed. I love Tech Transfer because it gives me the opportunity to finally support.

really brilliant folks within higher education toward big, broad impacts.

Um, and I like supporting. Faculty that don't always get.

attention from the Tech Transfer Office. So, I work with a lot of faculty in the humanities and the arts and the social sciences, in nursing, in education.

Um, and it's been a really great ride, and I have enjoyed all almost 9 years of it so far.

I will pass to Jeremy.

Hello, everyone. Jeremy Nelson. Uh, the University of Michigan?

I'm a Director of Physical Licensing here, handling chemistry and chemical engineering and, uh.

Those kinds of technologies. Um, I've been here 8 years and was at Colorado State University before that, 8 years as well. I was at CSU when I, um, applied for the Harvard Bremmer Scholarship.

And that was my introduction, of course, to technology transfer.

Similarly to the others, I was a graduate student, knew nothing about technology transfer, never wanted to be in academia, never wanted to be in industry, always wanted to be somewhere in between, but didn't know what was even possible.

The one thing that I knew of was, uh, patent attorney. It was a career that was in between.

And, um… A friend of mine said, well, look, if you're interested in becoming a patent attorney, you shouldn't.

intern, or otherwise get to know your technology transfer office. They work with a bunch of outside firms, and you can kind of network your way in there.

So I, uh, volunteered to work there for a little bit, and decided that, uh, I would rather stay in tech transfer than move on to patent law.

I will call on, uh, Tulika.

Hi, um, first of all, I apologize, my voice is a little short, so… Yeah, uh, I'm Felica Vasogi, and I am the Assistant Technology Chancellor Manager at University of Tennessee Research Foundation. My colleague.

Tyler is also here, he is on the east end of Tennessee. I sit in the website.

In Memphis, handling all the health science related part of it, so I handle dentistry, medicine.

Um, another thing, everything but pharmacy. So, uh, I have been in tech channel for two and a half years, no, close to three years now.

And, um, my journey is kind of a little different. It started way back in India when I was prosecuting patent… national face patent applications, and there was, uh, inventor who did.

who started… collaborated with the University officers, and, um, that's how I got my first taste of tech transfer.

That infatuation with the field remained with me as I moved to U.S, and uh… got my paperwork in order, and… What a job here at, you know, if you have Gen Z.

So, yeah. And I will pass on to Kenneth.

Hello, glad to be here. I'm Kenneth Karanja, I'm a Senior Technology Licensing Officer at the University of Minnesota.

So my journey to tech transfer started similarly to most of you. I have a PhD in molecular biology, biochemistry.

And, uh, I was doing my postdoc at Caltech, looking at small molecule adjuvant that could.

act synergistically with cancer drugs, with a line of sight to developing a drug that could ameliorate some of the side effects.

Effects that patients have when they take chemotherapeutic drugs.

So, doing that research, it was very exciting, and I was trying to think of a way of transitioning that into the clinic, because when you write all those grants as a postdoc, there was always a section that says.

commercialization plan, and I was like. I just put in things there that I had no clue what that commercialization plan entailed.

So I talked to the Caltech Tech Transfer Office at the time, and it sounded like they were doing very exciting things.

And meanwhile, as a postdoc, as most of you have mentioned, we were also running out of funds.

And so I was trying to diversify my career opportunities.

So, after… after my postdoc, I came to Minnesota, and I did an internship at this particular tech transfer office.

Before then, getting a substantive role at the University of Iowa.

And finally, I ended up back in Minnesota as a tech transfer officer, and I've been doing this for about 10 years as well.

Uh, let me call on someone who hasn't been called on, uh, Amit.

Hey, hello everyone, this is Amit. I'm the Senior Director of Licensing here at University of Connecticut.

I've been doing technology transfer and business development for the last almost more than 15 years now.

And, uh, you know, I started in the tech transfer. I was a postdoc at Yale and wanted to… I always knew I wanted to do something between.

Uh, business and science. I tried for consulting, visa was an issue.

So we were looking… I was looking for other opportunities, and then an NSF fellowship for technology commercialization came through, which I did at.

Washo and the rest is history. I did the fellowship there, joined University of Delaware.

And then moved out of academia and went into the corporate sector, tried my luck in startups, did business development, international business development.

And then my last, prior to coming to UConn, I was with G Ventures, managing the material portfolio there.

And then, in the last 6 years I've been with Yukon, managing life sciences portfolio and.

some extent of materials. It has been really exciting, but I like that technology transfer has been, you know, you get to deal with, uh.

different technologies every day. And I guess everyone will attest to that different headaches every day. So, you know, that's also part and parcel of this.

Nice to meet you. Yeah, uh, Vivek?

Hi, I'm Vivek, I'm the Director of Venture Development at UConn, so… I've been here about 5 years, uh… I started my career in tech transfer when I was in business school, and.

