A research program led by faculty from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, in collaboration with faculty from Northwestern Engineering, has been awarded $20 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for work on measuring, understanding, predicting, and accelerating technology innovations. While scientific and technological advances are key drivers of economic growth and rising standards of living, the ability to assess and predict how, when and which research ideas and investments will lead to successful applications remains elusive.

 The Kellogg-McCormick program uses an innovation database of faculty research discoveries and artificial intelligence tools to help unlock this “research-to-market" pathway more quickly — by, for example, creating a new basis for measuring, assessing and predicting technology innovations to developing frameworks that can more rapidly identify new opportunities for innovation. 

“Universities are the most important source of the innovations and discoveries that impact people around the world,” said Francesca Cornelli, dean of the Kellogg School of Management. “Having leaders in both business and hard science working together to accelerate these discoveries will lead to even more benefit. By fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation for each other's expertise, we can harness the power of innovation to create value and impact at scale.”

The pilot phase of this effort integrated comprehensive data from scientific articles, patents, clinical trials and other outcomes to trace out the impact of scientific research on real-world innovations. Working with several partner universities, the datasets and associated artificial intelligence tools helped identify untapped potential within research institutions, yielding additional benefits from scientific discoveries.   

“The journey to translate research envisioned in the lab to adoption in the marketplace isn’t easy, but it’s part of our charge as scientists and business leaders,” said Christopher Schuh, dean of the McCormick School of Engineering. “Basic researchers who understand the journey to commercialization become better researchers in the process. This collaboration will bring out the best in both schools. We’re excited to leverage our respective strengths to optimize the research-to-market pathway and make the broadest possible impact.”

With the grant through the NSF’s Assessing and Predicting Technology Outcomes (APTO) program, this work will be expanded to bring on more partner institutions, expand the data sets, and extend the applications, addressing both broad opportunities to unleash social value form science while also undertaking deep dives into specific technological capabilities, from solar cell efficiency to additive manufacturing to cancer survivability. 

“What lies ahead appears to be a profound opportunity to greatly advance the R&D success of a research institution — or a nation,” said Dashun Wang, professor of management and organization at Kellogg, professor of industrial engineering and management sciences at McCormick, and principal investigator. “This will substantially broaden the impact of R&D investment, accelerate applications and social impact, and direct attention to diverse sources of breakthrough ideas.”

The data and tools can further help advance the US funding ecosystem by identifying the impact of governmental, philanthropic and commercial funding on long-term technological advancement and identifying bottlenecks that inhibit technological progress.

“Science and technology can help solve major challenges, from pandemics to cancer to climate change, but translating science into application is slow and uncertain,” said Benjamin Jones, the Gordon and Llura Gund Family professor of entrepreneurship at Kellogg and co-principal investigator. “This ambitious project aims to accelerate that process, by better understanding and predicting impact across the landscape of research and research institutions.”

Researchers across Northwestern are leading the effort.

(The new award) combines our faculty’s deep expertise in the science of science and engineering to determine how Northwestern and the nation can maximize the impact of our support for research for the benefit of society. Eric Perreault

Faculty from Northwestern Engineering include Mark Hersam, Walter P. Murphy Professor of Materials Science and Engineering; Jian Cao, Cardiss Collins Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Jennifer Dunn, professor of chemical and biological engineering; Julius Lucks, professor of chemical and biological engineering; and Danielle Tullman-Ercek, professor of chemical and biological engineering. Also involved in the partnership are faculty from Cornell University.

From Kellogg, in addition to Wang and Jones, are Alicia Loffler, adjunct professor of strategy at Kellogg and founding executive director of Northwestern’s Innovation and New Ventures Office; and Lauren Eskreis-Winkler, assistant professor in management and organizations.

“Interdisciplinary collaboration is a hallmark of Northwestern research that fuels our ability to produce breakthrough innovation and discovery,” said Eric Perreault, vice president for research. “Dashun Wang's research has revolutionized our understanding of the path from discovery to innovation, allowing us to accelerate the process of translation. This new award builds on the strong partnership between the Kellogg School of Management and the McCormick School of Engineering. It combines our faculty’s deep expertise in the science of science and engineering to determine how Northwestern and the nation can maximize the impact of our support for research for the benefit of society.”

The NSF’s APTO program aims to bridge the gap between innovative research and practical application. It focuses on advancing technologies emerging from NSF-funded research towards commercialization and societal impact. APTO supports projects that demonstrate significant potential for positive economic and societal outcomes, fostering collaboration between researchers, entrepreneurs, and industry partners to accelerate the transition from laboratory prototypes to viable products or services in the marketplace. Through funding and guidance, APTO aims to maximize the impact of NSF-funded research by ensuring that promising technologies reach their full potential to benefit society.