Frequently Asked Questions

With $780 million in annual research expenditures, Penn State is ideally suited to be a resource for your research and development needs. Our faculty members and research associates have worked on more than 1,200 projects with approximately 650 companies in the last fiscal year.

Instead of spending capital on new equipment, consider accessing our state of the art equipment available to you through research collaborations with our researchers or in any one of a number of user facilities on campus.

The Office of Technology Management (OTM) is your connection to Penn State expertise. Contact the OTM to initiate a discussion regarding your specific needs and interests.

The free services of the Office of Technology Management help guide you through the entire process. From identification of the best researcher(s) for your needs, through the streamlining of the contracting process, we speed up the timeline of working with the university.

A additional benefit of working with a large university like Penn State is that we have many areas of world class research. Our core research areas include:

• advanced manufacturing
• advanced materials
• agricultural sciences
  
• alternative and renewable energy
• defense related research
• environmental science and technology
  
• information science and technology
• life sciences
  

Responding to the complex demands of today's new products and services that are under development, teams of cross-disciplinary researchers often form to tackle complex challenges. These types of efforts are supported by specific institutes bridging the academic colleges. For more information regarding some of our key interdisciplinary initiatives, go to:

• Materials Research Institute
• The Huck Institutes of the Life Science
• Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment
• Institute for CyberScience
• Social Science Research Institute
• Institute for the Arts & Humanities
  
  

The Office of Technology Management is equipped to guide you through establishing and nurturing a sound relationship with Penn State researchers. We can identify appropriate researchers based on your specific needs, arrange introductory meetings or conference calls, and interface with other administrative offices. When appropriate, a Non-Disclosure Agreement can be employed to handle the disclosure and receipt of confidential/proprietary information between Company representatives and University researchers. We can also help you select, very early in the process, the appropriate contract mechanism to achieve your goals within the necessary time-frame.

Each situation is evaluated on a case-by-case basis with the eventual goal of transferring technology to your Company in a timely and reasonable manner. The Office of Technology Management will work with your technical and legal staff to arrive at a contract vehicle that is fair and reasonable to both parties.

In some instances the University will not attempt to assert any rights to intellectual property resulting from a funded research effort. In other proposed efforts the contribution of both parties warrants the negotiation of contract terms to govern the disposition of intellectual property in a manner that is of benefit to both parties. The key to success in this area is a carefully thought out and presented statement of work which drives the decisions regarding the appropriate contract mechanism and IP terms and conditions.

A partial list of agreement templates is available for review. Each agreement is specific for the work effort being performed and deliverables being requested, whether it is a single project or long-term alliance in which multiple project orders can be issued under an umbrella master-type arrangement. In addition, a Non-Disclosure Agreement template is also available for review to handle the protection of confidential information.

Most of the standard agreements can be tailored to fit specific needs. Our templates should be viewed as a starting point for negotiations. We strive to achieve mutually beneficial arrangements in a timely manner.

Yes. The Penn State Office of Technology Management frequently assists companies looking to partner with the University to jointly develop proposals to target government funding opportunities. We will help you identify potential research expertise, and arrange discussions with appropriate researchers.