Conference Session

Capstone Design and Entrepreneurship

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gül Okudan, Pennsylvania State University; Jennifer Finelli, Pennsylvania State University; Elizabeth Kisenwether, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

2006-2137: ENTREPRENEURIAL DESIGN PROJECTS: WHAT TYPE OFPROJECTS ARE EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING STUDENT LEARNING &ENTHUSIASM?Gül Okudan, Pennsylvania State University Gül E. Okudan is an Assistant Professor of Engineering Design at The Pennsylvania State University. She received her Ph.D. from University of Missouri-Rolla. Her research interests include intelligent shop floor control, manufacturing strategy modeling and measurement, solid modeling, product design, and product design teams. Her published work appears in journals such as Journal of Engineering Design, Design Studies, Journal of Engineering Education, European Journal of Engineering Education and Technovation. She is a member of ASEE

Conference Session

Approaches to Teaching Entrepreneurship

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rose Marie Lynch, Illinois Valley Community College; Dorene Perez, Illinois Valley Community College; James Gibson, Illinois Valley Community College

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

2006-585: A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY ENTREPRENEURIAL PROJECT FORTEACHING REENGINEERINGRose Marie Lynch, Illinois Valley Community College Rose Marie Lynch, a communications instructor, is co-leader of the Tech Prep team and former co-director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Assessment at IVCC. She provides communication training to MIMIC students. In 1999, she was named Illinois Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation. She holds a Ph.D. in English from Ball State University. She is a co-PI on NSF grant #0501885.Dorene Perez, Illinois Valley Community College Dorene Perez, the Program Director/Instructor of CAD/CAE at IVCC, was one of the MIMIC project originators. A

Conference Session

Capstone Design and Entrepreneurship

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Ochs, Lehigh University; Gerard Lennon, Lehigh University; Todd Watkins, Lehigh University; Graham Mitchell, Lehigh University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

2006-1330: A COMPREHENSIVE MODEL FOR INTEGRATINGENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION AND CAPSTONE PROJECTS WHILEEXCEEDING ABET REQUIREMENTSJohn Ochs, Lehigh University John B Ochs is Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Lehigh and Director of the Integrated Product Development Program (IPD), which he co-founded with Dr. Watkins in 1994. He is the past chairman the Entrepreneurship division of the American Society for Engineering Education. From 1985-95 Dr. Ochs did extensive industry consulting and was involved in the start up of three companies. In 1996 the pilot courses IPD won the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ curriculum innovation award and in 1997 IPD won the Newcomen Society award for

Conference Session

Course-based Approaches to Entrepreneurship Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Doug Abbott, MT Tech of the U of MT; Lance Edwards, MT Tech of the U of MT; John Evans, MT Tech of the U of MT; Leo Heath, MT Tech of the U of MT; Mike Johnson, MT Tech of the U of MT; Timothy Kober, MT Tech of the U of MT; Mary North-Abbott, MT Tech of the U of MT; Roger Oldenkamp, MT Tech of the U of MT

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

2006-751: DEVELOPMENT AND PRESENTATION OF THEINTERDISCIPLINARY COURSE PETROLEUM PROJECT EVALUATION:INTEGRATING ENTREPRENEURIAL AND BUSINESS CONCEPTS INTO APETROLEUM ENGINEERING CURRICULUM.Doug Abbott, MT Tech of the U of MTLance Edwards, MT Tech of the U of MTJohn Evans, MT Tech of the U of MTLeo Heath, MT Tech of the U of MTMike Johnson, MT Tech of the U of MTTimothy Kober, MT Tech of the U of MTMary North-Abbott, MT Tech of the U of MTRoger Oldenkamp, MT Tech of the U of MT Page 11.453.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 Development and presentation of the interdisciplinary course Petroleum Project Evaluation: integrating entrepreneurial and

Conference Session

IP and Supporting Student Startups

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dan Moore, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; David Shepard, Engenius Solutions

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

constraints and meeting course objectives, these classes tend to offer either structuredprojects or surface level introduction to product development and especially new productdevelopment. The projects developed, in Engenius Solutions Lab, are not structured and requirea level of commitment not generally required in the student inventor’s classes.Over the past five years, Engenius Solutions has worked with over 20 different projects whichspan the various engineering disciplines and product lines. The Board of Directors and staff haveaccumulated a reservoir of knowledge in assisting students with product development. Thispaper is a reflection on the successes, failures and next steps for Engenius Solutions, a grantfunded, student run, product

