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Technology transfer from Particle Physics The CERN experience 1974-1997

CONTENTS

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1 - In-troduction ........................................... ..............•............ - ........................................ 1

1.1 Particle Physics and technology ........................................ .. ....... .. ... ...... .. ...... ........ . 1

2 - The technologies of particle physics .................................................................... 3

3 - Technology diffusion···········································-················································· 5

4 - Technology transfer through P.rocurement •••.•.........•.••..•.•.................................. 6

5 - Technology transfer through joint development projects .•............................. 7

6- Technology transfer through t:raining ................................................................... 8

7 - Technology tr"ansfer indicators· .............................................................................. 9

8 - Evaluation of technology U-ansfer ....................................................................... 12

9 - Difficulties and obstacles ·······················································-·····e······················ 13 9.1 CERN's culture ....................................................... ....... ... ..................... .................. 13

9 .2 Ind us try view .......................................................................................................... 14

9 .3 CERN's rules ........................................................................................................... 14

9 .4 Intellectual property rigltts ................................................................................... 15

9.5 Detection of Innovation ......................................................................................... 16

9 .6 Exploitation of Innovation .................................................................................... 17

10 - Concl usion ............................................................................................................. 19

Technology Transfer from Particle Physics The CERN experience 1974-1997

1 - INTRODUCTION

1.1 Particle Physics and technology

Page 1

Particle physics as carried out at CERN and similar laboratories is basically an experimental science. For conducting their research, physicists require large and complex tools such as accelerators and detectors backed by powerful data analysis systems. Progress in the discipline is directly related to the performance of its experimental facilities which are in turn determined by the state of the art of the underlying technologies.

Once given its size, the energy limit of a circular proton accelerator is fixed by the achievable magnetic field. For circular electron machines, the power of the accelerating system which compensates the synchrotron radiation losses sets the limit. For modem machines with superconducting coils or RF cavities , this depends on the material properties and the possible operating temperature of the cryogenics system. These parameters are totally technology-dependent and are vital for projects like the LEP upgrade or the LHC. Another essential parameter for colliders is the residual pressure which determines the beam lifetime and the background noise, this explains the extensive developments in vacuum technology made for the CERN ISR

In a similar way, detector performance will determine the feasibility of a given physics experiment. Cross sections of events of interest are rapidly decreasing with energy, hence the need to analyse increasing amounts of data to detect them. Higher energy events are also more complex, they produce more secondary particles, this combined with the higher data rate, results in very demanding technical requirements for the detectors in terms of number of detector cells, data channels, associated electronics and on-line computing power for data analysis.

A further constraint is cost. Contrary to other high technology sectors such as space launchers and satellites or nuclear power, financial limitations are a major factor in the design of particle physics facilities. The challenge is not to reach the design goals whatever the price, but to do the best possible physics within the allocated budgets.

These examples clearly outline the close relationship between technological performance and physics potential and the need, for a basic research laboratory like CERN, to conduct or stimulate technology developments by industry, in a wide range of technical fields, in order to have available the best possible instruments at an affordable cost.


These developments may have applications in other areas and CERN has been aware for a long time of the substantial technological interest of its activities. After a short survey of the main technologies used in the laboratory, this report will review the policy followed for more than 20 years to make the developed technology available. Results based on technology transfer indicators will be given. Obstacles and difficulties will also be discussed.1

1 Some of the material contained in this report was already included in various Finance Committee documents on Technology Transfer but was never given a broader circulation.


2 - THE TECHNOLOGIES OF PARTICLE PHYSICS

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Electromechanical engineering is at the centre of all particle physics facilities. The basic requirement is to create high magnetic fields to guide and focus particle beams or to analyse the tracks of the particles emerging from collisions. This requires not only powerful magnets but precision power converters or pulse generators with the associated switch gear and transformers.

In the field of mechanical engineering, there is also a wide range of needs· to build all the devices necessary to produce, handle, steer, store, monitor and detect both the intense particle beams circulating in colliders and the very rare single particle object of the whole research.

Material science is crucial for the construction of the active part of particle detectors as well as to achieve the high magnetic and electric fields and ultrahigh vacuum . One must master the shaping, machining, joining, etc. of numerous special metals and alloys, composite materials or selected products such as ceramics, ferrites, crystals, semi-conductors, synthetic resins and polymers. They must be selected carefully, taking into account the required vacuum and surface properties, dielectric or high frequency behaviour, electrical and thermal conductivity, optical characteristics, specific mass or absorbing power, often with the need to satisfy several of these characteristics simultaneously.

