Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer

Fiscal Year 2017 

Summary Report to the President and the Congress

Prepared by:

National Institute of

Standards and Technology

U.S. Department of Commerce

August 2021
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FOREWORD

The Department of Commerce (DOC) is pleased to submit this Fiscal Year 2017 Technology 

Transfer Summary Report to the President and the Congress. This report illustrates the 

continuing efforts of federal laboratories to ensure that the nation’s investment in innovative 

research is transferred from our laboratories to the American people. 

Federal laboratories, through their fundamental and mission-oriented research and development 

(R&D) investments, have historically been at the forefront of scientific discovery, invention, and 

technological innovation. Technology transfer facilitates the practical application of federal 

research directly through the transfer of laboratory results and by providing non-federal entities

opportunities to partner with federal laboratories on innovative research of mutual interest. Over 

the years, new products, services, and the formation of new companies have occurred through 

technology transfer initiatives.

The cross-agency focus on the lab-to-market efforts have emphasized the important role that

innovation plays in accelerating the development of new industries, products, and services that 

lead to economic growth and job creation. Agencies have engaged in efforts to accelerate 

technology transfer activities, improved and expanded the collection of technology transfer 

metrics, and established performance goals and evaluation methods to enhance the efficiency and 

impact of their technology transfer activities. 

This report fulfills the requirement contained in 15 U.S.C. § 3710(g)(2), for an annual report 

summarizing the use of technology transfer authorities by federal agencies. It highlights the 

achievements of federal technology transfer and includes data on the use of specific transfer 

authorities. Future editions of this report will be used to continue to keep the President and the 

Congress informed of the ongoing efforts of federal laboratories to expand our technology 

transfer efforts in partnership with U.S. industry, academic institutions, non-profit foundations, 

and state, local and tribal governments. These efforts will continue to play a vital role in building 

the nation’s economic strength. 

Dr. James K. Olthoff 

Associate Director for Laboratory Programs performing the nonexclusive functions and duties of the Under Secretary of Commerce 

for Standards and Technology & Director, National Institute 

of Standards and Technology 
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Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Overview of Federal Technology Transfer .................................................................... 1

Federal Technology Transfer Summary ...................................................................................... 4

Chapter 2 Agency Performance in FY 2017 ................................................................................ 18

Department of Agriculture (USDA) .......................................................................................... 19

Department of Commerce (DOC) ............................................................................................. 29

Department of Defense (DoD) .................................................................................................. 37

Department of Energy (DOE) ................................................................................................... 47

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) .................................................................. 57

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ................................................................................ 67

Department of the Interior (DOI) .............................................................................................. 75

Department of Transportation (DOT) ....................................................................................... 86

Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) ........................................................................................ 94

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ............................................................................... 101

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ...................................................... 108

Chapter 3 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 117

Appendix A ................................................................................................................................. 119

Appendix B ................................................................................................................................. 124

Appendix C ................................................................................................................................. 130

Addendum – Response to 2018 GAO Licensing Recommendations ............................................. 1
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1 

Chapter 1

Overview of Federal Technology Transfer

Many federal agencies conduct research and development (R&D) activities that result in the 

creation of new technologies. In most cases, these technologies are created to support specific 

needs of an agency’s mission. In other cases, they are spontaneous creations of ongoing research. 

Regardless of how they are created, federal technologies can have significant value that goes 

beyond an agency’s mission. It is the role of an agency’s technology transfer office to identify 

this value and provide the most effective means to transfer it outside of the agency. 

Federal legislation provides a variety of vehicles through which federal technologies can be 

transferred.1 These vehicles facilitate the potential commercialization of inventions, enable the 

use of federal laboratory facilities by non-federal entities, and allow for the establishment of 

research partnerships between federal government laboratories and other entities. This includes 

the processing of patent applications and licenses as well as cooperative research and 

development agreements (CRADAs) and other mechanisms that convey knowledge, ownership 

rights, or establish formal research agreements. 

Collaborative research is particularly important to the technology transfer process and in many 

ways, is fundamental to every agency’s mission. By bringing together thousands of highly 

qualified researchers and world class research facilities, collaborative research between federal 

and non-federal organizations greatly enhances research capabilities, core competencies, and 

creativity. This in turn leads to the flow of new ideas, new tools, more efficient techniques, new 

processes and products, and new businesses. Collaborative research also helps agencies attract 

and retain talented scientific personnel through rewards and royalty sharing opportunities. 

Over the last eight years, agencies have responded to the need to improve technology transfer 

operations to better address the needs of businesses and especially small businesses that are 

vulnerable to a slow-moving bureaucratic system. The inter-agency coordination of efforts has

led agencies to review their operations and propose new ways to improve the overall customer 

experience. These improvements include efforts to streamline operations to open doors to more 

efficient technology transfer opportunities. Other improvements target the way customers 

interact with the federal system. 

This annual report summarizes the technology transfer activities and transfer vehicles used by 11 

federal agencies that have significant federal laboratory operations: 2

1 The primary legislation addressing federal technology transfer includes the Stevenson-Wydler Technology 

Innovation Act of 1980, 15 U.S.C. 3701 et seq., the Patent and Trademark Act Amendments of 1980 (Bayh-Dole 

Act), 35 U.S.C. 200 et seq., the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982, 15 U.S.C. 638, and the 

Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986, 15 U.S.C. § 3710a. Numerous other acts indirectly affect federal 

technology transfer activities.

2 In this report, the term “Federal laboratory” refers to any laboratory, any federally funded research and 

development center, or any center established under 15 U.S.C. § 3705 or 15 U.S.C. § 3707 that is owned, leased, or 

otherwise used by a federal agency and funded by the federal government, whether operated by the Government or 

by a contractor. 
2 

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Department of Commerce (DOC)

Department of Defense (DoD)

Department of Energy (DOE)

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Department of the Interior (DOI)

Department of Transportation (DOT) 

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA)

Each of these agencies has established programs for promoting the transfer and 

commercialization of technologies developed in its R&D laboratories and has provided the data 

contained in this report. The DOC’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 

prepared and organized this report. An electronic version of this report is available. 
3 

Federal R&D Spending

Spending on R&D by the federal government supports a wide variety of agency-specific 

missions, for instance, military objectives, health and human services issues, energy 

development, space exploration, and so forth. In FY 2017, the total federal budget for R&D was 

$118,366 million. Of this, $75,958 million (64%) was used to support R&D activities that 

occurred outside of federal laboratories. This includes funding for grants, cooperative 

agreements, and similar instruments.3 The remainder, $42,408 million (36%), supported R&D 

activities that occurred inside federal laboratories. This includes $30,803 million to support 

intramural activities and $11,606 million to support federally funded R&D centers (FFRDCs). 

The technology transfer activities described in this report support new technologies that arise 

from these federal laboratory R&D investments. As shown in the table below, the percent of an 

agency’s budget that was available for federal laboratory R&D varied significantly among 

agencies.

Federal Obligations for R&D

By Agency FY 2017 ($ million)

4

(a) Intramural activities cover costs associated with the administration of intramural and extramural programs by federal

personnel as well as actual intramural performance.

(b) FFRDC = federally funded research and development center

In FY 2017, DoD spent the largest amount of funding for intramural activities and FFRDCs, 

$17,007 million (38% of its R&D budget). DOE was second with $8,167 million (70% of its 

R&D budget) and HHS was third with $7,799 million (23% of its R&D budget). 

3 A federal award is an instrument setting forth terms and conditions of an agreement between a federal agency and 

non-federal entity. Awards can include, among other things, grants and cooperative agreements. Grants and 

cooperative agreements are similar in that they transfer funds (or anything of value) to a non-federal entity but differ 

in that cooperative agreements involve substantial involvement by the federal awarding agency usually in terms of 

project oversight and management. 

4 National Science Foundation (NSF), National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Federal 

Funds for Research and Development Fiscal Years 2017-18, Federal Obligations for Research and Development, by 

Agency and Performer: FY 2017, Table 7. 

Total R&D Intramural(a) FFRDCs(b)

Intramural 

and FFRDCs

Percent of 

Total R&D 

Budget

All Agencies $118,366 $30,803 $11,606 $42,408 36%

 DoD $44,873 $15,520 $1,487 $17,007 38%

 DOE $11,705 $1,033 $7,133 $8,167 70%

 HHS $33,770 $7,078 $721 $7,799 23%

 NASA $12,595 $1,785 $1,789 $3,574 28%

 USDA $2,419 $1,529 $0 $1,529 63%

 DOC $1,613 $1,174 $34 $1,208 75%

 DOI $863 $765 $0 $765 89%

 VA $682 $682 $0 $682 100%

 DHS $857 $370 $106 $477 56%

 DOT $949 $212 $84 $296 31%

 EPA $494 $263 $0 $263 53%

 Other Agencies $7,550 $391 $251 $642 9%
4

Federal Technology Transfer Summary

Every federal agency that operates or directs one or more federal laboratories or that conducts 

research and development is required to prepare and submit an annual report of its technology 

transfer activities as described in 15 U.S.C. § 3710(f). These reports contain details on each 

agency’s technology transfer program as well as agency plans to use technology transfer to 

advance the agency’s mission and to promote U.S. competitiveness.5 The following tables 

summarize federal technology transfer activities for the five-year period from FY 2013 through 

FY 2017.

6

5 A list of agency technology transfer reports

6 Technology transfer data are routinely adjusted over time to account for new information resulting from changes in 

reporting procedures, patent decisions, programmatic changes, and other corrections. Throughout this report, data 

prior to FY 2017 have been adjusted where necessary, to reflect the most accurate estimates for each year reported.
5 

Federal Invention Disclosures and Patenting

The protection of intellectual property can be vital to attracting the additional investment and 

product development resources necessary for early stage research products to be brought to their 

full commercial potential. Federal laboratory achievements in the areas of invention disclosures 

and patents issued are often cited as metrics of the active management of intellectual assets and 

technical know-how by federal agencies.

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, invention disclosures reported by federal agencies increased by 

6% to 5,667. Patent applications filed increased by 1% to 2,615, and patents issued increased by 

11% to 2,275. DOE reported the largest number of invention disclosures with 1,794 in FY 2017, 

followed by NASA with 1,690 and DoD with 978. These three agencies accounted for 79% of all 

invention disclosures reported in this fiscal year. 

In FY 2017, DOE reported the largest number of patent applications with 937 and patents issued 

with 817. DoD was second in both categories with 869 patent applications and 630 patents 

issued. HHS was third with 289 patent applications and 554 patents issued. These three agencies 

accounted for 80% of patent applications and 88% of patents issued. 

Federal Invention Disclosures and Patenting

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

New Invention Disclosures 5,340 5,114 4,823 5,093 5,667

Patent Applications Filed 2,579 2,695 2,486 2,598 2,615

Patents Issued 2,047 2,215 2,186 2,341 2,275
6 

Technical Area Summary of U.S. Federal Agency Patents

The chart below uses data from the U.S. Patent Office (USPTO) to illustrate the technical areas 

covered by patents issued to federal agencies in FY 2017. The chart shows the percentage of 

patents issued to federal agencies by technology area based on a fractional count of patents.7 In 

FY 2017, the largest number of federal patents issued involved Measurement (11%) followed by 

Other Special Machines (8%), Biotechnology (7%), Electrical Machinery, Apparatus, Energy 

(7%), and Pharmaceuticals (6%), Computer Technology (5%), Semiconductors (5%), 

Telecommunications (5%), Basic Materials Chemistry (4%), Materials, Metallurgy (3%), 

Transport (3%), Optics (3%), Chemical Engineering (3%). All other technology area (30%).8

USPTO Patents Assigned to Selected U.S. Federal Agencies by Technology Area: FY 2017 

Federal Licenses 

Licensing of federally developed technologies is an important technology transfer mechanism 

that creates incentives for industry to invest the resources necessary to develop and 

commercialize nascent leading-edge technologies. Successful development and 

commercialization of federal technologies create benefits to the economy and contributes to 

competitiveness and domestic economic growth. The ability to grant licenses to the nonfederal 

sector helps protect, utilize, or further develop and utilize federally developed innovations, which 

would not be further developed into commercial products or services otherwise. The terms and 

conditions under which federal intellectual property is licensed varies based upon many factors, 

including the extent of development of the technology, the financial resources needed to further 

develop the technology for consumer use, fields of use, projected market impact, and other 

factors.

7 In this summary, patents are credited on a fractional-count basis (i.e., for patents with assignees from multiple 

federal agencies, other U.S. institutions, or foreign institutions, each federal agency receives fractional credit based 

on the proportion of its participating institution(s)). Furthermore, fractioning is used at the level of Internal Patent 

Classification (IPC) codes to ensure that the sum of patents across technology areas (WIPO technology 

classification) is equal to the total number of patents as each patent can be assigned to more than one technology 

area. Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using USPTO data indexed in PatentsView in October 2018. Used with 

permission.

8 Definitions for all technology areas addressed are included in Appendix B.
7 

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total active licenses reported by federal laboratories decreased

by 6% from 8,197 in FY 2013 to 7,739 in FY 2017. New licenses increased by 39% from 896 in 

FY 2013 to 1,247 in FY 2017. Invention licenses increased by 5% to 3,972 while new invention 

licenses increased by 37% to 597. Invention licenses refers to inventions that are patented or 

could be patented. Income-bearing licenses decreased by 5% to 5,181, and exclusive incomebearing licenses increased by 36% to 900. 

In FY 2017, DOE reported the largest number of total active licenses with 4,045 licenses. HHS

was second with 1,806 licenses and DoD was third with 522 licenses. These three agencies 

accounted for 82% of all licenses reported in FY 2017. 

In FY 2017, HHS reported the largest number of invention licenses with 1,354, followed by 

DOE with 916 and DoD with 514. Together these three agencies accounted for 70% of invention 

licenses in FY 2017. 

In FY 2017, DOE reported the largest number of income-bearing licenses, 3,057, which was 

significantly higher than all other agencies combined. HHS was second with 907 followed by 

USDA with 437. Together these three agencies accounted for 85% of income-bearing licenses in 

FY 2017. 

In FY 2017, USDA reported the largest number of income-bearing exclusive licenses with 302, 

followed by DoD with 196, and DOE with 190. Together these three agencies accounted for 76% 

of income-bearing exclusive licenses in FY 2017. 

Federal Licenses

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Licenses, Total Active 8,197 8,905 9,745 8,950 7,739

New Licenses 896 906 1,070 1,193 1,247

Invention Licenses, Total Active 3,774 3,997 4,123 4,156 3,972

New Invention Licenses 436 383 567 572 597

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 5,432 5,960 6,347 5,802 5,181

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 562 510 454 863 900
8 

Federal Income from Licenses

Licensing income includes income received for earned royalties from partners, license issue fees, 

minimum annual royalties, paid-up license fees, and reimbursement for full-cost recovery of 

goods and services provided by the lab to the licensee, including patent costs. Between FY 2013 

and FY 2017, income from all licensing decreased by 2% to $181 million. Income from 

invention licenses increased by 4% to $175 million and total earned royalty income decreased by 

4% to $163 million. 

HHS accounted for the most licensing income with $135 million, followed by DOE with $37 

million, and USDA with $6 million. Together these three agencies accounted for 98% of 

reported licensing income. 

HHS accounted for the most invention license income with $133 million, followed by DOE with 

$33 million, and USDA with $5 million. Together these three agencies accounted for 98% of 

Invention License Income. 

HHS accounted for the most Earned Royalty Income with $136 million, followed by DOE with 

$13 million, and DoD with $7 million. Together these three agencies accounted for 96% of 

Earned Royalty Income. 

Federal Income from Licensing ($000s) 

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Total Income, All Active Licenses $185,003 $194,939 $203,787 $179,161 $180,653

Invention Licenses $167,118 $185,088 $193,626 $171,496 $174,590

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $171,032 $154,747 $149,219 $140,090 $163,350
9

Federal Collaborative R&D Relationships

Collaborative R&D relationships between federal laboratories and non-federal collaborators are 

widely viewed as an effective and economical means of transferring technology through joint 

research. These relationships create a mutually advantageous leveraging of federal agency and 

collaborator resources and technical capabilities, as well as to provide avenues for both the 

collaborator and the federal laboratory to gain new competencies and develop new skills. 

One frequently used mechanism for establishing joint research relationships is the cooperative 

research and development agreement (CRADA). The CRADA is a multifaceted mechanism that 

can be used to address several kinds of partnership needs. A “traditional CRADAs” refers to 

formal collaborative R&D agreements between a federal laboratory and nonfederal partners. 

Other special CRADA arrangements are used by federal agencies to address special purpose 

applications such as material transfer agreements or agreements that facilitate technical 

assistance activities.

In addition to CRADAs, agencies have other specific authorities that also facilitate cooperative 

R&D relationships, such as Space Act Agreements (NASA) or other transaction authorities.

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, active CRADAs increased by 21% to 11,501. New CRADA 

agreements increased by 24% to 5,405. Other collaborative R&D relationships increased by 13% 

to 12,898.

In FY 2017, DoD reported the largest number of CRADAs with 3,511, followed by DOC with 

2,932 and VA with 1,785. USDA reported the largest number of other collaborative R&D 

relationships with 6,125, DOC was second with 3,181, and NASA was third with 2,174 (Space 

Act Agreements).

Federal Collaborative R&D Relationships

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

CRADAs, Total Active 9,470 9,823 9,847 11,644 11,501

New CRADAs 4,354 4,176 4,953 5,326 5,405

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 6,306 6,125 5,545 6,720 6,944

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 11,435 11,789 11,890 12,246 12,898
10 

Trends in Federal Technology Transfer Activities

Technology transfer activities are not spontaneous events. Inventions typically require years, if 

not decades of research effort before they are disclosed. A review of a patent application may 

take two years or more before the patent is awarded. It may also take several years to license a 

federal patent or form the collaborative commitment behind a CRADA. To gain an 

understanding of how technology transfer activities are performing over time, it is helpful to 

view the trends in key metrics. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to isolate trends from raw 

data because technology transfer metrics fluctuate widely. However, by converting metric 

values to a common scale or index, we can develop a simple tool to illustrate trends. 

Index values are calculated by dividing the value of a metric in each year (year “t”), by the value 

in the base year (year “i”), and then multiplying by 100. 

IIIIIIIIII VVVVVVVV tt = 

VVVVVVVV tt

BB BB VVVVVVVV ii

100

The base year chosen for this report is FY 2013. The index value for each metric in the base year 

would therefore be equal to 100. In the years that follow, index values change as the value of the 

metric in year “t” changes and the value in the base year, “i” remains the same. 

For example, to calculate the index value for patents issued in FY 2014, we divide patents issued 

in FY 2014 by patents issued in the base year (FY 2013) and then multiply by 100. Using data 

from the table on page five of this report, the index value for patents issued in FY 2014 is 108. 

IIIIIIIIII VVVVVVVV FFFF2014 = 

2,215

2,047 100 = 108

Because the index value of 108 is greater than 100, we can interpret this as an 8% increase in

patents issued between FY 2013 and FY 2014. In FY 2015, the index value for patents issued is 

107 which we can interpret as a 7% increase between FY 2013 and FY 2015. 

We then calculate index values for key metrics (e.g., invention disclosures, patents issued, 

invention licenses, and CRADAs) and plot the values in the chart below. For illustrative 

purposes, we also calculate index values for the Federal Intramural Research Budget using data 

from page three of this report. Note that all index values have a value of 100 in the base year, FY 

2013. 

To show the trend for a given metric, a straight line is positioned in the middle of the plotted 

values for that metric.9 For example, in the chart below, index values for patents issued are 

shown in purple and the trend line for patents issued is positioned in the middle of the purple 

points. It is important to note that each trend line is drawn independently of other measures; they 

do not suggest causal relationships, nor do they forecast future trends. A trend line is a simple 

tool that illustrates the general tendency of a measure over a given period. 

9 Trend lines in this report are plotted using Microsoft Excel. 
11

Trends in Federal Technology Transfer Activities (FY 2013 – FY 2017)

While we continue to see year-to-year variations in various technology transfer metrics 

(attributable to a number of different circumstances), the trend line plotted for invention 

disclosures, invention licenses, patents issued, and traditional CRADAs have all increased over a 

5-year period despite a slight downward trend in the Federal Intramural Research Budget. This 

indicates a growing positive trend in federal technology transfer activities over the past five 

years.
12 

Science and Engineering (S&E) Articles 

Although intellectual property has traditionally been tracked in terms of patents, licenses, and 

collaborative efforts, most federal research results are transferred through publication of S&E 

articles. Unfortunately, a uniform tracking system for S&E articles across all federal agencies 

does not exist; however, data from Thomson Reuters’ Web of Science database can provide 

insight into the nature of S&E articles published by technology area even though not all articles 

published by federal agencies are included in the publications covered by these databases. For 

example, in 2017, Thomson Reuters reports that federal researchers authored or coauthored 

56,760 articles using a whole-count basis (where each agency gets full credit for each article 

even if the article has co-authors from different agencies).10 By using additional data provided by 

agencies in their annual reports on technology transfer activities that considers publications not 

included in the Thomson Reuters’ databases, the number of publications increases to 60,063. 

The Thomson Reuters’ databases provide the additional benefit of identifying publications by 

federal researchers according to science and engineering categories. Using this data, the greatest 

percentage of articles addressed research in Biological Sciences (25%), Medical Sciences (23%), 

Engineering (11%), Geosciences (11%), and Physics (10%).11 

S&E Articles Authored by Selected U.S. Federal Agencies, by S&E Fields: CY 2017 

10 Data prepared by Science-Metrix. Article counts are from the set of journals covered by the Science Citation 

Index (SCI) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) classified under Caspar fields using the CHI classification. 

Articles are classified by the year they entered the database, rather than the year of publication, and are assigned to a 

federal agency based on the institutional addresses listed in the article. Because the CHI classification classifies 

journals accounting for only about 60% of all publications indexed in the Web of Science, the classification was 

expanded to fully cover the database using a two-step approach. The first step was to classify all journals under the 

same fields as those determined for the preparation of the NSF SEI 2018 indicators. The remaining journals were 

then assigned to a unique field using citations to and from journals to determine their most relevant field. Used with 

permission.

11 Articles are credited on a fractional-count basis (i.e., each participating federal agency receives a share of the 

publication proportional to its share of addresses on the publication). Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using the 

Web of Science database (Thomson Reuters) accessed in October 2018. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
13

Citations within U.S. Patents

Thomson Reuters’ data also provides insight into the commercial relevance of S&E articles 

authored by federal researchers through the number of articles cited in U.S. patents. In FY 2017, 

more than 18,053 articles authored or coauthored by federal researchers were cited in U.S. 

patents.12 Of these, the greatest number of articles addressed research in Biological Sciences

(41%), Medical Sciences (24%), Physics (11%), Chemistry (11%), and Engineering (9%).13

Citation of U.S. S&E Articles Authored by Selected U.S. Federal Agencies, in USPTO 

Patents, by S&E Field: FY 2017

12 Data prepared by Science Metrix. Cited articles are from the set of journals covered by the Science Citation Index 

(SCI) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) classified under Caspar fields using the CHI classification. Cited 

articles are classified by the year of publication and are assigned to a federal agency based on the institutional 

addresses listed in the article. Because the CHI classification classifies journals accounting for only about 60% of all 

publications indexed in the Web of Science, the classification was expanded to fully cover the database using a twostep approach. The first step was to classify all journals under the same fields as those determined for the 

preparation of the NSF SEI 2018 indicators. The remaining journals were then assigned to a unique field using 

citations to and from journals to determine their most relevant field. Used with permission.

13 Citations are classified on a fractional-count basis (i.e., for cited articles with collaborating institutions from 

federal agencies, other U.S. institutions, or foreign institutions, each federal agency receives fractional credit based 

on the proportion of its participating institution(s)). Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using the Web of Science 

(Thomson Reuters) accessed in October 2018 and PatentsView accessed in October 2018. All rights reserved. Used 

with permission.
14 

Small Businesses Involved in Active Traditional CRADAs

Part of the Federal Technology Transfer Act (FTTA), codified at 15 

U.S.C. § 3710a(c)(4)(A), requires federal agencies to give special 

consideration to small business firms and consortia involving small 

business firms when establishing CRADAs. The definition as to what 

qualifies as a small business is given by the Small Business 

Administration and varies by industrial sector. For this study, we use a 

measure of 500 employees or fewer to classify a company as a small 

business. Unfortunately, owing to various administrative issues, not all 

agencies are able to report small business data at the time of the 

preparation of this report. A partial set of data is available for nine 

agencies. This data reveals that out of 6,403 traditional CRADA 

agreements with these agencies, 1,469 (23%) involve small businesses 

as participants in FY 2017. 

Licenses Granted to Small Businesses

In addition to CRADAs, agencies support small businesses through the 

licensing of technologies. Again, owing to various administrative 

issues, data from only six agencies are available at the time of this 

report. This data reveals that out of 6,657 active licenses granted by 

these agencies in FY 2017, 683 (10%) were issued to small businesses. 

Startup Companies Supported

Many federally developed technologies are transferred through the 

actions of startup companies. Companies that have been in existence 

for five years or fewer and have spun off federally developed 

technologies or have received critical technical support of their core 

development areas from federal laboratories provide an effective 

means of transferring technologies. 

Although most agencies have a long history of working with startup 

companies, few have established systematic methods to identify and 

track the startup companies they nurture. At present, preliminary data 

from six agencies identifies 132 companies that started between the 

years of 2013 and 2017 and have received critical technical support

from federal laboratories. 

Agency

Number of Active 

CRADAs Involving 

Small Businesses 

FY 2017

DHS 75

DOC 116

DoD 491

DOE 392

DOT 12

EPA 30

HHS 200

USDA 68

VA 85

Total 1,469

Agency

Number of Active 

Licenses Granted to 

Small Businesses 

FY 2017

DOC 19

DOE 227

EPA 2

HHS 195

USDA 155

VA 85

Total 683

Agency

Number of 

Startups 

Supported in 

FY 2017

DOC 1

EPA 18

HHS 13

USDA 6

VA 85

NASA 9

Total 132
15 

Efforts to Enhance Technology Transfer Outcomes and Entrepreneurship

In addition to individual agency streamlining activities and developing new metrics to quantify 

technology transfer impact, federal agencies have also been involved in activities that have been 

designed to promote awareness and enhance the effectiveness of technology transfer activities. 

