Inventors of the DC area,

The Monday February 22, 2016 Inventors Network of the Capital Area meeting will be at the US Patent & Trademark (USPTO) headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. The address for the meeting is USPTO Madison Bldg, 600 Dulany St, Alexandria, VA 22314. 

Networking will be from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. Announcements will start at 6:30 pm and the speaker, Robert Brooke of Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) will be introduced thereafter. See below for more information on Mr. Brooke’s presentation. Meetings generally go to 8:30 or 9:00 pm. Pizza, drinks, and snacks will be available at this meeting.

MEETING LOCATION INFORMATION

Venue:

The meeting will most likely be held in an auditorium in the sub-level of the Madison Building. If an auditorium is not available the meeting will be in the  USPTO’s cafeteria seating space adjacent to the auditorium. The auditorium is in the sub-level below the large atrium. If you use the front entrance off of Dulany Street you will have to descend stairs or take an elevator to the sub-level. If you use the entrance off of Eisenhower Avenue you will arrive on the same level as the meeting.

Paid Parking:

The USPTO has the East and West parking garages which charge a fee. “Daily and hourly parking is available on a first-come, first-served basis in the East and West Garages from 5 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, except Federal holidays. Use the John Carlyle St. entrance only. The parking garage is locked at 10:30 p.m.” There is also on street parking with meters. Some pay to park meters last only an hour, while others are for two hour parking.

Free Parking:

If the weather is good free parking is about a twelve-minute walk from a parking lot, off of Mill Road or Mandeville Lane, just north of the AMC Theaters at Hoffman Town Center.

Metro:

The closest Metro rail stations are King Street and Eisenhower Avenue.

MEETING SPEAKER AND HOST INFORMATION

This meeting will be co-hosted by Mike Razavi  and the USPTO’s Office of Innovation Development. Special thanks to the USPTO for co-hosting this meeting.

Robert Brooke of Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) will be speaking on Small Business Innovation Research Grants. Robert is the CIT’s Director of Federal Funding Programs. A description of his talk is below.

“Intro to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Programs

Small Business Innovation Research Grants (SBIR) constitute up to 25% of all early stage seed funding in the US. SBIR provides early stage, startup, and even larger companies (up to 500 employees) with critical funding for high risk R&D. There are 11 participating federal agencies that provide $150K to $1.5M in funding for projects that meet their missions. This SBIR Intro session will discuss these agencies, how they differ, what the goals of the program are, and tips to start exploring this funding option for your innovation. A brief discussion of the support offered by the Center For Innovative Technology and their Federal Funding Assistance Program will also be given.”

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE USPTO HEADQUARTERS

If you get to the USPTO early you may be interested in visiting the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum, also in the Madison Building (first level – on the right as you arrive off of Dulany Street). The museum is usually open to 5:00 pm on weekdays. The Madison building also houses the public patent search facility, which is opened 8 am to 8 pm Monday to Friday. If you wish to visit or use the public search facility visit the USPTO security office on the same level of the search facility in order to get a badge. Also bring a photo ID in order to get a badge. The security office is open from 8 am to 4:30 pm Monday to Friday. 

We hope to see you there,

Glen Kotapish
DCinventors.org