Conference Session

Course-based Approaches to Entrepreneurship Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anthony Joseph, Pace University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

important. Additionally, the dynamism in finance created by its challenging problems andthe availability of sophisticated algorithms and cheap computing power has attractedprofessionals from computer science, engineering, physics, and mathematics resulting in thegrowth of many vibrant interdisciplinary fields involving finance. In spring 2005, we developedan entrepreneurial financial computing course with the objective that individual student teamswould design and develop a commercially viable financial software product to satisfy a marketneed. Five purposefully and two adhocly designed E-teams were formed with students majoringin computer science, finance, mathematics, and management science. Each E-team worked on adifferent project. The course

Conference Session

Learning from Entrepreneurship Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nancy Clement, Purdue University; Edward Coyle, Purdue University; Joy Krueger, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

. Coyle is a Fellow of the IEEE and in 1998 was named an Outstanding Engineering Alumnus of the University of Delaware. Dr. Coyle was a co-founder, with Professors Leah Jamieson and Hank Dietz, of the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) Program at Purdue. He was also a co-founder and co-director, with Professors Leah Jamieson and Bill Oakes, of the National EPICS Program, which supports and coordinates EPICS sites at Purdue and 14 other universities. Further information about EPICS is available at http://epics.ecn.purdue.edu/. For their work with the EPICS Program, Professors Coyle and Jamieson have jointly received the School of Electrical and Computer

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship Education - A 10,000' View

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul Lane, Grand Valley State University; John Farris, Grand Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

specialist. As explored in this paper, the cooperative structure allows for differentdegrees ownership based on an individual’s contribution to the project. The authors believe thatthe cooperative structure will increase entrepreneurial activity on campus by resolving ownershipissues and enabling interdisciplinary teams.Cooperatives are one the four forms of business that include sole proprietorship, partnerships andcorporations. The cooperative business model allows a variety of members to contributediffering amounts of labor, resources and capital to a business venture. Although cooperativeshave been traditionally used to develop agricultural distribution networks, today cooperatives areinvolved in products ranging from electricity to internet

Conference Session

Learning from Entrepreneurship Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Arnold Lumsdaine, University of Tennessee; Frank Speckhart, University of Tennessee-Knoxville; Geoff Robson, Technology 2020; Kenneth Kahn, University of Tennessee-Knoxville; Majid Keyhani, University of Tennessee-Knoxville; Dan Fant, University of Tennessee-Knoxville; Rapinder Sawhney, University of Tennessee-Knoxville

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

process are represented by thepartner personnel – entrepreneurs, engineering, project managers, CEO’s, intellectual propertylawyers, state economic development officials, and venture capital representatives. Thesepartners are involved in the following activities: 1) evaluating the dual degree program as a whole; 2) evaluating student projects and advising the student teams; 3) offering student teams technical and business expertise; 4) advising dual degree program in development and curricular issues; 5) contributing intellectual property (ORNL alone has a portfolio of over 1000 patents) and project ideas; 6) serving as guest lecturers in graduate product development courses;Advising student teams involves attending

Conference Session

IP and Supporting Student Startups

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul Swamidass, Auburn University; Brian Wright, Auburn University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

conferences before.Brian Wright, Auburn University Brian Wright, Auburn University. Dr. Brian Wright is the Associate Director for Commercialization in the Office of Technology Transfer, Auburn University. As associate director, he works with and assists the technology transfer officers on various projects, oversees initiatives to reach out to industry and other research institutions, and markets, negotiates and licenses technologies from Auburn's research laboratories. For more than two years, he has worked closely with the Thomas Walter Center in commercializing selected Auburn inventions. Page

Conference Session

IP and Supporting Student Startups

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Craig Silvernagel, University of North Dakota; Richard Schultz, University of North Dakota

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

great interest within academia is the ownership of student-generated intellectualproperty (IP), particularly in an era when entrepreneurship and innovation are being stressedacross academic disciplines. Students involved in engineering capstone design projects, businessplan courses and competitions, and research activities have immense potential to conceive andprototype product, process, system, and service concepts within the university classroom andlaboratory environment. Faculty members serving as mentors and liaisons to industry partnersgenerally facilitate the innovation process in the context of their employment as universityprofessionals. The research questions addressed in this project focus on who actually owns theintellectual property

Conference Session

Learning from Entrepreneurship Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gerald Nelson, Mississippi State University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