The Innovation Corps Program 

In 2011, the National Science Foundation (NSF) established the Innovation Corps (I-CorpsTM)14

program to help scientists and engineers focus their attention upon critical business-related issues 

that are fundamental to the commercialization of new and emerging technologies. Originally 

designed to broaden the impact of NSF-funded basic research projects, other federal agencies 

have adopted the successful program to enhance the economic impact of their own technology 

transfer efforts. 

DoD

The I-Corps DoD program is a partnership with the National Science Foundation to provide 

DoD-funded researchers with training from experienced entrepreneurs in how to commercialize 

their innovations. DoD’s Basic Research Office (BRO)is also looking to establish bridges that 

will allow teams who have completed the training to more seamlessly mature innovations into 

products that may enter DoD programs of record. 

NIH

The I-Corps at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) program is focused on educating 

researchers and technologists on how to translate technologies from the lab into the marketplace. 

The program provides three-member project teams with access to instruction and mentoring in 

order to accelerate the translation of technologies currently being developed with NIH and CDC 

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) 

funding. It is anticipated that outcomes for the I-Corps teams participating in this program will 

include significantly refined commercialization plans and well-informed pivots in their overall 

commercialization strategies. Under this program, NIH and CDC foster the development of 

early-stage biomedical technologies, focus on teaching researchers how to gain a clearer 

understanding of the value of their inventions in the marketplace, and ultimately how to advance 

their technologies from the research lab into the commercial world. The program complements 

activities within the scope of the parent SBIR and STTR grant programs to help accelerate the 

commercialization of new products and services derived from NIH- and CDC-funded technical 

feasibility studies.

DOE

At DOE, the Energy I-CorpsTM program, formerly known as Lab-Corps, pairs teams of 

researchers with industry mentors for an intensive two-month training where the researchers 

define technology value propositions, conduct customer discovery interviews, and develop viable 

market pathways for their technologies. Energy I-Corps is managed by DOE’s National 

Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). NREL leads curriculum development and execution, 

14 See http://sbir.cancer.gov/resource/icorps/
16

recruits program instructors and industry mentors, and assembles teams from the following 

national labs:

Argonne National Laboratory 

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

Idaho National Laboratory

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory

National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 

Sandia National Laboratories

Other agencies have incorporated I-CorpsTM into their programs. DHS, DoD, and NASA partner 

with NSF to send their awardees through the NSF I-CorpsTM programs. Other agencies develop 

their own programs that adapt the curriculum for their research communities: NSA’s I-CorpsTM 

for the Intelligence Community, I-CorpsTM at ARPA-E, and the USDA I-CorpsTM Agricultural 

Research Service pilot program.

Entrepreneur in Residence Programs

Several agencies have established Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) programs that mentor 

technical researchers on the fundamentals of commercializing new technologies. While these 

programs vary across agencies, the common goal is to provide sound entrepreneurial advice from 

experienced business experts to accelerate technology transfer. Topics that are common to these

programs include methods of establishing market values, managing intellectual property rights, 

performing due diligence, fund raising, and requirements for starting a new business.

DOE's EIR initiative was started in 2007 by the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable 

Energy to address long-standing concerns that national laboratory inventions were not being 

sufficiently transferred into the marketplace. By placing venture capital-sponsored entrepreneurs 

at key national laboratories, the goal of the program is to accelerate laboratory technology 

transfer by enabling start-up entrepreneurs to work directly with the laboratories and bridge the 

gap between leading scientific and business talent – conducting technology assessments and 

proposing business structures to commercialize promising technologies. Entrepreneurs are 

permitted to work directly with laboratory staff for a hands-on look at various inventions and 

potentially viable technologies. 

The NIH Office of Technology Transfer began its first EIR program in 2012. The EIRs are 

charged with three key activities: 1) review NIH technologies to assess commercial relevance; 2) 

work with the private sector to facilitate commercialization of the NIH technologies into 

marketable products; and 3) educate scientists on life science product development and 

commercialization. 

USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has seven Technology Transfer Coordinators 

(TTCs) stationed in different geographical areas around the country. Each TTC acts as a type of 

EIR. The TTCs are engaged in numerous activities including planning, administrating, 

coordinating, and evaluating technology transfer activities of their assigned geographic region’s 

research programs to affect the optimum transfer of research for development and 

commercialization. They work closely with ARS researchers to select the most beneficial and 

expeditious mechanism(s) for technology transfer on a case-by-case basis. They participate in the 
17 

planning of research programs and preparing material that illustrates ARS research results and 

accomplishments. 

NIST has also initiated an EIR program in cooperation with the Maryland Technology 

Development Corporation. Through this initiative experienced EIRs and NIST researchers come 

together to identify commercial opportunities for technologies emerging from NIST’s 

laboratories. NIST EIRs are not full-time paid positions; rather, they are guest researchers who 

undertake a variety of tasks to identify the commercial value of NIST technologies and mentor 

and educate NIST researchers on career opportunities in technological entrepreneurship. 
18 

Chapter 2 

Agency Performance in FY 2017 

Each federal agency prepares and submits an annual report covering data on technology transfer 

as described in 15 U.S.C. § 3710(f). These reports include details on each agency’s technology 

transfer program and efforts to use technology transfer to advance the agency’s mission and 

promote U.S. competitiveness. 

This chapter provides a comparable summary of the content of these 11 federal agency reports. 

Three main topic areas are addressed: 

• Statistical data on the agency’s technology transfer activity levels for a number of

measures (e.g., cooperative R&D relationships, invention disclosure and patenting, and

intellectual property licensing) for the most recently closed fiscal year (FY 2017) and

several prior years (FY 2013-2017);

• Reported examples of successful downstream outcomes arising from the agency’s

technology transfer activities, such as new products or improved industrial processes

available in the marketplace that arise from the transfer and commercialization of federal

lab inventions; and

• Streamlining activities at each agency to lower administrative burden and make

technology more accessible.
19

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

President Abraham Lincoln coined the phrase “the People’s Department” acknowledging the role 

of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in solving problems that benefits all people every day. 

Thus, well before the coining of the modern-day phrase of “technology transfer,” it was the 

culture of USDA to deliver solutions to the people of the United States. Today, USDA broadly 

defines technology transfer as the adoption of research outcomes (i.e., solutions) for public 

benefit. A seemingly simple statement, the process of adoption is complicated, requiring 

integration of many assets from disparate sources in the successful delivery of solutions. “Public 

benefit” is achieved through many mechanisms including public release of information, tools, 

and solutions (e.g., germplasm, plants, and other materials), adoption and enhancement of 

research outcomes by partners through collaborative research, formal CRADAs authorized by 

the Federal Technology Transfer Act (FTTA), direct federal, state, or local technical assistance, 

or through licensing of biological materials or protected intellectual property directly to not-forprofit entities and for-profit private sector firms. Additionally, successful adoption of USDA 

knowledge and research outcomes typically requires complementary assets and services provided 

by multiple agencies in USDA, including agencies that are not primarily engaged in direct 

research in the physical and life science arenas.

Private sector involvement in technology transfer adds the benefits of creating new or expanded 

businesses, jobs, and economic prosperity. Science-based innovations from USDA intramural 

research – often developed through public-private partnerships (PPPs) – create new or improved 

technologies, processes, products, and services that benefit the Nation by increasing productivity, 

increasing efficiency (keeping costs low), and enhancing global competitiveness for the U.S. 

agriculture sector. Thus, technology transfer functions are critical to accelerating the utility of 

public research and development (R&D) investments, creating economic activity, job creation,

and sustainable economic development.

The Agriculture Research Service (ARS) has been delegated authority by the Secretary of 

Agriculture to administer the patent program for ARS, review CRADAs, and administer 

technology licensing programs for all intramural research conducted by USDA. These activities 

are housed in the Office of Technology Transfer.

USDA’s annual technology transfer report is available online.

More information about USDA’s technology transfer activities are available on the following 

websites:

Agricultural Research Service (ARS)

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

Forest Service (FS)
20

USDA Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, invention disclosures received decreased by 13%, from 191 to 

166. Patent applications filed decreased 29%. Patents issued increased by 5% from 65 to 68 in 

FY 2017.

USDA Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Patents issued to USDA in FY 2017 covered many technology areas including Biotechnology

(34%), Basic Materials Chemistry (23%), Pharmaceuticals (8%), and Food Chemistry (7).

15

USPTO Patents Assigned to USDA by Technology Area: FY 2017

15 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using USPTO data indexed in PatentsView in October 2018. Used with 

permission.

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

New Invention Disclosures 191 117 222 244 166

Patent Applications Filed 157 119 125 109 111

Patents Issued 65 83 94 60 68
21

USDA Licenses

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total active licenses increased by 10% to 438 licenses in FY 

2017. Total active invention licenses increased by 3% to 363 licenses. Total active income 

bearing licenses increased 10%, from 397 in FY 2013 to 437 in FY 2017, while income-bearing 

exclusive licenses increased by 4% to 302.

USDA Licenses

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Licenses, Total Active 400 414 424 441 438

New Licenses 25 30 35 33 38

Invention Licenses, Total Active 351 363 359 370 363

New Invention Licenses 19 28 20 27 29

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 397 412 421 439 437

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 291 299 292 307 302
22

USDA Income from Licensing

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total income from all active licenses increased by 30% to $5.7

million in FY 2017. The income from invention licenses increased by 33% to $5.4 million. Total 

earned royalty income increased 4% from $3.4 million in FY 2013 to $3.5 million in FY 2017.

USDA Income from Licensing ($000s)

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Total Income, All Active Licenses $4,386 $4,928 $5,067 $4,784 $5,703

Invention Licenses $4,054 $4,733 $4,842 $4,456 $5,378

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $3,354 $3,611 $3,510 $3,633 $3,504
23

USDA Collaborative R&D Relationships

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total active CRADAs increased by 27% to 330 agreements

while new CRADAs increased by 6% to 91. Traditional CRADAs increased by 40% to 296. 

Other collaborative R&D relationships increased by 13% to 6,125 in FY 2017.

16

USDA Collaborative R&D Relationships

16 In prior reports, USDA reported all agreements that were not CRADAs as “Other collaborative R&D 

agreements”. Beginning in with their FY 2017 agency report, USDA is reporting only agreements that 

are similar to CRADAs” as “Other collaborative R&D agreements”. For USDA, “Other collaborative 

R&D agreements” includes Trust Fund Cooperative Agreements, Reimbursable Agreements, Material 

Transfer Research Agreements, Specific Cooperative Agreements and Non-Funded Cooperative 

Agreements, Challenge Cost-Share Agreements, Collections Agreements, Cooperative Agreements, 

Inter-agency & Intra-agency Agreements, Joint Venture Agreements, Participating Agreements, 

Research Cost-Reimbursable Agreements, Research Joint Venture Agreements.

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

CRADAs, Total Active 259 267 301 238 330

New CRADAs 86 60 80 79 91

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 211 193 188 161 296

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 5,408 5,629 4,730 5,628 6,125
24 

USDA Efforts to Streamline Technology Transfer Operations

• Devised and enhanced a two-way communication mechanism between technology

transfer professionals (both at the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) and area offices),

Office of National Programs (ONP), and scientists in the field through the use of

technology transfer strategy calls. In FY 2017, OTT conducted more than 300 strategy

calls resulting in devising a customized technology transfer strategy to ensure the

adoption of research outcomes of each project.

• Worked with ONP, research leaders, and plant breeders to develop a new mechanism for

evaluating plant selections/inventions (cultivars, germplasm enhancements, etc.) through

a quarterly Plant Protection Committee to ensure the most appropriate mechanism for

distributing new plant releases. In FY 2017, 24 plant selections/inventions were

reviewed, and decisions were rendered on whether to publicly release the

cultivar/germplasm or seek protection as an incentive to commercialization.

• In FY 2016, OTT established an Innovation Fund to enhance the commercial potential of

an agricultural solution currently under development at ARS and to enable the adoption

of ARS’s research outcomes by industry, academia, and other stakeholders. In FY 2017,

76 Innovation Fund applications were received and 29 were funded.

USDA Downstream Success Stories

Forest Service: Development of a Ready-to-Assemble (RTA) Tornado Safe Room 

Constructed from Cross-Laminated Timber

The growth of the cross-laminated timber (CLT) panel market has made available manufactured 

wood panels that are ideal for tornado safe rooms and shelters. U.S. Forest Service Forest 

Products Laboratory engineers have constructed a low-cost safe room prototype out of 

engineered wood panels that can withstand winds up to 250 mph. The development of a 

standardized safe room using CLT that is ready to assemble, easy to ship, and quick to fabricate 

on site would not only increase access to important safety equipment, but also increase the 

market opportunity for these engineered wood products. A panel connection system is currently 

being developed and tested that is similar in design (albeit much more heavy duty) to that used in 

the furniture industry. These doweled fasteners would be simple to install and allow the butting 

of panels with little field modification. Full-size lateral load tests will be performed on an 

assembled safe room (8 by 8-by-8 foot in size) to verify the integrity of the developed connection 

system and the lateral wind pressure resistance of the shelters. A workable RTA safe room 

constructed from CLT will be verified to resist the forces of the highest rated tornado on the 

Enhanced Fujita scale (EF-5) and the requirements of the ICC-500 design standard. 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS): Rapid Field Identification of 

Imported Fire Ants by Immunoassay

The red imported fire ant is an aggressive, highly invasive pest ant species from South America 

that was introduced into the United States in the 1930s. Damage caused by the red imported fire 

ant is wide ranging, resulting in physical damage to agricultural commodities, livestock, 

equipment, and infrastructure (e.g., roads and electrical equipment). These ants inflict a painful, 

venomous sting that represents the most common form of venom allergy in much of the 
25

Southeastern United States. Costs to control and repair damage caused by red imported fire ants 

are estimated at 6 billion dollars annually in the United States. In an effort to reduce damage and 

limit the human-assisted spread of imported fire ants, the USDA imposed quarantine measures (7 

CFR 301.81). APHIS is responsible for enforcing the Federal quarantine and works with State 

governments to regulate the movement of nursery stock, grass sod, hay, soil, and soil-moving 

equipment possibly contaminated with red imported fire ants. Cargo moved from a quarantined 

to a non-quarantined area requires certification or inspection to certify that it is free of imported 

fire ants. When ants are found on the cargo, it is not permitted to enter the non-quarantined 

region until the ants are identified and determined to not be imported fire ants. Unfortunately, 

visual identification of fire ants to species is difficult, requiring considerable expertise in ant 

taxonomy and is prone to error. Indeed, specimens generally have to be shipped to an expert for 

identification, which can result in prolonged delays of shipment transportation. To support the 

quarantine and minimize human- assisted spread of the ant, there was a need for a rapid 

identification tool that anyone in the field could use.

To this end, in 2010 APHIS and ARS collaborated on development of an imported fire ant 

identification tool. In 2016, work on a lateral flow immunoassay-based field test that could 

specifically identify red imported fire ant in less than 30 minutes was completed. The scientists 

then approached their respective ARS and APHIS Technology Transfer specialists who worked 

together to transfer this new tool from the laboratory to commercial development with a private 

company. In August 2017, the first commercially produced InvictDetectTM kits were delivered to 

APHIS, which then began distribution to its stakeholders for field use to identify ant samples.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS): Crispy, Healthy Fruit and Vegetable-Snack Drying 

System is Commercialized

Currently the hot-air drying of fruit and vegetables is an important U.S. industry worth $50 

billion annually but is also the third largest industrial energy user in California. As a solution to 

substantially reduce energy usage and improve dried produce appearance and flavor, ARS 

scientists in Albany, California, developed a two-stage, infrared-blanching and hot-air drying 

system. Crispy, healthy fruit and vegetable snacks were produced at a commercial scale through 

the support of the California Energy Commission. The project demonstrated the novel drying 

system technology in producing healthy crispy snacks from carrots, kale, bell peppers, squashes, 

pears, and apples. This demonstration showed the benefits of the new technology, both in a 75-

percent energy savings and a reduction in environmental pollution, while providing new healthy 

snacks with desirable texture and flavor at an affordable cost. This technology was recently 

licensed by a private company to produce healthy snacks, while saving energy and water

Agricultural Research Service: Improving the Accuracy of Diagnostic Tests for Bovine 

Babesiosis

Bovine babesiosis (also known as cattle tick fever) is caused by the protozoan parasites Babesia 

bovis and B. bigemina. Babesia parasites can be transmitted by ticks to cattle of any age and can 

result in 90 percent mortality in newly infected adults. Babesiosis was a significant problem in 

the southern United States until eradication of the tick vector in the 1940s. The United States 

imports 1 million head of cattle annually from Mexico, where babesiosis and cattle fever ticks 

are present. Control measures for preventing babesiosis from coming to the United States include 

treating all arriving cattle with acaricides to eliminate cattle fever ticks. The recent discovery of 
26 

acaricide-resistant tick populations capable of transmitting Babesia species and the re-emergence 

and spread of cattle fever ticks by wildlife on the Texas–Mexico border is increasing the risk that 

bovine babesiosis will be reintroduced to the United States. ARS scientists in Pullman, 

Washington, have improved diagnostic testing methods to determine the infection prevalence of 

bovine babesiosis on the U.S.–Mexico border. This improved test was fully developed in 

collaboration with a commercial partner and is now available for use. 

Agricultural Research Service: Development and Commercialization of a Lactococcus 

Vaccine for Rainbow Trout

Lactococcus garvieae infection is a major cause of on-farm losses of rainbow trout in 

Washington State. ARS researchers in Leetown, West Virginia, successfully developed a vaccine 

against L. garvieae and validated the safety and efficacy of a commercially manufactured version 

of the vaccine. Field evaluation results demonstrated that vaccination induced a strong antibody 

response and robust protection against experimental pathogen exposure. Mortality due to L. 

garvieae was dramatically reduced the first year after vaccination, and the disease has not been 

detected in vaccinated fish since the program began. The commercial vaccine is in large-scale 

use at affected farm sites, and 6 million fish have been vaccinated since 2015. The rapid 

development and implementation of a Lactococcus vaccine prevented substantial rainbow trout 

losses due to this emerging disease. 

Agricultural Research Service: Breeding for Disease Resistance in Nile Tilapia

Worldwide tilapia aquaculture is valued at about $8 billion, and the U.S. aquaculture industry 

produces nearly 30 million pounds of tilapia per year. However, production is hindered by two 

bacteria, Streptococcus iniae and S. agalactiae, which are responsible for around $1 billion in 

annual worldwide losses. ARS scientists in Auburn, Alabama, collaborated with industry 

partners and verified that tilapia resistance to S. iniae infection is heritable and that selective 

breeding of superior individuals produced increased disease resistance in subsequent generations. 

They also demonstrated that resistance to S. agalactiae was also heritable. Tilapia industry 

breeding programs now select for resistance to the two Streptococcus species, and for increased 

harvest weights and reduced disease risks in rapidly growing fish. The improved tilapia are being 

sold throughout the Americas and abroad. Based on current production statistics and available 

models, representative gains from growing the improved tilapia means $635,000 in additional 

revenue for the average-size farm. This research helps U.S. fish farmers and paves the way 

globally for reducing antibiotic use on farms, leading to safer products entering the United 

States. 

Agricultural Research Service: Strawberries Perform Better Under Low Tunnels

Strawberries are economically valuable to farmers and are popular with consumers who expect 

availability all year long; however, in much of the United States, traditional strawberries produce 

fruit only 3 to 4 weeks each year. To produce strawberry fruit for several months, farmers need 

to use a repeat-fruiting strawberry variety that fruits nearly all year long and protect it from midsummer outdoor conditions. ARS scientists in Beltsville, Maryland, compared the performance 

of repeat-fruiting strawberries under two different production systems (raised beds with and 

without low tunnels) to determine the effect of day length, brightness, soil moisture, humidity, 

and temperature on strawberry yield. They found that higher temperatures under low tunnels, 

especially in early spring and late fall, resulted in a much longer harvest season. Strawberry yield 
27

increased as light increased, and with temperatures up to about 28°C, above which yields 

dropped. Further evaluations showed that yields were more strongly associated with soil 

temperatures than air temperatures. This new discovery will be useful to strawberry growers by 

helping them increase the length of the strawberry season to match consumer demand. The new 

discoveries by ARS researchers have been published in scientific journals and presented at 

grower and professional meetings. Strawberry growers are rapidly adopting the low- tunnel 

production system. 

Agricultural Research Service: Sugarcane Aphid-Resistant Sorghum

Sugarcane aphid has become a major pest in sorghum in the last few years. ARS scientists in 

Lubbock, Texas, developed two new lines of pollinator sorghum (restorer, or R), designated 

LBK1 and LBK2 (tested as R.11259 and R.11143), that showed significant tolerance to 

sugarcane aphid. These two new R lines have been transferred to four seed companies and have 

been adopted in their breeding programs. 

Agricultural Research Service: Two USDA Potato Varieties Chosen by McDonald’s for 

French Fry Production

The retail market for potatoes used for French fries in the United States is approximately $1.5 

billion before the added value of retail sales. The quick-service restaurant industry prefers lighter 

colored French fries with a wider range of storage temperatures that can resist the conversion of 

starch to sugars, which promotes an unacceptably dark French fry. But breeding and 

identification of new potato varieties with these enhanced attributes involves careful testing and 

data collection across several locations and years. ARS scientists in Aberdeen, Idaho, 

collaborated with the University of Idaho, Washington State University, and Oregon State 

University to develop suitable potato varieties for the French fry industry. The research team 

released ‘Blazer Russet’ in 2005 and ‘Clearwater Russet’ in 2008, and partnered with growers, 

processing companies, and the restaurant industry to conduct extensive testing for more than 10 

years. McDonald’s recently accepted these two varieties for use as their French fries. Both 

varieties exhibit better culinary characteristics, greater fry recovery, less processing waste, higher 

marketable yields, more efficient nitrogen use, and greater tolerance to temperature and water 

stress. They also have fewer tuber defects than industry standard varieties. McDonald’s now uses 

seven potato varieties, four of which originated from the ARS breeding program in Aberdeen. 

Agricultural Research Service: Release of Soybean Germplasm Line with Superior 

Tolerance to High Temperature Stress

High heat (>90°F) damages soybean seed by reducing seed germination and seedling vigor. It 

also causes seed coat impermeability and green seed discoloration. Unacceptable seed quality 

and economic loss are major challenges for soybean producers where temperatures are 

consistently high, such as the Mississippi Delta region. There has been little attention in 

commercial breeding programs to address the issue, but ARS researchers in Stoneville, 

Mississippi; Columbia, Missouri; Jackson, Tennessee; and Raleigh, North Carolina, discovered a 

heat-tolerance gene, and developed and released a maturity group IV soybean germplasm line to 

seed companies and public breeders. This germplasm line maintains excellent seed germination 

and high seed quality under elevated temperatures. ‘DS25-1’ is the first U.S. soybean germplasm 

release to address heat tolerance in soybean, and it will enable breeding to develop better seed 

quality in high-temperature stress environments. Commercial and public soybean breeders are 
28 

now using DS25-1 in their breeding programs to develop heat-tolerant soybean cultivars for 

producers. [NP 301, Project 6066-21220-012-00D] 

Agricultural Research Service: Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops

The Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops Program (TASC) invested in the development and 

transfer of innovative USDA post-harvest irradiation phytosanitary treatments for U.S. specialty 

crops, like fruits, tree nuts, vegetables, and greenhouse and nursery crops. In 2017, TASC funded 

USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-Hawaii to continue working on a project to develop 

and transfer such irradiation phytosanitary treatments. Their project involves collaborations with 

grower groups, exporters, the irradiation industry, and relevant university research groups, 

resulting in treatment protocols for spotted wing drosophila, light brown apple moth, and 

European grapevine moth and new information on the radiation-tolerance levels of several 

invasive ants. ARS-Hawaii also received a TASC grant in 2015 to work on the development and 

testing of a low-cost cabinet X-ray tube machine for phytosanitary irradiation treatments of 

sweet cherries. The final designs for a packing line scale X- ray tube machine were developed in 

collaboration with Applied Energy Devices, LLC, (Albuquerque, NM), and a prototype was 

tested for dose uniformity, dose rate, and treatment efficiency. Once foreign approvals are 

finalized, the X-ray tube machine will be used to irradiate sweet cherries for export. These TASC 

investments in ARS research were critical in helping U.S. exporters preserve a $12 billion annual 

market for U.S. exports of specialty crops. By collaborating with sister USDA agencies, U.S. 

universities, and specialty crops industries to develop and commercialize post-harvest 

phytosanitary irradiation treatments, TASC directly helped to promote the transfer and 

commercialization of these new technologies and, overall, expand the variety, quantity and value 

of U.S. specialty crops for export markets. With TASC’s support, the development, transfer, 

application, and commercial value of irradiation phytosanitary treatments are expected to 

continue increasing over the coming years. 
29 

Department of Commerce (DOC)

Technology transfer plays an important role in DOC’s mission to promote job creation, 

economic growth, sustainable development, and improved standards of living for all Americans. 

DOC works in partnership with businesses, universities, state, tribal and local governments, and 

communities to promote innovation and improve the Nation’s overall competitiveness in the 

global economy. DOC pursues these objectives through policies and programs directed at 

strengthening the Nation’s economic infrastructure, facilitating the development of cutting-edge 

science and technology, providing critical scientific information and data, and managing national 

resources. 

DOC conducts research and development (R&D) in areas of science and technology at the 

laboratory facilities of NIST, NOAA, and NTIA’s Institute for Telecommunication Sciences 

(ITS). Technology transfer, which is a key part of the programmatic activities in these 

laboratories, connects technological advances of DOC’s science and engineering programs to the 

American economy.

In addition to the technology transfer efforts of DOC laboratories, DOC is responsible for 

coordinating technology transfer activities across federal agencies. DOC coordinates the 

Interagency Workgroup for Technology Transfer (IAWGTT) through the facilitation by NIST of 

interagency discussion on policy, new approaches to technology transfer, and lessons learned 

from agency transfer programs.17 NIST also serves as the host agency for the Laboratory 

Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC), which provides a forum for federal labs to develop 

strategies and opportunities for linking technologies and expertise with the marketplace. 