Uh, one of the people who came and gave a talk at Oregon Health and Science University.

Uh, she was a tech transfer professional, and. she sort of, like, it was very interesting talking to her, and I said, oh, maybe I should apply, and.

Uh, in 2003, I think there was an NIH fellowship program.

It doesn't exist anymore, but at that time, there was NIH tech transfer, so… I did that, and then after that, uh… spent about 15 years in private equity and venture.

Uh, I worked for a… private equity fund started by the CTO of Microsoft, and.

After that, I was a little bit burnt out, so I came to UConn.

in 2021, so I work mostly. in quantum and AI.

And, uh, Corey?

Hi, my name's Corey Lago, thanks for having me today.

Um, let's see, I got my PhD from UT Austin.

Um, and then I went to NIH and did a postdoc.

And while I was at, um, the Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, which is one of the larger NIH institutions.

They have their own tech transfer, or did they have their own tech transfer office.

And so about 2 years into my postdoc, I realized that I didn't want to be at the bench and beg for grant money for the rest of my career, and so I needed to sort of figure out what else I was going to do.

So, I did a short internship in that office, and really got to know the director.

And then, um, during the last 6 months of my postdoc was actually in the office full-time working as a, you know, a licensing specialist, and they were cradle to grave in that office, so it was a really great exposure.

Um, I studied for the patent bar. And then my postdoc ended, um, and I actually took some time off. We moved back to Texas. I took some time off to raise some kids.

And when I was ready to jump back into the workforce, um, I, you know, of course looked back at UT Austin, which is where I graduated from.

Um, and started here in our office in… over in our collaborative research group, which is the group that does industry-sponsored agreements.

So, I got some experience with, you know, reading the legalese of contracts and contract law and negotiation skills.

Um, and then sort of quickly moved over to our IP team. So I'm currently a Senior Life Science IP Specialist.

Um, and I also… run and manage our proof of concept award internal funding program.

Thank you. Kyle? Tyler is, uh… Tyler gets to that.

And Michael, uh, I think is that everyone? Oh, okay, Tyler, over to you.

Hi everyone, uh, yeah, I'm Tyler Newton. Uh, I'm a Assistant Technology Manager at UTRF.

Um, my story, similar to a lot of folks, I actually had a whole career in the restaurant industry as a chef for.

Before I went back to school, uh, I knew I wanted to work and.

some sort of translational science that ended up being plant biotechnology, um… Implant molecular genetics. I was about 20 pages into my thesis when I decided I didn't want to.

I didn't think academia was gonna be for me.

Um, and, um… I think a month or so.

before… that was about 2 months before I got the job at UTRF, I'd actually put in a disclosure.

And now I handle, um, the majority of the technologies that's coming off of our agricultural campus. That includes, um.

Food science, animal science, plant science, veterinary med, biosystems engineering.

Um, Center for Renewable Carbon, Synthetic Biology, it's a pretty wide swath.

Uh, yeah, that's… I've been doing that for about 3 years now. It's been… It's the best job. I could have asked for a better professional path.

Thank you, Tyler. I mean, I think there's a… the common thread is how uncommon everyone's path here was.

Right? But there is a slight common thread, a lot of grad students, we as technology managers are.

Often, the first exposure somebody has to this profession.

And that's when you're finding them, right? You're meeting the grad students, you're meeting the interns, you're meeting.

Um, you know, the early law students. Um, so the second question, right, that I'm going to pose to the group, and I don't see any questions in the chat, but certainly feel free.

To put them in there, we'll address them to anybody who has any specific ones.

Um, but basically every one of us on this panel and the panel to follow in the spring were Howard Bremer winners.

So I'm going to ask folks, well, what led you to apply for that award, right? And what do you think.

you did that was part of why you won, I guess. Give a sense of why you thought you were picked that year. What was… what was the… maybe the highlight of your… your application?

Um, and I'm gonna start with Beth this round.

Sure, I won the Howard Bremer in… 2019 or 2020, I was… Not code… I was COVID impacted. I got to go, like, the year after.

So it must have been 2020. Um, I applied for the scholarship because, um, I was encouraged to.

by my mentor in our office at that time. She was an associate director and was on, like, more of the life sciences side, but she had been very.

Um, helpful to me in helping me understand contract law, and she thought that it was an excellent opportunity for me to get a lot of professional development.

Um, and really get up to speed in the profession. And so, Essentials was like a.

something that I really wanted to do, and Howard Bremmer gave me, um, that opportunity. Why do I think they chose my application?

I write really well. Um, yeah. That's the thing, uh, about me. Also, um… I don't know, I think that, um, being a.

Specialist in non-patible IP still. Um, is of interest to people, so I actually get a lot of… Um, outreach from folks within the autumn community pretty regularly, like.

