Institute for Technology Advancement
About the Institute for Technology Advancement
The Institute for Technology Advancement (ITA) is an off-campus technology development center established by the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science to accelerate the transition of high-impact innovative research from UCLA to technology development and commercialization.
Start-up funding for the new institute was donated by the Henry and Susan Samueli Foundation. ITA’s off-campus headquarters space is being provided by Abraxis BioScience, Inc. and its CEO, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong.
Mission
ITA’s mission is to identify and influence early stage, high-value research at UCLA and facilitate further development and transition to industry for economic impact.
ITA will serve several functions:
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•Lead the effort to identify and formulate early state, highly valued research ideas at UCLA – then develop and transition these ideas to industry for economic impact.
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•Nurture and incubate breakthrough ideas to create new technologies that address current and emerging markets.
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•Further strengthen and expand relationships with industry in providing technical assistance for near-term applied research projects.
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•Provide a learning platform for faculty and students to engage in transitional technology research.
Message from the Director
The over-arching goal of the ITA is to enhance the effectiveness of the process and infrastructure to facilitate and accelerate innovative discoveries at UCLA for societal and economical impact Our objective is to provide benefits to UCLA through:
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•More and better research opportunities for faculty/students;
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•Additional R&D grants;
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•Increased direct impact to the U.S. and California economy; and
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•Enhanced linkage to industry.
We have assembled a team of dynamic, experienced, and insightful individuals with successful technology and business track records to accomplish our objectives. They are all effective communicators, with the ability to interface with faculty, students, industry, and funding sources. Each has a specialized domain of expertise, including
aerospace, defense, electronics & communications, software/internet/media, energy and environment, bio-medical technologies, and material science. They also bring special relationships with funding sources, such as DoD, DoE, NASA, NIH, State of California, major companies, and venture capital investors.
We are committed to working together as a team dedicated to UCLA’s success.
Derek Cheung, Ph.D.
Accelerating technology transition.
