From Discovery to Market
We keep the front door open: capturing intellectual property and connecting inventors to the capital and partnerships that turn research into real-world impact.
The Research Corporation is the university’s technology transfer and commercialization arm, making commercialization a coordinated function rather than a set of isolated efforts. As a legally separate but university-aligned entity, we can contract, structure partnerships, and execute deals on industry timelines, so a faculty member or regional entrepreneur with a viable invention has capital, advising, and a home for the work.
ETSU joined the Tennessee Technology Advancement Consortium (TTAC) during its 2024–25 expansion, adding statewide funding, commercialization expertise, and industry connections to the resources already in place. Created by Launch Tennessee, TTAC provides proof-of-concept funding, one-on-one guidance through programs like its Innovation Fellowship, and connections to industry and partner networks across the state.
Led with the Office of the Vice Provost for Research
Commercialization at ETSU is a shared effort between the Research Corporation and the university’s Office of the Vice Provost for Research. Dr. Nick Hagemeier, vice provost for research and chief research officer, sets the research direction; the Research Corporation opens the front door to IP protection, capital, and partnerships; and TTAC supplies the funding and statewide network that carry promising work forward.
That partnership is already showing results. With TTAC support, ETSU expects intellectual property disclosures to grow from four in 2025 to eight in 2026 — “growth that would not have happened without TTAC,” Hagemeier said. He credits Director of Commercialization Dr. Katelyn Houston as the “secret sauce” in the university’s commercialization ecosystem.
Your path to commercialization
Modeled on what works at leading research institutions: a clear journey from idea to market.
Disclose
Share an invention. We help capture and document the IP from any college or discipline.
Protect
Our IP team guides patenting, licensing, and strategy so inventors feel supported, not processed.
Fund
TTAC and LaunchTN proof-of-concept funding move promising work toward market.
Launch & Scale
The 2681 Accelerator, iLab Soft Landings, and Valleybrook turn IP into companies.
By the numbers
The commercialization ecosystem
One coordinated pipeline, from protecting an idea to scaling a company.
Technology Licensing & IP
Led by Chief IP Officer Jon Wood, JD, patent strategy, licensing, and inventor support that makes people feel seen, not processed.
Commercialization
Director of Commercialization Dr. Katelyn Houston — a scientist who spent nearly a decade in product development at Eastman Chemical — keeps the front door open to IP protection, funding, and partnerships. TTAC helps fund the role.
TTAC + LaunchTN
Statewide consortium access, proof-of-concept funding, and connections like TNIX that bring industry partners closer to market.
2681 Accelerator
A capital pathway with programmatic support and the region's first member-managed investment fund.
Valleybrook Scale-Up
Physical space where IP moves from concept to execution, from wet labs to industrial scale-up.
What’s moving toward market
TTAC proof-of-concept funding is helping ETSU researchers test, protect, and advance real discoveries — projects that take on the challenges their own communities face in health care, agriculture, and connectivity.
- A single-pass surgical drill. Dr. Ben Price, an orthopedic resident in the Quillen College of Medicine, is replacing a two-bit fracture-repair workflow with one tool. 2026 TTAC grant; provisional patent.
- Fog computing for rural farms. Dr. Shehenaz Shaik, Department of Computing, pools local computing so smart-agriculture data stays useful without depending on the cloud. 2026 TTAC grant; Innovation Fellowship.
- Moss-based heart-healthy oil. Dr. Aruna Kilaru, Department of Biological Sciences, is using avocado genes in moss to produce oleic acid without growing the whole tree. 2025 TTAC funding; patent pending.
Have an invention?
Capture the IP and open the door to capital and partnerships.