Technology Transfer Opportunities Research Articles

Managing Asia's environmental crisis: EQM opportunities for remediation and technology transfer

AbstractConditions of environmental pollution and degradation in Asia are among the worst in the world. Rapid economic growth and industrialization over the past half century have accelerated the pollution of air, water, and land resources in a region with the world's largest concentration of population. As the economics of Asia recover from financial crisis in the late 1990s, they will face a more serious environmental crisis in the early years of the 21st century. Remediation of soil and water contamination will become a stronger concern in the region, as the human health impacts become more visible and widespread. Although environmental remediation is only beginning to emerge in Asia as a solution to problems of natural resource degradation, the authors show how U.S. firms with experience in quality environmental management and biological remediation technologies will find new opportunities for exports and technology transfer. Environmental technology and services firms interested in Asia must understand both the opportunities for and barriers to operating in Asia.

A Framework for Effective Technology Transfer in Control and Instrumentation Projects

The paper proposes a workflow for the control and instrumentation content of capital engineering projects in the mining, mineral and metal processing operations within the Anglo American group. Opportunities for technology transfer within the work cycle are identified and evaluated in terms of their effectiveness in project implementation. A framework is postulated to ensure the achievement of consistent technology transfer in future projects.

NASP program technology: An example of transfer benefit for the medical industry and spinback benefit for the government

Technology developed in the National Aero-Space Plane (NASP) program is finding its way into a variety of applications ranging from aerospace to automotive to medical. The NASP Technology Applications Integrated Product Team (IPT) is pursuing technology transfer opportunities to promote the wide use of NASP-developed or-inspired materials in these and other industries. While product innovations and enhancements serve the commercial sector well, they also spin back to the government in the form of cheaper, higher-performing systems and components.

Future Trends in Offshore Engineering

The production of oil and gas offshore developed progressively as the onshore resources and reservoirs were pursued out beyond the low water mark. Particular characteristics of deeper water have resulted in specific and significant engineering features. There are other important issues such as legislation economics and environment that must be considered also. Future changes in offshore engineering including mechanical engineering aspects will probably reflect the recurring challenges of improved safety and cost reduction, as much as those of inadequacies in current performance and of gaps in present capabilities. Brief reference is made to some other exploited and potentially exploitable marine resources which may provide opportunities for technology transfer from the offshore hydrocarbon industry.

Doing technology transfer in federal laboratories (Part 1)

According to data from the Congressional General Accounting Office and the Association of University Technology Managers, the federal laboratories seriously lag some universities in rates of technology transfer. This paper, based on interviews with technology-transfer professionals in federal laboratories and universities, discusses the phenomenon of technology transfer, highlighting subjects such as technology push and market pull, cooperative R&D, technology licensing, start-up companies, information-dissemination and technology-search programs, technology transfer and local development, models of technology-transfer programs, limits to federal technology transfer, and measurement of technology transfer. It concludes that the explanation for the difference in technology-transfer rates between federal laboratories and universities is due primarily to the way technology-transfer opportunities are marketed in the two sectors.

Cyprus—technology transfer opportunities and pitfalls

The remarkable growth in the tourist industry in recent years, fed by the establishment of standalone family-owned businesses, has tended to create a shortage of professional personnel in Cyprus. Now the industrialist is faced with having to bring about a continuous growth of exports, and the development of an internationally competitive industrial production structure. This article examines some of the reasons why this has happened, the technological implications and proposes how the apparent trends may be reversed.

Future directions discussion

Traditionally, the relation of scientists and animal advocates has been confrontational. It took a cadre of philosopher/scientists to suggest that promoting alternatives could also benefit science. This innovative concept has found expression in the collaboration between scientists and animal protectionists to replace the Draize test. In the process, the quest for alternatives has become legitimized and institutionalized and a whole new field of in vitro toxicology has emerged within the past decade.Meanwhile, much as been accomplished to reduce the use of rabbits in the Draize and to reduce their distress. Still, it remains unclear how close we are to completely replacing the Draize with non-animal alternatives.To move forward in the most productive, rapid fashion, there appears to be a need to establish a structure/blueprint which outlines the scientific, public policy and funding elements necessary to achieve this goal. Such a plan, with a strong, committed manager of science in charge, should also focus on opportunities for technology transfer and set reasonable time frames/checkpoints to assure that progress is consistent and timely.

Technology Transfer in Biokinematics of the Human Spine

The present paper examines the role of theoretical kinematics of rigid body motion in solving some of the basic research problems in the study of intervertebral motion in human spine. The paper presents an extensive literature search in the bio-kinematics of human spine and discusses the opportunities for technology transfer in theoretical kinematics to study the mechanics of human spine.

Concept of a manufacturing system

There is no single concept of a manufacturing system covering all industries in every detail. It is necessary to examine the fundamental properties and characteristics of a range of systems and to consider the way they are synthesized and operated before consolidating general conclusions. What is seen depends very much on the viewpoint and the narrowness of the focusing range. Nevertheless there is much to be gained from a fundamental study of-all aspects of manufacturing systems and their interactions since there are opportunities for technology transfer between industries Manufacturing systems must be designed by taking into account both steady state and-dynamic performance, whilst ensuring there is an adequate number of controllable variables to compensate the effects of uncontrolled disturbances. The technological process part of the manufacturing system is synthesized from interacting unit-operation subsystems, and this itself is a subsystem of the overall business system. The business system has a c...