About those kinds of issues. Um, so… I don't know, I think that they wanted to encourage me to stay in the field because it's nice to have someone that you can talk to about non-patible stuff.

Um, since he went last, I'm going to choose Tyler now.

Thank you. Uh, let's see, I was a winner in 2025.

Um, what led me to apply. was, uh, the opportunity to travel. Um, first off, I had gone to a, um… Autumn Regional, and I think that.

the community that's kind of built around tech management is one of the… is an incredible resource, and I learned so much just at that regional, and I wanted to.

you know, have the opportunity to go to a national.

And so, yeah, I applied for it there. Uh, why won, I think that my path is sort of… Um… I think, as mentioned, all of our paths to Tech Transfer are atypical, but I think it also follows an excellent example of how you can have.

a whole career, uh, before you land here in Tech Transfer, and it really is an open house that can take all sorts of personalities, like.

you know, non-IP, non-patentable IP to software, to… You know, a person who has largely, at this point, been ag-focused because I.

came from farm, and I like to joke that I speak a little hillbilly, which helped.

You get the job a little bit, and so, yeah, I think it was… a decent example of how most of us who end up here take non-traditional pathways to get here.

Uh, with that, I'm gonna pass to Corey.

Um, okay, so, let's see, I won way back in 2015.

Um, and… I applied… so that was during the time when I was at the end of my postdoc.

At NIH, and the director of that office was really, really a fantastic mentor.

Like I said, he encouraged me to study for the patent bar, he tried to rope me in to get experience negotiating contracts, and.

licenses and meeting with inventors, and sort of all the different things that tech transfer professionals do.

Um, so he encouraged me to apply. Um, I hadn't been to an autumn meeting.

And I don't know why my application was accepted. Um, I do remember that he wrote me an amazing review letter.

But I think I was probably just sort of a typical bench scientist who'd been in science for a really long time and was trying to find a path and something to do.

Um, with my expertise. I also had sort of put in the work before, um, as far as learning about the field, so NIH had.

A lot of graduate classes that you could take in your off time, and so I took classes about commercialization and about entrepreneurial and biotech, and sort of just… I sort of did my homework, and it wasn't just like, oh, I need a job in a new field, let me jump into tech transfer.

Um, so, you know, that could have been. Uh, why I was selected.

Um, and… and like I said, I actually, you know, right after… even, I think, before they announced the winners, um, I had left my postdoc.

I was not currently working, and so I do remember when I.

I got the plaque in the mail, um, at home, like, oh, you've won the Howard Romer Scholarship, and so.

Uh, 10 years later, or 8 years later, when I was applying for jobs, like, it was a nice thing to be able to point to in my resume as I was jumping back into the tech transfer field.

and show people, like, hey, I had decided 10 years ago that this is what I wanted to do. I took a little bit of time off to raise some kids and start my family, and I'm jumping back in, and I'm still real serious about it.

So, um, let's go to Amit.

Uh, well, uh… But, you know… So, for me, Graham.

Hold on… okay. So, yeah, I, uh… I won in 2010 or 11, I don't remember the year correctly. No, it has been a while.

But it was basically my mentor, Bruce Morrissey, and, uh.

They encouraged me to apply. At that time, I happened to be at the right place at the right time.

at University of Delaware, and they were. working on a vehicle-to-grid technology.

And at that time, electric vehicle was still. And it's in frenzy. Tesla was just coming out, and we were looking into various, and.

Uh, I was involved in doing a number of licenses with regards to technology, and that's what I highlighted in my application, and that's what I think.

You know, the scholarship. But also, you know, at the time when I had applied, I was at University of Delaware, and by the.

time scholarship wasn't, uh… announced, I had left it and was doing consulting for a number of, you know, companies, and also.

Uh, so it was a good, uh, you know, the award came at the right time where, you know, I could afford to go and attend the autumn. I have always found the… conference to be an excellent platform for networking with others. And also, I wanted to beat the person. By that time, I was really in… I really started enjoying the tech transfer.

So I was like, okay, I will get to meet Howard Bremer, who started all this field, and I literally got… I sat with him, I had a wine and two-hour dinner with him.

He was there at the award function, so that was awesome experience, yeah.

Uh, yeah, uh, Jeremy?

Sure. Thank you, Amit. So, I think I have you beat by a year, in terms of, uh, when I, uh, was the one that Howard Bremmer, um.

Award, it was 2009, which was a long time ago, so I remember very little about the actual application.

Um, but, um… The circumstances around it I remember very well.

So the, uh, the story was it was, you know, I think, like, most of it, it was our first year, and I had gone to the Autumn Essentials course, and that was my one trip for the year. That was all the office had budget for, so I was advised by management that there's this great, uh, meeting coming up.