2006-76: DEVELOPING ENGINEERS WITH AN ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRITGerald Nelson, Mississippi State University Gerald Nelson, an industrial engineering graduate (1974) with an MBA (1985) from Mississippi State University, began his career with a co-op experience at Rockwell International. Nelson worked five semesters with Rockwell before joining them full time after graduation as a Project Engineer and Program Manager. Nelsons career includes former positions as Plant Manager, Trinity Industries; President and Chief Operating Officer of the Wear Resistance Group of Thermadyne Industries, Inc.; Executive Vice President of Operations, Viasystems Group, Inc.; and Chief Operating Officer of

Conference Session

Approaches to Teaching Entrepreneurship

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

W. Andrew Clark, East Tennessee State University; J. Paul Sims, East Tennessee State University; Craig A. Turner, East Tennessee State University; Jon L. Smith, East Tennessee State University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

certificates on aircraft from Boeing 727’s to Piper PA-31. He has authored or co-authored twenty papers in the areas of aircraft testing, aircraft systems design, systems troubleshooting and project management.Craig A. Turner, East Tennessee State University CRAIG A. TURNER is an Assistant Professor of Strategic Management at East Tennessee State University. His areas of interest and research pertain to the effects of risk on decision-making and contextual determinants of entrepreneurial success and failure. He received his Ph.D. in Strategic Management from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1999. His previous experience included 11 years at various positions involving financial and

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship Education - A 10,000' View

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Clifton Kussmaul, Muhlenberg College; John Farris, Grand Valley State University; Jana Goodrich, Pennsylvania State University-Erie; Susannah Howe, Smith College; Robert Weissbach, Pennsylvania State University-Erie

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

onhow product or service concepts grow and evolve over time. This work is a result of acollaborative project by ten PUI faculty and staff from seven institutions that was initially fundedby NCIIA. While the collaborators represent a range of disciplines, the group includes aconcentration of faculty in or affiliated with engineering programs. As such, the group isinvested in furthering entrepreneurship education in engineering at PUIs and across disciplines.1. IntroductionThis paper presents efforts to document best practices and develop resources to facilitate andstrengthen entrepreneurship at primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) nationwide. Itdescribes a multi-dimensional framework for entrepreneurship education, and specificallyfocuses

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship Education - A 10,000' View

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wade Shaw, Florida Tech; Muzaffar Shaikh, Florida Tech; Carmo D'Cruz, Florida Tech

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

’ educational experience, broadened their perspectives, served as community outreachforums and integrated experiential learning with academic programs. Students work in E-teamsand write NCIIA proposals to commercialize innovative product or university/research labdeveloped technology.This paper describes a unique course series in Systems Engineering (SE) Entrepreneurship.Innovation in product/service design and commercialization that enables entrepreneurship can besuccessfully leveraged by applying SE principles/ techniques which parallel entrepreneurshipsteps such as Customer Requirements Engineering and opportunity recognition; Project/QualityEngineering, Decision/Risk Analysis, Systems Modeling, Engineering Economics and businessplanning, Systems

Conference Session

Capstone Design and Entrepreneurship

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thomas Miller, North Carolina State University; Stephen Walsh, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

comprised of undergraduates and run these teams asvirtual start-up companies. Underclassmen serve as virtual employees of these E-Teams andparticipate for either 1-credit or 3-credits.Topics covered in the EEP include leadership, management, project planning, marketing, sales,operations, organizational behavior, financials, corporate formation, business planning, andintellectual property. The EEP Portal provides the students a structured, yet flexible, mechanismto manage their teams and the product development process. In addition, the EEP Portal allowsfaculty to observe the E-Team’s progress in real-time and to monitor the program’s pedagogicaleffectiveness.This paper discusses the impetus in developing the EEP Portal, its actual design

Conference Session

Approaches to Teaching Entrepreneurship

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

June Ferrill, Rice University; Lisa Getzler-Linn, Lehigh University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

at McKinsey & Company assisting project teams in defining and conceptualizing client studies and communications. While employed at Halliburton, she developed a training program for engineering project managers.Lisa Getzler-Linn, Lehigh University Lisa Getzler-Linn is the Associate Director of Lehigh University’s Integrated Product Development (IPD) program, the multi-phased program in which business, engineering and arts & sciences students work together to produce and market new products, as well as Director of Academic Projects for IPD and the Integrated Business & Engineering honors program. Currently she is leading the initiative to establish both an

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship Division Poster Sessions

