Advancing Navy-Industry Partnerships: A Day of Innovation and Collaboration

The intersection of U.S. Navy innovation and industry took center stage on July 26th at the highly anticipated Liberty Tech Bridge Pitch Day, an event held in collaboration with the Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center (DVIRC), Liberty Tech Bridge, and the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD). This pitch day was the first of its kind in the region and it served as a unique platform for bridging the gap between cutting-edge Navy technology and Southeastern Pennsylvania manufacturers, promising to accelerate competitiveness among America’s warfighters while fueling economic growth.

This event gave Navy inventors a platform to present new patents for commercialization to a crowd of over 50 manufacturing leaders, complemented with market assessments of patents by Sylvia Wower, Vice President of Consulting and Advanced Technology Research at DVIRC, and Matt Cordes, Carly Loonstyn, and Gunther Spain, members of the Advanced Technology Research team.

This event also featured an overview of the Navy’s need for a strong manufacturing supply chain by E. Michael Golda, PhD, Chief Technology Officer of NSWCPD, and Michael J. Lavery, Director of NSWCPD’s Liberty Tech Bridge. Chris Scafario, President & CEO of DVIRC provided an overview of DVIRCs mission and efforts to support technology commercialization for the Department of the Navy in Philadelphia.

Bridging the Innovation Gap

At the heart of the Liberty Tech Bridge Pitch Day is the shared goal of linking visionary Navy inventors with forward-thinking manufacturers, thereby transforming patent concepts into tangible products with real-world impact. The event’s attendees, representing over 50 manufacturing leaders from across the region, were given the unique opportunity to delve into the world of Navy patents and explore the immense potential for commercialization. This event was not merely a presentation of intellectual property; it was a collaboration forged to drive economic growth, foster job creation, and enrich technological advancement.

Unveiling the Path from Patent to Product

The event’s agenda was designed to guide manufacturers along the transformative journey from patent to final product, encompassing various critical aspects. This included a detailed exploration of each patent, highlighting its distinct attributes, capabilities, and the advantages it offers. Attendees gained insights into the market’s dimensions, emerging trends, obstacles to entry, and future prospects for both commercial and defense applications. A panoramic view of the competitive environment was presented, encompassing direct rivals and potential alternatives to the showcased technologies.

The current developmental stage of each technology was disclosed, accompanied by the necessary measures required to prepare it for the manufacturing phase. Additionally, an assessment of the current state of manufacturability was shared, accompanied by an outline of the essential tasks needed to attain full-scale production. In essence, these comprehensive presentations offered a holistic understanding of the patent concepts, their potential markets, positioning among competitors, and the roadmap to transforming them into tangible, game-changing products.

Charting a New Course

The Liberty Tech Bridge Pitch Day ignited a spark of collaboration between the U.S. Navy and regional manufacturers. Multiple local manufacturers have embarked on the journey of exploring commercialization opportunities with the Navy. The Liberty Tech Bridge Pitch Day has not only bridged the innovation gap but has paved the way for a future where collaboration between the Navy and regional manufacturers will drive economic growth, technological advancement, and the development of groundbreaking Navy technology. This event is a testament to the power of collaboration and the potential to transform ideas into reality, a future that promises to reshape industries and empower America’s warfighters.

DVIRC looks forward to holding more pitch days with our next one scheduled on September 21st. Interested in attending? Save your spot today →

About Liberty Tech Bridge
Spanning Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey, the Liberty Tech Bridge is the 15^th Tech Bridge within the continental United States. Named and inspired by Philadelphia’s famed Liberty Bell, the Liberty Tech Bridge’s vision is to serve as an innovation ecosystem between the U.S. Navy and industry, academia, as well as state and local government in the region to accelerate the development and transition of innovative increases in Naval warfighting capability.

Liberty Tech Bridge is a cooperative partnership between:

• NavalX,
• the Office of Naval Research,
• Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD),
• Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC-PAC) Cyber Engineering and Integration Division (located in Philadelphia, PA), and
• Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Lakehurst (NAWCAD-LKE).

The Tech Bridge shall be aligned with the missions of the Chief Technology Offices of the aforementioned Warfare Centers and partners with necessary command offices to ensure the speed and relevance of Technology Transfer and Transition efforts.

About Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD)
NSWCPD provides the Navy’s primary technical expertise and facilities for both naval machinery research and development and naval machinery lifecycle engineering. NSWCPD is responsible for the machinery systems core equity of the Ship and Ship Systems Product Area for the United States Navy and serves as a central point for academia and industry to join forces with Navy technical experts to develop solutions to needs in naval machinery. Consistent with its core equity responsibility, NSWCPD fulfills key functions including research, design, development, shipboard and land-based test and evaluation, acquisition support, in-service engineering, Fleet engineering, integrated logistics support, and concepts and overall life cycle engineering.