Kannan Grant has served as the Director of the Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) at UAH since its inception. He has more than 25 years of experience in technology transfer, and his business acumen encompasses research agreements, compliance, economic development, funding sources, revenue generation, and post-licensing support.
In his role as Director, Mr. Grant is responsible for executing the OTC’s mission and managing day-to-day operations. As the OTC’s intellectual property expert, he helps UAH stakeholders navigate the commercialization process, build ties with industry partners, and develop as entrepreneurs.
Additionally, Mr. Grant was instrumental in establishing the UAH Invention to Innovation Center (I2C) and the UAH Innovation, Commercialization, and Entrepreneurship (ICE) Lab. He also structured appropriate agreements with the Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) to help commercialize patented technologies developed by AMRDEC.
Prior to joining the OTC, Mr. Grant served as the CEO of FuturaGene Inc., and as an executive board member for FuturaGene Plc. FuturaGene was established to commercialize a portfolio of plant genes licensed from various universities in the United States. Kannan established significant research and filed trial programs with a number of universities in China. During his tenure at FuturaGene, Mr. Grant was instrumental in establishing the company’s first subsidiary in Beijing, China. He was also responsible for spearheading FuturaGene’s foray in the biofuel arena. Prior to FuturaGene Inc., he served as associate vice chancellor for the Office of Technology Development at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he was instrumental in negotiating and signing two of the largest license agreements with significant research components in the school’s history.
Mr. Grant earned his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering at the University of North Dakota and his MBA from Texas A&M University.
[1] R. Meilan, K.Grant, and V. Shier, “Protecting intellectual property,” in Forest Genomics and Biotechnology (CABI Biotechnology Series 9), R. Meilan and M. Kirst, Eds. Boston: CAB International, 2019, ch. 12, pp. 250-259. ISBN-13: 978-1-78064-350-2.
[2] K. Grant, “Getting the most out of Huntsville’s innovation,” in Brain Waves: A compendium of ideas and views from UAH campus thought leaders. R. Garner, Compiler. Huntsville, AL: The University of Alabama in Huntsville Press, 2015, ch. 17, pp. 81-84.
[3] A. Harfouche, R. Meilan, K. Grant, and V. Shier, “Intellectual property rights of biotechnology improved plants,” in Plant Biotechnology and Agriculture: Prospects for the 21st Century, A. Altman and P. M. Hasegawa, Eds. Academic Press, 2012, ch. 33, pp. 525-539. ISBN-13: 978-0-12-381466-