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Philip Rufe, Eastern Michigan University; Gary Rodak, Eastern Michigan University; Scott Pollock, Eastern Michigan University; Mary Finkel, Eastern Michigan University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

Machining Efficiencies, Inc. (BSME - New Jersey Institute of Technology, CMfgE) has been focused on machining process improvements for over 30 years. With a background in tool design, tool wear analysis, metalworking fluid development, chemical management systems, machining processes technical support, business development manager and quality system lead auditor, Mr. Rodak has successfully guided numerous companies towards higher profitability. He is a frequent speaker at SME technology clinics on topics relating to practical approaches to improving machining processes.Scott Pollock, Eastern Michigan University Scott Pollock has 17 years of industrial experience. He is currently a senior project

Conference Session

Approaches to Teaching Entrepreneurship

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Weissbach, Pennsylvania State University-Erie; Jana Goodrich, Pennsylvania State University-Erie

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

course.Engineering and technology curricula often focus on the technical abilities of students,neglecting the “soft skills” that will often determine success or failure for a graduate when (s)heenters the workforce. As an example, project management skills are often neglected in anengineering curriculum, requiring additional training for those engineers who end up inmanagement positions2. Skills such as the ability to lead and work effectively as a member of ateam are frequently identified as critical to the success of an engineer, but typically are lacking innew engineering graduates3. The same is true of business students. While the businesscurriculum uses many team-based projects, students frequently resist building good, effectiveteam-building skills

Conference Session

Approaches to Teaching Entrepreneurship

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Minnie Patel, San Jose State University; Anuradha Basu, San Jose State University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

universities is to offer courses inentrepreneurship to engineering students. A more unconventional approach that has been used atSan Jose State University (SJSU) is to invite students to participate in a Neat Ideas Fair, acampus-wide forum to celebrate creativity and innovation. This fair gives the students anopportunity to display the creative solutions developed by them as part of their engineeringcourse projects. While this event generates enthusiasm and excitement among students and hasled to the further development and commercialization of ideas in a few cases, it has twodrawbacks. First, it attracts only those students who already have good ideas to display andsecondly, it does not give students the fundamentals of entrepreneurship in a

Conference Session

Successful Outcomes of Student Entrepreneurship

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Evans, University of Texas-Austin

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

required matching corporate sponsorship. Duringtheir coursework the students created a new application for the technology. They then competedin the Idea to Product® competition. During the competition, an angel investor and Entrepreneurin Residence expressed interest in the opportunity identified by the students. That summer thestudents and a team of angel investors further examined the opportunity, created a new companyand began license negotiations with the University of Texas. The new company providedmatching funds and Mr. Evans became the lead researcher on the project. From their commoninterest in entrepreneurship these students were able to leverage many university assets to createa company and become entrepreneurs. Their experiences during

Conference Session

Course-based Approaches to Entrepreneurship Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anthony Warren, Pennsylvania State University; Ralph Hanke, Bowling Green University; Elizabeth Kisenwether, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

to get out of thetraditional “teaching mode” as it was for the students to get out of the “passive learning” mode.Nevertheless, the students’ final projects and presentations suggest that the learning experiencesucceeded and students developed a realistic understanding of what it takes to be an entrepreneur.Further, the experience resulted in a plan of improvements to the method, three of them key. First,given the natural ambiguity of PBL to develop entrepreneurial skills, it is imperative that structuralaspects of the course are as unambiguous as possible. Second, the grading and support structure ofthe course need to reward student self-sufficiency. Third, in-class activities must be structured sothat teams are forced to be fully prepared

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship Education - A 10,000' View

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary Secor, Institute to Promote Learning; Douglas Arion, Carthage College

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

, ability to develop new methods, resources, ideas, establish assemble, integrate, unique, structures, parts; create teams or new rearrange, modify systems, models, approaches, write protocols approaches. (creative or contingencies thinking) 6 Evaluation Review options or plans in Review, justify, assess, present a The student has the terms of efficacy, return on case for, defend, report on, ability to assess investment or cost- investigate, direct, appraise, argue, effectiveness of whole effectiveness, profitability, project-manage concepts in relation to

Conference Session

Opportunities for Entrepreneurship Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Heidi Neck, Babson College; John Bourne, Olin College; Stephen Schiffman, Olin College