Radio frequency and microwave engineering are used for the accelerating systems. The aim is to achieve high electric fields in compact accelerating structures while minimising power losses so as to reach very high particle energies withln acceptable economic losses. Another particular application of these techniques has been stochastic cooling to reduce the size of particle beams and achieve, in this way, usable collision rates with anti-matter.

Superconductivity is the vital technology needed to achieve the performance required for the upgrading of many existing facilities and in all new ones. Not only does it allow to reach the higher field values for magnet and accelerating structures but the suppression of resistive electrical losses reduces drastically the power requirements and therefore the operating costs which would otherwise be unaffordable. There is, however , a price to pay in the form of the low temperature necessary to maintain the superconducting state and the need therefore of appropriate cryogenic technolog:y2.

2 Only "classical" i.e. low temperature (Liquid He) operating superconductors are at present suitable for particle physics applications (magnets and RF structures). However R&D is under way to use high temperature superconductors when possible (e.g. high current feedthroughs).

Technology transfer from Particle Ph_11sic~

The CERN experience 1974-1997

Ultra-high vacuum is needed to accelerate and keep stored particle beams for hours and even days with a minimum of loss. Techniques have been developed for adequate cleaning of the vacuum chamber and other components, distributed pumping, vacuum-tight coupling elements, etc.

Electronics is omni-present in particle physics. In detectors it is essential for triggering, signal shaping, data acquisition, filtering and transmission and for computer interface. It is extensively used in all the major accelerator systems (magnets, acceleration, vacuum, instrumentation, controls, safety, .. ) for synchronisation, monitoring and control as well as for the "slow control" of the detectors "auxiliaries" (cryogenics, gas distribution, cooling of the electronics, .. )

Computer systems are used in all the activities of the laboratory.

Particle physicists have pioneered their applications for research. Even if CERN does not anymore host the largest European computer centre as was the case in the 1960's and 1970's. In addition to the central computer centre which is essential for all aspects of scientific work, high-performance machines are used in the experiments to organise the signal acquisition, store the data, reconstruct physics events and extract meaningful and novel information from a mass of uninteresting data. Computer systems are also used for process control of all accelerator and detector systems as well as for the management of the site technical infrastructure, whilst the vast majority of the physicists and engineers and many technicians use personal computers in their daily work. The same is now also true for most of the administrative activities.

The fact that CERN users come from remote locations and would like to perform as much of the data analysis as possible in their home institutions has lead to the development of data networks between CERN and these institutes with a rapidly increasing capacity to accommodate the fast growing traffic. The result is that CERN has become one of the major hubs of the European scientific data network3 and it is in a way retrospectively natural that it was the birthplace of the World Wide Web.

This brief overview covers only the major technologies used by particle physics and which may have their development stimulated by its experimental requirements. A more exhaustive list is given in annex.

3 Until 1993 (and the WWW explosion) CERN was the largest Internet node in Europe.


3 - TECHNOLOGY DIFFUSION

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The publication of the results of its experimental work is one of the basic obligations of the Organisation and results directly from the application of its Convention. Although this was essentially intended for fundamental research in particle physics , this has also been the case for all the technological developments.

All the activities of the Organisation are regularly described in its annual rep?rt. Since 1988, technological developments in particular those undertaken in collaboration with industry or research institutes are regrouped in a special section.

CERN applied physicists and engineers may publish their results in CERN reports or in scientific and technical journals, but a more frequently used medium is the presentation of technical progress at regular specialised international conferences dealing with electronics, computing, particle detector technology, particle accelerators, magnets, cryogenics, vacuum, surface science, radioprotection, geodesy, microwave engineering, pulsed power, etc.. The information is then made available through the conference proceedings which are consulted by all the experts in the field and reaches in this way all interested people.

On different occasions, CERN has organised major technology conferences and exhibitions. A first one took place in 1974 and its contents were summarised in a yellow report (CERN 74-9). Another exhibition took place in 1979 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Organisation: The hall built for this occasion has become the location of the permanent exhibit Microcosm. The inauguration of LEP was a further opportunity for a major display of the technologies developed for the project.