Um, in New Orleans, I believe. And, um, if I wanted to go, I was going to have to find some way to get there, and the scholarship was one way to get there, so I applied.

I couldn't tell you at this point what was in it, or why it was chosen.

But I do think some… potentially. Aside from just luck, which I assume is a healthy component to it, there's so many good applicants to this field.

One thing I had crafted was kind of an unusual situation for the year, year and a half prior.

We're at a part-time postdoc and a part-time internship at the technology transfer office, so I was able to write a pretty compelling story that I had sampled enough of the career and the profession that I knew I was really passionate about it and was very excited to get into it.

absolutely saw that as my career path going forward.

So perhaps that gave me some sort of an edge.

Perhaps. Um… Rozi, would you like to go next?

Sure. Um… So, I… I don't remember much about why I applied. I think somebody suggested I apply.

Um, at the Autumn Central meeting. Because I was hired at USD in May.

And then I went to the central meeting, like, a month… month and a half after that, so everybody's like, how long have you been in tech transfer? I'm like, I don't know if I've been here a month yet?

Um, and so… at that meeting, I was just trying to learn as much as I possibly could, because.

Our patent attorney taught me everything I knew about patents and copyrights and trademarks.

like, 3 weeks before that? Um, so I've just… trying to learn, and somebody suggested that I go to the annual meeting.

And funding was an issue for the small office, so I was like, I don't know, Florida's really far away from South Dakota.

Um, and so it was pointed out that I could apply for this.

fellowship. Um, so I did… And I could not tell you why they thought I was.

worthy of, um… getting the award. This was back in 2017, I think?

Um… I do… I remember asking, like, so what are your… what… What does the review committee look for?

And somebody mentioned that they were looking for. people who wanted to bring creativity to Tech Transfer.

And so I have this recollection of writing about how most of my family is artists.

Which… it doesn't seem to apply anymore. I don't remember seeing that in any of the materials, and so… Um, that may have been one person's take on it, it may have been what the scholarship was looking for.

10 years ago, um… I honestly do not remember.

But I will say that it… financed my first autumn annual trip, and I have been every year since.

Aside from 2020, when… the meeting was entirely virtual.

Um, and so, I think… Vivek, have you answered this question yet?

Okay, you can go next, then.

So, thanks, yeah, so I won this award in 2007, so I had to look it up. I think Gmail still has my application, so I was like.

trying to check, like, what did I write in my application, and… I applied because I think everybody at Johns Hopkins at the time, like, it's like every year somebody applied, so I said, okay, I'm going to apply as well, and…

Uh, I have no idea why I got the award, but I did publish two papers. One was the.

Analysis of all license agreements at NIH when I was a fellow, we analyzed the.

NIH and, like, what was the factor that contributed to the license agreement being signed? So they had, like, this.

Huge, like, bunch of papers that I had to look up, because at that time there's no, like, formal database, right? So… And then I had a business plan.

Uh, that talked about detecting ovarian cancer that was a part of the MIT Enterprise Forum.

So, the business plan that I wrote was selected for that, so my guess is that's the reason, but uh… Who knows? Uh… Is that the answer? Is there anything else I need to answer?

I was sort of basically it, right? What you thought about the process of winning.

Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of it is luck, like people have said here, there's no, like, I mean, yes, I mean, I wrote something on… I just looked up, I wrote stuff on consciousness and mathematics as well, but… Who knows, right? You never know about these things, and maybe the paper that I published was useful.

Who knows? So, but, uh, yeah, I think it's a lot more luck than we think it is.

I think Kenneth is, uh, batting cleanup this round, or maybe I missed unless I miscounted.

On that can. Tolika, did Talika, did you answer?

I think we started with, uh…

No, not yet. Okay. Thank you, wait.

Okay, why don't we give it to Talika?

So, I come from a really small office on this side, and my colleague.

And…

Encouraged me a lot. I was actually not. going to apply, and then he said, I don't… why aren't you applying? So I did.

And, um… I think I won because I thought a very good personal statement.

And, um… That was a surprise when I won, of course.

But, uh, one of the viewers after I won reached out to me and actually said that your, uh, personal statement was very good, and we kept coming back to your personal statement.

And the i1 was 2024, along with Michael. So, yeah, we were… Michael, and there was one more question, so we want, uh, and uh… Yeah, one of the video actually reached out and checked that your personal statement was very good.

So, I think, yeah, that's it. And, uh, Tyler.

Oh, I think I went already, didn't I?

Well, I believe, yeah. Absolutely.

Uh…

Yes, uh, I think last… last… last, but… Last but not least, I get to clone all your answers. So I think I submitted my application, I think, back in 2015, 16 or 17, I think. Rosie, you and I were in the same Bremmer Scholarship class, I believe.

