A Guide to Transitioning from Academic to Industrial Research

This book presents one perspective on moving from the world of academic and government supported basic research on scientific questions to performing applied research for industry meant to address specific problems to improve cost, quality, and productivity in durable and consumer good manufacturing, where fast return on investment and long-term stability are driving factors. This book is not a book on business practices or starting a business but rather a tutorial to help the researcher make the transition from the academic world of new ideas to conducting successful industrial research for solving problems within existing manufacturing to make good parts. Topics covered in this book include:

Getting started by learning about manufacturing problems and evaluating possible solutions,
Getting started by learning about manufacturing problems and evaluating possible solutions,
Developing a value proposition from a thorough definition of the efforts required and the realistic expected benefit of the efforts in a quantitative manner,
Developing a good execution plan to implement the results of the research that includes all the necessary participants, and
Identifying the path to support the developed solution in the shop.


The field of application for this book is durable and consumer goods manufacturing in existing businesses.