NTIA within the DOC is a founding co-chair for the Wireless Spectrum R&D (WSRD) 

Interagency Working Group (IWG) that was formed in late 2010 to coordinate spectrum-related 

research and development activities both across the federal government and with academia and 

the private sector. Through WSRD, NTIA has helped coordinate and inform ongoing activities 

across federal agencies and facilitated efficient and effective investment in spectrum sharing 

technologies and systems. These activities are consistent with the guiding principles of WSRD, 

which are transparency, smart investment, and the solicitation of opportunities for technology 

transfer across and beyond the federal government. 

More information about DOC technology transfer is available on the following websites. 

NIST | NOAA | ITS

17 Agencies participating in the IAWGTT, established pursuant to Executive Order 12591 of April 10, 1987, include 

the Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, 

Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Department of the Interior, 

Department of Transportation, Department of Veterans Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency, and National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration.
30

DOC Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, new inventions disclosed increased by 5% to 43 disclosures in 

FY 2017. Patent applications filed increased by 77% to 46, and patents issued increased by 62% 

to 34.

DOC Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Patents issued to DOC in FY 2017 covered many technology areas including Measurement

(40%), Semiconductors (11%), Surface Technology, Coating (11%), and Electrical Machinery, 

Apparatus, Energy (6%).

18

USPTO Patents Assigned to DOC by Technology Area: FY 2017

18 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using USPTO data indexed in PatentsView in October 2018. Used with 

permission.

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

New Invention Disclosures 41 47 61 64 43

Patent Applications Filed 26 25 32 25 46

Patents Issued 21 19 20 16 34
31

DOC Licenses

Total active licenses increased by 79% from 38 in FY 2013 to 68 in FY 2017. New licenses 

increased by 171% to 19. All licenses were invention licenses. Total active income bearing 

licenses increased by 35% to 35, while income bearing exclusive licenses increased by 46% to 

19.

DOC Licenses

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Licenses, Total Active 38 38 46 57 68

New Licenses 7 7 13 15 19

Invention Licenses, Total Active 38 38 46 57 68

New Invention Licenses 7 7 13 15 19

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 26 26 29 31 35

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 13 14 16 20 19
32

DOC Income from Licensing

DOC reported that all income from licensing comes from invention licenses. During the fiveyear period, from FY 2013 to FY 2017, there was a 7% decrease in total income from all active 

licenses, from $151 thousand in FY 2013 to $141 thousand in FY 2017.

DOC Income from Licensing ($000s)

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Total Income, All Active Licenses $151 $220 $164 $149 $141

Invention Licenses $151 $220 $164 $149 $141

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $151 $220 $164 $149 $141
33

DOC Collaborative R&D Relationships

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total active CRADAs increased by 20% to 2,932 agreements

while new CRADAs increased by 7% to 2,443. Traditional CRADAs increased 100%, from 206 

in FY 2013 to 413 in FY 2017. Other collaborative R&D relationships increased by 7% to 3,181.

DOC Collaborative R&D Relationships

Efforts to Streamline Technology Transfer Operations

NIST has undertaken several efforts to streamline and simplify the technology transfer process. NIST 

revised its standard CRADA to expedite review of these documents and reduce the overall size of 

these documents by approximately one third. NIST also implemented several new licensing programs 

to encourage participation by small businesses. These programs lay out financial terms in advance to 

ease concerns by small businesses about overall costs. NIST is conducting detailed analysis of the 

flow of documents to understand where significant delays occur within the system. In many cases, 

these delays are with the partner and NIST does not have direct control; however, by continuing

efforts to identify and understand issues experienced by partners, NIST expects to identify new ways 

to optimize technology transfer practices. The average number of days between the receipt date of an 

invention disclosure and the filing date of the first non-provisional patent application was 396 days. 

The average CRADA approval time was 108 days.
34

DOC Downstream Success Stories

NIST Patents First DNA Method to Authenticate Mouse Cell Lines

Cell lines that have been contaminated or misidentified due to poor laboratory technique and 

human error lead to inaccurate research studies, retracted publications, and wasted resources. In 

fact, many scientific funding organizations, such as the National Institutes of Health, now require 

scientists to verify their cell lines for identity and quality before research grants are awarded. To 

help address this challenge, NIST is working with partners to design tools, establish datasets, and 

further develop and standardize NIST’s system to authenticate mouse cell lines.

One of the first milestones in NIST’s effort is the recently granted U.S. patent (No. 9,556,482) 

for an authentication method using NIST-identified short tandem repeat (STR) markers (tiny 

repeating segments of DNA found between genes) for mouse cell lines. The method can be used 

to verify that a cell line is derived from a particular mouse in the same way forensic experts can 

confirm the identify of a person using DNA evidence.

NIST partnered with the ATCC (formerly the American Type Culture Collection), a global 

leader in biological materials management and standards, to further develop the STR technology 

for authentication and establish the Mouse Cell Line Authentication Consortium. The 

Consortium will test and validate the patented authentication method.

NIST: New Public-Private Partnership to Develop Standards for Regenerative Medicine

NIST has partnered with the Standards Coordinating Body for Gene, Cell and Regenerative 

Medicines and Cell-based Drug Discovery (SCB) to develop industry-wide standard methods 

and protocols for characterizing and manufacturing these cutting-edge therapies, with an aim of 

accelerating their use as mainstream treatments for a variety of human diseases and injuries.

The field of regenerative medicine manipulates genes, cells, and tissues to repair or replace 

diseased, damaged, or missing organs, skin, bone, and other cells and tissues. Regenerative 

medicine has the potential to alleviate the shortage of donor organs and restore appearance and 

full function to patients who have experienced severe burns or physical trauma.

Because of the complexity of regenerative medicine treatments, they have been slow to transition 

from the laboratory to the clinic. The traditional measurements of efficacy, potency, purity, and 

quality that work with traditional pharmaceuticals are not always sufficient for regenerative 

medicine treatments. To address these issues, NIST and the SCB, a non-profit founded by the 

38Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, formed a 

partnership to explore the regenerative medicine industry’s needs and develop standards and 

other products to increase confidence in measurements of gene-and cell-based therapies and 

manufacturing processes.
35

NOAA Engineers and More Reliable, Cost Efficient Current Sensor for Mariners

Navigating into seaports is now safer and 

more efficient for mariners thanks to 

improved NOAA technology that ships 

rely on to give them information about 

currents. The Center for Operational 

Oceanographic Products and Services 

(CO-OPS) developed a more reliable, 

cost-saving version of a current sensor 

system that can now be placed at more 

remote locations along navigation 

channels.

The updated Acoustic Doppler Current 

Profiler (ADCP) system provides real-time 

current speed and direction observations 

where many mariners need it most—at 

U.S. Coast Guard Aids-to-Navigation 

(ATON) buoys along major shipping channels. Accurate information about ocean conditions 

helps ship operators protect their cargo and the environment as they navigate narrow channels 

with increasingly larger vessels.

NOAA: Autonomous Aircraft Support Search and Rescue under CRADA

The NOAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) 

Program Office, working together with representatives 

of AeroVironment Inc., conducted a search and rescue 

exercise, called Arctic Shield, in the waters north of 

Alaska in order to test the utility of integrating 

unmanned aircraft into a simulated response incident.

Working from the deck of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter 

HEALY, the research team launched a small 

unmanned aircraft, the AeroVironment Puma, to 

search for a simulated missing person stranded in icy 

waters.

Following the launch, the Puma used both its electrooptical and infrared cameras to locate the simulated victim floating in a survival raft on the water 

approximately one nautical mile away from the ship. The Puma was able to relay the 

coordinates to the test control center on board the HEALY, which then directed a Coast Guard 

H-60 and Era Helicopter to the scene. Both helicopters deployed rescue swimmers to simulate 

recovery and then returned safely to shore. The exercise concluded with a successful net capture 

of the Puma UAS and a recovery of the survival raft by the HEALY. Much of this mission was 

conducted under the auspices of a CRADA between NOAA and AeroVironment. The results 

Max Ivanov and Scott Mowery with NOAA's Center for 

Operational Oceanographic Products and Services install an 

improved current sensor system on a navigation buoy in 

Chesapeake Bay. The system transmits real-time current speed 

and direction observations via satellite to help mariners more 

safely navigate busy shipping channels. (Photo: NOAA)

Launch of the PUMA AE UAS from U.S. Coast 

Guard Cutter HEALY. Photo: NOAA
36 

from this and other tests will be analyzed by both NOAA and AeroVironment to improve 

NOAA's operational capabilities and AeroVironment's products for real-life mission-based 

scenarios.

NTIA ITS: Table Mountain Research

The Table Mountain Field Site and Radio Quiet Zone supports fundamental research in the 

nature, interaction, and evaluation of telecommunication devices, systems, and services. Each 

year, private companies, universities, and other organizations conduct research at Table 

Mountain under CRADAs. 

In FY 2017, several companies used the Table Mountain site under a CRADA to safely test and 

demonstrate LADAR technologies under development in atmospheric conditions and at distances 

relevant to potential applications, to fully test the functionality of new antenna designs during 

product development, and to safely and accurately test an Adaptive Tactical Laser System 

(ATLAS) compensated beacon adaptive optics (CBAO) system under development. 

Applications for these technologies include detection and tracking of wind shear and wake 

vortices, remote wind measurements for the offshore wind energy industry, mission-critical 

communications, electronic warfare, direction finding/geolocation, and sensing of hazardous 

liquids and gases. 

For the past eleven years, the University of Colorado’s Research and Engineering Center for 

Unmanned Vehicles safely and accurately tested collective and autonomous sensing and 

communication technologies for small unmanned aircraft used for atmospheric science 

applications such as the study of tornadogenesis. 

ITS also uses the Table Mountain test facility to perform independent CTA-2009-B surveillance 

testing for manufacturers wishing to obtain verification that their equipment meets the 

requirements to be certified as a NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards receiver. Two companies 

entered into CRADAs with ITS for this testing in FY 2017. 
37

Department of Defense (DoD)

The Defense Laboratory Office (DLO) provides overall policy guidance for and oversight of 

Department-wide technology transfer efforts. DLO ensures, to the maximum extent practicable, 

that DoD developed technologies demonstrating commercial viability are integrated into the 

private sector; that technologies developed outside of the DoD that demonstrate national security 

utility are transferred into the DoD acquisition process; and that those technologies 

demonstrating both commercial and national security applications are made available to the DoD 

as well as industry and academia.

DoD is unique in applying the principles, practices, and tools of technology transfer in the 

execution of its mission. DoD funds and develops mission-focused technology, and technology 

transfer statutory authorities enable it to promote and facilitate the commercialization of that 

technology for both military and civilian purposes. Concurrently, DoD is a technology buyer as it 

strives to purchase new technology embodied in products and systems to meet the challenges 

faced by our warfighters. In many instances, technology transfer and technology transition are 

becoming a seamless path to fielding new technology critical to responding to the new and 

dynamic threats of asymmetric warfare, the global war on terrorism, and the ever-expanding role 

of civil assistance and disaster recovery worldwide. In the 1980’s, when much of the technology 

transfer legislation was enacted, the federal government, including DoD, was the principle 

funding source for R&D. Consequently, technology transfer was viewed as a “spin out” to the 

marketplace, a stimulus to the domestic economy, and a return on investment for taxpayer 

funded R&D. Today, the majority of U.S. R&D is industry funded. This shift in funding has led 

to a greater emphasis on technology transfer as a collaborative effort between DoD labs and their 

partners in industry, academia, and state and local government.

Each of the Military Services, DoD Agencies, and Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) 

maintain technology transfer websites to inform the public and make available general 

information.

DoD Research & Engineering Enterprise

U.S. Army Research Laboratory

Office of Naval Research
38

DoD Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, new inventions disclosed decreased by 5% to 978 disclosures in 

FY 2017. Patent applications filed decreased by 8% to 869. Patents issued decreased by 3% to 

630 patents.

DoD Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Patents issued to DoD in FY 2017 covered many technology areas including Other Special 

Machines (14%), Measurement (13%), Computer Technology (7%), and Telecommunications

(7%).19

USPTO Patents Assigned to DoD by Technology Area: FY 2017

19 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using USPTO data indexed in PatentsView in October 2018. Used with 

permission.

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

New Invention Disclosures 1,032 963 781 874 978

Patent Applications Filed 942 916 884 941 869

Patents Issued 648 670 623 665 630
39 

DoD Licenses20

Total active licenses increased by 5% from 527 licenses in FY 2013 to 552 licenses in FY 2017, 

while new licenses increased 175% to 162. Total active invention licenses increased by 21% to 

514, while new invention licenses decreased by 59% to 24. Total active income bearing licenses 

increased by 50% to 396. 

DoD Licenses

20 DoD was unable to report income bearing licenses exclusive licenses for FY 2013 through FY 2015.

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Licenses, Total Active 527 430 560 515 552

New Licenses 59 24 11 127 162

Invention Licenses, Total Active 425 297 446 358 514

New Invention Licenses 59 6 69 57 24

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 264 223 213 194 396

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses n.a. n.a. n.a. 218 196
40

DoD Income from Licensing21

In FY 2017, total earned royalty income declined by 64% to $7.4 million.

DoD Income from Licensing ($000s)

21 DoD was unable to report total income or invention license income for FY 2017.

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Total Income, All Active Licenses $21,575 $11,703 $9,448 $6,205 n.a.

Invention Licenses $20,859 $10,890 $8,482 $5,199 n.a.

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $20,438 $7,845 $6,099 $6,205 $7,415
41 

DoD Collaborative R&D Relationships

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total active CRADAs increased by 31% to 3,511 agreements, 

while new CRADAs increased by 59% to 1,221. Traditional CRADAs increased by 4% to 2,797. 

Other collaborative relationships increased by 2% to 619 in FY 2017. 

DoD Collaborative R&D Relationships 

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

CRADAs, Total Active 2,682 2,762 2,148 3,125 3,511

New CRADAs 769 671 793 1,061 1,221

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 2,682 2,281 1,601 2,297 2,797

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 606 581 1,389 452 619
42 

DoD Downstream Success Stories

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences: Hemostatic Bandages

Controlling hemorrhage is the initial step in first aid, surgery, and field trauma care. The 

transferred hemostatic bandage technology, co-invented by researchers at the Uniformed 

Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) and Virginia Commonwealth University 

(VCU), is a formulation and manufacturing technique for the production of hemostatic bandages 

comprised of dextran, salmon fibrinogen, and salmon thrombin. The bandages are created 

through a process of electrospinning dextran and adding fibrinogen and thrombin to the resulting 

dextran fibers, creating a matrix that promotes hemorrhage control. These fibrin-based dressings 

provide effective hemostasis in a large-animal model of arterial injury. The use of salmonderived coagulation proteins allows the manufacture of an effective fibrin bandage at a low cost, 

and the salmon proteins may enhance healing. 

The patented technology provides the base for the platform technology called FASTCLOT® and 

the subsequent SURGICLOT® hemostasis products developed by St. Teresa Medical, Inc., the 

licensee of the technology. Dr. Stephen Rothwell, USU scientist and co-inventor of the 

technology, notified the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military 

Medicine, Inc. (HJF) about the development of the technology and the entrepreneur who was 

interested in licensing the technology. In addition, Dr. Rothwell connected the HJF with the 

academic co-owner of the technology. John E. Baker contributed to the transfer of the 

technology by facilitating the agreements that permitted HJF to negotiate the related technology 

agreements. Dr. Mark Scher led the negotiations for the agreements that transferred the 

technology to St. Teresa Medical. 

The transfer of the hemostatic bandage technology employed multiple technology transfer 

mechanisms, including inter-institutional agreement, nondisclosure agreements, an exclusive 

license agreement, and a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. The unique aspect 

of this transfer was the ability of multiple parties to execute multiple agreements, all within a 

year and while protecting numerous interests (U.S. Government, academic, nonprofit, and 

commercial).

The original technology supported the USU mission of serving warfighters in that it was 

developed to treat battlefield trauma. In transferring this technology to St. Teresa Medical, which 

has developed a platform technology for hemostatic bandages, USU has supported research and a 

technology that benefits public health and the common good, as well as supporting the 

development of a successful startup company. 

Navy: CT-Analyst®-Air Plume Contamination Crisis Management System 

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has developed an instantaneous crisis management 

system that provides more timely and readily comprehensible information to emergency 

responders. This Navy-patented system, known as Contaminant Transfer Analyst (CTAnalyst®), uses detailed urban geometry and airflow data that can be computer manipulated to 

predict the potential impact of urban air plume contamination more quickly than other similar 

modeling systems. Chemical, biological, or radiological (CBR) explosions can release toxic gas 

plumes, whether by accident or as a result of terrorism. Statistically, three-fourths of fatalities 
43 

result from the direct exposure to CBR contaminants within the first 15 minutes of an event, 

making emergency response times critical. If an effective response begins within 3 to 5 minutes, 

an estimated 85 percent of those fatalities could be avoided. 

CT-Analyst® gives first responders a key advantage, allowing them to spend less time 

calculating response needs and more time saving lives. The system’s database “imagines” every 

possible scenario, including where you are on the street, where the fire trucks are headed and, 

more importantly, where you can set up a triage zone or whatever else is needed. It anticipates 

where the contaminant plume is likely to travel and what zones will be free of contaminants. 

The NRL team responsible for the successful transfer initially met in 2010 to coordinate and 

intensify transfer strategies, responding to growing interest in the product outside the Navy 

laboratory. This effort included the CT-Analyst® inventors from NRL’s Laboratory for 

Computational Physics and Fluid Dynamics, NRL's Technology Transfer Office, and NRL's 

Office of General Counsel. A partially exclusive patent license agreement was signed in 2013 

with Safe Environment Engineering (SEE) of California. Under the SEE agreement, CTAnalyst® has been transferred to a number of first responder communities worldwide, including 

the city of Los Angeles and countrywide in Kuwait. 

In addition, NRL executed two Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) 

with the University of Hamburg in 2010 and 2014. Most recently, another was executed in May 

2016 with the University Graduate Center (UNIK) in Norway. The three CRADAs enabled 

operational demonstrations of CT-Analyst® in the cities of Hamburg and Oslo. To make the 

Navy technology available to a wider variety of consumers, NRL’s Office of General Counsel 

has navigated export control issues and entered CT-Analyst® into multiple customized Work for 

Others Agreements. Onsite demonstrations have consistently substantiated the Navy-patented 

technology’s utility in urban settings. Two examples are the demonstrations during preparations 

for the 2006 Super Bowl in Detroit and Washington’s 2013 presidential inauguration, when the 

Federal government’s All-Hazards Center used CT-Analyst® to provide an initial assessment of 

airborne contaminant threats.

Navy: Fiber Optic Amplitude Modulated Sensors (FOS)

A suite of Navy-patented fiber optic amplitude modulated sensors (FOS), transferred to industry 

by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), is the up-and-coming game changer within the “Smart 

Grid” sector of the massive U.S. electric power industry. The innovative sensors accurately 

measure pressure, strain, temperature, and other parameters capable of monitoring and 

controlling electrical power generation, distribution, and storage. This Navy technology also has 

proven its superiority in industrial control systems and is the basis of highly sensitive fiber optic 

microphones that can detect unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or help the acoustic design of 

buildings. Assembled in arrays, the high-performance microphones also can diagnose function 

problems in rotating machinery, computer hard drives, aircraft engines, and other multimovement components. 

The NRL team was responsible for the FOS technology transfer via two patent licensing 

agreements (PLAs) with Fiber Optic Sensor Systems Technology Corp. (FOSSTEC) of Silver 

Spring, Maryland, in 2010 and 2013. Both parties recognized that more adaptability had to be 

built into the technology transfer agreement conditions to meet the ebb-and-flow funding issues 
44

typical of a startup company. They established an exceptionally open and flexible two-way 

communication that continues today. As a result, NRL helped amend licensing to incorporate the 

additional research areas that have yielded marketable company products in a much shorter 

timeframe than that required for the original PLA field restriction to energy grid applications.

FOSSTEC spun off its affiliated company, SmartSenseCom, Inc. (SSC) of Silver Spring, 

Maryland, specifically for the purpose of marketing two product lines (electric power and 

acoustics/vibration) based on the Navy patented technology, each of which had several products 

available to customers. The NRL invention has led to relatively inexpensive, yet very precise, 

sensors that are ideal for applications requiring small size, very low frequency measurement, 

and/or the absence of electromagnetic noise. The sensors’ LED light source provides long life 

and low power requirements. Other advantages include greater durability and secure transfer of 

data. The FOS have also performed well in a wide range of hostile environments during testing, 

showing little signal degradation under temperature fluctuations, water submersion, or chemical 

environments.

The use of the NRL patents licensed by FOSSTEC distinguishes all SSC products from other 

sensors on the market, proving simpler, cheaper, and more robust products while yielding very 

sensitive, consistent measurements. Driving the future market for FOSSTEC’s products is the 

pressing need to upgrade our nation’s infrastructure, along with the rise of computerized 

buildings, smart homes and appliances, and other consumer goods for which sensing will play an 

important role.

Navy: SiloxoGripTM: A Siloxane-Based Non-Skid Coating

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) invented and transferred a coating to replace 

traditional epoxy resins with a siloxane-based material that marked a significant advancement in 

non-skid surface coating technology. The novel coating decreases environmental levels of 

volatile organic compounds, delivers greater durability, and improves direct adhesion to metals. 

Through a series of technology transfer efforts, NRL completed a non-exclusive patent license 

agreement with NCP Coatings, Inc. of Niles, Michigan. The new non-skid coating is 

commercially available under the company’s brand name, SiloxoGripTM, and NCP Coatings has 

achieved sales in both defense and commercial markets.

Both the NRL and NCP Coatings were collectively responsible for excellence in the technology 

transfer process. A series of efforts occurred in a relatively short period of time, beginning in 

2011 when NRL’s Technology Transfer Office established an “Agreement Between Owners of 

Invention Rights” with a third-party contractor that had inventorship rights in the technology. 

Under this agreement, the contractor took the lead in patent prosecution and licensing, and in 

2012 engaged with NCP Coatings under a nonexclusive license agreement. However, the thirdparty contractor made the decision to discontinue its involvement in the technology and returned 

the invention rights to NRL in 2013.

NRL quickly negotiated termination of both the Invention Rights agreement and the existing 

license between the contractor and NCP. On January 30, 2014, the NRL signed a nonexclusive 

Navy patent license agreement with NCP Coatings to enable commercialization of the Navy’s 

siloxane-based non-skid surface coating. NRL materials engineers worked closely with the 

licensee to ensure product compliance with MIL-SPEC requirements, achieving the NAVSEA 
45 

Qualification confirmed in September 2015, and met a crucial milestone of the NRL/NCP license 

agreement. As a result of these dedicated efforts, the Navy can now purchase the non-skid 

coatings product that originated from its research. 

The Navy applies approximately 3.7 million square feet of non-skid coatings each year at an 

annual cost of over $56 million. The new siloxane-based coatings are more durable (i.e., color 

retentive, wear- and chemical- resistant); thereby reducing costs through longer service life. The 

life expectancy of conventional epoxy coatings is 12 to 36 months, whereas the new non-skid 

coatings are expected to last 60 months or longer. The siloxane non-skid can be roll- or sprayapplied due to its lower viscosity, whereas most epoxies are difficult to spray. The new coating 

also dries to use within 24 hours, reducing the overall number of costly man-hours and downtime 

required. Increased service life allows ships to remain at sea longer before replacing deck 

coatings while in port. The reduction in consumption of both fuel and coating materials provides 

a favorable impact on the Navy’s “Great Green Fleet” initiative for energy efficiency.

Interagency Partnership Award – Navy and Federal Law Enforcement Training Center: 

Scenario Planning and Effects Control System (SPECS)

Warfighters and law enforcement personnel alike are now more effective in the field thanks to 

the outstanding partnership between the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division 

(NAWCTSD) and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). The long-term

collaboration between these agencies has created an extraordinary track record of success, 

culminating most recently in NAWCTSD’s Scenario Planning and Effects Control System 

(SPECS). This extensible technology suite puts the sights, sounds and smells of conflict in the 

hands of training instructors, allowing them to create highly immersive environments. The more 

exposure law enforcement and military personnel have to such realistic stressors, the better able 

they are to quickly make effective decisions on the battlefield or on the streets. 

SPECS was developed through a series of Interagency Agreements beginning in 2009 and 

continuing today. Several iterations have advanced the software to make it a uniquely powerful 

technology. For example, its unique sound system allows instructors to select sound effects from 

multiple sound libraries and, with just a right click of the mouse over a two-dimensional map, 

prompt the system to automatically mix sounds and select the correct speakers and amplitudes 

needed for the scenario. Smell generation is just as easy and precise, as is after-action review. 

Because most, if not all, of law enforcement training scenarios are instructor-led, SPECS was 

designed to support instructors as operators, as well as to be accessible by a range of instructors 

with a range of skills. Its combination of government and off -the-shelf components make it both 

cost-effective and sustainable, while its scalability adapts to law enforcement training facilities 

of one or two rooms to military tactical training areas spread across miles.

SPECS is now operational within numerous immersive and mixed-reality training environments, 

including FLETC’s Performance Assessment Laboratory, the FLETC Intermodal Training 

Facility in Glynco, Georgia; the state of Pennsylvania’s Northeast Counter Drug Training Center 

(NCTC); and several U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps facilities. Since 2013, more than 

100,000 law enforcement personnel and tens of thousands of warfighters have participated in the 

immersive training. In addition, SPECS is a component of the U.S. Army Live Training 

Transformation architecture, expanding its availability exponentially. 
46 

The NAWCTSD and FLETC teams driving SPECS bring a wealth of experience and expertise to 

bear in the advancement of this innovative training program. They have deep resources to draw 

on—from NAWCTSD’s long history of developing and transferring state-of-the-art simulation 

technology to FLETC’s expertise in the influence of special effects on performance. Building on 

SPECS and their other successes, this outstanding collective effort will continue to break new 

ground long into the future. 
47

Department of Energy (DOE)

DOE is one of the largest supporters of technology transfers within the federal government. The 

Department plays a key role in moving new technologies developed in research labs across the 

country into the commercial marketplace, fueling the innovation engine that powers the U.S. 

economy. Bridging the gap between research and development (R&D) and commercial 

deployment is crucial to DOE’s mission to enhance the United States security and economic 

growth through transformative science and market solutions. By creating globally competitive 

industries in the U.S., the DOE enables significant cost-savings for industries and consumers and 

creates jobs for Americans.

