From Photonics Innovation to the Marketplace (3 units). This course covers the process of technology development in the photonics industry, both from the perspective of formal processes and case studies. Key aspects of the commercialization process including intellectual property, new product development processes, technical marketing and team building are treated in an interactive program informed by the instructor’s 15 years of industry experience in both large corporate R&D organizations and entrepreneurial startups.

Meeting Times: TBD

Instructor:
Professor Robert A. Norwood
Room 533, Lab 456
626-0936
rnorwood@optics.arizona.edu

Office Hours: By appointment.

Course Objectives:

• Provide practical, working knowledge of all aspects of intellectual property, including patents, trademarks and trade secrets. Students will learn how to draft invention disclosures and patent claims.
• Comprehensively treat technology commercialization processes such as stage-gate systems, with an emphasis on systems that have proven successful in technology driven industries. Students will work in groups to develop stage-gate presentations.
• The fundamentals of technical marketing will be stressed and students will be capable of composing a company profiles for both customers and competitors.
• A strong understanding of team dynamics and how successful teams are built will be acquired.
• The key course concepts will be applied to several intriguing case studies from the optical fiber industry.

• Invention disclosure project - 10%
• Midterm exam – 25%
• Group Gate 1 presentation – 25%
• Company profiles project – 15%
• Final exam – 25%

The grade will be determined according to the cumulative percentage earned such that

90-100% = A,

80-89% = B,

70-79% = C,

60-69% = D,

below 60% = E

None. Readings will be provided from a variety of sources.