ASU program featured in report on tech transfer

Making university technology available for commercialization is taking new paths, as reported in the Dec. 18 issue of The Wall Street Journal.

In “Universities Push Harder Into Realm of Startups,” reporter Ruth Simon goes through a list of innovative national efforts to make university tech transfer more relevant. The story features Arizona State University's efforts through its Furnace Accelerator program.

Part of the Furnace process is the translation of patents into plain English. That effort has resulted in the creation of nine new startups, including NextPotential, which converts carbon dioxide waste into natural gas. 

Without the program, “there is no chance I would have ever found this technology,” said Duncan Hoffman, a 26-year-old co-founder of the Scottsdale startup.