I think for me, my application, I sent it in because I was still having a postdoc hangovers for.

Sending grunts all over the place and trying to look for money to do the things that your office could not pay for.

So, uh, that was the mode I was in, so when I saw the scholarship application during my first year.

Uh, in tech transfer, I thought this was a good opportunity if I won.

For me to get, uh, connected to the autumn community.

And, uh, my journey, and what I described in my application at the time is.

Close to what Jeremy also did. So I had… I was doing an internship.

An unpaid internship and also a postdoc at the same time, so I believe weaving a story that showed my passion for the career and my commitment to.

being in this field could have contributed to my winning the scholarship. I don't know, I can only speculate.

Uh, but bringing that passion even today in what we are doing, I think after this, I will take my statement, put it on Gemini, and ask it to tell me why it thinks I want.

But that's how I attended this. the… I submitted my scholarship, I attended the conference in Florida, and I brought a friend of mine who I was trying to recruit into the field as well.

As year one tech transfer professional.

I think that's it.

Thank you. Yes, thank you. Thank you very much. Um, so yeah, all right, well then… that sort of leaves us with perhaps the most existential question of the round.

Um, which is why folks are still in the field this many years later, right? There's been a swath of winners.

from this past, you know, essentially this past year, going back quite a few.

Uh, and so, you know, what is your favorite, I guess, part? What is keeping you here? What is your sort of passion still about? I think that is also one of the.

One of the big things that the Howard Bremmers.

committee is looking for is people who want to stay in the field, who want to build this career, and I think that's one of the reasons that highlighting the winners for this is… was one of the reasons we did it.

Um, is because that is one of the features I, you know, that I know that goes into that application space.

Um… So, okay, so that… so, yeah, what… so, to sum that up, right, why are you still in the field? What is… what is giving you passion every day?

Uh, and I'm going to start this round with Amit.

So, uh, I have been in this field for almost now, more than, uh, you know, 15 years.

And I have found the experience really fulfilling for myself. So far, the technologies that I have licensed.

more than 15 of them are in market. So… and the first time I ever heard about the technology, I licensed the vehicle to grid. I was in Germany at a bar.

And the news was covering it because that company was doing a.

pilot project in London. And they were covering the vehicle-to-grid technology, and at that time, I got the real feeling of the joy, as if it was my baby, and I made it, you know, go there.

Because my, uh, intention of joining the technology firm, when I realized, you know, I have a PhD in biophysics, and I used to do structure-based struct designing.

And I realized that the pathway to, you know, commercializing any technology is 15 to 20 years.

So, that was discussing, like, how can I get this feeling faster? And, you know, I… that's how I discovered slowly the.

technology transfer world. And, uh, you know, people don't realize, you know, that technology is one part, but a lot of the innovation with the business modeling and the structure of the deal.

The thought process that all the tech… all the licensing director and the licensing manager put.

in, you know, structuring the deal so that it is successful.

you know, we care, you know, that's the nature of the deal can be such that it can be cornered and, you know, nothing comes out of it. But a lot of effort and business innovation goes on in how you structure the deal.

So that it works for the university and also works for the… uh, you know, the other party. So, uh, you know, it has been a very fulfilling journey for me.

You know, and I enjoy learning about new technologies. It keeps me.

my alignment survey, you know, and dementia away, and, uh, you know, just learning about new technologies, where the, where everything is going.

And I have done different phases of technology transfer earlier, you know, started with technology transfer, went on business development, and more on the technical side of the business development.

I went, and I really enjoyed that, you know, in the fuel cell area, in the clean energy and other things.

in those kind of technologies. So, the skill set that we have developed here, it's very transferable.

to other kinds. People value where you can connect technology and business, so, you know, there are technology business development people.

That is sought after in the industry, and that was the role I played there. And then again, I came back, the time when I left.

This fee, uh, you know. the life sciences. I work with some of the best engineers also in my life. I worked at GE with some of the best engineers at United Technology.

So, it gave me a lot of, you know, opportunity to experiment with my career, being… to do things which I like.

So, yeah, it has been a great experience, and hopefully the party will continue.

Yeah. And, uh, Tyler, you want to go next?

Sure. So, um, live mice… Still in it. Um… I've… again, I had a whole career in the restaurant industry, so I learned a little bit of business running kitchens as a chef.

And, um… I also, like I mentioned before, I was the grandson of a farmer, and so I kind of witnessed.

on the regular how technology, uh, you know, rubber meeting the road really impacts people's everyday lives.

And so, um… you know, I wanted to… work and something that was going to have that kind of impact.

Um, on a much more grand scale. And, um, you know, I kind of learned in academia, you know, that's our jobs. A lot of the times the stuff is nowhere near ready to help someone, it's very foundational research.

