Thanks to the Susan Riley Keyes Memorial Scholarship, the AUTM Foundation offers positions in our Technology Transfer Career Training Program to individuals from small TTO offices throughout North America. We humbly accept the invitation to continue Susan’s legacy of support, service and training.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2022-23 program.  Click here for the application.

About Susan Riley Keyes

After receiving her PhD at the University of Connecticut, Susan Riley Keyes became a Postdoctoral Associate and Associate Research Scientist at Yale, where she published over 30 scientific papers. Her interests evolved from basic science to technology licensing and she obtained a JD in Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Related Law from Suffolk University, after which she designed and taught a course on Technology Licensing & Commercialization at Northeastern.

Susan was a very active AUTM Board member as well as Eastern region meeting co-chair for Boston (08) and Puerto Rico (09). She was on the boards of WEST (Women Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology) and Nat’l Tay-Sachs and Allied Diseases.

Susan lived a service-filled life, making it a primary goal to help others the best that she could. The service that most interested Susan was personal. She was the oldest of 11 children and she showed incredible dedication to her siblings, nieces, nephews, and to Tom, her husband of 48 years. Nothing made her happier than helping those that she knew – whether it be doing extensive research for loved ones with cancer, knitting gifts for newly married family members and friends, or offering resources and her experience to those interested in making a career change to technology transfer.

The Susan Riley Keyes Scholarship was formed to create a legacy that Susan would be proud of and continues the same support that she offered throughout her entire life.

About the Program

The Technology Transfer Career Training Program offers academic scientists and engineers at the graduate or post-doctoral level an opportunity to transition to careers in technology transfer by providing formal training, networking and practical experience in this field. The program pairs students with an experienced technology transfer mentor who offers in-depth, first-hand knowledge of the complexities of the profession. They also receive support from the other fellows in their cohort and from regular meetings with gues speakers. Fellows follow a core syllabus of educational webinars covering such topics as the fundamentals of technology transfer, invention disclosures from cradle to licensing, basic patenting, marketing, and negotiation. The program also provides each fellow an extended AUTM membership, which includes access to AUTM’s Technology Transfer Practice Manual. Accepted fellows also attend the AUTM Essentials Course, one region meeting and the Annual Meeting.

2021-22 Susan Riley Keyes Memorial Scholarship Fellows:

Mohit Ganguly -George Mason University

Ganga Baskar – Texas Tech University

Nida Shaikh – Montana State University

Nicole Hoover Merli -University of Delaware

2020-21 Susan Riley Keyes Memorial Scholarship Fellows:

Devinder Moudgil – University of Windsor, Ontario Canada

Fabiola Moreno – Binghamton University, NY