CERN also organises travelling exhibitions in the member states. For special events, such as the 1992 World Fair in Seville, the displays may be more important. The emphasis is in general on the scientific activities of the laboratory, but there are always displays illustrating some of the technological achievements. CERN has also participated to general technical exhibitions such as the Hannover Fair, the Toulouse Sitec or "Tech" in Grenoble.

In addition to numerous groups from the "general public", CERN also welcomes visitors from industry and organises for them customised tours matching their interests.

More recently information on CERN technology has been made available on a dedicated WWW site.


4 - TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER THROUGH PROCUREMENT

CERN procurements of high technology equipment are essentially made on the basis of detailed specifications resulting, in many cases, from development work carried out in the laboratory. The firm which has received the contract following successful competitive bidding can benefit from all the detailed design information and from the assistance of the CERN engineers who have done the development

In 1974, following a NASA example, a study of the economic utility resulting from CERN contracts was conducted and its results published (CERN 75-6). A second study covering the SPS construction period took place in 1983 (CERN 84-14).

The outcome of these two studies demonstrated that CERN contracts for high technology equipment induce substantial indirect economic benefits. These benefits appear as induced sales increases amounting to over three times the value of the contract. The sales increase is due to several mechanisms: new products, better quality products, improved competitiveness through more efficient production methods and better market position due to the reference value of having been a CERN supplier.

These studies revealed the magnitude and the unexpected breadth of the technology transfer occurring through the procurement contract mechanism. In the period covered by these studies ( 1955 to 1983), CERN had the resources (staff and money) to carry out extensive R&D work followed by the construction of prototypes and their complete testing and actively assist the selected firm during the series production phase.

A similar study com.missioned by ESA, the European Space Agency, performed a few years later has given comparable results which do confirm the effects measured by the CERN teams.


5 - TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER THROUGH JOINT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

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CERN has, since its beginnings, good and often close relations with its suppliers which went far beyond simple procurement and involved considerable exchange of technical information and requests leading to improved or to new products. CERN has also often been used as test-bed for new products. In return, CERN could benefit from new technology at appreciably discoun~ed prices or keep freely an industrial prototype. This was in particular the case in the computer field.

In 1984, when beginning to plan for the LHC machine, it was recognised that, in view of the magnitude and technical complexity of the project, a strong involvement of industry, already at the initial R&D stage would be essential. The setting up of such collaborations was also seen as an effective way of technology stimulation and transfer. It is with this objective in mind that CERN developed the concept of joint R&D projects with applied physics institutes and industry.

This approach appeared to be most promising to an internal committee set up in 1986 to analyse in depth the relations between CERN and industry. This view was also shared by the CERN Review Committee (Abragam Committee) and the joint development concept was accepted by the CERN Finance Committee in 1988. The same idea was again used in 1991 in the framework of the "Call for Technology" launched for the developmentof the LHC detectors.

It is foreseen in the contractual agreements with partners that the rights and benefits are shared by both parties. In case of commercial exploitation, CERN asks for its share of the benefits.

The joint development mechanism has also been used to introduce CERN technologies to firms from countries which did not have the required previous experience to qualify for major CERN contracts. Following an initial collaboration on a small project, the firm was later able to win more sizeable orders.

PageB Technology transfer from Particle Plzysics Th.e CERN experience 1974-1997

6- TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER THROUGH TRAINING

An important part of CERN activities result in training and a very large amount of technology is successfully transferred in this way.

Technology training is an integral part of the experimental research process in which young scientists who constitute the majority of the 6000 CERN users contribute in their group to the design, the construction and setting up of experiments and thus become acquainted with all the leading edge technologies incorporated in modem physics detectors. Many of them will not stay in research or even continue to work in the field of physics, but at the end of their stay they will have acquired many of the qualifications that industry expects for its future managerial staff: experience of team-work, keeping of tight deadlines and budgets, familiarity with international cooperation, wide experience of data processing and acquaintance with a variety of advanced technologies. A recent study has indeed shown that some 40% of the researchers who participated in one of the large LEP experiments are now working in industry4.

Many experimental teams have not only young physicist but also engineers and technicians who will all have an opportunity to work in an environment using the most advanced equipment.

Furthermore CERN runs programmes for paid fellows and associates and for technical students which provides opportunities to work in all the technical . fields in which the laboratory is active.

Some of them are supported by the European Community Training and Mobility programme. Several member states sponsor directly young engineers or applied physicists to start their professional career by working at CERN. Some industrial firms have asked CERN to host, at their own expenses, engineers or applied physicists for training periods of several months by working on CERN projects.

