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Author Archives: Gerald Barnett
A maintenance update
I had a bit of a problem with my WordPress installation after an update of MySQL. I repaired a couple of tables, and things appear to be back on line.
Posted in Technology Transfer
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The University Conversion Experience, Part 2
In Part I of “The University Conversion Experience” I described the problems faced when an organization supported by a university becomes trapped in claims by the university administration that the university owns the organization for having supported it. In Part … Continue reading
The University Conversion Experience, Part 1
The second “pillar” of university innovation is the formation of “projects.” But just what is a project, and why are projects so important? To get into this subject, let’s start with some particulars and work out. Consider, first, the problem … Continue reading
Dystopia, Imagination, Innovation
Linda McGovern, in a web article from 1999, points out the following passage: Some of my youthful readers are developing wonderful imaginations. This pleases me. Imagination has brought mankind through the Dark Ages to its present state of civilization. Imagination … Continue reading
Posted in Innovation, Literature, Policy
Tagged dystopia, Frank Baum, humanism, Neal Stephenson, Pico, Wizard of Oz
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Seeking that "Oh, Ass" Moment
The Oh, Ass Moment In The First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells, the narrator, Bedford, a would-be businessman partnered with Cavor, an inventive genius with no social aspirations, finds himself in a bit of a pickle on the moon, … Continue reading
Posted in Commons, Freedom, Innovation, Policy, Technology Transfer
Tagged Bedford, duty, graphene, RAND, wells
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Graphene, or 7300 patents waiting for commercialization
The BBC is running a cluster of stories today on graphene, a material consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms. The UK angle is that graphene was invented in Britain, but Chinese and American organizations have flooded the area … Continue reading
Posted in Commons, Policy, Technology Transfer
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Radical Conceptual Innovation
In After Virtue, Alasdair MacIntyre points out an argument made by Karl Popper–that new technology cannot be predicted with any specificity: Some time in the Stone Age you and I are discussing the future and I predict that within the … Continue reading
Posted in Innovation
Tagged imagination, invention, limits
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Building Pillar One: Freedom To Innovate
Of the seven pillars of university new innovation practice, freedom to innovate is the most important. University policies on research and invention were at one time liberal. That is, faculty and students had the freedom to publish, experiment, discuss, collaborate, … Continue reading
Posted in Freedom, Policy, Technology Transfer
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The Future is Uncertain, and the Exit is not Always Near
Pitchbook is out with figures for private equity exits in 2013. It is well worth the effort to download a copy of the report from Pitchbook. Highlights include–it’s taking longer to get to a private equity exit, but Q4 of … Continue reading
Posted in Innovation, Technology Transfer
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The Seven Pillars of New University Innovation Practice
Here are the Seven Pillars of the New University Innovation Practice. Freedom to innovate is not new–it is the form of practice that university faculty developed over the course of 75 years, and was the source of “successes” that were … Continue reading
Posted in IP, Policy, Technology Transfer
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