The DOE's National Laboratories address the critical scientific challenges of our time – from 

combating climate change to discovering the origins of our universe – and possess unique 

instruments and facilities, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. They address 

large scale, complex R&D challenges with a multidisciplinary approach that places an emphasis 

on translating basic science to innovation. Among the many things that the National Laboratories 

do, some include the following:

• Conduct research of the highest caliber in physical, chemical, biological, and 

computational, and information sciences that advances our understanding of the world 

around us;

• Advance U.S. energy independence and leadership in energy technologies to ensure the 

ready availability of clean, reliable, and affordable energy;

• Enhance global, national, and homeland security by ensuring the safety and reliability of 

the U.S. nuclear deterrent, helping to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass 

destruction, and securing the Nation’s borders; and

• Design, build, and operate distinctive scientific instrumentation and facilities, and make 

these resources available to the research community.

DOE oversees the construction and operation of some of the Nation’s most advanced R&D 

facilities, located at National Laboratories and universities. These state-of-the-art facilities are 

shared with the science community worldwide and offer some technologies and instrumentation 

that are available nowhere else. 

DOE laboratories and facilities that are actively engaged in technology transfer include:

Office of Science: 

• Ames Laboratory (Ames), 

• Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), 

• Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), 

• Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FERMI), 

• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), 

• Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), 

• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), 

• Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), 
48

• SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), 

• Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLAB)

National Nuclear Security Administration: 

• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), 

• Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), 

• Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), 

• Savannah River Site, 

• Kansas City National Security Campus (formerly the Kansas City Plant), 

• Y-12 National Security Complex, Pantex Plant

• Nevada National Security Site (formerly the Nevada Test Site)

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: 

• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Office of Nuclear Energy: 

• Idaho National Laboratory (INL)

Office of Fossil Energy: 

• National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)

Office of Environmental Management: 

• Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL)

Science and engineering are not linear. DOE’s system of National Labs, user facilities, research 

centers and shared research facilities, makes the pursuit of discovery—and the many solutions 

that result—both a collaborative enterprise and a shared national resource. Collaboration with 

industry, academia, and other federal and state agencies is essential to develop, demonstrate, 

deploy, and commercialize the output from DOE’s broad R&D investments. 

The Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) mission is to expand the commercial impact of the 

DOE’s research and development portfolio to advance the economic, energy, and national 

security interests of the Nation. OTT develops DOE’s policy and vision for expanding the 

commercial impact of its research investments and streamlines information and access to DOE’s 

national labs and sites to foster partnerships that will bring innovations from the labs into the 

marketplace. OTT works alongside NNSA’s Office of Strategic Partnership Programs for 

technology transfer activities with NNSA laboratories, plants, and sites.

More information about DOE’s technology transfer activities is available online with the Office 

of Technology Transitions and NNSA’s website.
49

DOE Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, new inventions disclosed declined slightly to 1,794 disclosures 

in FY 2017. Patent applications filed declined by 1% to 937, while patents issued increased by 

15% to 817 patents in FY 2017.

DOE Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Patents issued to DOE in FY 2017 covered many technology areas including Electrical 

Machinery, Apparatus, Energy (13%), Measurement (10%), Chemical Engineering (7%), and 

Materials, Metallurgy (7%).22

USPTO Patents Assigned to DOE by Technology Area: FY 2017

22 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using USPTO data indexed in PatentsView in October 2018. Used with 

permission.

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

New Invention Disclosures 1,796 1,588 1,645 1,760 1,794

Patent Applications Filed 944 1,144 949 999 937

Patents Issued 713 822 755 856 817
50 

DOE Licenses

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total active licenses decreased by 22% to 4,045 licenses in FY 

2017 while new licenses decreased slightly to 567 licenses. Total active invention licenses 

decreased by 32% to 916 licenses while new invention licenses decreased by 16% to 128. 

Income bearing licenses decreased by 18% to 3,057 while exclusive income-bearing licenses 

decreased by 5% to 190. 

DOE Licenses

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Licenses, Total Active 5,217 5,861 6,310 5,410 4,045

New Licenses 568 573 648 621 567

Invention Licenses, Total Active 1,353 1,560 1,336 943 916

New Invention Licenses 153 171 155 145 128

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 3,709 4,215 4,577 3,963 3,057

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 199 141 98 231 190
51

DOE Income from Licensing

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, DOE reported that total income from all active licenses 

decreased by 8% to $36.6 million in FY 2017. The income from invention licenses decreased by 

7% to $33.4 million. Total earned royalty income decreased 52% to $13.2 million in FY 2017.

DOE Income from Licenses ($000s)

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Total Income, All Active Licenses $39,573 $37,885 $33,137 $31,149 $36,567

Invention Licenses $36,068 $32,869 $28,966 $27,364 $33,436

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $27,669 $23,384 $21,245 $16,273 $13,216
52

DOE Collaborative R&D Relationships

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total active CRADAs increased by 23% to 910 in FY 2017. 

New CRADAs increased by 125% to 320. All CRADAs were traditional CRADAs; therefore, 

there were not any other collaborative R&D relationships.

DOE Collaborative R&D Relationships
53

DOE Downstream Success Stories

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility: Nuclear Physics Detector Technology is 

Powerful Tool in Fight Against Breast Cancer

Known as Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI) or Breast 

Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI), the tool is based on 

gamma-imaging technology developed at the U.S. 

Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National 

Accelerator Facility in Newport News, VA. MBI is a noninvasive breast imaging procedure that captures the cellular 

function of breast tissue, complementing mammography in 

helping to resolve difficult-to-interpret cases.

MBI is designed for situations where mammography is 

inconclusive and further evaluation is needed, especially when patients have dense breast tissue, 

implants, multiple suspicious lesions or clusters of microcalcifications, palpable lesions not 

detected by mammography or ultrasound, post-surgical or post-therapeutic mass, or if they have 

been taking hormone replacement therapy. MBI relies on the advanced imaging technology of 

anatomic-specific detectors to detect early-stage cancers. The compact detector developed by 

Jefferson Lab captures vital tumor information by viewing the metabolism of cancerous lesions 

in the breast via radiopharmaceutical uptake.

Dilon Technologies licensed the high-resolution gamma imaging technology from Jefferson Lab 

and used it to develop a company dedicated breast imaging camera. Molecular Breast Imaging is 

saving lives. Using MBI is an adjunct to mammography results in an almost fourfold increase in 

invasive cancer detection in women with dense breast tissue. MBI has a higher specificity than 

MRI and has proven to reduce benign biopsies by 50%. With a negative predictive value of 98%, 

MBI is the beacon in dense breast tissue. More than 250,000 patients have been screened with 

BSGI/MBI on a worldwide basis.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL): STARS: Harnessing the Sun to Make 

Gases and Chemicals

The Solar Thermal Advanced Reactor System 

(STARS), developed by PNNL, harnesses solar 

energy to power compact chemical reactors that 

produce liquids and gases for transportation, 

electricity generation, and other industrial 

processes. The U.S. Department of Defense and 

NASA funded the initial research, followed by the 

U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) SunShot 

Initiative, which aims to advance American-made 

solar technologies. STARS team members used 

DOE’s Energy I-Corps training in 2015 to gain 

insights on marketplace needs and convinced them that a startup was the best way to 

commercialize the technology.

An initial CRADA with Southern California Gas Company helped the startup refine and 

demonstrate the technology. A second CRADA started in FY2017 is enabling STARS 
54

Technology Corp., Oregon State University, and PNNL to explore ways to reduce the 

manufacturing cost of STARS components. The CRADA is being funded by DOE, STARS 

Technology Corp, and the state of Oregon. A third CRADA also began in FY2017 to further 

refine and test a prototype STARS system in California, funded by DOE’s Technology 

Commercialization Fund and Southern California Gas, with STARS Technology Corp. providing 

in-kind contributions.

As the first commercial product, STARS Technology Corp. is pursuing hydrogen production for 

potential industrial use and fuel cell vehicles, followed by methanol and potentially other 

chemicals. A commercial partner, SoCalGas, is excited about this opportunity because it serves 

an estimated 21.6 million customers in Southern California, a region well-suited for solar 

technologies.

Los Alamos National Laboratory: Viome

There are approximately 40 trillion microorganisms living in a human’s gut. They help digest 

food, produce beneficial and harmful chemicals, control infections by pathogens, regulate 

immune system, and even control emotions.

Enters Viome, a bacteria-analysis company that 

examines the microorganisms in users’ guts and 

counsels them on how to keep harmful bacteria at bay. 

Harnessing technology developed at the Los Alamos 

National Laboratory in New Mexico, Viome employs 

artificial intelligence to analyze the digestive tract and 

its effects on the body’s immune and metabolic 

systems.

Viome was launched with a team of leading 

entrepreneurs, scientists, and physicians. Viome’s 

Insight kit, the first direct-to-consumer microbiome 

analysis that sheds light on the active members of a 

gut microbiome community. Insight can analyze our gut microbiome and provides personalized 

recommendations for nutrition, supplements, and probiotics, with the goal of improving health 

and wellness. The at-home Gut intelligence® Test kit uses a stool sample: By analyzing RNA in 

the stool sample, Viome can get a species-by-species read on the microbial communities in a 

person’s gut including bacteria, viruses, yeast, mold, fungi and parasites. Customers can review 

the results of the analysis via the Viome app. These results are also factored into a personal 

wellness profile, using the company’s machine learning model (artificial intelligence) for 

massive and complex biological data.

Viome is the first company to offer wellness as a service, deploying the first direct-to-consumer 

microbiome analysis that can shed light on the active members of your gut microbiome. Without 

setting foot in a medical office, a consumer can easily collect the personal samples needed for 

analysis in the comfort of their own home.

The Viome automated laboratory environment is able 

to efficiently process 90 samples at a time without 

cross-contamination.
55

Idaho National Laboratory: Impedance Measurement Box Offers Battery State-of-Health 

Data in Near Real Time

In a joint development project with industry and academia, Idaho National Laboratory’s Energy 

Storage Group have developed the Impedance Measurement Box (IMB), a device that can 

generate battery impedance data in 10 to 15 seconds.

As battery technology becomes more complex and 

users’ expectations become more pronounced, there is 

a pressing need for highly accurate assessment 

techniques that can give state-of-health readings in 

conditions approaching real time. Until now, 

embedded monitoring has relied on passive 

measurements of voltage, current and temperature, or 

on impedance methods that can take as long as 10 

minutes. In addition to testing electric vehicle 

batteries, the IMB diagnostic tool can be used to test 

batteries for many uses including military, 

telecommunications, and critical infrastructure. The 

latest development is a third-generation device, able to 

assess a 50-volt system, making it applicable for testing on battery modules. The overarching 

technological purpose of IMB is the development of smarter and better energy storage and 

management systems that can more accurately detect pending failures, assist with warranty, and 

enable smarter management for extended battery life.

INL has teamed with Colorado based Dynexus Technology, Inc., to provide the energy storage 

industry with this first-of-a-kind technology for advanced battery health diagnostics. Under an 

exclusive licensing agreement, Dynexus will commercialize IMB as an embedded wideband 

impedance technology for analyzing and forecasting the health, aging and safety characteristics 

of advanced energy storage devices.

Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL): Microspheres for Novel Medical 

Applications

SRNL’s Porous Walled Hollow Glass Microspheres 

were originally developed as part of an improved 

system for hydrogen isotope separations in tritium 

production applications. Hollow glass microspheres 

have been used for years in lightweight filler material, 

insulation, abrasives, and other applications. The 

SRNL-developed microspheres are unique because of 

a network of interconnected pores in the microsphere 

walls, which allow the tiny microspheres to be filled 

with, hold and release gases and other materials.

Because the glass microspheres provide a protective 

environment, or cocoon, for their contents, they can 

be used to hold reactive or flammable absorbents or stored materials, including solids, liquids, or 

gases. This has the potential to provide a safe method of handling, storing, or delivering a variety 

The Impedance Measurement Box can assess a single 

battery cell or battery strings, which are commonly 

used in many consumer applications.

Cross Section of a Porous Walled Hollow Glass 

Microsphere.
56

of materials. The microspheres also have an application as part of security inks for anticounterfeiting purposes.

A modified version of the microspheres could be used to deliver medication on target, releasing 

the drug at will and on a schedule. SpheroFill, a biomedical startup, will initially focus on 

developing microsphere-based treatments for voice disorders in older individuals and as tissue 

filler for cosmetic surgery. The company also plans to develop the technology for muscle and 

bone repair for military use.

The long-term goal involves cancer treatment. The microspheres ability to deliver a drug 

specifically and locally can allow for higher doses of a chemotherapy drug, for example, within a 

very limited area without having the side effects common in a systemic treatment.

Kansas City National Security Campus: Next Generation Radar

One of first projects identified as a new priority by the Kansas City National Security Campus 

(KCNSC) is developing next generation radar. As general university collaborations proved 

successful, the concept evolved into a more strategic process for maturing technology and 

university partnerships with the Radar 2021 Consortium. As part of their partnership with the 

University of Kansas, the KCNSC Radar Consortium recently investigated the snow and ice 

sheet thicknesses in the Arctic, Greenland, and the Antarctic by testing a KU/KCNSC radar 

flying over the North Pole. The National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration 

(NASA) P-3 plane measured and charted the 

snow sheet thickness over 89.993o North at 

an altitude of 1,500 feet.

Another university partner designed and 

fabricated a miniaturized agricultural radar 

that operates in the 22 – 26GHz range using 

a laminate substrate material as part of the 

Technology Demonstration Panel (TDP) 

philosophy that was created within this 

consortium. A second university team 

designed and fabricated miniaturized 

additively manufactured (AM) electrical 

shields to achieve isolation between signal 

lines on this radar.

This flight was a high-priority mission over 

sea ice and a repeat of a flight line surveyed yearly since 2013 (Fig. 1). NASA was able to 

benefit from the greatly increased resolution (less than 2cm, Fig. 2) of the KU/KCNSC Radar, 

while the KCNSC was able to benefit from flight testing and learning more about the application 

of some of the newly-developed Radar Consortium technology such as miniaturization and 

increased power. The first iteration included a miniaturized RF section (~5x smaller), increased 

power (~10x increase), and stretched processing capability for long-range measurements (>12x 

airplane altitude increase while maintaining high resolution of <2cm).

Flight path charted for the North Pole overflight (right) with 

the corresponding KU/KCNSC radar scans of the snow 

thickness at the red and green dot locations (left).
57

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Research at HHS is conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

The mission of Technology Transfer at NIH is to facilitate partnerships with a wide array of 

stakeholders and effectively manage the inventions conceived by scientists working at the NIH,

FDA, and CDC. In doing so, NIH Technology Transfer supports the larger NIH mission to seek 

fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of 

that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability.

Working on behalf of NIH, FDA and CDC, Technology Transfer offices across NIH apply 

responsive, and sometimes creative approaches to meet the needs of all parties involved, 

operating with a goal of moving scientific research and discovery forward for the benefit of 

public health. Technology Transfer at NIH:

• Protects U.S. intellectual property and the discoveries conceived by NIH, FDA, and CDC 

intramural researchers. This includes working with researchers to determine if an 

invention warrants patent protection, overseeing the filing of Employee Invention 

Reports (EIRs), and coordinating the patenting filing and prosecution process.

• Serves as a bridge through marketing and communications, connecting the inventive 

discoveries made by scientists in the NIH, FDA, and CDC research programs to 

commercial partners with the capability of developing these technologies into products 

and services to benefit public health. Without technology transfer, the full potential of 

these inventions would not be realized, and the public would not receive the full benefit 

of these biomedical discoveries.

• Facilitates partnerships with outside parties to allow for joint collaboration. 

• Negotiates licenses and collaborative agreements such as CRADAs to ensure the timely 

development of federal technologies, which contribute to society by driving economic 

growth and productivity; these collaborations leverage the strengths of each institution to 

advance basic and clinical research objectives.

• Monitors the development of these technologies to ensure commercialization milestones 

are reached, products are brought to the market, and royalty fees are paid.

• Facilitates the transfer of thousands of research materials and data into and out of NIH.

NIH’s annual technology transfer report is available online.

More information about HHS technology transfer activities is available on the following 

websites:

CDC | NIH | FDA
58

HHS Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, new inventions increased by 11% to 354 disclosures in FY 

2017. Patent applications filed increased by 26% to 289, while patents issued increased by 29% 

to 554 patents.

HHS Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Patents issued to HHS in FY 2017 covered many technology areas including Biotechnology 

(35%), Pharmaceuticals (33%), Analysis of Biological Materials (9%), and Organic Fine 

Chemistry (9%).23

USPTO Patents Assigned to HHS by Technology Area: FY 2017

23 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using USPTO data indexed in PatentsView in October 2018. Used with 

permission.
59 

HHS Licenses

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total active licenses increased by 27% to 1,806 licenses in FY 

2017. New licenses increased by 82% to 334, total active invention licenses increased by 27% to 

1,354 licenses, and new invention licenses increased by 86% to 282. Total active income bearing 

licenses increased by 12% to 907 while income bearing exclusive licenses increased by 440% to 

135 licenses. 

HHS Licenses

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Licenses, Total Active 1,426 1,555 1,767 1,750 1,806

New Licenses 184 212 279 278 334

Invention Licenses, Total Active 1,069 1,186 1,354 1,721 1,354

New Invention Licenses 152 117 232 221 282

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 809 845 843 837 907

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 25 24 11 23 135
60 

HHS Income from Licensing

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total income from all active licenses increased by 16% to 

$134.6 million in FY 2017. The income from invention licenses increased by 28% to $132.5 

million, while total earned royalty income increased by 17% to $135.9 million. 

HHS Income from Licensing ($000s) 

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Total Income, All Active Licenses $116,448 $137,249 $151,727 $132,833 $134,567

Invention Licenses $103,664 $133,814 $147,512 $130,701 $132,536

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $116,601 $116,765 $114,102 $110,193 $135,963
61

HHS Collaborative R&D Relationships

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total active CRADAs increased by 38% to 588 agreements

while new CRADA agreements increased by 8% to 112. Traditional CRADAs increased by 48% 

to 462. Other collaborative R&D relationships increased by 11% to 126.

HHS Collaborative R&D Relationships

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

CRADAs, Total Active 427 532 400 590 588

New CRADAs 104 98 112 134 112

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 313 378 202 391 462

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 114 154 150 147 126
62 

HHS Downstream Success Stories

National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) 

Development and Negotiation of Research Collaboration Agreement (RCA) and 

Inter- Institutional Agreement (IIA) between NCATS and the Universidad 

Pontificia Catolica (UPC) de Chile for Development of Alzheimer’s Compounds

The NCATS Office of Strategic Alliances (OSA) helped establish an RCA for this long 

standing NCATS National Chemical Genomics Center project. NCATS and UPC 

investigators have developed two new selective and powerful inhibitors of the Kinase cAbl, both of which pass the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) and reduce the progression of 

cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative pathology of Alzheimer’s disease in mice 

models. NCATS and UPC have developed new Intellectual Property (IP) on these two 

inhibitors so an Inter-Institutional Agreement (IIA) is being negotiated in order for 

NCATS to take the lead in filing patents and licensing the compounds. The IIA 

negotiation has also been an educational and mentorship activity for UPC. 

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

FDA Approval of Personalized Cancer Treatment to Cure Deadly Blood Cancers

The NCI, in collaboration with Kite Pharma, Inc., developed a new FDA approved 

treatment shown to cure several types of deadly blood cancers. This unique therapy 

utilizes live cells and harnesses the power of a patient’s immune system to combat their 

cancer. A subset of a patient’s own immune cells, called T cells, are genetically modified 

to recognize the cancer cells. The patient’s cells are collected, modified, and grown in the 

laboratory until they number in the billions. These programmed cancer-fighting cells are 

then re-infused into the patient, armed with the ability to potentially recognize and attack 

cancer cells. This treatment is a “live therapy” consisting of a single infusion. The target 

that these engineered cells recognize is called CD-19; it is expressed in B cells, a subset 

of immune cells.

NCI’s Technology Transfer Center (TTC) played a proactive role in this discovery-tocommercialization story. It began with facilitating a partnership with an industry partner 

strongly committed to advancing this novel approach for the treatment of B-cell NonHodgkin Lymphoma (NHL). This led to negotiating a complex, clinical trial CRADA 

involving both pre-clinical studies and later clinical trials using treatments made under 

stringent Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) conditions. Successful development of 

the technology required effective coordination of diverse, multi-disciplinary programs 

within and external to the NCI – comprising clinical compliance, regulatory affairs, GMP 

grade manufacturing, research scientists and TT professionals (including licensing, 

patenting, and other technology transfer activities). 

Kite’s expertise enabled further development of the treatment and larger clinical studies 

in cancer patients. Armed with positive patient data from the early clinical trials, Kite 

submitted a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the FDA in March 2017 and was 

granted Priority Review.
63

The synergy of NCI’s scientific/clinical expertise with Kite’s clinical, regulatory, 

manufacturing, operation, and business capabilities was essential to the successful 

development and commercialization of this therapy and other products to address deadly 

cancers. Throughout the course of this TT process was a persistence to develop an 

immunotherapy that could benefit patients who are dying despite all other treatments. 

This is a significant medical breakthrough for this type of cancer. The impact of the 

successful clinical results that came out of this transfer was evidenced by the swift FDA 

approval of the therapy in October 2017.

Potential Therapy for Menkes Disease, Rare Pediatric Disorder, Gets 

Much Needed Commercialization Partner

In March 2017, NCI TTC helped execute a CRADA and an exclusive patent license 

between Cyprium Therapeutics, Inc. (Cyprium) and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National 

Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The CRADA and License 

represent a significant translational step toward providing therapeutic options for patients 

with Menkes Disease, a rare genetic condition affecting copper movement through the 

body. If untreated, Menkes Disease causes death in children as young as three years old.

The CRADA and license agreement are structured to have parallel and complementary 

provisions that strengthen each other towards the primary objective of obtaining Food and 

Drug Administration (FDA) approval. The transferred technology includes regulatory 

assets, such as clinical data sets. It is the result of 20 years of research led by NICHD’s 

Stephen G. Kaler, M.D. With these agreements in place, NICHD and Cyprium will 

collaborate to further develop the technology, and Cyprium’s expertise in regulatory 

process and commercialization should aid efforts to obtain FDA approval. The 

collaboration presents a significant opportunity to advance gene therapy.

Data Transfer Agreement Template to Facilitate Data Collection for Melanoma 

Susceptibility

NCI TTC worked with the NCI Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG) 

and the University of Chicago to develop a Data Transfer Agreement (DTA) template that 

involves access to ‘data in the cloud.’ The DTA template is for use among members of 

the melanoma genetics consortium (GenoMEL), comprised of 10-15 research groups 

located throughout the world. The University of Chicago controls a private, open-source 

cloud computing infrastructure to which GenoMEL members will be contributing and 

from which metadata will be analyzed to identify melanoma susceptibility genes. This 

collaborative project presents an opportunity to find melanoma susceptibility genes when 

the data are combined from a large quantity of samples and analyzed by individual groups 

specialized in an environment with consistent and common workflows. The DTA 

template includes considerations of human subject data residing in a cloud environment 

and can be used for future, similar projects.

Low-cost Rotavirus Vaccine in Developing Countries

In 2013, 215,000 diarrheal deaths in children less than 5 years old were caused by 

rotavirus; most of which were in Asia and Africa, with around 22% in India. Although 
64 

rotavirus vaccines are commercially available, affordability is a challenge in developing 

countries. Children in developing countries are disproportionately at risk of dying from 

rotavirus-related infection, due in part to inadequate sanitation and inadequate access to 

intravenous rehydration therapy. 

The late Dr. Albert Kapikian and his colleagues at the National Institute of Allergy and 

Infectious Diseases (NIAID) invented a human-bovine reassortant rotavirus vaccine 

which offers broad protection against five most common rotavirus serotypes. In addition, 

this vaccine is stable at room temperature and does not require cold- chain transport, 

delivery, and storage. In 2005, Serum Institute of India, one of the largest vaccine 

manufacturers in the world, obtained a patent commercialization license from 

NIH/NIAID to develop, manufacture and distribute this vaccine as the product called 

ROTASIIL.

In September 2017, ROTASIIL was found to be very safe, well tolerated, and efficacious 

in a phase III clinical trial conducted in India. The Drug General Controller of India has 

reviewed the results of this study and approved the vaccine. The Government of India 

has subsequently ordered 3.8 million doses of ROTASIIL to use in the Universal 

Immunization Programme, which serves 26 million children in India. Serum Institute of 

India has 19 vaccines that are WHO prequalified and supplied to developing countries at 

low prices. It has the capacity to produce 100 million doses of ROTASIIL and is 

expected to supply ROTASIIL to other developing countries at low prices. 

Develop Mosquito Trap for Control and Surveillance of Mosquitoes Including 

Carriers of Zika and Other Viruses

Viral and bacterial diseases spread by vectors (e.g., mosquitoes, ticks, and other insects) 

are a significant public health problem. Dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever 

viruses are predominately transmitted by the Aedes species (aegypti and albopictus) 

mosquitoes. Aedes mosquitoes are adept at spreading these viruses as they have adapted 

to living in urban environments and feed during the times of day when people are most 

active.

Researchers within the Division of Vector-Borne Diseases at the CDC began development 

of a low-cost, pesticide-free method for controlling mosquito populations. The resulting 

invention is an autocidal gravid ovitrap (AGO trap) that consists of a five-gallon (10 L) 

plastic bucket with a modified lid containing a capture chamber, which has a glue board 

specifically designed to trap adult mosquitoes. Water and grass are placed in the bottom of 

the bucket; the decaying grass provides a natural attractant to pregnant mosquitoes 

looking for places to lay their eggs. However, once inside the trap, the females cannot 

successfully lay their eggs and are unable to escape. Other types of mosquito attractants 

may also be used. 

