November 18, 2015

Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) released a bill known as the Accelerating Technology Transfer to Advance Innovation for the Nation (ATTAIN) Act (S.___) on November 17. The purpose of the bill is to accelerate the transfer of cutting-edge research and technology produced at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) national laboratories to the marketplace. The bill allows researchers at the national labs to pursue marketplace feedback on their technologies. Along with promoting this exchange, the bill would make the DOE’s new tech transfer office permanent and expands the geographical reaches of funding for smaller businesses to employ and develop the national lab’s tech products.

The bill aims to increase the effectiveness of the national laboratories by making their research more commercially viable and available. In June 2015, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) also introduced similar legislation geared toward improving the management of national laboratories.

Sources: congress.gov, eenews