AFRL, UD School of Law ink three-year Educational Partnership to provide patent training

Shawn Robinson, University of Dayton Director of News and Communications Published Nov 13, 2019

DAYTON, Ohio – The University of Dayton School of Law and the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base have entered into a three-year educational partnership agreement for the School of Law to provide AFRL engineers and scientists legal training in the area of patents.

“Educational partnership agreements with the Air Force historically have been reserved for STEM programs and students. This is the first Air Force educational partnership agreement focused on business, law, technology transfer and transition as well as the first between the Air Force and a law school,” said Sabra Tomb, AFRL’s partnership program manager. “This partnership recognizes the need for this type of training in the Department of Defense and directly aligns with and supports the DOD’s direction toward innovation.”

The School of Law and AFRL hope to place 50 employees in the online program per semester. The program begins in January.

“We are humbled the Air Force Research Laboratory has put its faith in the School of Law to enhance its expertise in business, law and technology transfer, and increase the knowledge of intellectual property and patent law within its science and engineering workforce,” said Paul Schlottman, University of Dayton School of Law director for strategic initiatives.

The partnership also will create a forum for the School of Law and the AFRL to foster formal agreements for pursuing competitive research projects and grants.

“We’ll also gain new perspectives on projects by bringing in ideas from academia,” Tomb said.

Representatives from the School of Law and AFRL will hold a kickoff reception at 4 p.m. Nov. 20, at the Wright Brothers Institute, 444 E. 2nd St, Dayton.

The University of Dayton School of Law and the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base have entered into a three-year educational partnership agreement for the School of Law to provide AFRL engineers and scientists legal training in the area of patents. From left: Andrew Strauss, Dean of the University of Dayton School of Law; Sabra Tomb, AFRL’s partnership program manager; and Paul Schlottman, Director of Strategic Initiatives, University of Dayton School of Law in front of the University of Dayton School of Law, located in the Joseph E. Keller Hall, 300 College Park, Dayton. The School of Law and AFRL hope to place 50 employees in the online program per semester. The program begins in January. (Courtesy photo/Shawn Robinson)