The AGO trap requires no power, no pesticide, and is economical to manufacture. It has 

also shown efficacy for at least two months without changing the glue board or refilling 

the water/grass mixture, in marked contrast to weekly application of pesticides that can 

be unsafe for use around children, pets, and livestock. The AGO trap has been used by 
65

CDC researchers in field trials in Puerto Rican sites since 2011, demonstrating a 60-80% 

reduction of Aedes mosquito populations and a 50% lower prevalence of chikungunya 

virus in test sites and neighborhood.

Through patent and licensing efforts by NIAID’s Technology Transfer and Intellectual 

Property Office, which manages CDC’s invention portfolio, CDC has licensed the related 

patent rights to a US company. CDC is also seeking additional commercial partners, both 

foreign and domestic, with the goal of distributing the AGO trap to as many people and 

communities as possible worldwide.

Sharing Zika Specimens and Diagnostic Technologies to Combat the Epidemic

CDC has transferred Zika virus specimens and CDC-developed diagnostics to support the 

public health response for the Zika virus outbreak beginning in February 2016. By 

January 2018, CDC had shipped relevant Zika specimens to approximately 20 countries 

and 34 U.S. states and territories, and such efforts continue today. The CDC Technology 

Transfer Office (TTO) consulted and collaborated with interagency specimen sharing 

efforts as needed in addition to handling 186 transfer agreements - 160 Simple Letter 

Agreements (SLA) and 26 Material Transfer Agreements - and transfers of its own. The 

different strains/isolates of the Zika virus are essential to further Zika research, increase 

knowledge about the virus, and support vaccine and diagnostic test development.

CDC was the first organization to develop and receive an Emergency Use 

Authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a Zika 

diagnostic assay (the Zika MAC-ELISA), which detects Zika virus antibodies in blood 

and cerebrospinal fluid. CDC is pursuing patent protection for key components of this 

assay. CDC has executed licenses with four major reference laboratories for clinical 

testing of patient samples and has also licensed this technology to a fifth company for 

mass production of an EUA-compliant kit for use by public health laboratories.

CDC has also developed and obtained an EUA for a PCR-based assay method (called 

CDC Trioplex) to detect Zika, dengue, and chikungunya viruses in patient samples, which 

would enable simultaneous, rapid testing of these three mosquito-borne diseases. CDC is 

pursuing a patenting and licensing strategy similar to that used for the Zika MAC-ELISA, 

with the ultimate goal of facilitating broad public access to reliable diagnostics for Zika, 

dengue, and chikungunya viruses simultaneously.

These transfers, memorialized in a variety of transactional agreements, were made 

possible through the joint efforts of the CDC’s TTO and NIAID’s Technology Transfer 

and Intellectual Property Office. The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology 

Transfer (FLC) recognized these important public health accomplishments with its 

2017 FLC Excellence in Technology Transfer Award for “Zika Virus Specimens for 

Research & Development and Diagnostic Technologies.”

Development and Manufacture of Rabies Vaccine with Ethiopian Public Health Institute

Rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease which occurs in more than 150 countries 

and territories. Infection causes tens of thousands of deaths every year, with over 95% 
66 

occurring in Asia and Africa. 40% of people bitten by suspect rabid animals are 

children under 15 years of age. Although effective human vaccines and 

immunoglobulins exist for rabies, these products are not readily available to those in 

need. Treating a rabies exposure, where the average cost of rabies post-exposure 

prophylaxis (PEP) is 40 USD in Africa, and 49 USD in Asia, can be a catastrophic 

financial burden on affected families in low income countries. 

CDC has signed a non-exclusive license with Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) 

for a rabies virus vaccine strain. EPHI is a non-profit institution of the Ethiopian federal 

government established to carry out research on priority diseases, nutrition, traditional 

and modern medicine, and production of vaccines. This license allows EPHI to develop a 

method of mass production, and then produce and distribute this rabies vaccine to 

Ethiopian citizens at low cost.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) 

NINDS Technology Transfer Office negotiated agreements with Pfizer, UCB, GSK and 

Eisai for the transfer of large epilepsy datasets from previous clinical studies performed 

independently by these entities. The central goal of the meta-analysis is to study the 

influence of natural variability of seizures on study outcome. This research will provide 

clarity on whether the variability in seizure frequency is actually predictable. The study 

will also provide insight that can guide future clinical studies on epilepsy and the 

treatment of the disorder. 

Under a clinical CRADA negotiated by NINDS Technology Transfer Office and 

executed in FY 2017, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke 

(NINDS), an institute of NIH, is collaborating with Audentes Therapeutics, Inc. as one 

site in a multi-site pre-Phase 1 prospective, non‐interventional clinical assessment study 

in X-linked Myotubular Myopathy (XLMTM) subjects aged 3 years and younger 

(INCEPTUS).

NINDS Technology Transfer Office piloted a six-month agreement lifecycle 

assessment. This effort required documenting an agreement’s movement through every 

step in the negotiation process and analyzing the data. Through these efforts, the office 

has established an average agreement lifecycle as the basis on which to assess the 

effectiveness of future initiatives to improve efficiencies. Additionally, this effort led to 

the identification of one process element that was changed to increase overall efficiency. 

The office had a nearly 90% resolution rate for agreements initiated in FY 2017. 
67

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

The DHS’s Office of Research and Technology Applications (ORTA) resides within the Science 

and Technology Directorate (S&T). The ORTA develops and institutes policies to facilitate 

technology transfer in accordance with 15 U.S.C. § 3710 in consultation with and assisted by the 

Office of the General Counsel’s Technology Programs Law Division supporting S&T and DHS 

more generally. These policies are applicable throughout DHS and its laboratories. The ORTA’s 

responsibilities include the following:

• Standardizes, reviews, negotiates, and approves DHS CRADAs, licensing, and other 

technology transfer agreements;

• Prepares application assessments for selected R&D projects in which the DHS Laboratory 

is involved and may have commercial applications;

• Provides and disseminates information on federally owned or originated technologies 

which have potential application to state and local governments and private industry;

• Prepares and provides an annual report to Congress and the President through submission 

to NIST;

• Develops training programs on technology transfer and intellectual property for DHS 

employees; and

• Establishes and implements a royalty and rewards policy.

More information about DHS technology transfer activities is available online.

Transition to Practice (TTP)

The DHS S&T also administers the Transition to Practice Program (TTP). Established in 2012, 

the program bridges the gap between federally funded research and the marketplace, addressing 

the Valley of Death problem24. TTP is unique in that the program selects technologies from 

various federal laboratories, including DOE’s National Laboratories, DoD’s affiliated 

laboratories, FFRDCs, University Affiliated Research Centers (UARC), and universities 

receiving federal funding for R&D activities (such as through the National Science Foundation). 

This enables TTP to leverage prior R&D funding that these technologies have received from 

various federal agencies and ensure that the products of this R&D are commercialized and reach 

the users who need them, rather than “sit on the shelf”.

TTP technologies go through a structured technology transfer process designed to increase their

technology maturity and market readiness. In addition to providing funding specifically intended 

for transition activities, TTP offers researchers training and resources on commercialization and 

entrepreneurship, access to a large network of investors, private sector companies, and 

government operators, and opportunities to collaborate with these potential partners and users to 

pilot the technologies. The program also includes technical assessments and evaluation of the 

technologies as well as market validation and targeting. Through outreach efforts, including 

multiple Technology Demo Days a year across the country, the TTP program then introduces 

24 The “Valley of Death” refers to the difficulties entrepreneurs and developers face when trying to fund new, highrisk, early stage technologies and products. Transfer recipients of federal technologies often face the Valley of Death 

because technologies from federal labs tend to have a low readiness level and require additional funding to support 

further development and integration costs.
68 

these technologies to investors, developers, and integrators who can license the technologies and 

turn them into commercially viable products. 

More information about TTP activities is available online. 
69 

DHS Invention Disclosures and Patenting

In FY 2017, DHS reported 25 new inventions disclosures, an increase of 19% from FY 2013. 

DHS filed 19 patent applications, and two patents were issued FY 2017. 

DHS Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Patents issued to DHS in FY 2017 covered three technology areas: Other Special Machines

(50%), Control (25%), and Transport (25%).

25 

USPTO Patents Assigned to DHS by Technology Area: FY 2017

25 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using USPTO data indexed in PatentsView in October 2018. Used with 

permission.

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

New Invention Disclosures 21 44 12 24 25

Patent Applications Filed 4 6 12 17 19

Patents Issued 2 3 5 3 2
70

DHS Licenses

In FY 2017, DHS managed 5 active license agreements and executed 1 new license agreement. 

Out of the 5 active agreements, one was income bearing.

DHS Licenses

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Licenses, Total Active 0 2 4 5 5

New Licenses 0 0 3 1 1

Invention Licenses, Total Active 0 2 4 5 5

New Invention Licenses 0 0 3 1 1

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 0 1 4 1 1

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 0 0 0 0 0
71 

DHS Income from Licensing

In FY 2017, DHS received a total of $20,000 in licensing income. 

DHS Income from Licensing ($000s) 

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Total Income, All Active Licenses $0 $3 $5 $12 $20

Invention Licenses $0 $0 $0 $12 $20

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $0 $3 $5 $12 $20
72 

DHS Collaborative R&D Relationships

Total active CRADAs increased by 248% to 397 agreements in FY 2017. New CRADAs

increased by 39% to 106 new agreements in FY 2017. Traditional CRADAs increased by 199%, 

from 91 agreements in FY 2013 to 272 agreements in FY 2017. Other collaborative R&D 

relationships increased by 1,083% to 71. 

DHS Collaborative R&D Relationships 

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

CRADAs, Total Active 114 158 230 343 397

New CRADAs 76 88 98 114 106

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 91 121 200 272 272

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 6 31 30 71 71
73 

DHS Downstream Success Stories

Next Generation Arctic Navigational Safety Information System, Project 6211 

The U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) partnered with the Marine 

Exchange Alaska (MXAK) to transmit critical safety and navigation information to mariners in 

the Arctic Region. The RDC 

assisted MXAK in establishing a 

transmit capability with its 

deployed Automatic 

Identification System (AIS). The 

RDC sponsored MXAK in 

gaining limited, experimental 

approval to transmit information 

over AIS through the CRADA 

period. The RDC and Coast 

Guard District 17 were able to 

use MXAK’s AIS infrastructure 

to transmit vital weather 

information, navigation safety 

messages, ice edge information, 

virtual and synthetic aids to navigation, and other application-specific messages to mariners 

within range of AIS transmitters.

This partnership benefitted both the Coast Guard and MXAK by allowing the RDC to utilize an 

existing public-private AIS system in Alaska to develop a method to gather, manage, and 

transmit critical safety information to Arctic mariners. The partnership benefitted MXAK by 

assisting them in developing the capability to process critical information from NOAA, National 

Weather Service, District 17, and other authorized sources; route the information over their 

infrastructure; and share the information via the appropriate AIS transmitters. This collaboration 

supported the following end users: Federal, State, Local and Tribal Public Safety and Law 

Enforcement (including Coast Guard), Department of Defense, and the commercial market. 

Foot-and-Mouth Disease Rapid Diagnostic Test Kit 

DHS S&T’s Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) worked with a research consortium of 

federal agencies, academia, and animal health industry scientists to develop a rapid-response 

Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) diagnostic kit for use with U.S. livestock. The U.S. Department 

of Agriculture (USDA) Center for Veterinary Biologics granted a product license for the FMD 

Virus Antibody Test Kit to S&T/PIADC’s CRADA partner, Veterinary Medical Research and 

Development (VMRD), Inc. in June 2017. 

FMD virus is highly contagious in cloven-hoofed animals, including cattle, swine, and sheep. 

With one in nine Americans employed in the agriculture or allied industries, an FMD outbreak in 

the U.S. could have catastrophic economic and animal welfare impacts. 

With the new kit, diagnostic results are available in 3 hours, as opposed to 18-20 hours for the 

current gold standard used in laboratories. Diagnostic time matters when thousands of FMDRose Point navigation display screen capture of MXAK AtoN transmission in 

vicinity of Barrow, AK.
74

susceptible livestock and products are transported within the U.S. daily. In addition, this product 

is the first FMD diagnostic test licensed and manufactured in the U.S., increasing surge capacity 

and decreasing response and recovery time in the event of a large FMD outbreak. 

VMRD, Inc., a U.S. manufacturer of veterinary diagnostics in Pullman, WA, is selling the highperformance test kit. FMD diagnostic kits are restricted in the United States. Their sale and use 

can only be to approved laboratories under the supervision or control of the USDA as part of an 

official USDA control or eradication animal disease program. DHS S&T also granted VMRD an 

intellectual property license for the test and a patent application has been filed with the U.S. 

Patent and Trademark Office.
75 

Department of the Interior (DOI)

Technology transfer for the DOI includes a range of activities designed to disseminate scientific 

and technical information and knowledge between the DOI, other federal agencies and nonfederal entities. It includes, but is not limited to, publications, exchange of scientific and 

technical information, protecting and licensing intellectual property rights, and sharing, (or 

otherwise making available) for scientific or technical purposes, the expertise and specialized 

scientific material and resources which the DOI manages. In general, technology transfer 

activities within the DOI are consistent with its mission to protect and manage the Nation’s 

natural resources and cultural heritage; to make available scientific and other information about 

those resources; to honor trust responsibilities to Tribes; and to supply energy for the future. 

This section describes the actions that the DOI took in FY 2017 to advance technology transfer. 

These range from developing new technologies that would help identify various materials in 

water to improved methods to measure water quality in high biofouling environments. These 

activities demonstrate the innovation, expertise, and dedication of the DOI’s employees, 

including its many scientists and engineers, to help reduce risks to public health, safety, and the 

environment from natural and man-made hazards. 

The FY 2017 enacted budget for the DOI included $994.2 million for research and development. 

The majority of the funding was for applied research ($776.6 million), while basic research and 

basic development received $54.38 million and $163.3 million, respectively. The programs 

supported through these funds generate new and improved knowledge, information, and 

technology, which help the DOI meet its mission objectives and are transferred to resource 

managers, stakeholders, and the public. 

The DOI’s bureaus have varying levels of involvement with scientific and technical research and 

innovation, and technology transfer. In FY 2017, as in previous years, the majority of 

technology transfer activities reported by the DOI under the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 

1986 (FTTA) were undertaken by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which is the largest 

research and development (R&D) organization in the Department, both in terms of budget and 

personnel. Typically, USGS accounts for over 70 percent of the DOI’s R&D budget. 

The DOI’s scientists, engineers, and other technical personnel advance the state of knowledge 

related to the resources it manages and ensure that this information is accessible to resource 

managers, private industry, and the public. The majority of the DOI’s technology transfer 

activities use traditional technology transfer mechanisms, such as publications of peer reviewed 

papers and reports, webpage postings, fact sheets, and presentations at meetings and conferences. 

In 2017, DOI personnel authored or co-authored over 12,300 reports, books, fact sheets, and 

other publications, including almost 4,500 scientific publications. 

Bureaus also use other conventional approaches to share scientific and technical resources and 

expertise with each other, universities, and other entities to address resource management issues. 

For example, seven DOI bureaus are active participants in the network of seventeen Cooperative 

Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs), a collaboration among 15 federal agencies and more than 400 

non-federal partners (including universities, Tribes and tribal organizations, state agencies, 
76

museums, aquariums, arboretums, and conservation organizations). Each CESU is hosted by a 

university.

Bureaus that are active in research and development, or have research capabilities that 

complement U.S. commercial interests, may also utilize technology transfer agreements 

authorized by the FTTA to join forces with non-Federal partners. Such agreements allow the 

DOI’s bureaus and private sector industries to pool their expertise and resources to jointly create 

and advance technologies that could help fulfill agency missions while helping U.S. industries 

innovate and commercialize technologies, which can strengthen our national economy and create 

jobs. This report focuses primarily on, but is not limited to, aspects of technology transfer 

related to the FTTA.

DOI's annual technology transfer report is available online.

More information about DOI technology transfer activities is available online.
77

DOI Invention Disclosures and Patenting

From FY 2013 to FY 2017, new inventions disclosed increased by 33% to 12 disclosures. Patent 

applications filed decreased by 38% to 5. Patents issued decreased by 25% to 3 in FY 2017.

DOI Invention Disclosures and Patenting

The patents issued to DOI in FY 2017 covered three technology areas: Civil Engineering (34%), 

Measurement (33%), and Chemical Engineering (11%).26

USPTO Patents Assigned to DOI by Technology Area: FY 2017

26 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using USPTO data indexed in PatentsView in October 2018. Used with 

permission.

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

New Invention Disclosures 9 6 7 8 12

Patent Applications Filed 8 4 8 4 5

Patents Issued 4 2 3 1 3
78

DOI Licenses

From FY 2013 to FY 2017, total active licenses decreased by 25% to 15 licenses in FY 2017. 

Total active invention licenses decreased by 35% to 13 licenses from FY 2013 to FY 2017, and

income-bearing exclusive licenses increased by 75% to seven licenses. There were no new 

licenses in FY 2017.

DOI Licenses

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Licenses, Total Active 20 18 20 22 15

New Licenses 3 0 3 0 0

Invention Licenses, Total Active 20 16 18 20 13

New Invention Licenses 3 0 3 0 0

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 16 14 18 17 13

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 4 5 7 8 7
79 

DOI Income from Licensing

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total income from all active licenses decreased by 48% to $50 

thousand in FY 2017. The income from invention licenses increased by the same amount, as all 

income received came from invention licenses. Total earned royalty income also decreased by 

48% to $50 thousand in FY 2017. 

DOI Income from Licensing ($000s) 

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Total Income, All Active Licenses $96 $58 $106 $83 $50

Invention Licenses $96 $58 $106 $83 $50

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $96 $58 $106 $82 $50
80

DOI Collaborative R&D Relationships

From FY 2013 to FY 2017, total active CRADAs increased by 77% from 476 to 841 agreements. 

New CRADAs increased by 27% to 477 new agreements in FY 2017. Traditional CRADAs 

increased by 176%, from 21 to 58 agreements. Other collaborative R&D relationships decreased

by 23% to 247.

DOI Collaborative R&D Relationships

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

CRADAs, Total Active 476 601 826 873 841

New CRADAs 376 423 586 511 477

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 21 35 38 37 58

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 322 292 318 319 247
81

DOI Downstream Success Stories

United States Geological Survey: Inter-American Development Bank – Scientific 

Information Related to Energy and Mineral Industries in the Caribbean and Latin 

America (LAC)

USGS and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), established a CRADA to collaborate 

on research, and compile and develop geospatial information related to energy and mineral 

resources within Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

The IDB is the main source of multilateral financing for economic, social, and institutional 

development in the LAC region through loans, grants, guarantees, policy advice, and technical 

assistance to public and private sectors of its borrowing member countries. The IDB is seeking 

to develop knowledge products that contribute to promote sustainability and transparency in the 

extractive industries in the LAC region. The USGS, with its geotechnical expertise and global 

understanding of resource geology and extractive industries, is well positioned to provide the 

science and information needed by the IDB for this effort. 

The USGS-IADB joint work effort is taking place in phases. Additional Project Annexes, with 

specific objectives, tasks, and budget for each phase will be developed and implemented 

cooperatively. The USGS proposes to expand this collaborative work effort in subsequent 

phases to include work on a mineral resources inventory and, eventually, water resources and 

other hydrology projects. 

United States Geological Survey: Development of fine-scale temperature models in the 

Delaware River

The USGS entered into a CRADA with the Academy 

of Natural Sciences of Drexel University to develop 

models to project temperatures in the Delaware River 

for use in decision support tools and ecosystem 

service models. 

The Delaware River supports multiple competing 

water demands including recreation, saltwater 

repulsion, flood mitigation, and endangered species. 

USGS researchers at Fort Collins Science Center 

(FORT) developed the Riverine Environmental Flow 

Decision Support System (REFDSS) as part of the 

Department of the Interior’s and USGS’s 

WaterSMART initiative to evaluate flow 

management practices and their effects on aquatic 

species within the Delaware River Basin. This knowledge will assist managers at the National 

Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The REFDSS models habitat availability 

for key recreational and ecologically important species at 11 sites in the upper Delaware River 

Basin, three of which lie within the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River. 

Researchers SCUBA dive to deploy fiber-optic 

temperature sensing cable on the bottom of the river to 

develop thermal maps of the river bottom. [Photo 

Credit: Leanne Hanson, USGS]
82 

The Delaware River was also selected as one of 

USGS’s focal areas for the Sustaining Ecological 

Capital program (SEC), designed to incorporate 

ecosystem services into Federal planning. 

Researchers from USGS Northern Appalachian 

Research Laboratory (NARL) and FORT have been 

collaborating to evaluate the economic benefit of 

clean water provided by freshwater mussels and 

incorporate this information into the REFDSS. A 

critical component to both the USGS-led 

WaterSMART and SEC initiatives, however, is the 

effects of stream temperature on the habitat of and 

ecosystems services provided by freshwater 

organisms. Funding provided by the William Penn 

Foundation through Drexel University was awarded to USGS NARL and FORT to: 

• Test available technology for collecting high-resolution temperature data;

• Develop predictive high-resolution temperature models for multiple sites;

• Determine thermal tolerances for key aquatic species;

• Determine relationships between temperature and key ecosystem services;

• Incorporate these findings into the REFDSS for use by resource managers.

This thermal research component in the Delaware River will broaden the applicability of the 

REFDSS as a research and management tool and provide additional sought-after data pertaining 

to other endangered and invasive species of interest. The ability to incorporate a thermal 

component into the REFDSS and the SEC through funding from Drexel University will greatly 

enhance these highly valuable scientific endeavors in the basin and facilitate informed decision 

making by managers and stakeholders as they relate to both ecology and water quality of the 

basin. 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) - Fish Technology Centers 

Most of the eight Fish Technology Centers (FTCs) were established in 1965 to develop and 

improve fish culture technology and provide assistance and advice on fish culture to National 

Fish Hatcheries, other Federal and State agencies, Tribes, other Nations, and the aquaculture 

industry. The FTCs developed culture techniques and fish diets now used around the world, 

including dehydrated long-lasting feeds that revolutionized the fish-culture industry. Results of 

studies conducted by FWS scientists are published in peer-reviewed journals and management 

recommendations are communicated within the Service and to our partners through conservation 

science partnerships. 

• Nutrition and Diet Development Laboratories. These facilities allow for the

manufacture of experimental larval, fingerling, and broodstock fish feeds and the testing

of many different kinds of ingredients to improve fish nutrition, performance, and

1Researchers use unmanned aircraft with mounted 

thermal cameras to develop temperature maps of the 

river. [Photo Credit: Leanne Hanson, USGS]
83 

quality. This program also develops specialized diets for use in captive rearing of 

endangered fish species. 

• Physiology Laboratories. These laboratories support conservation- and managementrelated needs of FWS and its partners, including, but not limited to, understanding the

physiological needs of fish to support conservation and/or commercial opportunities.

• Conservation Genetics Laboratories. These laboratories support conservation and

management related needs of FWS and its partners, including, but not limited to: (a)

using genetic DNA methods to meet real-time fishery needs to conserve and manage

species; (b) assisting with Endangered Species Act status reviews and recovery planning

via baseline data on genetic population structures and genetic monitoring and evaluation

of listed populations and species; (c) establishing and maintaining genetic tissue/DNA

repositories for imperiled species; and (d) characterizing diversity within and among wild

populations.

• Ecology Laboratories. These laboratories focus on understanding the physiological

requirements and tolerances of threatened and endangered species. Less invasive or noninvasive tools, such as measurement of plasma sex steroids and ultrasound, are used to

determine gender, stage of sexual maturity, and spawn readiness of individual fish in wild

and captive populations of threatened and endangered species. These laboratories also

provide contract services to federal and state agencies, universities, and NGOs for a

variety of analyses employing these less-invasive tools, as well as blood chemistry

analysis, histology, proximate analysis, and radio-immunoassays.

• Fish Health Centers. FWS’s Fish Health Centers play an integral role in applied science

and technical transfer. Their scientists are leaders both nationally and internationally in

the diagnosis of wildlife diseases and in the science of aquatic animal health, developing

and validating tests that benefit, and are adopted by, the aquaculture industry. Fish

Health Centers work closely with Federal, State, Tribal, academic, and NGO partners to

promote the scientific management of fisheries and aquaculture by reducing the effects of

wildlife pathogens.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS): Aquatic Invasive Species

FWS Aquatic Invasive Species program works to prevent the transfer and introduction of exotic, 

introduced, non-native, and other potentially harmful species and to develop early detection and 

rapid response capabilities. For example, the program worked with numerous partners to 

develop methods for detecting minuscule amounts of free-floating DNA (environmental DNA or 

eDNA) in water samples to confirm the presence (or absence) of species at levels undetectable 

by traditional sampling methods. This innovative technology is now being applied widely in 

monitoring programs and, as it continues to be further developed and refined, will significantly 

benefit both FWS programs and partners by allowing earlier detections of invasive species. 

FAC is also applying rapid screening tools it has developed to help determine a species’ risk for 

invasion. Knowledge of both low- and high-risk species will help industry, states, and 

consumers make responsible choices about which species to acquire and use. In addition, these 

tools will help state agencies make decisions on potentially invasive species and work with 

industry to manage risky species in their jurisdictions. For example, Michigan’s Public Act 537, 

established new protections to minimize the risk of invasive species that require, among other 

things, the use of the Service’s risk assessment protocol.
84

National Park Service (NPS) Device to Facilitate Water Quality Measurement in High 

Biofouling Environments

The NPS has a CRADA to develop and test an NPS employee’s invention and evaluate its 

potential for commercial manufacture and sale. The device enables currently available 

datasondes, which are used to measure water quality, to greatly increase the length of unmanned 

or continuous monitoring deployments in biofouling environments. It may also increase 

accuracy under turbulent flow conditions. The device modifies the calibration chamber of the 

sondes so that instrument/sensor drift, rather than water quality conditions, drives recalibration 

frequency requirements. By extending service intervals, this device may reduce operational 

costs by 50% or more.