CERN also offers technological training through two of its schools, namely Accelerators and Computing which are attended not only by research people but by engineers and applied physicists from industry. CERN does also provide highly specialised teaching staff or lecturers in applied science and engineering to a number of member state educational institutions.

During the execution of procurement contracts involving CERN technology, advice and information may be given to the manufacturer staff by the CERN people who have developed the technology. In CERN's industrial collaborations or licence agreements, provisions may be made for the training of staff from the industrial partner through short or extended visits to CERN, for participation in the design or to tests.

4 T. Camporesi Statistics and follow up of DELPffi students careers. CERN /PPE, October 1996.


7 - TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER INDICATORS

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The following tables and graphs are a measure of the effort put by the Organisation to make its technology available and could be considered as technology transfer indicators ..

Table 1 gives the total numbers of CERN reports on non particle physics topics and reports from non particle physics divisions.

-Table 1-

1993 1994 1995 1996

236 235 310 284

The CERN reports include proceedings of the CERN Computing and Accelerator Schools. Typically, 1500 to 2500 copies of these proceedings are distributed. Divisional reports are mostly papers presented at specialised technology conferences (accelerators, magnets, cryogenics, vacuum, power engineering, process control, instrumentation, electronics, computing, etc.) and are later published in the conference proceedings. As a further measure of CERN technology diffusion, one may note that in the course of 1996, the CERN Technology WWW pages were typically consulted 4500 times per month.

The figures in Table 25 refer to the technology development collaborations described in the CERN annual reports, starting from 1988 onwards when a more systematic reporting was initiated. The 1988 annual report contains information relative to all the then on-going collaborations, i.e. back to 1985, when the R&D for the l.HC machine and, in particular, for the superconducting magnets was launched. The peak seen for the years 1990-91 correspond to the initial R&D activities for the LHC detectors.

-Table 2-

1985-88 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

Number of new projects 81 25 35 34 23 23 13 23

Cumulative number of 81 106 141 175 198 221 234 257 projects

Cumulative number of 'Tl 87 136 185 220 250 271 320 collaboration partners

Figure 1 shows the distribution of technology collaboration by technical domain and Fig 2 the distribution by country6

5 Data collected by Markus Nordberg. 6 The country indicated is the location of the first contact and not necessarily the country in which the technology was transferred..

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Technology Transfer from Particle Pltysics The CERN experience 1974-1997

Page 11

Table 3 shows the number of CERN fellows in applied physics and engineering (including computing), the number of unpaid associates in the same disciplines, the number of apprentices and of students in the non High Energy Physics (HEP) divisions. It also gives the attendance to the applied physics CERN schools.

-Table 3-

1993 1994 1995 199~

Fellows (applied physics and 140 111 127 153 engineering)

Unpaid associates (applied physics and (598) (679)7 573 596 engineering)

Apprentices 26 28 29 30

Students (non HEP) 142 160 170 182

Schools:

Computing 49 48 63 88

Accelerator 114 138 100 100

JUASB 23 20 13

7The unpaid associates data base was checked in 1994 and a number of people who werP. still on the lists after having left the labratory were then removed. 8Joint University Accelerator School organized in Archamps (F) with a strong support from CERN.


8 - EVALUATION OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

The figures presented in the previous sections as "indicators" are a measure of CERN efforts and actions to stimulate technology transfer. They do not constitute as such a proper monitoring of the achieved transfers or of any possible economic result.

Discussions have been held with people responsible for similar activities in other research institutions9, with technology brokers and consultants, economic researchers and participants to conferences and meetings on these topics, organised by the European Commission10 or Eurekall. One has also analysed the literature, in particular, European Com.mission and OECD reports12. In spite of many studies, the provisional conclusion is that, there is so far no generally accepted methodology to assess technology transfer, nor accepted indicators that could be applicable to CERN.

However, on the basis of these numerous contacts, it seems that a possible approach would be to apply to technological collaborations the interview method developed, more than 20 years ago, by CERN to evaluate the economic utility resulting from contracts (CERN 75- 5 and CERN 84-14) and later followed by BETA (Bureau d'Economie Theorique et Appliquee) of the University of Strasbourg for the European Space Agency. The validity of this approach was confirmed in a recent study sponsored by the University of Helsinki on industrial suppliers' strategy in relation with CERN contracts13.

