The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) today announced a new grant program that will provide opportunities for researchers to turn promising NIST technologies and know-how into entrepreneurial careers and high-tech businesses.

TEDCO will administer the NIST Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Program (N-STEP), which will offer an anticipated 10 grants of up to $112,000 for a specific project that can be successfully completed within 12 months. Eligible researchers include former NIST employees, current employees nearing the end of their term employment (such as post-doctoral fellows) and guest researchers from other institutions.

In addition to the funding, NIST and TEDCO will make available a variety of resources. For example, each awardee will be required to attend entrepreneurial training, and TEDCO will assign at least one advisor or mentor to help them identify critical technical and business milestones.

The NIST Technology Partnerships Office (TPO) will identify inventions available for licensing that are most appropriate for commercialization, especially by start-up and early-stage firms. TEDCO and local economic development organizations can facilitate the creation of start-up companies to license and commercialize NIST’s inventions. NIST also may provide access to its research and development expertise, equipment, facilities and materials.

During the one-year grant period, awardees will receive entrepreneurial training such as that available through the National Science Foundation I-Corp, University of Maryland’s Mtech, the Foundation for Advanced Education in Science (FAES at NIH), the Rocky Mountain Innovation Center, or receive professional business mentoring.

NIST and TEDCO will host roundtables and workshops to increase awareness of entrepreneurship and technology commercialization opportunities for start-up companies.