This project aims to modernize the research translation model at Binghamton University by shifting from traditional technology transfer and licensing to use-inspired and industry-informed R&D path to commercialization. The project will address key cultural and resource gaps, including limited research community engagement, low awareness and implementation of use-inspired R&D, lack of understanding of the commercialization process, insufficient resources for technology validation and translation, and underrepresentation of women and minorities in the innovation ecosystem. Binghamton EXCEED will grow the organizational buy-in and capacity to affect broad institutional change, validating and deploying at scale an updated model of research translation rooted in fostering use-inspired R&D.

The project will pursue stage-specific capacity-building activities to address existing challenges and to ‘get’, ‘keep’ and ‘grow’ the university’s base of research innovators, ground-breaking inventions, research translation outputs, and new ventures. Providing a high-touch and comprehensive support framework across the technology translation pathway, EXCEED will activate the campus research community through one-on-one mentoring as well as events, seminars, and curricular offerings (GET), launch pre-accelerator training and internship programs and accelerate industry outreach to foster use-inspired R&D (KEEP), and provide prototyping and validation funding, as well as startup launch support (GROW).

This award reflects NSF’s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation’s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.