CERN is therefore supporting a study by a University of Vienna PhD student on the benefits resulting from a sample of CERN-Industry collaborations aiming explicitly or implicitly at technology transfer. Preliminary results indicate that the decision by industry to undertake such a collaboration is highly strategic. The motivation, in 80% of the cases, is to learn and get knowhow14.

9 ESA, ESO, EMBL, CEA, DESY, KfK, I<fA-Jiilich, Seibersdorf (AT), Mol (BE), Riso (DK), Petten (NL), VIT (Finland). 10 Brussels (1993, 1996), Luxemburg (1995) and Vienna (1995). 11 Lillehammer (1994). 12 Economic Quantitative Methods for the Evaluation of the Impact of R&D Programmes. A State-of-the-Art. EUR 14864, November 1992 Impacts of National Technology Programmes, OECD 1995 and references therein. 13M. Nordberg. Contract benefits and competence-based supplier strategies- CERN as an example. 14 M. Hahnle. Private communication.

Technology Transfer from Particle PJiysics The CERN experience 1974-1997

9 - DIFFICULTIES AND OBSTACLES

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Active teclmology transfer actions face in the CERN environment a number of obstacles which are due to the very deep cultural differences between an institution committed to basic scientific research and international cooperation, with free exchange of people and ideas, and industrial firms, primarily concerned with financial results and the need to preserve or acquire an advantage over their competitors.

Another set of obstacles is due to the CERN financial rules which require competitive bidding with award to the lowest offer and are not adapted to collaborative agreements with the technically most knowledgeable or motivated partner. 1his situation is aggravated by the recent procurements rules which, contrary to the practice in other European scientific institutions, only aim at achieving a balanced financial return to Member States, without any consideration of the technological content of contracts.

9.1 CERN's culture

A basic element of the culture of the academic world of which CERN is an integral part is the publication of research results in the open scientific literature. It is on the basis of these publications that they can be analysed and evaluated and that scientists are assessed by theirs peers and rewarded. Furthermore the very process of science is based on the free exchange of ideas and communication of results. CERN's founding Convention which requires that the Organisation publishes and makes generally available the results of its theoretical and experimental work was indeed written in full agreement with this universal practice.

The other essential component of CERN is its international character. Whilst it

is a natural and accepted rule in national research laboratories to establish and develop privileged relations with their national industry, CERN must offer opportunities and give access to its technology, on an equal basis, to firms from all its Member States.

Moreover, an increasing part of CERN's technological activity is carried out by research associates affiliated with the hundreds of institutions participating to the scientific programmes of the Laboratory. In the present more restricted funding situation, many of these institutions are interested to control and possibly exploit the technology arising from the research which they contribute to support. While this has so far not created any difficulty when the activities remain purely scientific, attitudes do change, as soon as a possible industrial interest appears.


The situation is further complicated by the fact that the Organisation has an increasing number of cooperation arrangements, of all sorts, with non-Member States and that over 20% of its users come from these non-Member States. Although the motivation for the participation of these countries to the CERN programme is basically scientific, numerous informal discussions with their authorities confirm that there is also nearly always an element of technological interest.

9.2 Industry view

The success and even the survival of an industrial firm, in the present global economy, relies on preserving and if possible increasing its competitive advantages against the other firms aiming at the same market. Hence the vital issues of intellectual property protection and confidentiality. Relations with industry and in particular, joint R&D collaborations must take this element into account.

An Industrial firm is in general not interested in acquiring a new technology if it does not have the exclusivity and if this technology is not protected by a patent or by copyright. This conflicts directly with the free publication policy of the Laboratory. Satisfactory pragmatic arrangements can be found but are not always easy to negotiate.

Another problem facing cooperation with CERN is the legitimate fear of firms, possessing leading edge know-how, to have some of it leaking to their competitors through, for instance, specifications issued by CERN which would include the results of the joint R&D or even proprietary information passed on to CERN for use during the collaboration. This explains why, that in spite of all the national and international agreements protecting intellectual property, many firms consider, probably rightly, that the best protection remains secrecy and are reluctant to work with CERN.

9.3 CERN's rules

CERN financial rules which govern transactions involving expenditures from the Organisation's budget are based on three principles: competitive bidding, acceptance of the lowest technically satisfying offer and the objective of a wellbalanced financial return for all Member-States.

