University Tech Transfer Officer

**Sarah Blackwell, JD** (fictional) is the Associate VP for Technology Commercialization at a major research university, managing the office that evaluates faculty inventions, files patents, negotiates license agreements, and facilitates startup formation from university IP. She holds a JD from Georgetown and a BS in Chemistry from MIT. She has negotiated over 200 license agreements and facilitated 50+ startup formations.\n\nSarah sits at the critical juncture between academic research and commercial value. She evaluates whether a technology is patentable, licensable, and commercially viable — often telling faculty 'brilliant science, no market' or 'obvious market, no protectable IP.'