What is a “white paper”?

White paper, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A white paper (or “whitepaper”) is an authoritative report or guide that is often oriented toward a particular issue or problem. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions, and are often requested and used in politics, policy, business, and technical fields

So why “Almost White Papers”? Well, for starters, these are really not “white papers” in the normal sense, but “White” papers–written by a particular White that is. These are only “almost” white papers, in the usual sense of the word, because my job is to educate and help people make decisions. In this case, decisions on critical issues of intellectual property protection and commercialization of research results.  This means exploring new ways to bridge the gap between the world of university research and the business world. My principal goal is to connect the world to the incredibly intelligent, talented, and innovative researchers working in the university.

For the most part, I will be sharing the insights that I have developed in a fifteen year career in university technology transfer. In fact, I will refer to works of people who have inspired and informed me in my work, and hopefully highlight key concepts for readers, whether faculty researchers or business leaders. I am writing with the goal of bringing together those two groups–to “pursue innovation–achieve impact.”