Clemson University Research Foundation

ABOUT CURF is a knowledgeable insider in both business and academia, guiding faculty members from idea to commercialization. WE ARE Passionate about Research. Our primary mission is to build meaningful, ongoing relationships with Clemson University faculty, students, and administrative leadership involved in the university research enterprise, as well as external innovation and commercialization resources and industry partners. It is our goal to create and maintain a scalable and sustainable model for research collaboration, technology maturation, and technology commercialization opportunities to feed back into the broader university research enterprise. WE ARE Ambassadors for Research and Tech Transfer. We work alongside our researchers as subject matter experts, facilitators, and translators to avail them to external opportunities to advance their research and mature their technologies. With our established track record in business development, entrepreneurship, corporate partnerships, and the public sector, we can bridge knowledge gaps, interpreting and communicating the unique requirements of academia to industry partners and vice versa. WE ARE Trusted Associates. We work in collaboration, first and foremost, with individuals engaged in research, supporting faculty researchers, graduate students, department heads, and research administrative business units at Clemson University to protect IP, add value to research projects, and simplify the tech transfer process. Through our intake and outreach processes, we help researchers secure additional funding and identify a variety of federal, state, for-profit and nonprofit innovation and technology commercialization funding opportunities. WE ARE Innovative and Nimble. As an independent, affiliated 501(c)3 and 509(a) organization, we support the University research enterprise in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, greater contracting flexibility, streamlined access to external resources, and targeted marketing of research resources and capabilities. We are able to accept equity as a form of financial consideration in licensing of University intellectual property and are able to be innovative and nimble in our pursuit of external research opportunities for our faculty and students engaged in research. WE ARE Vested Partners in Your Success. We invest all available resources in the promotion of the University’s research talent and infrastructure. As a support organization for the research enterprise, our primary motivation is to ensure faculty success through improved researcher-industry engagement, increased sponsored research funding, and technology adoption through licensing and start-ups.