Scribd
Upload
135 views2 pages

The Langer Lab

Langer's early success was driven by his expansive interdisciplinary network of colleagues which influenced the problems he chose to investigate. He sought opportunities to change the world. His career began in a school without core disciplines, allowing more interdisciplinary work. Currently, Langer's responsiveness and ability to multitask well have contributed to his success. He has built a powerful industry network through relationships formed in graduate school and beyond. Langer's lab is organized collaboratively, with senior students guiding daily work while bringing major issues to Langer and collaborators. Equipment is shared in large, open rooms conducive to cross-pollinating ideas across disciplines through weekly seminars.

Uploaded by

张心怡
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
135 views2 pages

The Langer Lab

Langer's early success was driven by his expansive interdisciplinary network of colleagues which influenced the problems he chose to investigate. He sought opportunities to change the world. His career began in a school without core disciplines, allowing more interdisciplinary work. Currently, Langer's responsiveness and ability to multitask well have contributed to his success. He has built a powerful industry network through relationships formed in graduate school and beyond. Langer's lab is organized collaboratively, with senior students guiding daily work while bringing major issues to Langer and collaborators. Equipment is shared in large, open rooms conducive to cross-pollinating ideas across disciplines through weekly seminars.

Uploaded by

张心怡
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

1) 

What is behind Langer’s early success (before early 1990’s)? You may focus
on several categories including knowledge, personal characteristics, chance, etc.

- Langer’s professional network reflected the interdisciplinary diversity of his


academic research and business collaborators. This expansive universe of colleagues
affected not only how he researched, but also, more significantly, what problems he
chose to investigate.
-seeking an opportunity that were more pressing for humanity. Langer chooses
only the problems that can change the world.
-began his career in the School of Science’s Applied Biological Sciences
(ABS), which had no core academic discipline or research agenda, more
interdisciplinary and unencumbered by traditional scientific views.

2) What additional attributes drive Langer’s current success? 


-Langer’s responsiveness derived from his ability to be unusually attentive
while doing multiple tasks.
-He is very good at creating relationships with colleagues. He has built an
excellent
network that goes back to his graduate school and postdoc days. He has also created
incredibly powerful industry relationships and now serves on many scientific advisory
boards and corporate boards of directors.

3) How is Langer’s lab organized and managed? 


-Researchers who joined his lab had to have a passion for working on high-
impact, high-risk problems that required a collaborative environment.
-A subset of senior graduate students and postdoctoral associates guided the
daily work, turning to Langer and his faculty collaborators for guidance and feedback
on major issues.
-The laboratory’s open architecture complemented its multidisciplinary
environment. Equipment was shared, and the rooms were large and open. Students
presented their work at weekly lab seminars that served to cross-pollinate ideas and
spur investigations into new directions since the researchers derived from a variety of
disciplines and backgrounds.

4) What are the challenges associated with the commercialization of scientific


knowledge and how Langer addressed them?
Langer found that big ideas required an enormously substantial investment by
the commercializing enterprise which was hard to come by. To address the issue,
Langer found that small companies or startups were more willing to bring science to
the market.
For other people, a focus on commercialization might distract from the true
mission of MIT. Langer’s generosity as a counterbalance to the forces that might lead
some professors to conflicts of interest. He shares the glory and the value of what he
has created with all the people he works with.
A key part of the Langer Lab’s commercialization success was how it worked
with MIT’s Technology Licensing Office. Researchers were encouraged to disclose
their intellectual property before publishing it in academic journals to that faculty can
get good patents written and filed before they publish--and not have to rush. This
process allowed intellectual property protection to be developed in parallel to the
research itself

5) What is the difference between new technology and business opportunity?


When does new technology change into a business opportunity? 
The difference between new technology and a business opportunity is that new
technology doesn't always translate into a new business, but rather can just be a way
for existing companies to enhance their current operations. A new technology doesn't
always provide enough of a base for a new business. While an entrepreneurial
opportunity doesn't always use new technology to kick start its growth but rather just
simply a good idea.
Langer describe the four elements of an ideal research project and the
resulting symbiotic relationship between science and a science-based business. The
ideal project, according to Langer, consists of four elements:
1. A huge idea conceived by recognizing a critical societal need that could be met by
inventing a platform product.
2. A seminal paper based on research to establish the science underlying the product
concept and its efficacy.
3. A blocking patent derived from patent disclosures written in parallel with the
research process, the goal being to have patents filed before the research paper’s
publication.
4. Preliminary in vivo studies in animals that demonstrated the efficacy of the
research.

You might also like