Summary

The ability to take advantage of the products of academic research lies in understanding the structure of academic research funding. Depending on whether the goal is to obtain a general introduction to a new technical area, to identify technologies that are close to commercialization, or to keep up with revolutionary new ideas, one can narrow the starting point for a search by identifying appropriate centers, groups, or individual investigators through award databases.

In a more active mode, industry can have a guiding and accelerating influence on the progress of academic research, either through participation in workshops and conferences that identify the critical barriers or through true research partnerships with academia, supporting not only the research but also the development of the students who will constitute the future workforce.