Nanook Innovation Corporation provides opportunities for inventors
November 21, 2013
The Board of Regents approved a resolution for the creation of a UAF Research Corporation
in September 2012 to assist with the commercialization of intellectual property and
the creation of start-up companies. In the year following this approval, the Office of Intellectual Property and Commercialization formed the Nanook Innovation Corporation, a non-profit supporting organization geared
toward commercializing intellectual property from university research. NIC also formed
and took a majority shareholder interest in Nanook Tech Ventures, a for-profit company
designed to assist in start-up companies commercializing university-generated intellectual
property.
Within 60 days of NTV’s formation, the first university IP-based start-up, V-ADAPT,
Inc. (Volcanic Ash Detection, Avoidance and Preparedness for Transportation), was
formed by three UAF faculty to commercialize volcanic ash detection and monitoring
software. V-ADAPT will offer online services to the airline industry and commercial
shippers who need to detect and track volcanic activity.
UAF recently assigned three new UAF technologies to NIC to be licensed to private
companies in the coming months.With this structure, UAF is poised to create new start-up
companies and provide more opportunities for researchers to commercialize their inventions.
All UAF faculty, staff and student inventors are encouraged to engage with OIPC and
support both NIC and NTV to further develop and commercialize their technologies.
For more information, please contact the Office of Intellectual Property and Commercialization
at 907-474-2605.