It s extremely important because it s a significant commitment by industry to begin a company based on this technology, he said. It s typical of what we d like to do, to spin off a company based on the technology, to find an investor who wants to do that, he said. When Dalton s work was published in Science , researchers knew the technology could be used in a variety of applications, from flat-panel displays to automobile radar systems to help avoid collisions. In the short time since then, Dalton said, there have been refinements and improvements, and new applications have been found. Dalton expects universities role in achieving such breakthroughs to continue growing.
Large corporations are no longer as interested in long-term research and development.
They are more interested in licensing technologies developed at universities and small companies, he said. The bottom line is the world has changed and the university is changing to provide service to a dramatically different world, Dalton said. You only have to look around to realize that you couldn t even have trained 20 years ago for some of the jobs that are the most lucrative and important today. That has benefited students who, even as undergraduates, often are deeply involved in research. In our youth today, we see a tremendous entrepreneurial spirit, Dalton said.