Small Business Development 2009: Cornell's Research Serves the Region and Beyond

Abstract

The tangible benefits of a university's research are extraordinary. When Cornell faculty teach and perform services for the community within their domain of expertise, we immediately understand these benefits. But when Cornell faculty conduct research and that research materializes into a cure for a disease, a better medical procedure, a new green product, or a faster and more compact computer, we connect with the extraordinary potential of academic research. The path of the "what if..." and "I wonder why..." that begins in the laboratory, translated into discoveries and inventions, and then transferred into products by small businesses leads us to a deeper appreciation for how university research brings a multitude of improvements to our daily lives. Even more, by the time the research leaves the laboratory bench—en route to becoming a product—it has also created an optimal learning experience for many undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students and some community members along its path. These are frequently the people, sometimes along with faculty, who bring the innovations to market in the form of a small company that, in turn, hires employees—some from Cornell's research labs after completing their degrees and some from the community and beyond. This process—technology transfer—completes the research connection.