In the News and Trending: Partnership with NASA Brings Technology, Innovation, Creativity to Help Develop Tomorrow’s Thought Leaders at the Whitman School

Much is said about preparing today’s students for the continuously changing business world that awaits them. These next few decades will surely demand new thinking around innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship, ideation and value creation. Thought leaders will need to be prepared to face new pressing problems and challenges head on. We expect that graduates of the Whitman School will be among these thought leaders, and it is our commitment to make sure they are prepared through industry skills and resources. One such resource that we are proud to share with our students is access to patented innovation from NASA.

To be sure, our Whitman students are technology capable. Yet, that capability is just the starting point in today’s fast-paced economy. But what about innovation and creativity? In large measure, being able to innovate to creatively solve problems will prove critical in separating tomorrow’s winners from others in the race.

Whitman’s undergraduate Capstone course is structured to enable students to become more aware of how innovation can manifest itself within the business world. Students quickly realize that innovation is at the core of entrepreneurship and value delivery in virtually every business setting.  

All Whitman undergraduate students must successfully navigate the Capstone experience during their senior year, regardless of their major. Students are placed into teams and challenged with creating a real-world business plan to be presented at a competition judged by successful alumni and other Whitman partners. While other business schools may have a Capstone course, the Whitman School doubles down and demands that student founders must envision 
a business that has never been created before — anywhere. This necessitates that students look at our world in a completely new way to determine where commercially viable and profitable opportunities lie. This process of ideation is at the heart of the Whitman Capstone experience and is a true differentiator.

Having taught this Capstone class twice each semester for the last 10 years, I can tell you that the ideation process is the hardest part for our seniors — but the most important. The ability to confidently innovate in a business setting helps Whitman students rise above the competition as they enter the job market.

In pursuit of its governmental mission, NASA constantly creates new technologies, something that has been going on since the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. NASA patents its breakthroughs and licenses its more than 1,200 patents with attractive terms for commercial exploitation with the idea that they can be used for the good of all. In 2021, NASA created T2U (Technology Transfer University), which allows college students to use and benefit from these patents. It’s been exciting to see the Whitman School take full advantage of this opportunity as a major resource for students to innovate, freely use NASA technologies and potentially start businesses focused upon them. 

Whitman works with NASA to bring these innovations into the classroom. During recent semesters, a NASA administrator has Zoomed in to explain the T2U program to our Capstone students. This affiliation enables Whitman seniors to apply NASA discoveries to their business ideation projects, and the results have been impressive. Just this spring, five of the nine finalists in the Capstone competition used patented NASA technology in their business plans. One team came up with an idea based on NASA’s innovation for a microwave decontamination system for well water, while another employed bacteria- and pollution-eating microbes to clean contaminated Superfund sites and PCB-laden dwellings. 

This NASA-Whitman affiliation continues to strengthen. NASA’s T2U administrator, Mikaela McShane, joined us in-person last spring to help judge Capstone finalists. She was amazed at the creative applications our students developed from NASA-originated innovation. In addition, NASA invited me to participate in a podcast where I explained how Whitman has incorporated the T2U program into our ongoing curriculum. I was proud to have the opportunity to share the work Whitman students are doing in collaboration with such a respected organization.

It’s exciting work, and my enthusiasm grows more and more as I continue to see our students take advantage of the technology, innovation and creativity offered by NASA, as well as other resources we provide, to ensure our Whitman grads will be better poised for the business world of the future.

Ken Walsleben is a professor of entrepreneurial practice at the Whitman School. Prior to joining the faculty full time in 2014, he had been a long-time entrepreneur and spent 30 years working in finance, including founding his own company, The Hamilton Group. A graduate of Syracuse University with a degree in economics, Walsleben was chosen as Faculty of the Year by the Whitman Class of 2024.

In the News and Trending is the perspective of accomplished Whitman professors on timely issues impacting business. Stated wording and opinions are those of the author.