...Technology transfer is a key mechanism that changes federal or university research from a purely academic pursuit into something with a direct impact on the economy. ...It benefits the researcher and the institution because it can lead to
royalties, in-kind services, cost-sharing and spin-on technologies. It benefits the commercial partner by offering the possibility of developing a product or service to sell to the public and private sector. ...In the Central Gulf Coast there are 10 offices that focus on getting innovations from the federal and university labs to the private sector,
though other offices also have tech transfer as part of their function. ...One of the tech transfer offices is operated by a federal agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and is located at Stennis Space Center. Eight of the offices are operated by universities or university foundations, one of them by private Tulane University.