The modified datasonde is removed from a dock on Vashon Island, Puget Sound Washington June 8, 2017. This 

trial, one of five in different high-fouling environments, showed that the invention can eliminate biofouling in a cold 

water, high biofouling marine environment. LEFT: The invention is removed from the Puget Sound after a sixmonth deployment. Inventor Joe Meiman scrapes off a 2 cm thick barnacle growth that totally encapsulated the 

invention and datasonde. RIGHT: While the six-month exposure to the environment resulted in extreme barnacle 

growth, the sensors remained clean and functioning within normal ranges. [Photo credit: Joe Meiman, NPS, 2017].

In FY 2017, the CRADA partners installed the invention in five locations representing different 

fouling environments: warm and cold-water marine biofouling, warm water marine sediment 

fouling, riverine sediment fouling and lacustrine biofouling. Datasondes modified by the 

invention were deployed side-by-side with comparable unmodified datasondes, which were 

maintained at regular intervals (two to four weeks). The modified datasondes were left 

unattended for a minimum of six months, after which they were retrieved and evaluated for 

performance. The invention eliminated fouling of the sensors in four of the five tests and 

reduced it in the fifth test. 
85

Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation): Testing New Technologies for Hydropower 

Generation Applications 

Since approximately 85 percent of power is generated by thermal and other non-hydro power 

generation methods, industry is primarily focused on developing and supplying power generation 

technologies and equipment that are designed specifically for non-hydropower generation 

applications. As such, Reclamation commonly tries to determine if such technologies and 

equipment are suitable, or can be modified, for hydropower generation applications. 

Reclamation is using its in-house developed Hardware-in-the-loop Generator Simulator to test 

manufacturers speed governor, voltage regulator, and power system stabilizer controllers. 

In FY 2017, Reclamation entered into Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) to receive and test 

power generation equipment including digital excitation controllers, digital power system 

stabilizers, and three phase power bridges. Under the MTAs, Reclamation conducted tests to

determine their suitability for hydropower generation applications and provided each 

manufacturer with a report stating what tests were performed and whether the equipment passed 

or failed the tests. 

The MTAs help Reclamation prepare and adapt manufactures’ equipment to work properly prior 

to their installation in hydro facilities. This reduces both engineering time needed to commission 

the equipment, and lost revenues caused by longer generator outages.

The MTAs have also allowed hydropower manufacturers to gain insights on the feasibility and 

requirements to manufacture and market their products to the global hydropower generation 

community. They also gained access to Reclamation’s technical expertise and laboratory 

facilities not readily available in the private sector that are able to test and evaluate technologies 

for hydropower applications. As one manufacturer put it: “This is like the real power plant 

environment but without the stress and pressure of commissioning/testing our system on the real 

generator!” Another manufacturer noted, “Even though our system has undergone rigorous 

testing by many experts, the Reclamation Hardware-in-the-Loop generator simulator has enabled 

us to find and resolve some unknown issues with our system before releasing it to the 

customers!”
86

Department of Transportation (DOT)

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is the Federal steward of the Nation’s 

transportation system. DOT consists of multiple modal Operating Administrations (OAs) 

that carry out mission-related Research, Development, and Technology (RD&T) programs in

support of the DOT strategic goals: Safety, State of Good Repair, Economic Competitiveness, 

Quality of Life in Communities, and Environmental Sustainability. DOT’s Technology Transfer 

Program, which is housed in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology 

(OST-R), is responsible for coordinating, documenting, and supporting technology transfer 

activities across the Department. 

DOT defines technology transfer as the process of transferring and disseminating transportation

related scientific information to stakeholders who may apply it for public or private use. DOT’s 

current approach to technology transfer is diverse and unique to each mode of transportation. 

Each modal OA conducts mission-specific deployment activities tailored to its mode and type of 

research. Agency specific technology transfer activities may be found online.

Technology transfer activities are executed by DOT agencies and their laboratories:

• Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): William J. Hughes Technical Center (WJHTC),

Atlantic City, NJ, and Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, Oklahoma City, OK;

• Federal Highway Administration (FHWA): Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center 

(TFHRC), McLean, VA; 

• Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R): John A. Volpe 

National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), Cambridge, MA;

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA): Vehicle Research and Test 

Center (VRTC), East Liberty, OH; and

• Federal Railroad Administration (FRA): Transportation Technology Center, Pueblo, CO.

DOT’s annual technology transfer report is available online.

More information about DOT’s technology transfer activities is available on the following 

websites.

FAA | FHWA | OST-R | FRA
87

DOT Invention Disclosures and Patenting

In FY 2017, DOT reported 3 invention disclosures and 7 patent applications. No new patents

were awarded.

DOT Invention Disclosures and Patenting

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

New Invention Disclosures 13 3 0 0 3

Patent Applications Filed 5 0 5 0 7

Patents Issued 1 1 1 1 0
88

DOT Licenses

In FY 2017, DOT reported 4 active license agreements. All active licenses were reported as 

income bearing licenses. There were no new invention licenses reported in FY 2017.

DOT Licenses

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Licenses, Total Active 3 1 2 2 4

New Licenses 1 0 1 2 1

Invention Licenses, Total Active 3 1 2 0 0

New Invention Licenses 1 0 0 0 0

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 3 1 2 2 4

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 0 1 0 0 0
89 

DOT Income from Licensing

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total income from all active licenses increased by 122%. In FY 

2017, DOT reported zero income from invention licenses. Total Earned Royalty Income was 

reported to be $20 thousand, a 122% increase from FY 2013. 

DOT Income from Licensing ($000s) 

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Total Income, All Active Licenses $9 $23 $12 $15 $20

Invention Licenses $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $9 $23 $12 $15 $20
90

DOT Collaborative R&D Relationships

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total active CRADAs increased by 68% from 40 to 67

agreements, while new CRADAs agreements declined by 25% to 6. Traditional CRADAs 

increased from 3 in FY 2013 to 66 in FY 2017. Other collaborative R&D relationships increased 

significantly by 1,265% from 26 in FY 2013 to 355 in FY 2017.

DOT Collaborative R&D Relationships

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

CRADAs, Total Active 40 51 48 68 67

New CRADAs 8 10 9 22 6

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 3 7 48 62 66

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 26 30 35 152 355
91

DOT Downstream Success Stories

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA): Global Vehicle Target for 

Automotive Testing 

NHTSA collaborated with the European New Car Assessment Program, the Insurance Institute 

for Highway Safety, vehicle 

manufacturers, suppliers, and 

Dynamic Research, Inc., to develop 

the global vehicle target (GVT). The 

GVT is a full-sized artificial vehicle 

designed to look like an actual 

passenger car to the sensors presently 

used by automotive safety systems. 

However, unlike an actual car, the 

GVT can be repeatedly struck from 

any approach angle without harm to those performing the tests or the vehicles being evaluated.

The GVT is one component of the guided soft target (GST) system designed to safely evaluate 

crash-avoidance technologies in pre-crash scenarios. The GST system is comprised of the GVT, 

a low-profile robotic vehicle (LPRV), an operator’s base station, and a remotely operated safety 

steward dead-man switch. Constant wireless communication between the LPRV and base station 

allow for precise closed-loop control. Collaborators intend to use multiple copies of GVT for 

future research. NHTSA anticipates using this technology to facilitate exploratory automated 

vehicle performance evaluations. Specifically, NHTSA will assess traffic jam assist, blind-spot 

intervention, intersection crash avoidance, and automatic emergency braking system 

performance. Subsequent results will help facilitate the development of objective test procedures. 

In the longer term, NHTSA anticipates using the GVT, or multiple GVTs, to safely, accurately, 

and repeatedly perform complex test scenarios as part of the agency’s research test program.

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA): A Mobile Solution for Assessment and 

Reporting Infrastructure Damage

When disaster strikes, time is of the essence. Every minute, hour, and day matters when making 

damage assessments in the aftermath of a powerful hurricane, flood, or storm. Technology saves 

time and can be critical to getting roads and bridges repaired and open to traffic again after a 

natural disaster, especially when the damage is widespread and difficult to access. FHWA’s 

Emergency Relief and Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads programs collaborated 

with local government and private industry stakeholders to develop an app designed to simplify 

laborious and time-consuming data collection for FHWA, state DOTs, Federal land management 

agencies, and Tribal governments. FHWA’s Mobile Solution for Assessment and Reporting 

(MSAR) allows officials to gather field data via mobile device, making the process faster and 

easier by shortening a process that once took about 18 hours to 20 minutes. FHWA estimates that 

MSAR will save taxpayers an estimated $1.2 million per disaster.

FHWA’s Texas division office, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and local 

public agencies have used MSAR to assess damages and to complete more than 900 reports. 

GVT (top left) over the LPRV, LPRV (bottom left), and car impacts GVT 

at 25 mph (right), Source: NHTSA
92

FHWA stakeholders used MSAR to assess damage created by Hurricane Harvey, which caused 

catastrophic flooding in southeastern Texas in August 2017. During the Hurricane Harvey 

response, FHWA and TxDOT saved an estimated 17,000 hours of staff time by using MSAR. 

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions, and 

Noise Program

Through the Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions, and Noise (CLEEN) program, FAA is 

working with industry to accelerate the development and commercial deployment of 

environmentally promising aircraft and engine technologies, as well as sustainable alternative 

fuels. FAA helps the companies in the CLEEN Consortium accelerate their technologies through 

a crucial phase in their maturation, culminating in full-scale ground and flight test 

demonstrations and showing readiness for product implementation. At the conclusion of the 

development effort for a CLEEN technology, each participating company is invested in the 

technology’s success and confident in its maturity to move into product development for entry 

into service. Once this occurs, the CLEEN technologies will realize their fuel burn, emissions, 

and noise benefits for years to come. 

FAA initiated the first phase of the CLEEN program in 2010 by entering into five-year 

agreements with five producers of aircraft, aircraft components, or aviation fuels. From 2010 to 

2015, the FAA invested a total of $125 million. With the funding match from the five 

companies, the total investment exceeded $250 million. Several technologies developed by the 

CLEEN program have been tested and are in use today.

In 2015, FAA initiated a follow-on program, CLEEN II, which continues efforts to achieve the 

CLEEN goals. CLEEN II, which will run from 2015 to 2020, is a partnership with eight 

companies or consortia of companies. FAA plans to invest $100 million in CLEEN II, with costsharing from the industry partners that will match or exceed the Federal contribution. FAA 

anticipates that developed CLEEN II aircraft technologies will be on a path for introduction into 

commercial aircraft by 2026. 

Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Develops Safety System that Detects Potential 

Soil Erosion Damage

FRA’s Research, Development and Technology program developed a new detection system to 

detect potential soil erosion damage. Many railroad bridge piers are susceptible to damage 

caused by scour and other changing soil conditions. Scour is the engineering term for the erosion 

of soil surrounding a bridge foundation (piers and abutments). Bridge scour occurs when fastmoving water around a bridge removes sediment from around the bridge foundation, leaving 

behind scour holes. These holes (pockets) can seriously compromise the bridge’s integrity and 

cause track outages and even bridge failure if not detected early. The system can continuously 

measure the structural response of each railroad bridge pier in the U.S. If a dangerous condition 

is detected, an automatic alert is sent to bridge inspectors. 

Since 2012, FRA stakeholders including Union Pacific, BNSF, Canadian Pacific, Metro-North 

Railroad, Long Island Railroad, Southeast Pennsylvania Transit Authority, and others have 

installed this technology on bridges. These bridges are located across the continental United 

States and span vital waterways, such as the Mississippi River, Missouri River, Santa Ana River, 
93 

and the Lake Washington Ship Canal. Some bridge owners have also adopted the technology to 

detect bridge impacts from barges and motor vehicles. Canadian Pacific used the technology to 

monitor a bridge in 2017 with a large scour pocket, which allowed rail traffic to keep moving 

safely until the pocket could be filled. 

In 2017, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers installed the detection system on a bridge as part of a 

project in Southern California. The bridge consists of three lines carrying both freight and 

passenger trains. The Prado Dam upstream of the bridge will increase its flood flow releases 

from 10,000 ft3

/sec to more than 30,000 ft3/sec. The sensors will be left in place after 

construction to monitor any signs of scour due to the increased flood flow. 

Federal Railroad Administration (FRA): Positive Train Location

Positive Train Location (PTL), a multi-year development effort led by FRA, culminated in 2017 

with a successful technology transfer to railroads and their suppliers. This system uses global 

positioning system (GPS) technology that is augmented with inertial sensors to provide 

locomotive onboard systems with very high-precision train location data even under GPSchallenged environments (e.g., tunnels, urban canyons). This helps prevent train collisions by 

enabling train systems to determine with a higher degree of confidence which track a train is 

using while traveling in multiple track territory. As a mechanism for maintaining safe train 

spacing, the technology is also foundational for the development of rail automation. Under FRA 

funding and management, the system was conceptualized, prototyped, and tested at the 

Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, CO. Currently, the technology is fully transferred 

from FRA to railroads and suppliers. It is being unit-tested by Union Pacific and BNSF railroads 

and is expected to be commercially available off-the-shelf in 2018. 
94

Department of Veteran Affairs (VA)

VA is the cabinet level agency whose mission statement strives to fulfill President Lincoln’s 

promise:

“To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his 

orphan.”

The VA works to meet that promise through the service and honor of the men and women who 

are America’s Veterans, by holding all employees to the core values of Integrity, Commitment, 

Advocacy, Respect and Excellence. VA has three administrative elements whose goals are to 

provide encompassing and integrated care for our nation’s veterans and their families:

• Veterans Health Administration (VHA), whose mission is to honor America’s Veterans 

by providing excellent health care that improves their health and well-being;

• Veterans Benefits Administration, whose mission is to provide benefits and services to 

the Veterans and their families in a responsive, timely and compassionate manner in 

recognition of their service to the nation; and

• National Cemetery Administration, whose mission is to honor Veterans and their eligible 

family members with final resting places in national shrines and with lasting tributes that 

commemorate their service and sacrifice to our Nation.

For over 90 years, the VA Research program has improved Veterans’ lives through scientific 

discovery, health care innovation, and service delivery. The Office of Research and 

Development (ORD) is the division within the Veteran’s Health Administration which aspires to 

discover knowledge, develop VA researchers and health care leaders, and create innovations that 

advance health care for our Veterans and the Nation. The research program within the 

Department of Veterans Affairs has an illustrious past in which its researchers have won three 

Nobel prizes in medicine, seven Lasker Awards, one Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award and also 

created the largest Genomic Medicine sample collection program in the world (the Million 

Veteran Program). 

As of FY17, ORD is headquartered in Washington, DC but includes an estimated 2,500 VA

investigators and 10,000 research staff located at over 100 VA Medical Centers nationwide. 

Over sixty percent of VA Medical Centers have an embedded on-site research program which 

mirrors the diversity of the VA hospitals in size, scope, and complexity. These research 

programs receive guidance and competitive intramural funding from VA ORD but manage their 

research offices and programs independently. VA Research differs from other federal research 

programs in that it is completely funded with intramural dollars. VA investigators can apply for 

other federal and private funds, but non-VA employees or appointees cannot receive VA 

research funding. VA hospitals and research programs work with the Office of Academic 

Affiliations to partner with academic institutions and universities to broaden available resources 

for both patient care and research. By partnering with others who have common research 

interests, ORD is able to leverage resources, deepen innovations and expand the impact of 

federal research investments. 
95 

ORD provides oversight of four research services and three supportive programs, each headed by 

a director, supervised by the Chief Research and Development Officer (CRADO), who in turn 

reports to the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Policy and Services. Together, these offices 

form a cohesive whole directed to explore all phases of veterans' healthcare needs and interact 

with a number of world-renowned research centers nationwide. The four research services are as 

follows: 

The Biomedical Laboratory Research & Development Service (BLR&D) conducts research that 

explores basic biological or physiological principles in humans or animals but does not involve 

intact human beings. For example, it includes research on animal models and investigations of 

tissues, blood, or other biologic specimens from humans. The Genomic Medicine Program and 

the Million Veteran Program are housed within BLR&D.

The Clinical Science Research and Development Service (CSR&D) conducts research which is 

focused on intact human beings as the unit of examination. Examples include interventional and 

effectiveness studies, clinical, epidemiological, and technological studies. 

The Health Services Research and Development Service (HSR&D) pursues research at the 

interface of health care systems, patients, and health care outcomes. HSR&D underscores all 

aspects of VA healthcare; specifically, quality, access, patient outcomes and healthcare costs. 

The Rehabilitation Research & Development Service (RR&D) is dedicated to the well-being of 

America's veterans through a full spectrum of research from approved rehabilitation research 

projects, through evaluation and commercialization to final clinical application. 

As of FY17, the three supportive programs housed within ORD include VA Technology 

Transfer, the VA Non-Profit offices, and the Program for Research Integrity Development and 

Education (PRIDE) which provides oversight and programmatic certification for human research 

compliance. Each of these supportive programs provide overall support to all ORD services and 

programs while also supporting field researchers, and in the case of Technology Transfer, 

supports all VA employees with any inventions. 

ORD’s mission is focused on improving the future of healthcare for Veterans, and Technology 

Transfer provides a pathway within VA to move research or employee innovations and 

inventions from concept to benefitting the veteran, fulfilling Technology Transfer’s mission 

motto of “Bringing Research Advancements for Veterans to Everyone” (BRAVE). 

More information about VA technology transfer activities is available online. 
96 

VA Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, new inventions disclosed increased by 109% from 282 to 589 

disclosures in FY 2017. Patent applications filed increased by 54% to 163, while patents issued

increased by 61% to 50 patents.

VA Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Patents issued to VA in FY 2017 covered many technology areas, including Pharmaceuticals 

(36%), Medical Technology (23%), Biotechnology (15%), and Basic Materials Chemistry 

(11%).27 

USPTO Patents Assigned to VA by Technology Area: FY 2017 

27 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using USPTO data indexed in PatentsView in October 2018. Used with 

permission.

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

New Invention Disclosures 282 289 217 239 589

Patent Applications Filed 106 116 116 104 163

Patents Issued 31 37 54 54 50
97

VA Licenses

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total active licenses increased by 35% from 194 to 262 licenses 

while new invention licenses decreased by 89% to 1. Income bearing licenses increased by 223% 

to 42 while income bearing exclusive licenses increased by 260% to 36.

VA Licenses

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Licenses, Total Active 194 197 200 261 262

New Licenses 9 3 3 1 1

Invention Licenses, Total Active 194 197 200 260 261

New Invention Licenses 9 3 3 1 0

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 13 14 16 42 42

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 10 9 11 35 36
98 

VA Income from Licensing

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, VA reported that total income from all active licenses increased

by 26% from $389 thousand to $491 thousand in FY 2017. Income from invention licenses and 

earned royalty income were the same as income from all active licenses.

VA Income from Licensing ($000s) 

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Total Income, All Active Licenses $389 $336 $494 $316 $491

Invention Licenses $389 $336 $494 $316 $491

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $389 $336 $494 $316 $491
99

VA Collaborative R&D Relationships

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total active CRADAs decreased by 18% from 2,181 to 1,785

agreements in FY 2017. New CRADAs increased by 27% to 575 new agreements in FY 2017.

Traditional CRADAs decreased by 18% from 1,982 in FY 2013 to 1,619 in FY 2017. No other 

collaborative R&D relationships were reported.

VA Collaborative R&D Relationships

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

CRADAs, Total Active 2,181 2,317 2,305 2,613 1,785

New CRADAs 453 517 509 502 575

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 1,982 2,126 2,113 2,359 1,619

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 0 0 0 0 0
100

VA Efforts to Streamline Technology Transfer Operations

As of FY 2017, the Technology Transfer Program continues to improve existing operations and 

stakeholder communication in FY 2017 as a continuation of the processes and stewardship 

instituted by Dr. Kaplan, PhD, JD, PE as the TTP Director, with support from Dr. Ramoni, Chief 

Research and Development Officer. The 8-member staff of the Technology Transfer Program 

consists of 5 Technology Transfer Specialists and 3 administrative staff and provides the support 

for program improvements in both communications and operations as indicated by the table 

below.

VA Downstream Success Stories

Gene Therapy Cure: Path to Combat Genetic and Viral Diseases

After three years of negotiation, the research program at the White River VA Medical Center has 

recently entered into a CRADA with a start-up company to leverage the VA’s experience with 

the CRISPr-cas gene editing system. This remarkable discovery provides the possibility of 

functional gene therapy and a path to cure many genetic and virally caused diseases. The 

company’s initial interest in the White River Research Program arose in part due to the filing by 

the VA of a patent application directed to the use of CRISPr-cas for the treatment of patients 

with HIV. The company is funding research at White River in an amount exceeding half a 

million dollars, with further interest in funding, should the research prove fruitful. TTP 

continues to engage with these parties, reviewing research goals and addressing the resulting 

intellectual property issues.

Medication Reconciliation Algorithm

An exclusive license for the MedRec Tool Plus (Navigator Tool) was executed with Avicenna 

Medical Systems in 2017. This product consists of a series of algorithms, embodied in software 

applications, to improve medication reconciliation. Currently, medical reconciliation is one of 

the most onerous and dangerous aspects of patient discharge (and admission). The tool 

streamlines the process of medication reconciliation, leaves fewer opportunities for error, and 

provides the patient with a clear and concise medication list upon discharge. The tool has already 

been put into use in several VA medical centers. It is expected to eventually be implemented 

across the entire VA. Further, this tool will be marketed to hospitals outside the VA healthcare 

system and thereby bring revenue into the VA for research reinvestment.

Measure Metric FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20

Reduction of Invention Disclosure 

(ID) Backlog % IDs in Backlog 45% <1%

% Active IP Fields Being Tracked 40% 80% 85% >90% >98%

% Annual CRADA Reports Received 50% 100%

ATTAINED

Improved Data Management ATTAINED
101 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

EPA’s FTTA Program was established to promote collaboration between private sector and 

federal researchers. EPA offers exceptional opportunities to develop and commercialize new 

technologies. Through the authority given to EPA by the FTTA, EPA facilitates the transfer of 

new technologies to the marketplace while protecting the intellectual property rights of all 

parties.

Partners in the FTTA Program have the benefit of collaborating with world-class EPA scientists 

involved in leading-edge research. Collaboration enhances the quality of research projects and 

helps move environmental technologies into the marketplace, resulting in better protection of 

human health and the environment. 

EPA’s annual technology transfer report is available online, 

More information about EPA technology transfer activities is available online. 
102 

EPA Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, new inventions increased by 63%, from 8 disclosures in FY 

2013 to 13 in FY 2017. Patent applications filed decreased by 43% to 4, while patents issued

decreased by 81% to three patents.

EPA Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Patents issued to EPA in FY 2017 covered many technology areas including Measurement 

(39%), Environmental Technology (20%), Analysis of Biological Materials (13%), and MicroStructural and Nano-Technology (13%).28 

USPTO Patents Assigned to EPA by Technology Area: FY 2017 

28 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using USPTO data indexed in PatentsView in October 2018. Used with 

permission.

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

New Invention Disclosures 8 5 7 6 13

Patent Applications Filed 7 9 4 1 4

Patents Issued 16 5 7 3 3
103 

EPA Licenses

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total active licenses decreased by 5% from 40 licenses in FY 

2013 to 38 licenses in FY 2017. New licenses increased by 150% to 5. All active licenses were 

invention licenses. Income-bearing licenses declined by 11% to 31 while exclusive incomebearing licenses declined by 22% to seven. 

EPA Licenses

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Licenses, Total Active 40 40 37 35 38

New Licenses 2 6 0 8 5

Invention Licenses, Total Active 40 40 37 35 38

New Invention Licenses 2 6 0 8 5

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 35 33 31 31 31

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 9 8 7 7 7
104

EPA Income from Licensing

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, EPA reported that total income from all active licenses 

increased by 113% from $193 thousand to $412 thousand in FY 2017. All income from licenses 

came from invention licenses. Total earned royalty income increased 113% from $193 thousand 

in FY 2013 to $412 thousand in FY 2017.

EPA Income from Licensing ($000s)

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Total Income, All Active Licenses $193 $439 $232 $466 $412

Invention Licenses $193 $439 $232 $466 $412

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $193 $439 $232 $466 $412
105

EPA Collaborative R&D Relationships

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total active CRADAs increased by 25% to 140 agreements from 

a previous 112 in FY 2013. New CRADAs increased by 6% to 54 new agreements in FY 2017.

Traditional CRADAs decreased by 7%. No other collaborative R&D relationships were reported.

EPA Collaborative R&D Relationships

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

CRADAs, Total Active 112 129 97 103 140

New CRADAs 51 35 23 44 54

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 55 52 50 55 51

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 0 0 0 0 0
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EPA Downstream Success Stories

Wildland Fire Research Results: Keeping Timber Slash Piles Dry Reduces Pollutants 

During Prescribed Burning

Researchers found that prescribed burning of dry piles of post-harvest Douglas-Fir slash (cut 

timber and timber debris) exhibited significantly lower emissions than wet piles due to better 

combustion efficiency, according to a study funded by the Oregon Department of Forestry and 

the EPA through a CRADA. 

Polyethylene sheets (PE) have been used on timber slash piles to prevent moisture exposure. 

Tests from this study suggest that use of PE as a biomass cover to keep slash piles dry results in 

lower emission factors than those from piles exposed to moisture, which reduces pollutant levels 

during prescribed burning. Also, burning the PE cover on the pile was found to have no 

distinctive effect on emissions. These emission factor data results can be used by management 

and regulatory communities to inform smoke management practices and limit potential hazards 

related to prescribed burning of slash piles.

EPA Evaluates Effectiveness of Arsenic Water Treatment Systems for Small Communities

Starting shortly after a 2001 lowering of the arsenic drinking water standard, EPA researchers at 

the National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) engaged in a series of CRADAs

with small communities to assist with selection and installation of arsenic mitigation 

technologies, with the benefit of analyzing the capital and operational cost and real-world 

effectiveness of these systems. During the course of these projects, arsenic treatment 

technologies were installed at 50 different sites with detailed cost and performance reports 

published on each system. Over half of the sites utilized adsorptive media systems that utilized 

11 different media products. The remainder of the systems were split among four other types of 

treatment technologies. Flows of the individual systems ranged from 10 to 640 gallons per 

minute.

