Ed Koellner, Esq.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekoellner
About The Lecturer
Edward Koellner, JD, MBA, LL.M. is a registered patent attorney, academic, and research-contracts leader whose work sits at the intersection of intellectual property, artificial intelligence governance, technology commercialization, space law, university research, and emerging technology regulation. He currently serves as Director of Research Contracts & Industry Agreements at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where he leads the Department and oversees the drafting, negotiation, and lifecycle management of sponsored research agreements, industry collaboration agreements, clinical trial agreements, data use agreements, material transfer agreements, nondisclosure agreements, and intellectual property commercialization agreements.
In his current university role, Koellner works closely with faculty, research sponsors, industry partners, university leadership, legal counsel, and institutional stakeholders to support research growth, manage contractual and regulatory risk, and advance the commercialization of university research. His work regularly involves issues central to modern AI governance, including data rights, confidentiality, research compliance, technology transfer, intellectual property ownership, vendor and sponsor relationships, institutional risk allocation, and the responsible deployment of emerging technologies.
Koellner is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law, where his teaching and scholarship focus on intellectual property, technology law, emerging technologies, aviation law, and space law. His academic and professional work examines how legal systems, institutional policies, and governance frameworks can support responsible innovation while managing risk in rapidly developing technology sectors. His scholarship and teaching address practical questions involving artificial intelligence, intellectual property protection, university-industry collaboration, technology commercialization, space economy governance, and the movement of research discoveries from academic settings into commercial and public-interest applications.
He holds an LL.M. in Air and Space Law from the University of Mississippi School of Law, an M.S. in Global Technology and Development from Arizona State University, a J.D. from Marquette University Law School, an MBA from Texas Christian University, and a B.A. in Biochemistry from West Virginia University. His multidisciplinary education allows him to approach AI governance and technology law from legal, business, scientific, regulatory, and institutional perspectives.
In addition to his university and academic roles, Koellner is the Founder and Principal of Oort Ventures, where his work focuses on Web3, the space economy, technology commercialization, intellectual property strategy, and emerging technology governance. He has extensive experience in banking, fintech, technology licensing, regulatory compliance, and commercialization strategy. Develops practical perspectives to legal, institutional, and risk-management challenges facing lawyers, companies, universities, and public-sector entities adopting artificial intelligence systems.
Koellner’s work is especially relevant to attorneys advising clients on AI-related contracts, liability allocation, professional responsibility, data governance, intellectual property rights, vendor risk, and regulatory compliance. His CLE teaching emphasizes practical frameworks lawyers can use to evaluate AI tools, negotiate AI-related contractual provisions, manage organizational risk, and develop governance structures that respond to the rapidly evolving legal environment surrounding artificial intelligence.
Practice Area(s)
Science & Technology
Intellectual Property
International Law
Education
BA, Biochemistry, West Virginia University
MBA, Texas Christian University
MS, Global Technology and Development, Arizona State University
JD, Marquette University
