Technology Development Fund

Proposal timeline for the 2021-2022 academic year:

  • Proposals are due on or before October 30, 2021
  • Awards announced in November 2021

Fund information:

Rice University’s Office of Technology Transfer is pleased to offer seed grants of $25,000 to faculty interested in commercializing their research.

Grants will be awarded to assist researchers with prototype design, scale up efforts, or to develop results that could lead to a patent filing or a licensing opportunity.

Eligibility:

  • Full-time faculty and research staff at Rice are eligible to apply.
  • The Technology Development Fund is not intended to support projects at a conceptual stage with little to no supporting research.
  • Proposals should demonstrate commercial applicability and a high probability of transitioning from the bench to the market. Proposals should include a concise statement of how the research being funded can serve an unmet industry or market need.
  • Proposals must have strong potential for sustainability beyond the duration of the seed grant via industry sponsorship, other competitive funding sources or licensing.
  • Proposals should demonstrate the potential for income generation for Rice University through the creation of a significant or steady revenue stream.

Review process:

Proposal reviews will be conducted by a faculty review panel and the Office of Technology Transfer; individuals who are applicants to this fund will not participate on the review panel.

Selection Criteria:

Proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria:

  1. The technology transfer potential of the proposal; that is, the degree to which the funds will contribute to the commercial development and eventual market entry of the results of the research program;
  2. The income-generating potential of the technology described;
  3. The likelihood that the project will lead to direct funding from industry or other commercialization support.

How to apply:

Proposals must be submitted using this webform by October 30, 2021 at 11:59pm.

Proposals must include the following in a single PDF document:

  1. A project description (no more than three pages) that would include the following: the scope of the proposal; the relevant market need and size; the commercial potential of the proposal and a probable development timeline for productization, identifying the potential product or products to be created; income-generation potential associated with market entry; any interest expressed in the project by potential industry partners or commercial sponsors; and any relevant patent or technology disclosures on file with the Office of Technology Transfer.
  2. A single-page budget indicating how the requested funds will be expended;
  3. A curriculum vitae for each applicant of no more than three pages per CV.

Contact:

The Office of Research’s Technology Development Fund is facilitated by Rice’s Office of Technology Transfer. Contact techtran@rice.edu with questions about the fund and/or application process.