While these rules are adapted to the procurement of standard industrial products or to the delivery of well specified objects for which the technology is well known or has been proven by working prototypes, they were not designed for R&D collaborations1s. Indeed the essential conditions for a successful R&D

IS This has indeed been recognized by the Finance Committee Working Group on Purchasing Policy. CERN/FC/3970- CERN/CC/2197, June 1997.

F Technology Transfer from Particle Physics The CERN experience 1974-1997

Page 15

partnership is the technical qualification of the industrial partner, together with its strategic motivation to acquire new know-how through cooperation with CERN. It is furthermore very difficult, not to say impossible, to write down a precise specification for a development, as its results have necessarily to be a compromise between performance and cost, a result which can only be assessed by the end user. In this field, one thing is sure: best value for money is not achieved with the lowest price !

A further problem is dealing with prototypes. Firms are quite willing to make low quotations for prototypes but want, thereafter, a guarantee to obtain a contract for the series production, if the prototype performs satisfactorily. 'If CERN wants to preserve its contractual freedom for the series production and still find firms accepting to make prototypes, it must be willing to offer a suitable incentive and a fair compensation if the firm is not retained for the final production. Pragmatic solutions have also been found, but must be adapted to each case. This obviously requires flexibility and a negotiation margin not always strictly compatible with the letter of the financial rules.

9.4 Intellectual property rights

The protection of intellectual property rights is a major concern for ind us try as it is one of the measures to preserve the innovative advantages that an industrial firm has against its competitors. A firm will be interested in a new technology only if this technology is protected and can become proprietary.

In order to facilitate possible technology transfer negotiations, as well as protecting the Organisation's interests, CERN staff rules have been revised in 1995. All intellectual property rights (inventions, copyright material, designs as well as technical and other developments) resulting or substantially based on the personnel's activities at the Organisation are automatically vested in the Organisation16•

Patent filing to ensure the protection of inventions is however an expensive process. In the period 1988/90, a few patents have been filed to gain experience so as to be in a position to evaluate the interest of a systematic patent policy in the CERN context. The experience has been described and analysed elsewhere17• It confirmed the difficulties of an active patent policy already anticipated in the 1980's.ts

Protection of computer software through a copyright statement is systematic since the mid 1980's for the Computer Center Programme Library. The same

16 CERN Staff rules Art. I 4.01 Revision dated 1 January 1996. 17 0. Barblat. Patents at CERN - History of an experiment. BUT /95-13/rev. Febr. 1995. 18 CERN's Policy with respect to Industry. Report from the Committee for Relations with Industry. CERN/DIR-Tech/87-02, March 1987, reproduced in CERN/FC/3162.


procedure has later been extended to all software developed by the divisions.

While this has not given rise to problems for scientific activities, as the software is made freely available with only a nominal handling charge fee , major difficulty may occur for a commercial exploitation request. It has indeed been found that large programmes often contain routines developed by a university or a research institute and not by CERN. While a satisfactory sharing of royalties is in principle possible, the complexities of identifying all the interested parties and getting their agreement has so far been a major deterrent.

9.5 Detection of Innovation

The most challenging task in the world of Technology Transfer is the timely detection of a promising innovation. This is already very difficult in the internal R&D laboratories of large industrial firms. There are numerous tales of breakthrough inventions which were not recognised in the place were they occurred and remained unexploited until they were picked up and promoted elsewhere.

This is even more difficult in an academic environment, although there is a growing awareness, in the present economic climate, of the necessity of promoting all possible spin-off from research. The problem is the lack of market culture and perception. There is just no experience and no knowledge of the factors and conditions required for the successful introduction, on the market, of a new service or product.

Many universities and national research centers, encouraged by their funding agencies have set up structures (including legal, commercial and marketing expertise) to detect and support inventions and innovations. Although every institution has some success story to tell, it will also often admit that the return is rarely commensurate with the efforts and that the activity is mainly justified for its public relations value. However if the direct return to the research institution may be questionable, there is a global and positive return to the national economy. This is unfortunately not applicable to CERN19.

CERN is further handicapped by the fact that its basic task is to function as a service to its users and not to develop technologies for their own sake. There is no support structure in the Laboratory, nor dedicated resources, to support an innovation policy. Managers are reluctant to even consider any activity which could divert resources from what is their main duty, namely the implementation of the approved particle physics research programme.

19 ESA, the European Space Agency which commissionned the economic utility study, menti.onned in section 8 of this report, received as a consequence additional funding to organize the transfer of technologies developped for its space programme to other industrial domains.


