3M-UW technology exchange
mines partnership opportunities
Think of it as the R&D lightning round: A rapid-fire exchange of ideas between University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers and 3M Corporation R&D professionals in April offered the chance to spark new research collaborations.
During an April 22 “technology exchange” between UW-Madison and the global technology company, nearly two-dozen UW-Madison engineers and scientists spent the morning giving 10-minute elevator pitches on a rich variety of research topics. Following lunch, members of the 3M team then fanned out across campus for individual lab visits, gathering further detail on promising research areas.
The novel event is part of a multi-year relationship between 3M and the College of Engineering, which is one of the company’s designated “key schools.” About 20 scientists and engineers from 3M participated in the exchange.
Larry Wendling (large image) |
“There is just a fantastic overlap between what you’re doing down here and our own research and development interests at 3M,” says Larry Wendling, vice president of 3M corporate research labs based in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Wendling also serves as the corporate liaison for UW-Madison, which along with the University of Minnesota is the company’s most active academic partner. Previous technology exchanges have resulted in a significant number of “3M Young Faculty Fellows” being awarded to assistant professors at UW-Madison, and sponsored research programs.
The partnership also thrives among 3M employees, where UW-Madison has more than 320 alumni working within the 3M technical community alone. Wendling says the success of 3M is driven by its commitment to strong research and development. The company has developed more than 55,000 products by following a technology-driven rather than market-driven innovation model: “We develop solutions that are looking for products that literally didn’t exist before,” he says.
Name virtually any leading-edge technology pursuit—drug delivery, sensors, flexible electronics, alternative energy, microbial detection, nanoscale materials—and 3M has a research cluster assigned. That diversity makes relationships with major research universities such as UW-Madison important to 3M success.
“The university often has the gee-whiz, the ‘eureka!’ advances,” Wendling said. “But they may not have the understanding of what it will take to turn that discovery into an economically viable commercial product. You need both sides.”
The April 22 presentations, mostly from COE assistant professors, had “gee-whiz” as a pretty strong common denominator. Some examples:
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Biomedical Engineering Assistant Professor Kristyn Masters is working to move from “passive to bioactive” with materials that better incorporate drugs to treat chronic wounds;
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Materials Science and Engineering Assistant Professor Xudong Wang described efforts to create nanoscale devices capable of harvesting and storing energy;
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Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Frank Pfefferkorn is working on laser-assisted manufacturing, friction-stir welding and laser polishing of microdevices;
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Electrical and Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Suman Banerjee is working on “cyber-physical systems,” or mobile computer systems that can interface with the physical world.
While the exchanges give 3M a window into boundary-pushing science, UW-Madison also sees valuable benefits. The exchanges have led to 3M providing research grants to non-tenured faculty, an investment during a critical time in a young professor’s research career. The grant winners are invited to 3M headquarters each year and are assigned mentors with the company.
A 3M graduate fellowship program also supports a number of graduate students each year. That fellowship program was renewed again in 2009 for a half-dozen graduate students.
“This is really aimed at making connections between our staff scientists and the professors here,” said Wendling. “This may lead to funded research projects, but the nice thing is the university approaches this from a mature perspective and we do, too. The No. 1 thing is to get that professional contact and see where it leads us.”
Lawrence Casper, assistant dean for research and technology transfer, organized the campus event, which was the fourth such exchange with 3M this decade. He says the faculty members appreciate seeing where their work is finding relevance in industry. “They can also see the really sticky problems the company is dealing with, which they might be able to address with federal research,” he says.
Wendling said the 3M partnership with UW-Madison is about a lot more than geographic proximity. “When I think of UW-Madison, I think of chemical and materials science and engineering as real strengths. And that really fits into our sweet spot from a technology perspective.
“There’s also a good cultural match,” he adds. “The faculty here are really open and there aren’t a lot of bureaucratic constraints. Maybe it’s a Midwestern thing: We deal openly and honestly and try to find a win-win.”