Sean Patten

The TechLink Center was established in 1996 at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. TechLink is funded primarily by the Department of Defense to link companies with DoD laboratories for technology licensing, research, technology transfer, and technology transition. TechLink's expertise extends to many industry areas including advanced materials and nano technology, aerospace, agricultural technologies, biomedicine and biotechnology, electronics, environmental technologies, information technologies and software, and photonics and sensors. Through its MilTech partnership with the Montana Manufacturing Center, TechLink helps companies to transition innovative technology to DoD operational use more quickly, reliably, and cost-effectively. TechLink has worked with approximately 75 percent of the 123 Defense labs and centers nationwide, facilitating more than 650 technology transfer partnerships, including over 200 license agreements. TechLink-facilitated agreements since 2000 have generated nearly $3 billion in sales (per a study in 2012).