In recent years, the EPA researchers followed up with these communities – which include 

schools, housing developments, and small towns - to check on the effectiveness and longevity of 

the systems. About 90% of the systems are still in operation after 8-10 years. The researchers 

found that the ion exchange systems had the most problems and required the greatest operational 

attention. In general, iron removal systems had the fewest performance and operational 

problems. The majority of adsorptive media systems, which require the replacement of the 

adsorptive media when exhausted, continue to operate with about half having switched to a 

better performing (life) media product.

The value of these CRADAs lies in EPA’s expertise to assist small communities with treating 

arsenic levels above the standard by selecting appropriate arsenic water treatment systems and

assisting with their installation. EPA also gained valuable information regarding the stability and 

effectiveness of these various technologies. A decade after their installation, it is beneficial to see 

that 90% of the systems are still operating, bringing safer drinking water to these communities. 

Equally important is the published reports produced by these projects that have been used 

extensively by other communities and state agencies in selecting the best treatment system to 

achieve compliance of the arsenic rule. 
107

Bringing Portable Water Treatment to Hurricane-Impacted Puerto Rico

Delivering safe drinking water is a concern around the world, but it is paramount to 

environmental and human health in developing countries and in disaster-ravaged areas. The EPA 

has a decades long mandate to protect drinking water sources and to ensure that communities are 

delivering the highest quality water possible to their customers. 

This year hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria significantly impacted Texas, Florida, Puerto 

Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and brought to light the importance of providing safe drinking 

water to those impacted by the storm. Hurricane Maria’s impact to Puerto Rico was particularly 

severe due to the complete power loss and disabling of nearly all the drinking water utilities. In 

addition to physical damage to the utilities, the storm also caused potentially harmful pollutants 

to enter source waters. 

The EPA has had a long-standing interest in supporting communities in their efforts to rebound 

from man-made and natural disasters. One area of significant focus has been, and continues to 

be, on addressing the serious water contamination implications of natural disasters. This focus 

ensures that a ready supply of safe drinking water is available until the water utilities are up and 

running again. 

The Agency realized there is a need for turnkey, robust water treatment systems that are capable 

of being transported and quickly set up to provide safe drinking water. In 2015, the EPA entered 

into a CRADA with WaterStep (Louisville, KY) to develop an affordable, modular, mobile water 

treatment technology system specifically designed for use in rural areas, in developing countries, 

and in emergency response efforts. EPA’s role in the CRADA has been to provide technical 

assistance and logistical and environmental sampling and analysis support. 

As a result of this CRADA, the Emergency Mobile Water System was designed, and prototypes 

were built. Within days after Hurricane Maria passed through, multiple Mini Water Treatment 

Units (Mini) (a version of the Emergency Mobile Water System) were deployed in Puerto Rico. 

These units are a rapid-deployment option and provide system redundancy for disaster relief 

organizations, water utilities, or others responsible for providing safe water. Each Mini includes 

everything needed for quick assembly and operation and can deliver safe drinking water within 

30 minutes of set-up. Each unit has a solar panel and a chlorine generator. Even as the country 

continues to restore power to utilities, the water treatment units can provide up to 10,000 gallons 

of drinking water per day. The collaborative effort formed by this CRADA has had a significant 

impact on the communities and the people of Puerto Rico.
108 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

NASA has a well-earned reputation for leading the federal government in technology transfer. 

From cell phone cameras and memory foam to aerogel insulation and modern truck designs, 

NASA inventions are ubiquitous in society and stick out in the minds of the public as examples 

of taxpayer dollars returning spinoff benefits. 

As mandated by Congress, as far back as the 1958 Space Act that created the space agency, 

NASA has worked to ensure that the results of its space and aeronautics activities benefit the 

whole of humanity. To that end, NASA’s Technology Transfer Program serves as the nation’s 

curator of aerospace technology assets, identifying and protecting inventions and ensuring they 

are distributed to individuals, academia, and industry as widely as possible. The program 

processes more than 1,500 new technologies created by NASA innovators (NASA employees 

and NASA-funded partners’ employees) each year, assessing each for its commercial potential 

and patenting those that are particularly promising. It manages the agency’s technology portfolio, 

negotiates license agreements, and handles requests for NASA software. 

Technology transfer also communicates the societal benefits of NASA’s work to the public 

through its annual Spinoff publication, which has featured more than 2,000 successfully 

commercialized space technologies since its first issue in 1976. 

Over the past decade, NASA’s effective marketing and promotion of its portfolios has led to a 

steady increase in public and government interest in NASA technology for secondary 

applications. 

Managing this increased interest requires constant and continuous process improvements across 

all areas of the technology transfer pipeline—from new internal tools to help NASA innovators 

publish their discoveries and inventions to websites and mobile applications the public can use to 

discover and acquire NASA technology. Technology transfer develops and maintains these tools 

while also conducting public outreach through media, conferences, and other interactions with 

government, university, and commercial organizations. 

Program Achievements in 2017

Thanks to recent technology transfer initiatives, NASA enjoyed another year with increasing 

rates of technology transfer across the board. From a record number of new licenses and software 

usage agreements to numerous big-impact commercial spinoff success stories, NASA remains on 

the forefront of government agencies sharing its intellectual property and technology with the 

private sector.

Invention Disclosure 

New Technology Reports are the first step to technology transfer success. They include any 

invention, discovery, improvement, or innovation that was either conceived or first actually 

reduced to practice in the performance of NASA work. NASA employees are required to 

disclose their inventions to NASA, though for various reasons it is a perennial challenge to 

ensure they are aware of this requirement and follow through with this action. 
109

In order to encourage agency invention disclosures, technology transfer developed and released 

challenge coins to be awarded to inventors, as well as printing a second and third edition of its 

popular inventor notebooks (high quality, hard-backed notebooks with graphed and lined paper). 

Both products are now sought after at NASA and have helped promote awareness of the 

disclosure process and requirements. 

Additionally, the program continues to coordinate agency in reach events, hosting a total of 135 

events across all 10 NASA field centers during 2017. These events educated approximately 

4,300 innovators on their duty to report new technologies and made them aware of recently 

developed technology transfer products that make the process simple and efficient. These 

include, among others:

Innovator Dashboard. A web-based tool for tracking what happens to technologies after 

disclosure. The dashboard gives innovators a one-stop shop for tracking information that before 

now was spread out in many places: for example, whether a technology was patented by the 

agency, resulted in licenses or commercial spinoffs, or was published. 

e-NTR. An online application for submitting new technology reports, e-NTR represents a 

significant improvement on the reporting process. While still under development, the application 

has already streamlined reporting by guiding users through the experience, eliminating redundant 

fields in the form, automating tedious aspects of the process, saving in-progress reports, and 

tracking reports with a user profile that integrates seamlessly with other technology transfer

products (such as the Innovator Dashboard).

These and other initiatives undertaken by technology transfer have helped increase civil servant 

new technology reports, bringing them back to their historical average (approximately 1,700 per 

year) after a recent dip in reporting.

Patent Licensing

NASA’s innovative patent licensing strategy has matured over the course of several years. Since 

2010, patent licensing by the agency has increased nearly five-fold. Fiscal year 2017 saw an 

increase in patent licensing of about 10 percent over the previous year. Currently, there are about 

500 active licenses for NASA-patented technologies, with 119 new licenses executed the past 

year.

Technology transfer continues to manage the patent filing process through policy statements, 

direction to individual centers, and routine budget and strategy meetings with agency patent 

counsel. Through this management, the centers are coordinated and strategic in their intellectual 

property management, filing only patents with known commercial potential and actively 

managing the portfolio to keep it relevant to industry. This past year NASA filed 165 new 

patents on technology with an eye toward near-term commercialization.

NASA is still the only federal agency with a consolidated intellectual property portfolio 

marketing approach. Users can find all available NASA inventions on a single, public-facing, 

fully searchable website that is always up to date. Every one of the thousand-plus technologies in 
110

this database has a corresponding fact sheet in HTML and PDF formats containing a plainlanguage description of the technology, lists of its advantages and applications, and NASA 

contacts for further information.

Individuals and businesses interested in using these NASA technologies can apply for a license 

through a simple, intuitive, and automated online application system known as ATLAS. 

Commercial licenses are negotiated on a case-by-case basis, but NASA also offers a few licenses 

that have low or no up-front costs for startup companies or businesses interested in evaluating a 

technology before committing to it. Thanks to these special licenses and technology transfer’s 

promotion of agency assets to entrepreneurs, about 30 startups founded in the last three years are 

building products using NASA technology.

There are also thousands of formerly patented technologies that NASA has gifted into the public 

domain—again, with a central, searchable database developed by technology transfer within the 

last few years. Anyone can pursue product development using these technologies for free, with 

no requirement to contact NASA. Of notable value among these patents are a large number of 

space-based technologies (e.g., propulsion) that will help foster increasing competition in 

America’s growing commercial space sector.

Software Release

Today more than ever people are using NASA software to solve their technical challenges. In 

2017, software release—that is, acquisitions of software following a request and NASA 

approval—increased by an astounding 193 percent, part of an overall 473 percent increase in 

software release since 2011.

A key element of NASA’s software release success is the software catalog, which is kept up to 

date on a single public facing website. As of the end of 2017, the catalog contains 1,058 software 

packages, all of which are available free of charge and can be downloaded from the site via an 

automated request system. This catalog, first released in 2014, was the first of its kind among all 

agencies of the federal government, which is the world’s largest creator of custom code. 

As with new technology reporting, technology transfer supports innovators at NASA by 

providing products that make it easy and painless to share technology. The Software Release 

System provides agency software developers with a dashboard to track their code as it moves 

through the approval process. This system streamlines and standardizes the review process for 

software across all 10 field centers and increases efficiency by allowing for parallel processing of 

approvals. (Just a couple of years ago this was a manual, serial, and tedious process.) The new 

system also improves our ability to track metrics, enabling program specialists to identify and 

correct problems in the release process in a timely manner. 

NASA’s annual technology transfer reports are available online.

More information about NASA technology transfer activities is available online.
111 

NASA Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, new inventions disclosed increased by 4% from 1,627 in FY 

2013 to 1,690 disclosures in FY 2017. Patent applications filed increased by 10% to 165, while 

patents issued decreased by 3% to 114 patents in FY 2017. 

NASA Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Patents issued to NASA in FY 2017 covered many technology areas including Measurement

(13%), Transport (10%), Telecommunications (7%), and Mechanical Elements (7%).

29 

USPTO Patents Assigned to NASA by Technology Area: FY 2017 

29 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using USPTO data indexed in PatentsView in October 2018. Used with 

permission.

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

New Invention Disclosures 1,627 1,701 1,550 1,554 1,690

Patent Applications Filed 150 140 129 129 165

Patents Issued 118 120 123 103 114
112 

NASA Licenses

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total active licenses increased by 52% from 332 in FY 2013 to 

506 licenses in FY 2017, while new licenses increased by 213% to 119. Total active invention 

licenses increased by 57% to 440 while new invention licenses increased by 252% to 109. Total 

active income bearing licenses increased by 61% to 258 while income-bearing exclusive licenses 

decreased by 27%, from 11 to 8. 

NASA Licenses

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Licenses, Total Active 332 349 375 452 506

New Licenses 38 51 74 107 119

Invention Licenses, Total Active 281 297 321 387 440

New Invention Licenses 31 45 69 97 109

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 160 176 193 245 258

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 11 9 12 14 8
113 

NASA Income from Licensing

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, NASA reported that the total income from all active licenses 

increased by 23% from $2.2 million in FY 2013 to $2.7 million in FY 2017. The income from 

invention licenses increased by 29% to $2.1 million. Total earned royalty income decreased by 

1% to $2.1 million in FY 2017. 

NASA Income from Licensing ($000s) 

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Total Income, All Active Licenses $2,183 $2,095 $3,395 $3,149 $2,682

Invention Licenses $1,644 $1,729 $2,828 $2,750 $2,126

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $2,132 $2,063 $3,250 $2,746 $2,118
114 

NASA Collaborative R&D Relationships

The National Aeronautics and Space Act (Space Act), 51 U.S.C. §§ 20101-20164, provides 

NASA with the unique authority to enter into a wide range of “other transactions,” frequently in 

the form of Space Act Agreements. NASA uses Space Act Agreements to engage in 

collaborative research projects with various partners to advance NASA’s mission and program 

objectives, including international cooperative space activities. Space Act Agreements differ 

from traditional cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs) and therefore in 

this report, Space Act Agreements are included under the category “Other Collaborative R&D 

Relationships.” 

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, Space Act Agreements increased 9% from 1,990 agreements in 

FY 2013 to 2,174 in FY 2017. 

NASA Collaborative R&D Relationships 

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

CRADAs, Total Active 0 1 8 12 0

New CRADAs 0 1 7 5 0

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 0 1 8 12 0

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 1,990 2,091 2,113 2,204 2,174
115

Other Performance Measures Deemed Important by the Agency

Software Release

NASA reports the following software release data.

NASA Downstream Success Stories

Behind the scenes, NASA’s Technology Transfer Program is the engine that ensures spinoffs 

keep spinning. More than 2,000 commercial products have been featured in Spinoff since the 

publication’s debut in 1976.

In 2017, Spinoff captured the stories of 50 companies from across 22 states. Spinoff content is 

refreshed regularly on the publication’s website and routinely featured on NASA’s homepage. 

Spinoff features are promoted to technology transfer’s 250,000 social media followers, which 

contributes to the routine readership of 2–3 million unique Spinoff website visitors per month. 

Examples of successful technology transfer stories featured in Spinoff 2017 include:

CMOS Sensors Enable Phone Cameras, HD Video

In the 1990s, Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer Eric Fossum invented what would become 

NASA’s most ubiquitous spinoff—digital image sensors based on complementary metal oxide 

semiconductors (CMOS). These were significantly smaller and more efficient than the chargecoupled-device imagers of the day and eventually enabled tiny, battery-friendly cell phone 

cameras, high-definition video cameras.

GPS Correction Technology Lets Tractors Drive Themselves

With a license for software created by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to stream corrected 

GPS data and a contract to receive data from JPL’s global network of reference stations, Moline, 

Illinois-based John Deere released StarFire receivers that let tractors drive themselves, were 

affordable, didn’t require a local radio tower, and could be used all over the world. Automated 

guidance reduces the time and resources needed to care for fields and increases crop yield and 

quality.

Rocket Technology Stops Shaking in Its Tracks

In testing, the Ares I launch vehicle displayed a serious vibration problem—shaking that 

resonated dangerously, causing potentially hazardous conditions in the crew capsule right above 

the booster. Engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center found a solution, creating a brand new, 

Software Usage Agreements FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

New Software Usage Agreements Executed 1,368 1,685 2,107 2,620 5,054

Public Domain Release 56 218 303 549 1,891

US Release Only 665 699 930 1,101 1,463

Project Release 289 286 399 325 391

Interagency Release 110 146 167 120 182

NASA Release 166 181 174 388 660
116

low-cost, lightweight damper that could become the industry standard for buildings, bridges, and 

many other structures that vibrate or shake. New York City-based Thornton Tomasetti markets 

the technology to make buildings safer against the wind and from earthquakes.
117

Chapter 3 Conclusion

Technology transfer is an active and essential mission of federal R&D laboratories. By 

leveraging our Nation’s innovative nature and investing in science and technology, we 

strengthen our economy and U.S. competitiveness in world markets. In recent years, agencies 

have engaged in efforts to increase the rate and efficacy of technology transfer activities and 

thereby improve the economic and societal impact from federal R&D investments.

This report provides a summary of the technology transfer activities of all 11 federal agencies 

that are actively involved in R&D. This summary is derived from each agency’s annual 

technology transfer reports that are located online.

Statistical data provided in this report indicate that for all agencies covered by this report,

between FY 2013 and FY 2017 there has been a 6% increase in invention disclosures, a 1% 

increase in patent applications, and an 11% increase in patents issued. In FY 2017, the largest 

number of federal patents issued involved the technical areas of measurement (11%), other 

special machines (8%), biotechnology (7%), electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (7%), 

pharmaceuticals (6%), and computer technology (5%).

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, total active licenses decreased by 6%, new licenses increased by 

39%, invention licenses increased by 5%, and new invention licenses increased by 37%. 

Income-bearing licenses decreased by 5%, and exclusive income-bearing licenses increased by 

60%.

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, income from all licensing decreased by 2%, income from 

invention licenses increased by 4%, and total earned royalty income decreased by 4%.

Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, CRADAs increased by 21%, and new CRADAs increased by 

24%. Traditional CRADAs increased by 10% and other collaborative R&D relationships 

increased by 13%. 

From September 2016 through December 2017, federal researchers published 60,063 papers. 

More than half of these papers were in the fields of biological sciences (25%), medical sciences 

(23%), and engineering (11%) and geosciences (11%). In FY 2017, 18,053 papers cited in U.S. 

patents were authored or coauthored by federal researchers. Of these papers, 87% involved 

research in the fields of biological sciences (41%), medical sciences (24%), physics (11%), and 

chemistry (11%).

Initial effort to determine the number of small businesses involved in federal CRADA

agreements reveals that out of the 6,403 traditional, federal CRADA agreements from agencies 

that tracked small business participation, 23% involve small businesses as participants. Federal

agencies also support small businesses through the licensing of technologies. Initial data reveal

that of the 6,657 active, federal licenses from agencies that could identify company size, 10% 

were issued to small businesses. 
118

Federally developed technologies are also transferred through the actions of young startup 

companies. Companies that have been in existence for five years or less and have spun off 

federally developed technologies or have received critical technical support for their core 

development areas from federal laboratories evidence the effective transfer of federal 

technologies. Review of preliminary data from six agencies identifies 132 companies that started 

between the years of 2013 and 2017 and have received critical technical support from federal 

laboratories.

In summary, this report shows that agencies have made steady progress in their efforts to 

improve the transfer of technologies from federal laboratories. By projecting trend lines for 

patents, invention licenses, CRADAs, and Space Act Agreements, there is clear evidence that 

efforts to streamline and improve processes have been successful. Agencies are now engaged in 

efforts to assess the impact of these efforts to show how federal technology transfer promotes 

economic growth, the creation of new products, and increased employment opportunities.
119

Appendix A

Federal Invention Disclosure and Patenting

Agency Metric FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

USDA New Inventions Disclosed 191 117 222 244 166

Patent Applications Filed 157 119 125 109 111

Patents Issued 65 83 94 60 68

DOC New Inventions Disclosed 41 47 61 64 43

Patent Applications Filed 26 25 32 25 46

Patents Issued 21 19 20 16 34

DoD New Inventions Disclosed 1,032 963 781 874 978

Patent Applications Filed 942 916 884 941 869

Patents Issued 648 670 623 665 630

DOE New Inventions Disclosed 1,796 1,588 1,645 1,760 1,794

Patent Applications Filed 944 1,144 949 999 937

Patents Issued 713 822 755 856 817

HHS New Inventions Disclosed 320 351 321 320 354

Patent Applications Filed 230 216 222 269 289

Patents Issued 428 453 501 579 554

DHS New Inventions Disclosed 21 44 12 24 25

Patent Applications Filed 4 6 12 17 19

Patents Issued 2 3 5 3 2

DOI New Inventions Disclosed 9 6 7 8 12

Patent Applications Filed 8 4 8 4 5

Patents Issued 4 2 3 1 3

DOT New Inventions Disclosed 13 3 0 0 3

Patent Applications Filed 5 0 5 0 7

Patents Issued 1 1 1 1 0

VA New Inventions Disclosed 282 289 217 239 589

Patent Applications Filed 106 116 116 104 163

Patents Issued 31 37 54 54 50

EPA New Inventions Disclosed 8 5 7 6 13

Patent Applications Filed 7 9 4 1 4

Patents Issued 16 5 7 3 3

NASA New Inventions Disclosed 1,627 1,701 1,550 1,554 1,690

Patent Applications Filed 150 140 129 129 165

Patents Issued 118 120 123 103 114

Total Metric FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

New Inventions Disclosed 5,340 5,114 4,823 5,093 5,667

Patent Applications Filed 2,579 2,695 2,486 2,598 2,615

Patents Issued 2,047 2,215 2,186 2,341 2,275
120

Federal Licenses

Agency Metric FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

USDA Licenses, Total Active 400 414 424 441 438

New Licenses 25 30 35 33 38

Invention Licenses, Total Active 351 363 359 370 363

New Invention Licenses 19 28 20 27 29

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 397 412 421 439 437

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 291 299 292 307 302

DOC Licenses, Total Active 38 38 46 57 68

New Licenses 7 7 13 15 19

Invention Licenses, Total Active 38 38 46 57 68

New Invention Licenses 7 7 13 15 19

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 26 26 29 31 35

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 13 14 16 20 19

DoD Licenses, Total Active 527 430 560 515 552

New Licenses 59 24 11 127 162

Invention Licenses, Total Active 425 297 446 358 514

New Invention Licenses 59 6 69 57 24

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 264 223 213 194 396

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses n.a. n.a. n.a. 218 196

DOE Licenses, Total Active 5,217 5,861 6,310 5,410 4,045

New Licenses 568 573 648 621 567

Invention Licenses, Total Active 1,353 1,560 1,336 943 916

New Invention Licenses 153 171 155 145 128

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 3,709 4,215 4,577 3,963 3,057

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 199 141 98 231 190

HHS Licenses, Total Active 1,426 1,555 1,767 1,750 1,806

New Licenses 184 212 279 278 334

Invention Licenses, Total Active 1,069 1,186 1,354 1,721 1,354

New Invention Licenses 152 117 232 221 282

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 809 845 843 837 907

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 25 24 11 23 135

DHS Licenses, Total Active 0 2 4 5 5

New Licenses 0 0 3 1 1

Invention Licenses, Total Active 0 2 4 5 5

New Invention Licenses 0 0 3 1 1

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 0 1 4 1 1

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 0 0 0 0 0
121 

Federal Licenses (continued)

Agency Metric FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

DOI Licenses, Total Active 20 18 20 22 15

New Licenses 3 0 3 0 0

Invention Licenses, Total Active 20 16 18 20 13

New Invention Licenses 3 0 3 0 0

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 16 14 18 17 13

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 4 5 7 8 7

DOT Licenses, Total Active 3 1 2 2 4

New Licenses 1 0 1 2 1

Invention Licenses, Total Active 3 1 2 0 0

New Invention Licenses 1 0 0 0 0

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 3 1 2 2 4

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 0 1 0 0 0

VA Licenses, Total Active 194 197 200 261 262

New Licenses 9 3 3 1 1

Invention Licenses, Total Active 194 197 200 260 261

New Invention Licenses 9 3 3 1 0

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 13 14 16 42 42

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 10 9 11 35 36

EPA Licenses, Total Active 40 40 37 35 38

New Licenses 2 6 0 8 5

Invention Licenses, Total Active 40 40 37 35 38

New Invention Licenses 2 6 0 8 5

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 35 33 31 31 31

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 9 8 7 7 7

NASA Licenses, Total Active 332 349 375 452 506

New Licenses 38 51 74 107 119

Invention Licenses, Total Active 281 297 321 387 440

New Invention Licenses 31 45 69 97 109

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 160 176 193 245 258

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 11 9 12 14 8

Total Metric FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Licenses, Total Active 8,197 8,905 9,745 8,950 7,739

New Licenses 896 906 1,070 1,193 1,247

Invention Licenses, Total Active 3,774 3,997 4,123 4,156 3,972

New Invention Licenses 436 383 567 572 597

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 5,432 5,960 6,347 5,802 5,181

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 562 510 454 863 900
122

Federal Income from Licensing ($000s)

Agency Metric FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

USDA Total Income, All Active Licenses $4,386 $4,928 $5,067 $4,784 $5,703

Invention Licenses $4,054 $4,733 $4,842 $4,456 $5,378

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $3,354 $3,611 $3,510 $3,633 $3,504

DOC Total Income, All Active Licenses $151 $220 $164 $149 $141

Invention Licenses $151 $220 $164 $149 $141

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $151 $220 $164 $149 $141

DoD Total Income, All Active Licenses $21,575 $11,703 $9,448 $6,205 n.a.

Invention Licenses $20,859 $10,890 $8,482 $5,199 n.a.

