After Harvard graduate students Benjamin C. Schaefer and Angela Feldhaus spent six years studying the physical mechanisms behind lightweight flight devices, they decided to translate their findings into a new invention.
With their research in hand, they approached Harvard’s Office of Technology Development to license their invention for commercial use. Four years later, Schaefer and Feldhaus not only secured a patent, but also launched start-up company Rarefied Technologies to commercialize their invention.
Schaefer credits the OTD — which helps researchers coordinate corporate partnerships, intellectual property management, technology commercialization, and startup formation — with Rarefied Technologies’ launch.
“It was really helpful in bridging the gap between lab and launch,” Schaefer said.
Rarefied Technologies is one of the 96 startups that OTD helped to develop over the last five years. The office works to commercialize a range of Harvard-based research — from plant-based meat substitutes to energy efficient air conditioning.
Created in 2005, the OTD supports Harvard employees who want to bring their research to the market. Over the last five years, they have helped secure 897 U.S. patents and generated more than $100 million in commercialization revenue.
Christopher J. Petty, director of Business Development at the OTD, said the office acts in a “consulting role” to provide researchers with resources to create businesses around their research and inventions.
“It’s a one-stop shop for the labs,” he said. “Harvard and OTD’s mission is to support Harvard’s researchers to get all these innovations out of the lab and into the real world.”
The office gives researchers access to business services, including drafting pitch decks, recruiting talent, and fundraising. The OTD established partnerships with companies like Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Amazon — securing nearly $300 million in research funding since 2020.
