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07:30 AM - 08:30 AM
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Coffee and Tea Service (Breakfast On Your Own)
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07:30 AM - 04:30 PM
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AUTM Connect
Location: Curtis A/B
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07:30 AM - 04:30 PM
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Exhibits Open
Location: Atrium II
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07:30 AM - 04:30 PM
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Registration
Location: Phoenix Ballroom Foyer
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08:30 AM - 08:45 AM
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Welcome
Speaker(s): Steve Foster, CSU STRATA
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08:45 AM - 10:00 AM
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Ethical Frameworks for AI: Navigating Legal, Trust, and Societal Challenges
As Generative AI becomes prevalent in technology transfer offices, it is crucial to address the ethical implications and potential risks associated with its use. This timely and highly relevant panel will explore three key areas of concern for the use of AI in tech transfer: legal ethics, responsible AI practices, and societal ethics.
The session will concentrate on critical issues such as data security and privacy, reliability and accuracy of AI outputs, and managing bias and fairness risks.
This session will be structured into three components addressing specific aspects of AI ethics in the context of TTOs:
- "Legal Ethics" will delve into the ethical responsibilities of maintaining confidentiality and privilege when using AI systems, as well as the importance of transparency, disclosure, and human oversight in ensuring quality control of AI-generated work products. The panel will also review the ethics of AI-assisted inventorship and disclosure to the USPTO, a topic of growing importance as AI becomes more sophisticated. This component will feature a speaker from a law firm with expertise in AI and intellectual property.
- "Responsible AI" will present principles and frameworks for responsible AI, demonstrating how these principles can be applied in TTO settings to promote innovation engagement, using real-world use cases as illustrations. This segment will offer practical insights and strategies for implementing responsible AI practices, drawing on the expertise of speakers from both industry and academia.
- "Social Bias and Innovation Participation" will address societal ethics considerations, specifically the issue of bias in AI systems -- confronting the potential to replicate and amplify societal biases and discriminatory outcomes for various groups. Panelists will discuss strategies for detecting and mitigating unwanted biases to ensure a broad base of innovation participation. The panel will also explore the potential impact of AI on innovation participation among underrepresented groups, such as women inventors, and discuss strategies to ensure a broad base for innovation participation.
Summary: By addressing these three critical ethical considerations in the use of AI, this panel aims to equip TTO professionals with the knowledge and tools necessary to navigate the complex landscape of AI implementation while promoting responsible innovation and mitigating potential risks. Attendees will gain valuable insights and practical strategies for addressing legal, ethical, and societal challenges associated with AI in tech transfer.
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify key ethical risks of Generative AI in TTOs.
- Understand legal ethics for AI confidentiality, transparency, and oversight.
- Examine AI-assisted inventorship ethics and USPTO disclosure requirements.
- Apply principles for using AI responsibly in TTOs.
- Recognize and mitigate AI bias and discriminatory outcomes.
- Explore AI's impact on underrepresented groups' innovation participation.
- Develop strategies for responsible AI adoption in TTOs.
Location: Phoenix Ballroom
Speaker(s): Charles Halloran, KPPB LLP; Thomas Hart, Amster Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP; John Sweet, Oregon State University; Tyson Winarski, Arizona State University
Moderator(s): John Sweet, Oregon State University
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10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
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Networking Break
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10:30 AM - 11:45 AM
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Fostering Innovation and Maximizing Impact: How Collaboration Between Licensing and Venture Development Teams Drives Commercialization
This proposal delves into the dynamic landscape of technology transfer and innovation, emphasizing the pivotal role of collaborative efforts between the University of Colorado, Boulder's NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Hub West programs (both Regional and National I-Corps Programs) and the licensing team. Through an exploration of successful case studies and expert insights, participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of how the internal teams work together to accelerate the translation of research into commercial ventures and societal impact.
Location: Phoenix Ballroom
Speaker(s): Doug Hockstad, University of Arizona; Daniel Marshall, University of Colorado-Boulder; Taysha Williams, Innovation Hub at Texas Tech University; Amy Wullschleger-Graham, The University of Utah
Moderator(s): Daniel Marshall, University of Colorado-Boulder
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11:45 AM - 12:45 PM
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Lunch
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12:45 PM - 02:00 PM
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Maximizing Tech Transfer Success: Utilizing AI for Outbound Marketing Strategies
In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape, the success of technology transfer initiatives hinges on effective outbound marketing strategies. The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a crucial tool in this process, completely transforming the way organizations showcase their innovations to a worldwide audience.
This educational session focuses on the convergence of outbound marketing and artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of technology transfer. It delves into the complexities of creating and executing strong strategies that enhance visibility and effectiveness. By utilizing AI, organizations can navigate complex market dynamics, identify opportunities, and foster fruitful collaborations that drive innovation forward.
This session goes beyond theoretical discourse, offering actionable insights and practical frameworks tailored to the unique needs and challenges encountered in the tech transfer landscape. Drawing upon real-world case studies and best practices, participants will gain invaluable knowledge on:
1. Understanding the role of AI in outbound marketing: Explore the fundamental principles of AI-powered marketing initiatives and how they can be tailored to enhance the visibility and commercialization potential of technology transfer endeavors.
2. Developing targeted outreach strategies: Learn how AI-driven analytics can inform targeted outreach efforts, enabling organizations to identify and engage with prospective partners, investors, and stakeholders across diverse sectors and industries.
