At East Tennessee State University, promising research is moving closer to practical use with help from scientists, inventors and leaders who recognize that a good idea is only the beginning.
Dr. Katelyn R. Houston is one of them. As director of commercialization, Houston helps ETSU researchers with intellectual property protection, funding and partnerships.
“Innovation that lasts requires more than academic research and market-worthy ideas. It requires people who know how to finish things in hard conditions,” she said.
“My job is to make sure the front door to capturing IP and accessing capital and partnerships is open,” said Houston, a scientist who came from Eastman Chemical, where she spent nearly a decade in product development and corporate innovation.
The Tennessee Technology Advancement Consortium (TTAC) is partly funding Houston’s position, helping the university expand the staff and infrastructure needed to support applied research, invention disclosure and commercialization.
Created by Launch Tennessee, the state’s public-private partnership supporting entrepreneurship and innovation, TTAC provides proof-of-concept funding, one-on-one guidance through programs like its Innovation Fellowship and connections to industry and partner networks across the state.
Source: Building the infrastructure for innovation at ETSU – ETSU News
