Technology transfer at TRIUMF

TRIUMF is Canada’s major national research centre for sub-atomic physics. For the past five or six years, there has been an increasing emphasis on commercializing the tcchnology that, has emanated from the scientific research at the facility. This emphasis on technology transfer reflects a national policy trend of the Canadian federal government, which is the funding source for the majority of the research performed at TR.IUMF. In TRIl.JMF’s cast, however, the initiative and funding for the commercialization office came from the provincial, or local government. This paper will describe the evolution of technology transfer at the TRIUMF facility, identifying t,he theory, policies and practical procedures that have been developed and followed. It will also include TRIUMF’s experiences in finding exploitahlr technologies, protecting those tecllnologies. and locating and linking with suitable industry partners to commercialize the technologies There will 1~: a discussion of resource allocation, and how TRIlIMF ha.s endeavoured to establish a portfolio of projects of assorted risks and expected rot,urns.