Dynamic Processes of Scientific Collaboration: The Evolution of the U.S. University Inventor

This study examines U.S. university inventors as dynamic actors in the evolution of scientific research collaboration. At the epicenter of the real world processes that translate university research into usable technologies, university inventors play an important role in shaping the complex system of scientific innovation. As ongoing deliberations propose to change national intellectual property policies, the growing complexity of university inventor collaborations have on the system of innovation must be reckoned with. These collaboration networks have evolved dynamically since important policy changes were made to the laws and structures governing intellectual policy protection, university technology transfer, and intellectual property enforcement during the 1980's. The purpose of this study is to examine the dynamic processes of knowledge diffusion by analyzing community structure from relevant evidence that knowledge exchange is occurring: the intellectual property jointly developed and owned by inventors and institutions in the form of a patent.