The Innovator’s Roadmap: From Academic Discovery to Real-World Impact Researchers advance the public interest by making discoveries and developing innovations that improve everyday life. However, the road from initial discovery or innovation to end user is long and marred with challenges related to funding, protection, marketing, manufacturing, and regulation. Universities often work with commercial partners to help navigate these challenges and bring impactful innovations to the public. Technology transfer offices play a key role by helping researchers protect and commercialize their inventions. At Boise State, the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) supports the assessment, protection, development, and commercialization of new innovations. The OTT partners with faculty, staff, and graduate students to protect intellectual property, foster commercial partnerships, and strengthen the university’s innovation ecosystem, ensuring Boise State research creates meaningful societal and economic impact. The InspireME Series explores topics of interest in Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering for the Boise State community.