3. Optimizing content creation and distribution: Discover innovative approaches for crafting compelling content and leveraging AI-powered tools to enhance content discoverability, engagement, and conversion rates across digital channels and platforms.
4. Navigating ethical and regulatory considerations: Delve into the ethical and regulatory implications of deploying AI in outbound marketing initiatives and gain practical strategies for ensuring compliance and safeguarding sensitive data throughout the technology transfer process.
Location: Phoenix Ballroom
Speaker(s): Chase Bonhag, First Ignite; Andrew Rankin, Idaho National Laboratory
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12:45 PM - 02:00 PM
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Spinning Out Companies Without the Inventors Leading the Effort
Location: Hanson
Speaker(s): Sophie Fix, High Alpha Innovation; Jim Poss, CSU STRATA; Brynmor Rees, University of Colorado-Boulder; Steven Yackel, NREL; Marta Zgagacz, University of Colorado-Boulder
Moderator(s): Brynmor Rees, University of Colorado-Boulder
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02:00 PM - 02:15 PM
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Transition Break
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02:15 PM - 03:30 PM
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Putting Together a Disclosure Where AI is Part of the Invention
Putting together a disclosure where AI is part of the InventionThe number of disclosures that tech transfer offices are receiving involving artificial intelligence as part of the invention continues to grow. Putting together an application that meets the higher level of disclosure requirements for inventions involving artificial intelligence can be more challenging than traditional disclosures that offices are used to dealing with. This panel will walk through the type of information that should be identified and gathered from Principal Investigators and provided to outside counsel to optimize patent protection, what to include in the disclosure, and how to avoid typical obstacles under the patent law.
Location: Phoenix Ballroom
Speaker(s): Jonathan Gortat, Stanford University; Sebastian Greding, Berggren; Thomas Hart, Amster Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP; Charles Macedo, Amster Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP
Moderator(s): Charles Macedo, Amster Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP
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02:15 PM - 03:30 PM
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What's New in University Venture Funds
University Venture Funds have made a resurgance in recent years. If your institution is considering a fund or already has one, come listen to these experts talk about the factors to consider in a creating a fund, the results of a landscape survey of university venture funds, and full stories on their own venture funds. Areas covered will include models/structures of funds, fundraising, management, investment decision making, and internal and external considerations.
Location: Hanson
Speaker(s): Case Cortese, California Institute of Technology (Caltech); Kirsten Leute, Osage University Partners; Michael Psarouthakis, University of Michigan; Brynmor Rees, University of Colorado-Boulder
Moderator(s): Kirsten Leute, Osage University Partners
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03:30 PM - 04:00 PM
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Networking Break
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04:00 PM - 05:15 PM
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Cultivating Innovations That Industry Wants
University tech transfer offices are often measured by the number of licenses we execute each fiscal year. The prevailing argument is that increasing Invention Disclosure numbers logically leads to increased licensing opportunities, but is this truly the case? When one considers that a common thread in licensing is often endeavoring to find homes for disclosed technologies that are innovative and unique, but that don’t quite meet the market. Often these innovations may be an incremental change to an existing technology with no reasonable value proposition, or they may represent disruptive change, but are costly with low probability of adoption. Given this, the translatable quality of Invention Disclosures is also critically important to increase the likelihood of license success. As tech transfer and venture development professionals, we embrace the concepts of customer discovery and product/market fit, and we recognize that startup ventures that practice these philosophies are generally more successful. Therefore, perhaps we can bring the spirit of customer discovery and recognition of market need and expectations into the beginning of the research continuum before the innovation is fully developed. This panel will explore ways to grow and cultivate technologies for license success, such as programming, educating researchers, and growing ecosystems.
Location: Hanson
Speaker(s): Justin Anderson, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF); Kathleen Havey, University of Colorado-Boulder; Daniel Marshall, University of Colorado-Boulder
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04:00 PM - 05:15 PM
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Embedding AI Into TTO Operations
Generative AI presents both opportunities and challenges for TTOs. This panel will explore strategic and practical considerations for embedding AI into TTO operations.
The panel will open with the current AI landscape and its potential impact on university technology transfer. Panelists will then delve into key decision points TTOs face when considering adopting AI solutions.
We will explore three main themes during the discussion:
- Begin Now or Begin Later? We will discuss the strategic choice of whether and when to start incorporating AI, weighing the potential benefits against costs and risks.
- How to Begin. We will discuss options for embedding AI into existing TTO functions, from off-the-shelf tools to custom-built solutions.
- Understanding Workflows. AI is not going to eliminate our jobs as much as change the content of our jobs. In this part of the panel discussion, we will present example use cases showing how to augment existing workflows with human-AI workflows. We will present best practices for designing and deploying AI, maintaining quality control, and measuring results.
Panelists will provide practical insights and recommendations for TTO leaders seeking to leverage AI to streamline operations, empower staff, and ultimately drive more successful technology commercialization. The session will conclude with an interactive Q&A.
Location: Phoenix Ballroom
Speaker(s): Taylor Bench, Summit Venture Studio; Roi Eisenkot, University of Washington CoMotion; Katharine Ku, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati; John Sweet, Oregon State University
Moderator(s): John Sweet, Oregon State University
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05:30 PM - 07:00 PM
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Opening Reception - 3rd Floor - Skyview Terrace
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