A Review of Nsf Innovation Corps Hearing Committee
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
FROM LAB TO MARKET: A REVIEW OF NSF INNOVATION CORPS HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION DECEMBER 6, 2017 Serial No. 115–40 Printed for the use of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://science.house.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 27–679PDF WASHINGTON : 2018 COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY HON. LAMAR S. SMITH, Texas, Chair FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas DANA ROHRABACHER, California ZOE LOFGREN, California MO BROOKS, Alabama DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois RANDY HULTGREN, Illinois SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon BILL POSEY, Florida AMI BERA, California THOMAS MASSIE, Kentucky ELIZABETH H. ESTY, Connecticut JIM BRIDENSTINE, Oklahoma MARC A. VEASEY, Texas RANDY K. WEBER, Texas DONALD S. BEYER, JR., Virginia STEPHEN KNIGHT, California JACKY ROSEN, Nevada BRIAN BABIN, Texas JERRY MCNERNEY, California BARBARA COMSTOCK, Virginia ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado BARRY LOUDERMILK, Georgia PAUL TONKO, New York RALPH LEE ABRAHAM, Louisiana BILL FOSTER, Illinois DRAIN LAHOOD, Illinois MARK TAKANO, California DANIEL WEBSTER, Florida COLLEEN HANABUSA, Hawaii JIM BANKS, Indiana CHARLIE CRIST, Florida ANDY BIGGS, Arizona ROGER W. MARSHALL, Kansas NEAL P. DUNN, Florida CLAY HIGGINS, Louisiana RALPH NORMAN, South Carolina SUBCOMMITTEE ON RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY HON. BARBARA COMSTOCK, Virginia, Chair FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois RANDY HULTGREN, Illinois ELIZABETH H. ESTY, Connecticut STEPHEN KNIGHT, California JACKY ROSEN, Nevada DARIN LAHOOD, Illinois SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon RALPH LEE ABRAHAM, Louisiana AMI BERA, California DANIEL WEBSTER, Florida DONALD S. BEYER, JR., Virginia JIM BANKS, Indiana EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas ROGER W. MARSHALL, Kansas LAMAR S. SMITH, Texas (II) C O N T E N T S December 6, 2017 Page Witness List ............................................................................................................. 2 Hearing Charter ...................................................................................................... 3 Opening Statements Statement by Representative Barbara Comstock, Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Research and Technology, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives ............................................................................ 4 Written Statement ............................................................................................ 5 Statement by Representative Daniel Lipinski, Ranking Member, Sub- committee on Research and Technology, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives ....................................................... 7 Written Statement ............................................................................................ 9 Statement by Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, Ranking Member, Com- mittee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives 11 Written Statement ............................................................................................ 12 Witnesses: Dr. Dawn Tilbury, Assistant Director, Directorate for Engineering, National Science Foundation Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 14 Written Statement ............................................................................................ 16 Mr. Steve Blank, Adjunct Professor, Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 23 Written Statement ............................................................................................ 25 Dr. Dean Chang, Associate Vice President, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Maryland; Lead Principal Investigator, DC I-Corps Regional Node Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 32 Written Statement ............................................................................................ 35 Dr. Sue Carter, Professor, Department of Physics, Director, Center for Inno- vation and Entrepreneurial Development, University of California, Santa Cruz Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 39 Written Statement ............................................................................................ 42 Discussion ................................................................................................................. 46 Appendix I: Answers to Post-Hearing Questions Dr. Dawn Tilbury, Assistant Director, Directorate for Engineering, National Science Foundation .............................................................................................. 62 Dr. Dean Chang, Associate Vice President, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Maryland; Lead Principal Investigator, DC I-Corps Regional Node ...................................................................................................................... 67 Dr. Dean Chang, Associate Vice President, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Maryland; Lead Principal Investigator, DC I-Corps Regional Node ...................................................................................................................... 68 (III) IV Page Dr. Sue Carter, Professor, Department of Physics, Director, Center for Inno- vation and Entrepreneurial Development, University of California, Santa Cruz ....................................................................................................................... 69 FROM LAB TO MARKET: A REVIEW OF NSF INNOVATION CORPS Wednesday, December 6, 2017 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY, Washington, D.C. The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:07 a.m., in Room 2318 of the Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Barbara Com- stock [Chairwoman of the Subcommittee] presiding. (1) 2 From Lab to Mtltket: Mr. Steve Blank, Stanford University Dr. Dean Associate University of Maryland; Lead Node Dr. Sue Carter, Pn'f"'''""'r, Innovation Cmz 3 U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON AND TECHNOLOGY HEARING CHARTER 2017 FROM: Technology SUB.JECT: Research and Technology "From Lab A The Subcommittee on Research Technology will hold a hearing Corps on Wednesday, December 2017 Office Building. Hearing Purpose: The purpose of the hearing is to Corps (I-Corps) and goal research from to market, to examine recommendations for ofi-Corps Witness List " Dr. Dawn Tilbury, Science Foundation " Mr. Steve Blank, Adjunct Prc•t"'""' !Vl<mdg<:In<:JH • Dr. Dean Chang, Assoctare [nnovation and Entrepreneurship, of Maryland; Lead Principalmv·estuza.tor. Regional Node " Dr. Sue Carter, Professor. Department Center Innovation Entrepreneurial Development, un1vt:rsuv Cruz Staff Contact For questions related to hearing, Jcnn 202-225-6371. 4 Chairwoman COMSTOCK. The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology will come to order. Without objection, the Chair is au- thorized to declare recesses of the Committee at any time. Good morning, and welcome to today’s hearing entitled ‘‘From Lab to Market: A Review of NSF Innovation Corps,’’ I–Corps. I now recognize myself for five minutes for an opening statement. The purpose of today’s hearing is to review the National Science Foundation’s I–Corps program and its goals of preparing scientists and engineers to extend their research from lab to market. The hearing will examine the successes and challenges of the I–Corps program, and the Committee will hear recommendations for the fu- ture of I–Corps and its role in the innovation ecosystem. In research labs today are the seeds for breakthroughs in new fields like quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and bio- engineering, breakthroughs that will continue to transform our lives and the world we live in. Many scientists and engineers are not trained for commercializing those ideas because most did not go to business school or take any business development classes as part of their training. So how do we give them the tools to be suc- cessful entrepreneurs? How do we help scientists and engineers turn their innovations into products and services? In 2011, NSF established I–Corps to help fill that need. I–Corps is a National Innovation Network of eight nodes across the country, which connect academic researchers with the private sector and trains them to be entrepreneurs. NSF funds teams of researchers to go through a seven-week I–Corps curriculum that provides a real-world, hands-on, immersive learning experience. Today, I– Corps is taught at 86 colleges and universities in the United States, and over 1,000 teams have been through the program. I welcome Dr. Dawn Tilbury, the new Assistant Director for En- gineering at NSF, to discuss what NSF has learned from over five years of running the program and collecting data and information. We are also fortunate to have Mr. Steve Blank on the panel, the architect of the NSF I–Corps curriculum. He will explain how his approach trains scientists and engineers to be entrepreneurs in a short period of time, and his vision for the future of I–Corps. We also have on the panel Dr. Dean Chang from the DC. Area I–Corps node to discuss the innovation ecosystem in the Virginia, Maryland, and DC. region.