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $20,438 $7,845 $6,099 $6,205 $7,415

DOE Total Income, All Active Licenses $39,573 $37,885 $33,137 $31,149 $36,567

Invention Licenses $36,068 $32,869 $28,966 $27,364 $33,436

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $27,669 $23,384 $21,245 $16,273 $13,216

HHS Total Income, All Active Licenses $116,448 $137,249 $151,727 $132,833 $134,567

Invention Licenses $103,664 $133,814 $147,512 $130,701 $132,536

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $116,601 $116,765 $114,102 $110,193 $135,963

DHS Total Income, All Active Licenses $0 $3 $5 $12 $20

Invention Licenses $0 $0 $0 $12 $20

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $0 $3 $5 $12 $20

DOI Total Income, All Active Licenses $96 $58 $106 $83 $50

Invention Licenses $96 $58 $106 $83 $50

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $96 $58 $106 $82 $50

DOT Total Income, All Active Licenses $9 $23 $12 $15 $20

Invention Licenses $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $9 $23 $12 $15 $20

VA Total Income, All Active Licenses $389 $336 $494 $316 $491

Invention Licenses $389 $336 $494 $316 $491

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $389 $336 $494 $316 $491

EPA Total Income, All Active Licenses $193 $439 $232 $466 $412

Invention Licenses $193 $439 $232 $466 $412

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $193 $439 $232 $466 $412

NASA Total Income, All Active Licenses $2,183 $2,095 $3,395 $3,149 $2,682

Invention Licenses $1,644 $1,729 $2,828 $2,750 $2,126

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $2,132 $2,063 $3,250 $2,746 $2,118

Total Metric FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Total Income, All Active Licenses $185,003 $194,939 $203,787 $179,161 $180,653

Invention Licenses $167,118 $185,088 $193,626 $171,496 $174,590

Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $171,032 $154,747 $149,219 $140,090 $155,935
123

Federal Collaborative R&D Relationships

Agency Metric FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

USDA CRADAs, Total Active 259 267 301 238 330

New CRADAs 86 60 80 79 91

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 211 193 188 161 296

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 5,408 5,629 4,730 5,628 6,125

DOC CRADAs, Total Active 2,437 2,307 2,752 2,940 2,932

New CRADAs 2,289 2,111 2,548 2,608 2,443

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 206 233 365 335 413

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 2,963 2,981 3,125 3,273 3,181

DoD CRADAs, Total Active 2,682 2,762 2,148 3,125 3,511

New CRADAs 769 671 793 1,061 1,221

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 2,682 2,281 1,601 2,297 2,797

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 606 581 1,389 452 619

DOE CRADAs, Total Active 742 698 732 739 910

New CRADAs 142 162 188 246 320

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 742 698 732 739 910

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 0 0 0 0 0

HHS CRADAs, Total Active 427 532 400 590 588

New CRADAs 104 98 112 134 112

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 313 378 202 391 462

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 114 154 150 147 126

DHS CRADAs, Total Active 114 158 230 343 397

New CRADAs 76 88 98 114 106

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 91 121 200 272 272

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 6 31 30 71 71

DOI CRADAs, Total Active 476 601 826 873 841

New CRADAs 376 423 586 511 477

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 21 35 38 37 58

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 322 292 318 319 247

DOT CRADAs, Total Active 40 51 48 68 67

New CRADAs 8 10 9 22 6

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 3 7 48 62 66

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 26 30 35 152 355

VA CRADAs, Total Active 2,181 2,317 2,305 2,613 1,785

New CRADAs 453 517 509 502 575

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 1,982 2,126 2,113 2,359 1,619

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 0 0 0 0 0

EPA CRADAs, Total Active 112 129 97 103 140

New CRADAs 51 35 23 44 54

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 55 52 50 55 51

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 0 0 0 0 0

NASA CRADAs, Total Active 0 1 8 12 0

New CRADAs 0 1 7 5 0

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 0 1 8 12 0

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 1,990 2,091 2,113 2,204 2,174

Total Metric FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

CRADAs, Total Active 9,470 9,823 9,847 11,644 11,501

New CRADAs 4,354 4,176 4,953 5,326 5,405

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 6,306 6,125 5,545 6,720 6,944

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 11,435 11,789 11,890 12,246 12,898
124

Appendix B

Technology Area Classifications

Mapping of International Patent Classifications to Technology Area30

Analysis of Biological Materials – Includes the investigation or analysis of specific methods not 

covered by other groups. Materials analyzed include food, water, metals, explosives, oils, paints, 

paper, textiles, concrete, resins, wood, and biological material.

Audio-Visual Technology – Includes but is not limited to: advertising, signs, labels or nameplates, seals, arrangements or circuits for control of indicating devices using static means to 

present variable information, scanning details of television systems, color television systems, still 

video cameras, loudspeakers, microphones, stereophonic systems, and printed circuits. 

Basic Communication Processes – Includes but is not limited to generation of oscillations, 

modulation, amplifiers, control of amplification, impedance networks, tuning resonant circuits, 

pulse technique, and general coding, decoding, or code conversion.

Basic Materials Chemistry – Includes but is not limited to: preservation of bodies of humans or 

animals or plants, nitrogenous fertilizers, explosive or thermic compositions, detonating or 

priming devices, means for generating smoke or mist, manufacture of matches, organic dyes, 

coating compositions, natural resins, preparation of glue, adhesives, drying or working-up or 

peat, cracking hydrocarbon oils, production of acetylene by wet methods, lubrication 

compositions, and detergent compositions. 

Biotechnology – Includes but is not limited to: compounds of unknown constitution, peptides, 

apparatus for enzymology or microbiology, micro-organisms or enzymes, fermentation or 

enzyme-using processes to synthesize a desired chemical compound or composition or to 

separate optical isomers from a racemic mixture and measuring or testing processes involving 

enzymes or micro-organisms. 

Chemical Engineering – Includes but is not limited to: boiling, evaporating, sublimation, cold 

traps, crystallization, solvent extraction, displacing liquid, degasification of liquids, filters 

comprising of loose filtering material, cartridge filters of the throw-away type, processes of 

filtration, regeneration of the filtering material or filter elements outside the filter for liquid or 

gaseous fluids, separation of different isotopes of the same chemical element, chemical or 

physical laboratory apparatus for general use, separating solid materials using liquids or using 

pneumatic tables or jigs, centrifuges, flotation, spraying apparatus, treating textile materials by 

liquids, bleaching, drying solid materials or objects by removing liquid therefrom, and plasma 

technique. 

30 Derived from The World Intellectual Property Organization’s International Patent Classification (IPC) 

Correspondence Table and IPC Searchable Classification Database, Version 2016.01.
125

Civil Engineering – Includes but is not limited to: construction of roads, sports ground, 

platforms and refuge islands, landing stages for helicopters, machines for making railways, 

bridges, devices providing protection against weather, street cleaning, ship-lifting devices, 

foundations, excavations, embankments, dredging, water installation, sewers, water-closets or 

urinals with flushing devices, general building constructions, building materials, skylights, 

gutters, stairs, floors, locks, handcuffs, swimming pools, hinges for doors, windows, or wings, 

safes or strong-rooms for valuables, bank protection devices, ladders, earth or rock drilling, 

mining or quarrying, large underground chambers, and safety devices. 

Computer Technology – Includes but is not limited to: digital computers in which all the 

computation is affected mechanically, digital fluid-pressure computing devices, optical 

computing devices, electric digital data processing, analog computers, recognition of data, 

counting mechanisms, image data processing or generation, speech analysis or synthesis, speech 

recognition, and static stores. 

Control – Includes but is not limited to: systems for controlling or regulating non-electric 

variables, ticket-issuing apparatus, time or attendance registers, handling or coins or of paper 

currency or similar valuable papers, con-freed or like apparatus, signaling or calling systems, 

traffic control systems, educational or demonstration appliances, ciphering or deciphering 

apparatus for cryptographic or other purposes involving the need for secrecy, and railway or like 

time or fare tables.

Digital Communication – Includes but is not limited to transmission of digital information, 

selective content distribution, and wireless communication networks.

Electrical Machinery, Apparatus, Energy – Includes but is not limited to: incandescent 

mantles, lighting devices or systems, nonportable lighting devices or systems, cables, conductors, 

insulators, magnets, inductances, transformers, capacitors, electric switches, electric discharge 

tubes or discharge lamps, electric incandescent lamps, spark gaps, emergency protective circuit 

arrangements, dynamo-electric machines, electric heating, static electricity, and generation of 

electric power by conversion of Ingra-red radiation, visible light, or ultraviolet light.

Engines, Pumps, Turbines – Includes but is not limited to: steam engines, rotary-piston or 

oscillating-piston machines or engines, steam engine plants, cyclically operating valves for 

machines or engines, lubricating of machines or engines in general, cooling of machines or 

engines in general, internal-combustion piston engines, gas-turbine plants, jet-propulsion plants, 

starting of combustion engines, machines or engines for liquids, wind motors, positive- and nonpositive displacement pumps, generating combustion products of high pressure or high velocity, 

fusion reactors, nuclear reactors, nuclear power plant, conversion of chemical elements, 

obtaining energy from radioactive sources, and nuclear explosives. 

Environmental Technology – Includes but is not limited to: fire-fighting, separating dispersed 

particles from gases, combinations of devices for separating particles from gases or vapors, 

disposal of solid waste, reclamation of contaminated soil, gathering or removal of domestic or 

like refuse, water treatment, cremation furnaces, and measurement of nuclear or x-radiation.
126

Food Chemistry – Includes but is not limited to: new plants or processes for obtaining them, 

treatment of flour or dough for baking, preserving by canning, dairy products, edible oils or pats, 

coffee, tea, cocoa, coca products, protein compositions for foodstuffs, feeding-stuffs specially 

adapted for animals, brewing of beer, recovery of by-products of fermented solutions, wine, 

preparation of vinegar, production of sugar juices, extraction of sucrose from molasses, and 

drying sugar.

Furniture, Games – Includes but is not limited to: tables, desks, office furniture, chairs, child 

furniture, special furniture, household or table equipment, furnishings for windows or doors, 

kitchen equipment, sanitary equipment, toilet accessories, domestic washing or cleaning, 

apparatus for physical training, design or layout of courts, bowling games, card games, indoor 

games, merry-go-rounds, swings, toys, devices for theaters and circuses, racing and riding sports 

equipment and accessories.

Handling – Includes but is not limited to: labeling or tagging machines, containers for storage or 

transport of articles of materials, transport or storage devices, handling thick or filamentary 

material, elevators, escalators, moving walkways, cranes, capstans, winches, tackles, pulley 

blocks, hoists, applying closure members to bottles, and filling or emptying of bottles, jars, cans, 

casks, barrels, or similar containers. 

IT Methods for Management – Includes data processing systems or methods, specially adapted

for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial, supervisory, or forecasting purposes.

Machine Tools – Includes but is not limited to: chemical means for extinguishing fires, rolling 

of metal, working or processing of metal wire, making forged or pressed metal products, making 

metal chains, making gears or toothed racks, thread cutting, soldering, welding, abrasive or 

related blasting with particulate material, tools for grinding, hand-held nailing or stapling tools, 

handles for hand implements, workshop equipment, saws for wood or similar material, working 

veneer or plywood, dovetailed work, removing bark or vestiges of branches, and accessory 

machines or apparatus for working wood or similar materials.

Macromolecular Chemistry, Polymers – Includes but is not limited to polysaccharides, 

treatment or chemical modification of rubbers, derivatives of natural macromolecular 

compounds, use of inorganic or non-macromolecular organic substances as compounding 

ingredients, and compositions of macromolecular compounds.

Materials, Metallurgy – Includes but is not limited to: foundry molding, casting of metals, 

working metallic powder, non-metallic elements, ammonia compounds, cyanogen compounds, 

compounds of alkali metals, chemical composition of glasses, manufacture of iron or steel, 

processing of pig-iron, production or refining of metals, alloys, and changing the physical 

structure of non-ferrous metals or non-ferrous alloys.

Measurement – Includes but is not limited to: measuring linear dimensions, measuring 

distances, surveying, navigation, gyroscopic instruments, measuring volume, weighing, 

measurement of mechanical vibrations, measurement of intensity or velocity, measuring 

temperature or quantity of heat, measuring force, testing static or dynamic balance of machines 
127

or structures, sampling, investigating strength properties of solid materials by application of 

mechanical stress, investigating density or specific gravity of materials; investigating flow 

properties of materials, investigating or analyzing materials by use of optical or thermal means, 

and investigating or analyzing materials by the use of nuclear magnetic resonance, electron 

paramagnetic resonance or other spin effects.

Mechanical Elements – Includes but is not limited to: fluid-pressure actuators, fluid dynamics, 

devices for fastening or securing constructional elements or machine parts, shafts, couplings for 

transmitting rotation, springs, means for damping vibration, belts, cables, ropes, chains, fittings, 

gearing, pistons, cylinders, pressure vessels, valves, devices for venting or aerating, pipes, 

frames, casing, lubricating, safety devices in general, steam traps, gas-holders of variable 

capacity, vessels for containing or storing compressed gases, pipe-line systems, and control 

devices or systems insofar as characterized by mechanical features.

Medical Technology – Includes but is not limited to: diagnosis, surgery, identification, dentistry, 

veterinary instruments, filters implantable into blood vessels, physical therapy apparatus, 

containers specially adapted for medical or pharmaceutical purposes, methods or apparatus for 

sterilizing materials, devices for introducing media into or onto the body, electrotherapy, 

radiation therapy, ultrasound therapy, and x-ray technique.

Micro-Structural and Nano-Technology –Includes but is not limited to: micro-structural 

devices or systems, processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of 

micro-structural devices or systems, specific uses or applications of nano-structures, and nanostructures formed by manipulation of individual atoms, molecules, or limited collections of 

atoms or molecules as discrete units. 

Optics – Includes but is not limited to: optical elements, spectacles, apparatus or arrangements 

for taking photographs, photosensitive materials for photographic purposes, apparatus for 

processing exposed photographic materials, photomechanical production of textured or patterned 

surfaces, electrography, devices used to stimulate emission, and holographic processes or 

apparatus.

Organic Fine Chemistry – Includes but is not limited to cosmetics or similar toilet preparations, 

general methods of organic chemistry, acyclic or carbocyclic compounds, heterocyclic 

compounds, steroids, derivatives or sugars, nucleosides, nucleic acids, and combinatorial 

chemistry.

Other Consumer Goods – Includes but is not limited to: machines for making cigars, smoke 

filters, match boxes, shirts, corsets, outerwear, suspenders, artificial flowers, wigs, masks, 

feathers, hats and head coverings, characteristic features of footwear, buttons, pins, buckles, 

jewelry, coins, walking sticks, umbrellas, purses, luggage, hairdressing or shaving equipment, 

apparatus or methods for life-saving, bookbinding, filing appliances, implements for writing or 

drawing, apparatus or tools for artistic work, saddles, stirrups, upholstering methods, ropes or 

cables in general, musical instruments with associated blowing apparatus, and methods or 

devices for protecting against, or for damping, noise or other acoustic waves in general.
128 

Other Special Machines – Includes but is not limited to: soil working in agriculture or forestry, 

planting, sowing, fertilizing, harvesting, mowing, threshing, cultivation of vegetables, 

manufacture of dairy products, animal husbandry, shoeing of animals, machines or equipment 

for making, slaughtering, processing meat, machines or apparatus for treating harvested fruit, 

preparing grain for milling, shaping clay or other ceramic compositions, working stone or stonelike materials, shaping or joining of plastics, additive manufacturing, manufacturing or shaping 

of glass, sugar extraction, weapons for projecting missiles without the use of explosive or 

combustible propellant charge, small arms, apparatus for launching projectiles or missiles from 

barrels, weapon sights, targets, explosive charges, blasting, and ammunition fuses. 

Pharmaceuticals – Includes but is not limited to: preparations for dentistry, medicinal 

preparations characterized by special physical form, medicinal preparations containing organic 

and inorganic active ingredients, medicinal preparations containing peptides, preparations for 

testing in vivo, electrically conductive preparations for use in therapy or testing in vivo, 

radioactive non-metals and metals, specific therapeutic activity of chemical compounds or 

medicinal preparations, and containing or obtained from roots, bulbs, leaves, bark, seeds, grains, 

flowers, stems, branches, or twigs. 

Semiconductors – Includes semiconductor devices and electric solid-state devices not otherwise 

provided. 

Surface Technology, Coating – Includes but is not limited to: apparatus and processes for 

applying liquids or other fluent materials to surfaces, layered products, coating metallic material, 

enameling of metals, nonmechanical removal of metallic material from surfaces, cleaning or degreasing of metallic material by chemical methods other than electrolysis, and single-crystal 

growth. 

Telecommunications – Includes but is not limited to transmission systems for measured values, 

waveguides, resonators, aerials, transmission, broadcast communication, multiplex 

communication, secret communication, jamming of communication, telephonic communication, 

and scanning, transmitting, or reproducing documents. 

Textile and Paper Machines – Includes but is not limited to: appliances or methods for making 

clothes, manufacture of brushes, making articles of paper or cardboard, processes for the 

manufacture or reproduction of printing surfaces, typewriters, stamps, printing plates or foils, 

mechanical treatment of processing of leather in general, preliminary treatment of fibers, 

spinning or twisting, crimping or curling fibers, shedding mechanisms, auxiliary weaving 

apparatus, knitting, braiding or manufacturing of lace, sewing, embroidering, mechanical or 

pressure cleaning of carpets, decorating textiles, and paper-making machines.

Thermal Processes and Apparatus – Includes but is not limited to: methods of steam 

generation, superheating of steam, methods or apparatus for combustion using fluid or solid fuel, 

burners, grates, feeding fuel to combustion apparatus, regulating or controlling combustion, 

ignition, domestic stoves or ranges, air-conditioning, fluid heaters, ice production, steam or 

vapor condensers, other heat exchange apparatus, and cleaning of internal or external surfaces of 

heat-exchange or heat-transfer conduits. 
129 

Transport – Includes but is not limited to: vehicle wheels, vehicle tires, vehicle suspension 

arrangements, windows, windscreens, arrangement or mounting of propulsion units or of 

transmissions in vehicles, propulsion of electrically-propelled vehicles, power supply lines or 

devices along rails for electrically-propelled vehicles, vehicles adapted for load transportation, 

arrangement of signaling or lighting devices, vehicle brake control systems, air-cushion vehicles, 

locomotives, body details or kinds of railway vehicles, rail vehicle suspensions, shifting or 

shunting of rail vehicles, guiding railway traffic, hand-propelled vehicles, vehicles drawn by 

animals, trailers, cycle stands, cycle saddles or seats, brakes specially adapted for cycles, rider 

propulsion of wheeled vehicles or sledges, ships or other waterborne vessels, offensive or 

defensive arrangements on vessels, marine propulsion or steering, auxiliaries on vessels, lighterthan-air aircraft, airplanes, helicopters, equipment for fitting in or to aircraft, flying suites, 

parachutes, and cosmonautics. 
130 

Appendix C

Fields and Subfields of S&E Publications Data31

Agricultural Sciences: dairy animal sciences, agricultural and food sciences

Astronomy 

Biological Sciences: general biomedical research, miscellaneous biomedical research, 

biophysics, botany, anatomy and morphology, cell biology, cytology, and histology, ecology, 

entomology, immunology, microbiology, nutrition and dietetics, parasitology, genetics and 

heredity, pathology, pharmacology, physiology, general zoology, miscellaneous zoology, general 

biology, miscellaneous biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, virology 

Chemistry: analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, polymers, general 

chemistry, applied chemistry, inorganic and nuclear chemistry 

Computer Sciences

Engineering: aerospace engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical 

engineering, mechanical engineering, metals and metallurgy, materials engineering, industrial 

engineering, operations research and management, biomedical engineering, nuclear technology, 

general engineering, miscellaneous engineering and technology 

Geosciences: meteorology and atmospheric sciences, geology, earth and planetary sciences, 

oceanography and limnology, marine biology and hydrobiology, environmental sciences 

Mathematics: applied mathematics, probability and statistics, general mathematics, 

miscellaneous mathematics

Medical Sciences: endocrinology, neurology and neurosurgery, dentistry, environmental and 

occupational health, public health, surgery, general and internal medicine, ophthalmology, 

pharmacy, veterinary medicine, miscellaneous clinical medicine, anesthesiology, cardiovascular 

system, cancer, gastroenterology, hematology, obstetrics and gynecology, otorhinolaryngology, 

pediatrics, psychiatry, radiology and nuclear medicine, dermatology and venereal disease, 

orthopedics, arthritis and rheumatism, respiratory system, urology, nephrology, allergy, fertility, 

geriatrics, embryology, tropical medicine, addictive diseases, microscopy 

Other Life Sciences: speech/language pathology and audiology, nursing, rehabilitation, health 

policy and services 

Psychology: clinical psychology, behavioral and comparative psychology, developmental and 

31 Sources: SRI International; Science-Metrix; National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and 

Engineering Statistics, Integrated Science and Engineering Resources Data System (WebCASPAR) database 

system. Science and Engineering Indicators 2016, Appendix Table 5-24. Used with permission. 
131 

child psychology, experimental psychology, human factors, social psychology, general 

psychology, miscellaneous psychology, psychoanalysis 

Physics: acoustics, chemical physics, nuclear and particle physics, optics, solid state physics, 

applied physics, fluids and plasmas, general physics, miscellaneous physics 

Social Sciences: economics, international relations, political science and public administration, 

demography, sociology, anthropology and archaeology, area studies, criminology, geography 

and regional sciences, planning and urban studies, general social sciences, miscellaneous social 

sciences, science studies, gerontology and aging, social studies of medicine 
Addendum – Response to 2018 GAO Licensing Recommendations

In 2018, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report entitled Federal 

Research: Additional Actions Needed to Improve Licensing of Patented Laboratory Inventions 

(GAO-18-327)32. This report recommends that “[t]he Secretary of Commerce should instruct 

NIST to fully report the range of challenges in federal patent licensing, such as those outlined in 

this report, by, for example, leveraging its survey of practices at federal technology transfer 

offices, past studies conducted by the FLC, and agency reports, and include that information in 

its summary reports to Congress.” This recommendation aligns with the PMA and is a 

continuation of long running efforts by the federal interagency technology transfer community. 

This addendum to the FY17 Federal Technology Transfer Report is included to respond to 

GAO’s recommendation. 

Challenges in Federal Patent Licensing

The President’s Management Agenda (PMA) set a Cross Agency Priority (CAP) goal to improve 

the transfer of technology from federally funded research and development (R&D) to the private 

sector to promote U.S. economic growth and national security. The federal government provides 

approximately $137 billion annually in both intramural and extramural funding for R&D to help 

further agencies’ missions. Approximately one-third is invested at Federal labs, funding the 

research that underlies the innovation and technology transfer activities described in this report. 

The intellectual property generated by federal laboratory R&D activities has application beyond 

each agency’s immediate, mission-related goals – in accordance with the will of Congress, it is 

the responsibility of the federal government to ensure the full use of the results of the Nation’s 

investment in R&D33. Federal laboratories were given the authority to grant licenses on federally 

owned inventions in 35 U.S.C. § 209; granting a license “is a reasonable and necessary incentive 

to call forth the investment capital and expenditures needed to bring the invention to practical 

application, or otherwise promote the invention’s utilization by the public.” 

NIST, in coordination with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, launched 

the Return on Investment (ROI) Initiative to advance the PMA and its Lab-to-Market (L2M) 

CAP goal. The ROI initiative’s objectives were to assess and streamline the transfer of federally 

funded technology by identifying critically needed improvements to Federal technology transfer 

policies and practices through seeking broad input from Federal R&D, intellectual property, and 

technology transfer stakeholders. On April 27, 2019, NIST published the final ROI green paper 

as NIST Special Publication 123434. The ROI green paper is a discussion document that provides 

a summary of key stakeholder inputs and identifies findings by NIST that will help inform future 

deliberations, decision-making, and implementing actions by the relevant departments and 

agencies that could further enhance the U.S. innovation engine. 

32 Additional Actions Needed to Improve Licensing of Patented Laboratory Inventions, June 2018, 33 15 U.S.C. § 3710(a)(1) 34 Return on Investment Initiative to Advance the President’s Management Agenda: NIST Special Publication 1234, 

April 2019 
The L2M CAP Goal is executed through five strategies that also form the foundation for the 

organization of the ROI green paper findings. Strategies 1 and 4 contain NIST Findings that 

directly relate to licensing challenges identified in the 2018 GAO report. 

1. Identify regulatory impediments and administrative improvements in Federal

technology transfer policies and practices;

2. Increase engagement with private sector technology development experts and

investors;

3. Build a more entrepreneurial R&D workforce;

4. Support innovative tools and services for technology transfer; and

5. Improve understanding of global science and technology trends and benchmarks.

Under Strategy 1, the stakeholder respondents to the ROI request for information (RFI) 

expressed a general support of federal licensing policies and practices but raised specific issues 

below. Respondents specifically pointed out the lost opportunity to commercialize software 

innovations due to the inability to protect copyright of works created by Federal employees 

(NIST Finding 4). Respondents also reported the lack of clear, uniform policies for the 

ownership, transfer, and licensing of software and datasets has caused confusion in the market 

and served as an impediment to commercialization success. Many respondents urged the Federal 

agencies to identify and implement best practices and uniform policies to facilitate Lab-toMarket licensing. Updating regulations that ensure optimal performance by Federal agencies can 

serve to address market failures, reduce entry barriers, encourage greater competition, and spur 

innovation (NIST Finding 6). Additionally, the L2M community will work to address 

stakeholders’ request to develop guidelines for government licensing practices for intellectual 

property at Federal laboratories to promote commercial use of inventions while maintaining 

flexibility to tailor the specific financial terms of each license (NIST Finding 8B). Likewise, for 

clarity, the Federal agencies will clarify the purpose of royalties for licensing at Federal 

laboratories as a primary method to promote compliance by the licensee to the terms of 

development and practical application of technology (NIST Finding 8C). NIST is currently 

reviewing comments submitted in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published on 

January 4, 2021 that will, among other efforts, address some of these findings, and will continue 

to work with the interagency community and the Federal Laboratory Consortium on developing 

agency best practice resources.

In the Strategy 4 section, RFI respondents note that agency-specific websites can provide some 

information related to technology transfer but present a challenge for users who are interested in 

technologies from more than one agency. Resources such as FLC Business have made progress 

in overcoming these technology silos, but stakeholders indicated a present need for 

improvements to a centralized repository of technology transfer information and opportunities 

across all agencies (NIST Finding 14). Stakeholders requested the development of a data portal 

that is easy for the pubic to access, use, and analyze that has complete information on available 

technologies for further development and Federal R&D programs, facilities, equipment and 

tools, expertise, services, and other relevant assets that are available to the public (NIST Finding 

14A). Interestingly, there is a need for legislative and regulatory changes to Federal laboratories’ 

reporting requirements on R&D partnership opportunities, facilities, equipment and tools, 

expertise, services, and other relevant assets, as such reporting is outside the scope of current 

legislation and regulatory authority (NIST Finding 14B). Access to consolidated information will 
inform not only the extramural stakeholder community but will also help inform individual 

Federal agencies to identify complementary R&D programs, priorities, and assets. NIST is 

currently working with the FLC to improve FLC Business assets and is evaluating updates to 

statutory requirements for agencies to provide regular updates to the datasets of available 

resources.

The report has been used to inform NIST and the White House National Science and Technology 

Council (NSTC) leadership, as well as contributing to additional milestones in the L2M CAP 

goal. Ongoing L2M CAP goal and interagency working groups are currently developing 

assessments of the full range of challenges in federal patent licensing; clarifying the link between 

patent license financial terms and the goal of promoting commercial use; and facilitating 

information exchange between the agencies to provide federal laboratories with information on 

financial terms in comparable patent licenses.