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

education. The primary goals of SyE3(the pilot) were: • SyE3 seeks to raise the technology entrepreneurship literacy of engineering faculty and their students and demonstrate the importance of this literacy to economic prosperity (job and wealth creation). This includes knowledge of the entrepreneurship process and identification of relevant linkages between engineering and entrepreneurship. • SyE3 seeks to improve the art and craft of teaching entrepreneurship in engineering schools. This includes the use of case studies, simulations, and real world projects as alternative pedagogies. • Motivation to understand and engage in the entrepreneurship process. With a recognition that engineers foster

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship Division Poster Sessions

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

La Verne Abe Harris, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

turning 50 on a daily basis.3 Thiscalculates to over four million each year.These 40- and 50-year olds can boast about being the best-educated generation in history.4 Thefocus team members were no different. Over half had a 4-year university degree, with just underhalf having graduate degrees. Almost 20 percent had doctoral degrees.The participants who responded to the income survey question made over $100,000 annually.Over half were employed in the technology business, with a few employed in engineering firms,and one employed as a defense contractor. Almost half were engineers. The rest had thefollowing job titles: program manager, project manager, chief engineer, or quality and missionassurance director. They represented companies such as

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship Division Poster Sessions

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kenneth Ports, QTS, Inc.; Dennis Kulonda, Florida Tech; Clifford Bragdon, Florida Tech; Carmo D'Cruz, Florida Tech

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

project management, product to market, technology roadmapping, and strategic planning. He was corporate director of University Relations, and his duties included overseeing the research pipeline. He has over 40 publications and papers, numerous company-private handbooks and documents, and 11 patents. He has a B.S. in Physics from Penn State and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Physics from Purdue University. Page 11.373.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 Critical Success Factors for Technopolis Creation Carmo D’Cruz, Clifford Bragdon, Dennis Kulonda

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship Division Poster Sessions

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Barbara Karanian, Wentworth Institute of Technology; Gül Okudan, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

of leadership in changingorganizations.The assumptions that we see as central to our ideas about leadership are:a. Leadership definitions and practices are similar across different organizational settings (e.g.,academic, political and sport). The exploration of leadership practice will include considerationand suggestions for the use of quantitative, qualitative, projective and action research tools.b. Subtle but dramatic forms of distinction exist between the definitions of leadership andentrepreneurial leadership. Page 11.591.2c. An important challenge exists in the way the research is designed and reported when theconcept of gender is

Conference Session

Opportunities for Entrepreneurship Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Evans, University of Texas-Austin; Jennifer Parks, University of Texas-Austin; Steven Nichols, University of Texas-Austin

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

, general entrepreneurshipmarketing and IP. A one-page project summary is submitted mid-semester for what is theessentially the first round of the competition. These summaries are judged by a panel ofprevious competitors and faculty and about 15 teams are chosen to compete in the presentationrounds near the end of the semester. A committee of TES students and the coordinator connectthe 15 teams with faculty or business mentors and work to prepare a 5-page project summarywhich is submitted before the initial dry-run presentations. The dry-runs which are given to apanel of faculty and previous competitors have been shown to have a dramatic impact on thequality of competitions. They are an invaluable educational tool. The teams then compete insemi

Conference Session

Successful Outcomes of Student Entrepreneurship

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karen Thornton, University of Maryland-College Park; Anik Singal, Affiliate Classroom, Inc.; David Barbe, University of Maryland-College Park; James Green, University of Maryland-College Park

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

entrepreneurial traits andskills within undergraduates interested in new ventures is closely aligned with the psychologicalcharacteristics of the students. Vesper and Gartner (1997) demonstrated the positive impact thatuniversity entrepreneurship programs have on students, the university, and the community. Publicsymposia, student consulting projects, and company spin-offs are examples of high valueactivities.Areas influencing entrepreneurial successes have been found to include founder characteristics,firm attributes, business practices, and human resource management practices. Foundercharacteristics are widely believed to influence the cultures and behaviors of the firm (Mullins,1996). Firm attributes of specific value include a growth-oriented vision

Conference Session

IP and Supporting Student Startups

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Martin High, Oklahoma State University; Paul Rossler, Oklahoma State University; Karen High, Oklahoma State University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

practitioners and so maddening to inventors. Precisely following these rules for anyinventor, including inventors associated with entrepreneurship programs, may make thedifference between a successful invention and a failure. Page 11.807.2Utility The utility requirement is likely the most important and, from an engineering perspective,the easiest to define. The engineers working on a project typically know from their designspecifications whether they have been successful in creating the proper design. Almost bydefinition an invention must be useful and thereby have utility. Unfortunately, the legal standard is not as forthcoming. The