Your science is good. However, inventing a technology and bringing it to market requires different skills, decisions, relationships, and strategies. The transition from research to entrepreneurship is challenging but can be made much smoother with a great guide.

To that end, RBIA’s Innovation Studio is proud to launch Commercialization Academy, a 4-day, intensive bootcamp designed for innovation professionals already balancing full lives and careers. Your guide through this intensive is Dr. Bill Walker, an inventor, academic, entrepreneur, and educator. In less than a week, you’ll be guided through the crucial knowledge you need to make the leap by someone who has lived the journey many times over.

“We could not think of a better leader for this bootcamp than Bill Walker,” said Chip Bobbert RBIA Director of Innovation. “Not only has he personally traversed the commercialization gap, he’s built a career out of helping other inventors and researchers do the same. His human-first approach offers a sustainable foundation for long-term success which is absolutely what we want to offer to innovators in our community.”

Bill recently founded Impact Readiness Ltd. to provide structured assessment and support for startups in every sector. The cohort will walk through his Impact Readiness Level (IRL) framework during the bootcamp to measure and guide their progress.

Ever the entrepreneur, Bill concurrently serves as the Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Boundless Science, a company that develops technology to solve pulmonary failure.

Bill began his career as an engineering undergraduate at Duke University. He stayed to earn a doctorate in biomedical engineering and founded his first company in 1995. He went on to become a professor biomedical engineering at the University of Virginia. During his 12-year tenure he built a world-class ultrasound research lab and co-created the biomedical engineering undergraduate degree.

Simultaneously, he continued to develop clinical solutions and build companies that could bring them to market. Through PocketSonics he developed the Sonic WindowTM, a compact, low-cost imaging platform that guides peripheral vascular access. The technology undergirding the product was developed in part with support from a Carilion Health grant.  HemoSonics developed a comprehensive point of care in vitro diagnostic to determine the cause of critical bleeding and enable rapid, directed treatment. The product is now deployed to treat patients across the US and Europe. Both companies were ultimately acquired, and the technology continues to further healthcare outcomes.

In 2016, Bill returned to Duke to serve as the inaugural Mattson Family Director of Entrepreneurship at the Pratt School of Engineering. According to a story in the Duke Chronical, what began as a program intended to teach the practicalities of entrepreneurship eventually morphed The Clark Scholars program, a leadership program that blended “design, product development, entrepreneurship, and character development.”  

While at Duke, Bill led the Clark Scholars Program and BRiDGE incubator, launched the Duke Founders’ Advancement Network Mentoring program and represented Duke on the North Carolina Board of Science, Technology and Innovation. Throughout, Bill maintained a strong emphasis on “vulnerability, transparency, leadership and the importance of engineers’ values and priorities,” while imparting essential technical skills.

Dr. Bill Walker brings his unique commitment to rigor and whole-person development to RBIA’s Commercialization Academy. As a member of the inaugural cohort, you will have the chance to learn directly from his extensive experience while gaining critical knowledge, strategy, and confidence needed to change lives at scale.

Commercialization Academy is free and takes place at ROVA Labs on Oct 19-22, and the deadline to apply is September 30. Don’t miss your chance to develop commercialization readiness from one of the industry’s most impactful professionals. Apply today.