According to Vanessa Chan, PhD ’00, proficient engineers do not solely address technical challenges. To create a significant influence with a novel product or technology, they must bring it to the market, implement it, and establish it as a standard. However, this is exactly what they are not adequately prepared for.

Indeed, 97 percent of patents do not succeed in crossing the “commercialization barrier.”

“Merely 3 percent of patents triumph, and one of the foremost obstacles is that we are not equipping our PhDs, undergraduates, and faculty members to commercialize technologies,” stated Chan, vice dean of innovation and entrepreneurship at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science. She presented the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE)’s spring 2025 Wulff Lecture at MIT on March 10. “Rather, we tend to concentrate on the incredibly complex technical challenges we must conquer, rather than all the elements that are essential for a product to reach the market.”

Chan spoke from extensive experience, having led McKinsey & Co.’s innovation practice, where she assisted Fortune 100 firms in commercializing technologies. She also created the tangle-free headphones Loopit at re.design, the company she founded, and acted as the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE)’s chief commercialization officer and director of the Office of Technology Transitions during the Biden administration.

From creation to influence

A DMSE graduate, Chan addressed a nearly full audience regarding the significance of materials innovation. She emphasized how new materials — or existing materials repurposed — could address critical issues, from energy sustainability to healthcare delivery. For instance, carbon fiber composites have supplanted aluminum in the airline sector, resulting in decreased fuel consumption, lower emissions, and improved safety. Contemporary lithium-ion and solid-state batteries utilize optimized electrode materials for enhanced efficiency and swifter charging. Furthermore, biodegradable polymer stents, which dissolve with time, have taken the place of conventional metallic stents that remain in arteries and can lead to complications.

The Wulff Lecture is a biannual event designed to enlighten students, particularly first-years, about materials science and engineering and its effects on society.

Creating a pioneering technology is merely the initial step, according to Chan. She cited the example of Thomas Edison, commonly regarded as the inventor of the electric light bulb. However, Edison did not create the carbonized filament — that credit goes to Joseph Swan.

“Thomas Edison was the father of the marketed light bulb,” Chan noted. “He acquired Swan’s patents and determined how to create a vacuum for this technology. How do we mass-produce this?”

For an innovation to have a substantial effect, it must successfully journey through the commercialization process from research to development, demonstration, and market introduction. “An innovation that is not deployed is a loss, for you’ve developed something that may have numerous academic publications, but it does not impact the real world at all.”

Commercializing materials is challenging, Chan outlined because new materials sit at the very beginning of a value chain — the comprehensive series of actions taken to produce a product or service. To reach the market, the material innovation must be embraced by others along the chain, and in certain instances, firms must navigate the payment structure for each segment of the chain. For instance, a new material for hip replacements aimed at minimizing the risk of infection and rehospitalization could be groundbreaking, but its market introduction is complicated by the intricacies of insurance policies.

“They will not cover additional costs to prevent hospital visits,” Chan stressed. “If your material is priced higher than what is currently in use, the providers will not reimburse for that.”

Beyond technology

However, engineers can enhance their chances of successful commercialization if they are versed in the proper terminology. The “Adoption readiness levels” (ARLs), devised in Chan’s Office of Technology Transitions, assist in evaluating the nontechnical risks technologies encounter on their path to market readiness. These risks encompass value proposition — whether a technology can perform at a cost that customers are willing to pay — market acceptance, and various other barriers such as infrastructure challenges and regulatory issues.

In 2022, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act allocated $370 billion toward clean energy deployment — tenfold the annual budget of the Department of Energy — to promote clean energy technologies, including carbon management, clean hydrogen, and geothermal heating and cooling. Nonetheless, Chan argued that the real opportunity lies in unlocking an estimated $23 trillion from private-sector investors.

“Those investors will be the ones who bring the technologies to market. So how do we achieve that? How do we persuade them to commercialize these technologies that are not yet fully developed?” Chan inquired.

Chan’s team led the “Pathways to Commercial Liftoff,” an initiative designed to close the gap between innovation and commercial adoption, helping to pinpoint scaling requirements, key stakeholders, and acceptable risk levels for early adopters.

She recounted an instance from the DoE initiative, which received $8 billion from Congress to establish a market for clean hydrogen technologies. She connected the funds to specific routes, stating, “the private sector will begin to pay attention because they want access to that funding.”

Her team also gathered insights on where the industry trends were heading, pinpointing sectors likely to adopt hydrogen, the necessary infrastructure to facilitate that adoption, and the policies or funding mechanisms that could expedite commercialization.

“There’s also public perception, because when we engage with individuals about hydrogen, what’s the first association that comes to mind? The Hindenburg,” Chan commented, referencing the 1937 airship disaster. “These are the types of challenges we need to address if we genuinely aim to create a hydrogen economy.”

“What do you cherish?”

Chan concluded her presentation by giving students career advice. She urged them to pursue what they are passionate about. On a slide, she showcased a Venn diagram of her interests in technology, business, and craftsmanship — she has recently launched a pottery studio called Rebel Potters — illustrating the motivations fueling her professional path.

“So I encourage you to reflect on what is your Venn diagram? What do you truly love?” Chan prompted. “And you might respond, ‘I have no clue. I’m 18 at the moment, and I merely need to determine which courses to select.’ Well, guess what? Step outside your comfort zone. Try something different. Explore new opportunities.”

Attendee Delia Harms, a junior from DMSE, found the exercise particularly beneficial. “I feel like I’m definitely lacking a bit of clarity regarding my post-undergraduate aspirations and the direction I want my career to take,” Harms stated. “So I will certainly try that exercise later — considering what my circles are, and how they intertwine.”

Jeannie She, a junior specializing in artificial intelligence and bioengineering, drew inspiration from Chan’s experiences in the public sector.

“I have always perceived government as bogged down by bureaucracy, red tape, and inertia — but I’m also quite interested in policy and policy reform,” She expressed. “Thus, learning from Chan and her achievements during her tenure in a government role has been incredibly inspiring, making me realize that there are paths in policy where real changes can be enacted.”