Symposium BI2: The Business of Materials Technology

Materials technology holds much promise to create new products that can significantly and positively impact society. Academic research abounds in materials science and engineering at many levels, and the universe of applications also continues to grow. However, commercialization of this research has not been given equal attention and the time required to bring new materials to market remains on average 20 years. The promise held by the laboratory results must be delivered in the form of reliable, low-cost, and manufacturable products in a competitive business ecosystem. This symposium fills the gap between fundamental and applied research in material science and commercialization of that research. Also, this symposium aims to address the intersections of scientific research and business considerations in the materials technology space. In particular, it will target issues pertaining to market considerations, design innovation, technology development needed for commercialization, usability, manufacturability, reliability, reducing the time to market and developing various forms of intellectual property.

Abstracts are solicited from scientists, technologists, business professionals, startup founders, venture capitalists, patent experts, incubator managers, and others who can showcase various aspects of emerging research trends and road maps, and elaborate on the process of taking research in many aspects of materials innovation and bringing it to market.