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ENTREPRENEURSHIP & COMMERCIALIZATION AT UNIVERSITIES 603

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AT UNIVERSITIES: don’t seem aligned. These issues make the process
THE NEGATIVE frustrating and can lead to a contentious relation-
Although UA has become much more supportive ship with COI staff, so these conflicts also need to
of technology transfer and UA start-up companies, be managed. All of this can lead you to question if
the challenge remains of dealing with the con- starting your own company is worthwhile, which is
flict-of-interest (COI) protocols. Ultimately, a UA unfortunate.
employee must file for permission to start a com- To UA’s credit, they are listening to people like
pany that licenses the employee’s work. Of course, the me and trying to streamline the process to the extent
license is a must to secure funding from investors, possible. The promise at the moment is to allow var-
which is a crucial step. The university wants to know ious electronic forms to update each other online
as new technologies are licensed or new research
all the possible ways in which the licensing might grants are awarded. In the meantime, UA converted
present a conflict with faculty obligations. its traditional technology transfer office into Tech
UA has multiple ways of identifying and managing Launch Arizona (TLA), greatly expanding its scope of
COI between an employee’s university responsibilities services and vision for creating social and economic
and company responsibilities. The touch points are impact from technology commercialization. As a
financial interests, use of students or postdocs in the result, I am preparing to license more UA inventions
company, sharing or loaning of equipment and space, to my second company, TIPD, LLC to pursue research
and management of projects that may be contracted and development of augmented reality and virtual
from the company to the UA or vice versa. Mostly, reality devices and systems.
they want to help faculty manage the conflicts of Is it worth it in the end? No matter who is helping
commitment of time and effort to non-university with the start-up, there is no way around the fact that
activities that may adversely affect university-re- it is hard work, requiring lots of late nights, weekends
lated obligations by understanding the distribution working and traveling, with not much time left for
of faculty effort among research, teaching, committee the family. But I have found the excitement of cre-
responsibilities, and outside consulting or start-up ating and placing my products into the marketplace
work. It is difficult to do both jobs well when both to be very energizing. Within the College of Optical
require a full-time effort. This is why I took a leave Science at UA, we have also seen several examples
of absence early on to establish the start-up. of faculty and students who have become successful
UA developed its COI management plan with multimillionaires through their start-up activities.
my input as well as that of its staff and the institu- Although I stepped away from NPP in 2011, my
tional review board. It takes time and effort, lots of passion for the company never waned, and I have
forms, and many meetings, so the process is very since purchased back the company. Today, I am lead-
cumbersome and slow. The time and effort it takes ing its resurgence with a broader range of products.
to manage COI means you have less time to focus on The company now has several thousand lasers in the
other important issues, such as research. The process field. To succeed, I have devised cash and product
of working with COI and technology transfer can management plans with an eye on the market size
feel redundant, and their goals and ours sometimes and demand.