9.6 Exploitation of Innovation

Page 17

Exploiting potential innovations resulting from academic research faces many hurdles. Additional difficulties arise for CERN .

First, the Organisation is not allowed to engage in commercial activities and must therefore find a suitable partner who would take over this activity. While there are now in most European countries agencies for the promotion of innovations resulting from academic research, no such mechanism exists at the European level.

Setting up a commercial subsidiary operating under the laws of one (or the two) Host States has been considered and discussed informally in the early 1990's. In addition to the cultural difficulties mentioned above, this would have needed a very strong management commitment. Solutions should have been found for the administrative, legal and staff statute problems resulting from such a scheme, with limited prospects of pay-back or even financial break-even within a reasonable time delay.

An attempt was made in 1993 to use the Spacelink structure20 set up by the European Space Agency (ESA). In addition to its high cost, this structure was limited to marketing and would not have solved the difficulty of identifying, among all the technologies developed at CERN, those having a reasonable market potential.

A general problem encountered in the exploitation of an innovation arising in a research laboratory is the extra development necessary to bring it to the status of a marketable product. The cost of this development may often be several times the cost of the initial research. Again, financing institutions exist on a national basis but not at the European level. Although the European Commission has, in principle, the possibility to support innovation arising from public funded European research, it appears so far hopeless to try to apply for it in the case of CERN.

This additional effort, necessary to bring innovation to the market, always requires substantial expertise which can best be supplied by the people at the origin of the innovation which brings a further problem. The interested industrialist will ask for CERN support and one will face a conflictual situation between the wish to encourage a CERN spin-off and the lack of resources, in particular, the experienced staff, which is already insufficient to carry on the approved programme of the Laboratory.

It is also well known that a key element for a successful innovation is a dedicated "champion" with enthusiasm and motivation. Unfortunately, in most

20 Spacelink is a consortium of 4 technology brokers which are marketing the technologies developped by ESA.


cases, at CERN, the innovator is confronted with obstacles arising from the rigidities of the staff statute (including Host States residence regulations), on the one hand and from the operating rules, explicit and implicit, of the Organisation on the other.

Many CERN-originated innovations have initially narrow markets, often in other areas of scientific research. They do not result in the production of large series for which economies of scale readily apply and which bring profits. Contrary to what happens, in the space industry, accelerator or major detector components are only ordered once and are not the object of further procurements either by CERN or by another institution. The industrial team which has worked on the CERN order is often disbanded after completion and the acquired knowledge lost.

Furthermore, it has been confirmed by interviews and discussions with industrialists that even in successful cases, procurement for CERN or collaboration with CERN brings little immediate financial profit. The main interest is strategic: the reference value for marketing more common products and the acquisition of knowledge resulting from common R&D. It is only if one can find a proper convergence of interest that one can hope to bring an innovation to fruition.

Finally, one should keep in mind that successful Technology Transfer works through Market pull and not by Technology push.


10 - CONCLUSION

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CERN has been aware for a long time of the large technological interest arising from its activities. The utility resulting from Particle Physics has been widely described21. Although the Organisation never had resources for Technology Transfer on a scale commensurate to the potential of the technologies resulting from its activities, it has attempted, in various ways, to diffuse the results of its technological developments and help European industry make use of them. The outcome can be considered as positive and even very positive in view of the expended efforts but in such a wide field, there is obviously a large room for improvements.

The setting up, with the support of Council, in June 1997, of a reinforced structure for Technology Transfer will most likely bring substantial advances. However, one must always keep in mind the nature of the CERN institution. A basic research Laboratory cannot be turned into a profit-seeking enterprise and engage successfully in commercial activities. Its mission is to create new knowledge and not to make money. One must therefore not expect that it can simultaneously achieve scientific excellence and also bring wealth to i!self, even if, as historical examples have amply demonstrated, the medium and long term benefits to Society at large will far exceed the costs.

The most important return from Technology Transfer activities, which can be hoped for, at CERN, is therefore not financial gain but should be the recognition that it has, in addition to outstanding scientific achievements, generated a highly valuable technological record.

21 A series of articles on Spin-off from high energy physics have been published in the CERN Courrier in 1994. A reprint of these articles is available separately. See also: C. LLewellyn Smith, 0. Barbalat and M. Nordberg. Utility from Particle Physics. Notes compiled for the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology. September 1996.

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