SDSU Entrepreneur Students Partner with Los Alamos Labs to Conduct Market Studies for Cutting-Edge Technologies

MBA students meet "virtually" with Los Alamos labs to work on their project. Participants are (l to r): Erica Sullivan, LANL; Shandra Clow, LANL; Management Professor Alex DeNoble, (on TV screen) Mina Stemm, LANL; students Sumit Khurana, Ish Spencer and Bryan Donlevy.

MBA students are working with Los Alamos National Labs (LANL) to assist them with bringing cutting-edge technologies to the marketplace. LANL, located in New Mexico, is a Department of Energy laboratory and is one of the largest multidisciplinary science institutions in the world.

The course was developed by management professors Alex DeNoble and Sanford Ehrlich in response to a request by LANL to have students evaluate the commercialization potential of its various technologies which are in the early development stage.

“This is a unique and innovative experience where students learn about the commercialization of new technologies in a very hands-on way,” DeNoble said. “It is one of several inventive courses being developed in our entrepreneurial track through the college’s Management Department and Entrepreneurial Management Center (EMC).”

Through the alliance between the EMC and LANL, students will have the opportunity to learn about the technology commercialization process through direct interactions with leading-edge scientists and technologists.

“What these MBA students are learning is important in today’s market,” said Erica Sullivan, business development executive in the Technology Transfer Division at Los Alamos, who worked with LANL while an MBA student at SDSU. “The world economy is becoming more and more technology-based and students need to possess both business and technical skills.”

Student teams have evaluated nine technologies from LANL this year. Working closely with the team at Los Alamos, students evaluate the market potential for these new and cutting-edge technologies in the areas of nanotechnologies, solar cell technologies, optical lasers, cooling technologies for integrated circuits, and software which protect sensitive data, all of which are in early stages of development.

At the end of the course, the teams deliver a comprehensive presentation of their findings to LANL. The report assesses the market potential, risks, barriers, and trends for the technology and the intended application within those segments.

Students work with mentors on each project who have experience in commercialization. “It’s a tremendous bridge to the real world from school, and helps forge both effective skills and attitudes through directed experience,” said mentor William Paulin, Founding Principal of Paulin Neal Associates.

Vincent Crowley, a current MBA student, recently received an internship with Los Alamos through his work on the project. “This is the hardest, most beneficial class I’ve ever taken,” Crowley said. “You ask yourself ‘Does the class add something we can take after we’re done?’ This one does. The work we do here helps us market ourselves to prospective employers.”

LANL has been so impressed with the SDSU students’ work that they have agreed to have next year’s classes evaluate 10 more new technologies.

email: business@sdsu.edu