Morgantown, WV

Evansdale Library at West Virginia University has been a depository since 1991. The Evansdale Library serves Engineering, Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences, Education, Creative Arts and Physical Education. Independent as well as university inventors come to the Evansdale Library for assistance. I continue to work with university departments and the WVU Office of Technology Transfer as well as independent inventors.

Once again our library experienced a renovation this summer. The Patent & Trademark search area was relocated to a smaller conference room allowing for more private consultations. Our DVD collection was moved to the library’s depository, but the small book collection remains with the designated Patent & Trademark search computer.

The engineering librarians continue to work with Freshman Engineering. Part of this contact involves an Intellectual Property module that runs on the Blackboard Platform. This summer parts of this module were updated to produce a more interactive experience. This module reaches over 1,000 students.

This summer West Virginia University began a clinic called the LaunchLab. The LaunchLab helps students develop a business plan, conduct market research, protect intellectual property, and access legal advice. Since students with innovative ideas are often referred to me, I am now listed as a partner on the LaunchLab’s website [http://launch.wvu.edu]

I continue to work with the Law School Entrepreneurship and Innovation Clinic (EILC) and their Student Intellectual Property Patent Services (SIPPS). This November the EILC and the Evansdale Library cosponsored a seminar “Intellectual Property Condensed: What Every Business Owner Should Know.” Craig Morris from the Trademark Office was the keynote speaker.

This fall WVU held an Innovation Awards Ceremony and a student whom I was able to assist as well as his professor both received awards.

I continue to work with various departments: Horticulture, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE), Law, and Agricultural Resources and Economics. I continue to lecture via web to a senior design MAE class at WVU Tech in Montgomery.

I created a spacesuit display which featured spacesuit patents to accompany a temporary spacesuit exhibit.