Career Highlights

• Transformed over 300 inventions into revenue-generating intellectual property packages.
• Negotiated nearly five hundred technology license agreements that have generated over $400 million in product revenues.
• Created and/or helped establish several dozen new technology companies that currently employ at least 200 people and generate multi-million dollar revenues annually.
• Created an invention management and commercialization program for Cornell University that has handled over 3,500 inventions, generated over a thousand patents and produced nearly $100 million in license income, new company investment, and research funding.
• Managed patent litigation for Cornell against Hewlett-Packard resulting in a jury award of $200 million to Cornell.
• Created CCTEC, a new technology management and commercialization office for Cornell.
• Authored a new intellectual property policy for Cornell.
• Created numerous, creative agricultural product commercialization strategies including novel snack tomatoes, insect resistance trait: “Nature’Shield”, and “Nature’s Red” potato.
• Inventor of U.S. Patent No. 5,616,493 "Method for Foam Bioprocess.”

Education

Doctorate in Natural Resources, Minors in Agricultural Economics and Law, Cornell University

Master of Science in Range Science/Land Rehabilitation, Minors in Bioprocess Engineering and Chemistry, Montana State University

Bachelor of Arts in History, Minor in Chemistry University of Utah

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Minor in Biology University of Utah

Awards

• U.S. Patent No. 5,616,493 "Method for Foam Bioprocess"
• Research Creativity Grant, Montana State University, 1982
• Chevron Research Fellowship, MSU, 1981-1983
• Research Award, U.S. Geological Survey, 1980
• Graduated cum laude, University of Utah, 1977
• Listed in Who's Who since 1989

Memberships, Affiliations Panels, Civic Responsibilities

• Board of Directors, Bioworks, Inc., since 2009
• Board of Directors, Green Spring Natural Cemetery Preserve, since 2008
• Board of Directors, Transonic Systems, Inc, since 2005
• Board of Directors, Tompkins County Area Development, 2002-2007
• Advisory Board, Cornell Center for Materials Research, 2001 – 2007
• Board of Directors, Business Innovation Center, Tompkins County 1999-2004
• Board of Directors, and Vice President, Finger Lakes Land Trust, 2000 - 2003
• Member, Association of University Technology Managers, since 1990
• Licensing Executives Society, since 1993
• American Chemical Society, since 1983
• American Society of Agronomy since 2007
• Proposal Reviewer, AAAS/Michigan Jobs for Growth Program (2006)
• Advisory Board, Thermal Biology Institute at Montana State University (2001-2003)
• Vice President and Secretary of Board: Finger Lakes Land Trust: (1999-2002)
• Tompkins County Business Innovation Center: Board member (1998-2000)
• Yellow Barn Water Company: President, and Vice President (1992-1995)
• Canadian National Research Center’s expert panel, review of NRC Genetic Diseases Center (1997)

Publications

• Cahoon, R.S. The relation of patent law and wildlife conservation law and policy in the United States. PhD Dissertation, Cornell University 2007
• Cahoon, R.S. Licensing in Agricultural Biotechnology. In Biodiversity: Balancing Interests through Adaptive Collaborative Management, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 2001
• Cahoon, R.S. Property in wild biota and adaptive collaborative management. In Biodiversity: Balancing Interests through Adaptive Collaborative Management, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 2001
• Cahoon, R.S. Property rights and agricultural biotechnology. In Use of Agriculturally Important Genes in Biotechnology, IOS Press, Amsterdam, 2000
• Cahoon, R.S. A University Perspective on Technology Transfer Via Intellectual Property in Agriculture Biotechnology. In Virus Resistant Transgenic Papaya in Hawaii: A Case Study for Technology Transfer to Lesser Developed Countries, Proceedings OECD, USAID, USDA-ARS Hilo, Hawaii October 2003