CSUSB Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization
A program of the Randall W. Lewis Center for Entrepreneurship (RLCE)
The CSUSB Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization is a key campus resource that exists to support faculty and studentinnovators in protecting their inventions through patents, licensing their inventions, and facilitating the path to commercial success.
The “Mind to Market” (MTM) program, the primary service provided by the CSUSB Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization (OTTC), is a joint initiative that leverages the experience and expertise of the globally ranked Randall W. Lewis Center for Entrepreneurship (RLCE) and the Randall W. Lewis School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (RLSEI). The MTM program provides valuable support to faculty and students at CSUSB that are developing innovative research and unique inventions in the course of their work at the university.
For most faculty and students, their focus is on performing research that leverages their scientific knowledge and domain expertise. Scientific knowledge is widely used to identify and develop promising technologies but protecting these innovations and/or commercializing them via licensing or a startup venture requires a different approach and skill set. This is where the team of the MTM program comes in.
What can we do for you?
Quickly assess “is this worth commercializing?”
We employ an on-demand assessment as well as a comprehensive approach using our Commercializing Innovation assessment process that takes place every Fall semester in the RLSEI Master of Science and Innovation (MSEI) program. For the assessment, we:
- Do a rapid novelty and competitive landscape scan (what exists, how yours is different).
- Clarify use cases and likely adopters (who would buy/use it and why).
- Identify the critical experiments/data needed to de-risk it for potential partners/investors.
- Give you an honest read on commercial readiness and best-fit pathway.
Help you protect your options early (without overcommitting)
- Advise on public disclosure timing (papers, talks, posters) so you do not accidentally lose rights.
- Decide whether to file:
- Provisional patent (fast/low-cost way to hold a place in line), or
- Full patent application (when the invention is more mature).
- Coordinate with patent counsel and facilitate the process and strategy, so you stay focused on research.
We support both paths – startup or licensing – using the same early steps. You do not need to choose immediately. The early work is largely the same.
If you lean toward licensing, we will:
- Package the tech into a clear non-confidential summary.
- Identify and prioritize target companies.
- Conduct outreach and manage NDAs, due diligence, and license negotiations.
If you lean toward a startup, we will:
- Help validate the market and define an initial product and customer.
- Scout and prepare SBIR/STTR and other innovation grant opportunities aligned with your use cases
- Connect you with our mentors, entrepreneurs-in-residence, accelerators, and funding within the RLCE/RLSEI and through our network of partners.
- Support company formation questions (team, roles, conflicts, university policies).
- Help position the IP so it is investable (exclusive option/license structure, etc.).
- Expose you to entrepreneurship talent in the university pipeline, particularly. those students who are in the RLSEI MSEI program and Master of Science in Materials Science – Entrepreneurship program.
Reduce your administrative burden
- We run the process: documentation, university-level coordination, partner conversations, and deal mechanics.
- You make the key decisions; we do the operational lift.
What does this all look like in practice?
We have worked with faculty from every college at the CSUSB campus on a variety of projects focused on commercializing their unique research. Some examples include:
- Learn how Chemistry Professor Dr. Kimberly Cousins developed, patented, and licensed her unique lithium extraction technology through our program. (Link coming soon!)
- Learn more about Blu Core Minerals – the CSUSB startup venture that licensed Dr. Cousins unique technology. (Link coming soon!)
Why us?
The OTTC and its MTM program is delivered by the faculty and staff of the Randall W. Lewis Center for Entrepreneurship (RLCE) and the Randall W. Lewis School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (RLSEI). Our team has extensive experience and expertise in helping move innovations from the lab to the market, including team members with experience in managing technology transfer programs at the University level and working with a wide range of technologies developed at federal labs including the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army.
Both the Center and the School, which are the drivers of the OTTC, have received consistent recognition for excellence in entrepreneurship and technology commercialization, including being ranked in the Top 50 globally. Our proven Mind to Market approach for technology commercialization was recognized by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) with the National Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award, previously won by entities such as Georgia Tech and Stanford. Our evidence-based approach helps CSUSB scientists move ideas to market at a rate 10.2 times above benchmark levels (AUTM, 2022).
In addition, due to our longstanding relationship (25+ years) with key partners in the Inland Southern California entrepreneurship ecosystem, we have a deep reservoir of partnerships with organizations and resources that are leveraged to support faculty and students participating in the program, including Tech Coast Angels, ExCITE Riverside Incubator, EPIC SBDC, Murrieta Innovation Center, and many others.
Want to learn more? There are two easy ways to connect with the Mind to Market program:
- Attend one of our regularly scheduled information sessions.
- Schedule a one-on-one session with our lead commercialization expert, Dr. Anna Long.