KCV recently welcomed Thu-Ha Duncan as Mentor-in-Residence. Thu-Ha is an innovative product development specialist with excellent technology commercialization experience. We're excited to welcome Thu-Ha to the team and asked her a few questions so you can get to know her too!
Can you tell us a little about yourself and why you wanted to be a part of KCV?
I am a graduate of Wichita State University from what seems like a million years ago. I have a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and did all the work towards a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering (except for defending my thesis). Yes, this was on purpose. At the time, it was a severe disadvantage to have an advanced degree to find gainful employment in anything other than academia. I LOVE to do research, but I also LOVE to implement research! Early on in my career, I worked for institutions and quickly found that all my work just sat on a shelf and did not ever get used/implemented. I decided that I could not do that any longer and went into industry instead. This is why I want to be a part of KCV! I see KCV as a way to bridge the gap between research and industry. I have done this my entire career without any institutional help and look forward to helping KCV to create a positive avenue for other research to get into industry successfully!
My career has comprised of working in a variety of industries (aviation, medical, white goods) and types of businesses (corporate, small, medium, institutional and private). I have also started several successful businesses and continue to run some of them today. I have been a part of many successful teams as well as unsuccessful ones. I feel that my wide-ranging experience gives me a unique perspective to share with up-and-coming product developers.
How did you get interested in tech transfer and commercialization?
I have always been interested in tech transfer but never really had an opportunity to participate in it once I left academia. That is until I joined a project that spun out of University of Louisville and got introduced to Kentucky’s tech transfer opportunities. This experience just reminded me of how little the academic world really knows about commercialization and real-world product development and manufacturing. This experience also ignited my passion for sharing my development experience with academic start-up companies.
What are you most excited about in your new position?
I am super excited about being a Mentor-in-Residence for KCV. I love to mentor and have learned much throughout my career that I believe would be helpful. In the end, helping others is what really drives me and makes life worthwhile. While we all must make our own mistakes to learn, I am hoping that my life lessons will be beneficial to the innovators from Kentucky.
Why would you say it's important for Kentucky higher education institutions to explore commercialization?
PURPOSE! That is why it is important to not just have ideas or research them. What good does it do to figure out solutions to problems and then not release it to the world? I believe that teaching and supporting higher education to transfer their solutions to the commercial world will stimulate even more innovation. It will create more jobs. It will create more revenue for Kentucky. It will create more community in Kentucky. It will streamline the process for problem solving and making the world a better place.
Can you share a little-known fact about yourself?
I have recently become an avid Pickleball player. Playing Pickleball has been such a humbling experience! The average age of the sport is now 18-34 nationally but, in our area, it is primarily retired people. Being a former tennis player in college, I thought that I would have an advantage, but I was soooo wrong!! This has been a big lesson NOT to underestimate anyone because of age or physical shape!