Has a lot of development that has to be done. And so, um… you know, the first… I think I knew within the first… you know, you spend the first few months trying to figure out what tech transfer is, I feel like, if you have never, you know, if you don't know what the position is, you're.

You're kind of spending a little bit of time just figuring out what the job is, but once I understood what our role was, and um… you know, how vital it was to things actually getting into people's lives to help them.

you know, I felt like I had found the job for me, and that continues to be true. I get to work.

With, um, scientists who are impacting people's everyday lives. Recently, um, you know, we're in East Tennessee, so, um, many of you are probably aware there was a hurricane that made it all the way up into the southern Appalachians.

Um, I'm from the foothills of East Tennessee my whole life, and so kind of working in that regard of being able to be involved in the impact of helping people's lives, not only through technology.

Of, through the standard means of a product, but also impacting people's lives through, you know, sort of working with the.

Um… technologies that were developed through remediation from the flood and all of that, it's just been really… Uh, super gratifying, and it continues to be the best job I've ever had.

Uh, so I'm going to pass to Talika.

I guess I am still infatuated, as I was several years back.

And, um, I… love, I absolutely love how a technology that is on the bench can get.

to the market, so I… I love when the technology goes to the market.

Although there are different parts of science and business and law is a cusp of it everywhere, but I absolutely love the business aspect of it.

So, yeah, there was… and there was never, ever a dull moment.

injections, especially in our office, a small, busy office, we are, like, um.

cradle to grave, so there is something new happening every day.

So, yeah. That's it. Uh, Kenneth.

Right, yeah. So, uh, why am I still in the profession? I think I love what I do, and I will especially borrow from Amit during your introduction. You said that.

Not two days the same in this career. That is what drives me. I love the variety.

I love working with people, and I love negotiating agreements, especially where I think I can add value.

I think part of what has made me stay is that the intersection, we always say tech transfer is the intersection between.

Business, science, and law. this… this job has given me the opportunity to still maintain my passion as a scientist without worrying about the grants and actually doing the.

the experiments. Now, the experiments I do are virtual experiments, trying to figure out.

the value of the IP, I'm trying to license to companies.

So just knowing that, uh, every day presents itself as a challenge is what has kept me.

occupied in this profession, and also. Interacting with investigators, so you have investigators who think that the invasion is the next best thing to sliced bread.

Others don't really care what you do with your technologies. Others, you have to incentivize, cajole.

influence to actually work with the office. So there are so many moving parts on any given day.

That, uh, if you like variety, if you are an extrovert, like I think I am.

This is an opportunity for you to really shine in those spheres of your life that.

That make you want to wake up each morning and do something impactful. And of course.

The icing on the cake of this career is seeing what we work on.

Uh, out in the market, really impacting lives. For me, I handle life science portfolios or small molecules.

Biologics and drugs, so. Ultimately, I'm only 10 years in the career, these things take up to 20 years, so maybe in another 10 years I'll see a drug in the market, maybe my own that I did as a postdoc.

then I'll be rich. But who knows? But yeah, that's what keeps me really… Uh, excited about coming to the office every day and working from home as well.

Uh, let me see, Vivek.

I do have to, uh… how does this work?

Can you hear me? Oh, there you are. Okay.

Yeah, for me, it's, like, really, uh, I think… Uh, I've never lost my inquisitive nature, and I think that's what keeps me.

excited, and I spend most of my… first part of my career, the first 15 years.

of my life in healthcare investing. And now I'm doing quantum and AI, right? I had to basically, like, reinvent myself and.

Uh, finally, my PhD has value, I think, because, uh.

My PhD was in physics, and uh… Yeah, it's really exciting for me to be part of the quantum revolution, and sort of, like, the next generation of what.

Computing is going to be, and… I wouldn't have had a chance to do that if I wasn't in tech transfer, and if.

Yupon and Yale were not applying for the NSF engine, right? And I'm always learning, I'm working with a professor in economics.

on analyzing the evolutions of. Long-term patterns through the lens of this economist. So I always get to learn new things. I work on.

But… and I still have a healthcare portfolio, thanks to Ahmed.

Uh, but yeah, it's always learning new things, and it's fascinating for me, like, I get to meet.

Different kinds of people, different kinds of professors, and.

Yeah, it's amazing. It's like, yeah, it's like you're always learning, right? And you're always meeting new people, and… You're doing different things, so yeah, that's for me.

The most fun part of tech transfer is the learning. You're always learning new things.

Uh, Rosie, did you…

Alright, okay, I did unmute. Fantastic. Um… when I… so when I first started in tech transfer, I used to tell people that I get to see.

Like, the end result of science without spending 12 hours a day for months on end locked in a closet watching mice fall off of a rotating rod.

Um, and that… that's still true. The… one of the coolest things about tech transfer for me is that I get to see.

