The Human Side of Commercializing Technology 

Case studies from three decades of product development, commercialization, and entrepreneurship

Leadership and Innovation Track

with Michael Abbott, Entrepreneur

September 12, 2025 – 2:30 PM
Torgersen Hall 2150

Engineers are trained to equate “better” with technical performance, and consumers are conditioned to chase features—yet most commercialization risk isn’t in the physics; it’s in the people. This seminar tackles the messy, human side of getting technology adopted: human behavior, workflows, value chains, trust, resource allocations, and who, when, and why anyone would ever say “yes.” We’ll show how to pull human and market feedback directly into research, applied research, and early commercialization—answering: How do we get credible data? How do we use it? Why does it change outcomes?

Using stories from industrial safety, defense, medical devices, selective gas capture, and others, we’ll demonstrate what a commercialization pathway actually looks like, including the pot holes. What does it mean to engage stakeholders in ways that allow us to understand ALL the metrics for commercial adoption (not just accuracy and uptime). You’ll learn what to ask your stakeholders and what to ask yourself before you "jump off the cliff" of commercialization and entrepreneurship.

Attendees leave with a new high level perspective on how to assess opportunities and a better idea of regional resources to help them along the journey to getting technology out of the lab and into the "real world."

Mike Abbott, PE, PMP is a design engineer, product executive, business owner, and innovation strategist with three decades of turning lab insight into adoption—where most risk lives in people, not physics. He has collaborated with 4,500+ technology teams and guided 250+ products across industrial safety, agricultural sustainability, medtech, power, oil and gas, heavy manufacturing, and defense. Mike is CTO at MOVA Technologies, CEO of Caerus Venture Group, Founder of Cambrian Design & Development, Founder at Industrial Biodynamics, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at RAMP, and a long-time NSF I-Corps instructor. His focus is on turning new ideas into growth revenue through combining stakeholder engagement, technical development, and behavioral economics. Mike holds BSME/MSME (Virginia Tech) and professional credentials as a Professional Engineer (VA) and Project Management Professional.