Newswise — NEWPORT NEWS, VA – In conducting its research mission, the skilled and resourceful scientists and engineers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility generate ideas and technologies that have the potential to solve real-world problems. Now, with the establishment of its new Research and Technology Partnerships Office, the lab is expanding its capabilities to put the lab’s scientific and technological advances to work to the benefit of society.
The office will be led by Marla Schuchman, a business strategist with strong ties to the Hampton Roads entrepreneurial ecosystem and international startup community, and who was recently hired to lead this effort.
“The establishment of the Research and Technology Partnerships Office is an important step to ensure the unique ideas and technologies that are developed here go on to benefit society, our nation and our region,” said Jefferson Lab Director Stuart Henderson. “We welcome Marla to the lab and look forward to the work she does with our inventors, researchers and potential partners to put our technologies to work.”
Under Schuchman, the Research and Technology Partnerships Office will ensure that intellectual property opportunities generated in support of the lab’s research mission receive the focus, support and outreach they need to reach the marketplace. She will also initiate and lead new programs related to the lab’s mission.
In this new role, Schuchman will lead the technology transfer, industry engagement and partnership development efforts on behalf of the lab. The new office will explore with the lab’s researchers, engineers, data scientists and inventors additional partnership opportunities through the Department of Energy or other federal or state agencies. She will also lead efforts to pursue opportunities and programs that leverage the lab’s mission, specialties and technologies in support of regional priorities, so that the laboratory can expand on sharing its unique benefits with local communities.
Schuchman will also work closely with the lab’s inventors to help ensure their intellectual property has its best chance of reaching the marketplace.
“There are many hurdles to bring a new technology to market,” Schuchman said. “I’ll be shepherding our teammates through the process.”
Schuchman is the first individual at Jefferson Lab who is singularly dedicated to assisting inventors in finding the right fit for their intellectual property beyond the research environment.
“I’m excited to refine the process by which we identify, support, and commercialize promising intellectual property. I’m also looking forward to working closely with our inventors and partners to support their R&D and entrepreneurial goals.” Schuchman explained.
She said that she plans to turn a critical eye on current processes. Her aim is to revamp them to make them more agile and responsive, yet also tailored to each inventor’s and invention’s particular opportunities. This task is made more challenging by the breadth of inventors at the lab, from scientists and engineers to staff administrators and computer programmers.
“The application of a particular technology may be in the commercial sector, incorporated into a novel or existing product or service. Or it may have so much potential that it can form the core offering of an entirely new business entity.” she said.
The lab is no stranger to supporting technology startups. In 2009, researchers at the lab co-developed a unique process for producing boron nitride nanotubes (BNNT)—string-like structures that are one hundred times stronger than steel, lightweight, able to conduct electricity and heat-resistant. With support from the lab, the researchers who developed the technology started BNNT, LLC. The company has continued to develop BNNT technology and promote its use in the commercial, aerospace, medical, consumer and technology sectors.
Schuchman brings an entrepreneurial mindset and a breadth of experience helping startups develop their go-to-market and business strategies through her consulting company Three Sheep. Most recently, she built Made in 757, an online Etsy-like marketplace for creative entrepreneurs in Hampton Roads.
Schuchman has a B.S. in communications from New York University and an M.S. in management; technology and entrepreneurship, also from NYU.
Further Reading
Profile: Marla Schuchman - Research and Technology Partnerships Manager
Jefferson Lab Technology Transfer
Tech Tuesday Partner Profile: BNNT, LLC
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Jefferson Science Associates, LLC, operates the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, or Jefferson Lab, for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.
DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science.
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