The end result? Without getting bitten by mice.

Um, you know, the… I don't have to put in those long… thankless most of the time, hours in the lab, and I still get to.

see the science, learn the science, and progress the science as well, to a place where it can.

get out into the world and do good. Um, plus I get the chance to make bad jokes about how my neuroscience background makes me qualified to handle electrical engineering techs.

Um, which is also always fun. Um, and really, I like the balance between those three worlds, the science, the business, and the law.

Um, and I mean, like. it's… it's a learning process through the.

everything, you know, every day there's something new, every day there's something… Fun and exciting to learn about, and sometimes there's stuff that's not so fun and exciting to learn about.

As well. But… Lots of variety, lots of science.

generally awesome people as well. Um, so I guess I'll pass it off to Jeremy.

Great, thanks. I'm so happy that I didn't have to go first, and I've had so many people to follow behind, because this career checks a lot of boxes, and it's great to be able to second.

Almost everything that everyone has said, um. all of these factors of it being a very interesting subject matter, very diverse day-to-day, very worthwhile mission, all of this applies.

Um, and as part of what attracted me to the profession in the beginning.

And I'll say that, you know, what keeps me here is those factors continue to be true.

But I guess the other thing I want to highlight is, because we're in such a dynamic space.

And there are so many great things about it.

It attracts really fantastic people to work with. And, you know, you could have a great job, but if you don't like the people you're working with, you're not going to stick around.

And I would say that at this point, it's been 16 years, and part of the reason that I haven't left is I just really value just the environment that we work in, and not just what we do and the why, but who we're with and who we're doing it.

With, um… So, that would be… would be my answer, and if I'm correct, Corey, I think you're last?

I mean, yes, I think everyone sort of said, uh, different reasons that keep me coming into work with a smile on my face every day.

Um, as a scientist, it's probably that I get to nerd out with a bunch of inventors.

Um, every day, and every day it's a different technology that comes across my desk.

Um, here at UT Austin, we are not cradle to grave, so we have different teams that handle.

Um, IP licensing, business development, so… being on the IP team, we're sort of the forefront for our Discovery to Impact TTO office.

Uh, so I'd say probably 30% of what I do is outreach with inventors across campus.

So we go out and do a lot of, you know.

IP101 talks, this is, you know, the variety of programming that we can offer in our TTO office to you.

Answering questions everywhere, you know. to audiences from undergrads to grad students to faculty members, new and experienced, to the deans of the colleges. So.

Um, we get sort of a lot of visibility, and… I am also an extrovert, so that sort of fills my cup that way, and um… getting to, you know, just.

explain to people why. You know, it's awesome that they are doing the science and publishing academic publications.

Um, and hoping that everyone in the world reads their papers.

But in reality, the best way to do research at a university and have that translate and actually make a difference in the world.

Just to work with our office and sort of go through this process. So, it's cool to be able to convince inventors who don't have a lot of experience with commercialization why.

Working with us in tandem. Um, to what's, you know, the goals that they have to get them tenure and in their academic career.

Um, are not opposing, and they really do work together.

Um, so… I think that's my answer.

I think we have Beth, uh, who hasn't spoken.

Okay.

Doesn't fly under the radar, is that right? Um, yeah, why am I still in the profession? I mean, you guys all gave great answers. Most of those things apply to me, too.

Um, I love the people, I love being able to work with, like.

a huge variety of different, um, super intelligent experts in different fields.

across campus. I love the academic community and being part of, sort of, the thriving life of the campus.

Um, I love being in the room where it happens. I'm kind of a control freak like that, like I want to be involved in important work, and I feel very.

professionally fulfilled and intellectually stimulated in this job. Um, I enjoy contract language, you know, for whatever reason, I do.

Um, and I will say that, like, beyond my immediate group of colleagues, who are all lovely humans.

I think that Tech Transfer itself attracts, um, people who want to help other people. And so, like, the autumn community.

everyone I've ever met who's in a tech transfer role with, like, very few exceptions.

are interested in helping other people and doing good things in the world, and that is a super great.

Uh, feeling to be part of a community like that.

But I will just add one thing there. This is the comment I heard from a person from a different industry.

who was participating at Autumn last year at Annual Meeting, and he told me, probably this is the only profession.

where you share trade secrets with your competitors. Yes.

Yeah, without even being coerced! Like, we just… we want to help, yes.

So that's very true, you know. And I keep telling people, you know, I can pick up phone.

And even if I don't know Beth, we are meeting for the first time, and I just introduced myself, and I'm calling from TechTransfer, we'll be more than happy to entertain my questions and other things. That's one thing I've found really… great in this field.

You know, camaraderie is a big part of it. I love that. Thank you all. Those are great answers.

