Transformers pt 2

Part 1.

Vice Chancellor Diedrich explained his philosophy on intellectual property to the Higher Education Subcommittee of the Texas Senate in July 2008 (pdf)

Herein lies the critical cultural distinction between research “purists” and those that believe commercialization is part of the research process. The research purist believes in research for the sake of research – that is, all research has some value and the only necessary output is a paper that contributes to the literature. In other words, the researcher’s obligation ends with an attempt to publish. The commercialization-oriented researcher believes that there is an obligation, where appropriate, to provide a return-on-investment to the taxpayer in the form of protected intellectual property. that could one day become the building block for a new product or service that benefits society. In theory, the difference in perception between these two cultures can be vast. In simple practice, it is the difference between disclosing the invention to the commercialization office prior to publishing, thus optimizing its chance for commercial value, and not disclosing prior to publishing, thereby hindering its chance for commercialization. It is this fundamental research culture shift that must be catalyzed in order for the citizens of the State of Texas to realize the full value of research conducted among its academic centers.

Back in 2006, Diedrich tried to catalyze the culture shift.

To be continued...