UAH Insight

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UAH students may grow businesses with technology developed by Army

A team of UAH students hopes a "non-protrusive, expandable clamping device" developed by the U.S. Army might be their path to fame and riches ... or at least riches.

The out-of-sight clamp is one of 14 patented technologies faculty and students at UAH can now study as potential commercial products through a partnership agreement between UAH and the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) at Redstone Arsenal.

"We are pleased to be working with the Army to investigate the commercial potential of intellectual property developed at AMRDEC," said Dr. David Berkowitz, a UAH marketing professor and the leader of the UAH business school's entrepreneurship programs. "We are taking these technologies from places like the AMRDEC and turning them into business concepts.

"This agreement gives our students opportunities to work in a 'real life' situation with local researchers who developed this technology. We hope some of the commercial plans developed for Army technologies by UAH students will lead to new products and startup businesses."

Student teams are already studying two AMRDEC technologies, the clamping device and a system that creates computer-generated environments. Developed for military training systems, the software might have applications in the computer gaming industry.

"These technologies run the gamut," Berkowitz said. "They include a hybrid phased communication array and a highly efficient piezo-electric motor."

Students interested in analyzing a technology start by contacting Berkowitz, who organizes teams of students with different expertise and goals. Some students have entrepreneurial goals, while others might be looking for senior projects.

"We're trying to get students from all colleges on campus," he said. "They will have access, not only to the technology, but also to the inventor and the lab where the technology was developed. If a team chooses to participate in the university new venture competition, it would also have access to mentors at BizTech and might get an opportunity to present its business plan to angel venture networks."

"We hope the students at UAH will provide us with an in-depth marketing analysis that we may use to find potential licensees for our intellectual property here at AMRDEC," said Tisha Guidry, support contractor in the AMRDEC Office of Research and Technology Applications.

If a student team decides it wants to pursue commercializing an Army technology, "we will work out a licensing agreement with the AMRDEC," said Berkowitz.