Uh, there are a couple of questions, one that… one that's easy, but I want to thank the panelists again very much.

Um, for their time and for their insights here today.

I hope that the audience found it valuable as well. I'm gonna give the quick answer to one in the chat there.

Uh, about who's eligible for a Howard Bremer Scholarship. Really, the only.

eligibility requirement is that you are within 2 years of joining the field, so… whichever part of the field you have joined is immaterial, right? That can be the IP side, business development side, the technical side.

But it's within those two years, right? So it's not about… sort of which side you were… you were on, if it's… if it's tech transfer related. So that doesn't mean working at a startup, even though that involves.

tech transfer. Uh, that doesn't mean it's. that your job is to transfer, right? So that's the sort of limiter for that. And there's more… I mean, that website has great detail on all the other… application requirements.

And then Nar just asked, and since we have about 5 minutes left here, I'm not going to compel everyone to answer, but Nar just asked that, what skills from prior professions or prior career paths.

have proven to be helpful and transferable. to your tech transfer career.

Um, and then I guess, let's see, highlighting those skills to get into the field, right? How do you believe.

that people who want to be in the field can highlight those skills.

Uh, I suppose when they're interviewing, we're trying to get into the field.

So if anybody has any insights on that, feel free to jump in.

I'll pop in just because… Like I said, I came from the restaurant industry, so… and I think everybody's kind of hit on that this job's kind of frenetic, it doesn't follow, like, an ABC, or… to D pathway, it kind of goes all over the place, and so…

that ability to… Um, for lack of a better term, spin plates, and manage multiple things at different parts of the pathway, um… Talika may have mentioned, we're also a cradle-to-the-grave office, UTRF, and so…

You know, one day could be prior art, the next day could be, uh, market analysis, the next day could be answering.

office actions, like, they could be working with… Um, you know, startups, all this interactions throughout a single workday, and so I think that sort of ability to move from task to task rather quickly.

And still, uh, keep your wits about you. Um, and… You know, it's also funny, sometimes working with inventors can be a little bit like working with customers.

Um, it can be a little bit like trying to… I heard the word cajole, I think that's a very nice way to.

To put it, but I think that there's often sometimes, um… It can feel like you are… You know, playing good cop, bad cop.

Hoping the same breath, and trying to, uh… heard a horse to water that it will refuse to drink.

Um, and yeah, but I think that that… those skills, for me, have really helped.

keep everything in order without, um… you know, losing sight of what, sort of, your daily goals are, or the overall mission.

That we're tasked with.

Thank you, John, appreciate that. Um… I know, I mean, I guess I… I had a… career in regulatory that wasn't necessarily directly helpful, except in the sense that.

I worked for over-the-counter supplement, food. Medical device drug manufacturers.

And having to read any kind of FDA legal language.

is helpful in that, but I suppose I even, as a grad student inventor.

Working with my tech transfer office, was exposed to the legal language at that point, and again, there is a… and I don't think it's weird at all, Beth, right? The precision of the language is what makes it interesting to me.

I think, right, you are forced to not just be flowery or descriptive, similar to academic writing, where they want to take out.

some of the fun, right? Even as a writer, right? That had to be taken out of me, right? I'm not writing a dramatic work here. This is an academic article, and then you take that, those sort of evolves into the… that precision, right, that I think… those… so those things were helpful, that… that true… the real interpretation of that clause.

the limits of that language, what that means, and what it might mean, especially when.

you might have to think about 400 different if-then statements.

to see if it's right, uh, sometimes, depending on the structure of the deal, or who's interested.

Um, so that's…

Right, maybe another comment I can throw in is soft skills. I remember when I first attended my first Autom conference, and people were talking to each other, and they were collaborating, and I was.

Right, from post-doc, where you stand by your poster and you wish nobody comes to ask you about your science.

So the soft skill is another integral part of this, so if you like interacting with people, as Tyler said, you are a chef that's service-oriented. We are a service-oriented profession.

Yeah.

So you have to be comfortable interacting with people, problem solving on your feet.

Not taking things personally, because as you all know, we have investigators who will tell you you don't know what you're talking about, so… You know, there's that element of it having.

your wheat's about you, in terms of, you know.

soft interpersonal skills, yeah.

Sorry I popped out, but I just wanted to think back on something that Tyler said, and please don't tell any innovator I ever have worked with or ever will in the future, but parenting has been the best, um… skill builder for me, related to this profession, and um… being a firm but fair negotiator with.

Um, an obstinate toddler is, um… Yeah, it's a pretty good training… regimen for some of the work that we have to do on occasion.

Works the same for about a 17-year-old, too, actually.

Yep.

Um, so yeah, I… with that, I think I will end us on time. I thank everybody again. Thanks the attendees, thanks the panelists, thanks to Autumn, thanks to our sponsors.