ASU TECHNOLOGY INCUBATOR TURNS INVENTIONS INTO REALITY
BYLINE: Andrew Johnson, The Arizona Republic
A lack of technological expertise and money prevents many would-be inventors from turning their ideas into tangible products.
A new Arizona State University office is capitalizing on those roadblocks by connecting inventors with scientists and engineers throughout the university who can develop product prototypes at a fraction of the cost that traditional product development firms typically charge.
"We're there to hold hands during the process for both the faculty and for the company," said Anshuman Razdan, director of the Advanced Technology Innovation Collaboratory, or ATIC.
Housed at ASU's Polytechnic campus in Mesa, ATIC officially got its start last fall but only recently has beefed up its efforts to get clients.
ATIC is the university's latest effort to assist entrepreneurs and adds to a growing list of business incubators in the state.
Consider:
* Arizona State University also runs Technopolis, a business incubator that provides counseling and other resources to fledgling companies.
* Students can get office space and funding through ASU's Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative.
* Faculty members can get help patenting and licensing their inventions through Arizona Technology Enterprises, the university's technology transfer division.
The goal in starting ATIC was to increase ASU's collaboration with industry and stimulate economic activity in the Valley, Razdan said.
"While most of the ASU research revenue comes from projects from federal agencies like the National Science Foundation, a very small amount comes from industry, so one mission is to increase that collaboration," he said.
One-stop shop
Part incubator and part consulting service, ATIC aims to provide clients with a central place to go to determine what they want to build, whom they will need to work with and how much it will cost. It does not provide office space.
ATIC works with individual inventors and companies who need help with everything from building a fully functioning device to developing a sample prototype to show potential investors.
A client who comes to ATIC meets with the staff, who draw up contracts outlining how long it will take to develop a product and how much it will cost.
ATIC then identifies which departments at the university can do market analysis, testing and manufacturing.
"They (the clients) pay us to do whatever has been spelled out in the (contract) ... so it's kind of a one-stop shop for them," said program manager Jane Laux. When ASU senior James Cronican wanted to develop a working prototype for a device that automates laboratory tasks such as separating molecular cells, he knew he would not be able to work with a regular product-consulting firm because of his budget.
"There was really no interest from the companies to (build) us a proof of concept prototype that we wanted," said Cronican, 21, one of ATIC's first clients.
Last summer he turned to ASU's College of Science and Technology at the Polytechnic campus. He said he began working with professors there, and ATIC was brought in later to establish contract terms.
This week his prototype was delivered to ASU's Biodesign Institute, a research laboratory where Cronican now works.
Cronican paid about $10,000 to have his device developed.
ATIC does not take an ownership stake in a client's product, Razdan said.
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Business incubators
The Advanced Technology Innovation Collaboratory at Arizona State University's Polytechnic campus is the latest resource available for entrepreneurs who need product development expertise and business resources. Other incubators include:
* ASU Technopolis:
(480) 727-9010.
* Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative: studentventures.asu
.edu, (480) 965-0036.
* Arizona Center for Innovation: www.azinnovation.com, 1-(520)-382.3260.
* Northern Arizona Technology and Business Incubator: www.natbi.org, 1-(928)-779-7658.
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Reach the reporter at andrew.johnson@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8280. Read his entrepreneurs blog at innovation.azcentral.com.