Website helps companies unearth promising technologies

Developers at the University of Rochester have created a website aimed at helping companies and entrepreneurs find and cash in on innovative technologies developed by scientists at the university.

The university holds more than 400 patents for inventions in medicine, optics, computer technology and other fields. It can be a daunting task, however, for a businessperson to sift through all of the highly technical documentation and unearth the business potential amid the jargon.

For the newly launched Entrepreneur-Ready Technologies website, university officials scour this library of patents, pick out the most promising technologies, and present them in clear language so that entrepreneurs can easily choose one that suits their needs.

The site presents a diverse portfolio of technologies in a variety of industries. For instance, there is a chemical compound that could prove to be a potent weapon against arthritis and wrinkles, and a catalyst that could make fuel-cell vehicles cheaper.

Each technology description is accompanied by its industry applications, advantages of the technology versus its existing competitors, a brief biography of the inventor, and the technology’s current stage in development.