About Bicerano & Associates

Who We Are

Bicerano & Associates Consulting, LLC (B&A) was founded by Dr. Jozef Bicerano in 2004, following his retirement from The Dow Chemical Company after a distinguished industrial career spanning two decades in polymer research and development. His special strength and international reputation are in the understanding and prediction of formulation-structure-processing-morphology-property-performance relationships in polymeric systems and the practical product and process implications of these complex relationships.

B&A has established strategic partnerships and a vast network of professional contacts that extend significantly, beyond its own in-house expertise, the range of polymer and composite technology and business challenges that it can help its clients overcome.

  • We have an an ISO 9001-certified strategic partner for analytical laboratory services.
  • The capabilities of specialized service laboratories focusing on advanced composites, textiles, custom synthesis, formulations, prototyping, materials used in oil and gas exploration and production, surface science, and optics, as well as of laboratories at universities and nonprofit research institutions, have also been utilized when needed in past projects.
  • We also have access to additional resources for technical information and business intelligence.

What We Do

We provide focused and cost-effective services on polymers and composites to industry. Our mission is to serve as a comprehensive Solution Provider for your product and process technology challenges.

Included in the Scope of Services:

Thermoplastics, thermosets, rubbers/elastomers, gels, blends, foams, conventional composites as well as nanocomposites containing "fillers" dispersed in polymers, polymers derived from fossil fuel based raw materials as well as biobased polymers, commodity polymers, specialty polymers, amorphous polymers and molten polymers as well as liquid crystalline and semicrystalline polymers, are all included in the scope of our services.

Polymers and composites intended for a vast range of applications (including, but not limited to, aerospace, automotive, marine, sporting goods, textiles, cosmetics, oil and natural gas exploration and production, graphic arts, gas barrier, liquid barrier, separation membrane, controlled release for pharmaceutical or agricultural uses, biomedical, construction, cushioning, electrical, electronic, environmental, mechanical and structural engineering, and optical) are also included in the scope of our services.

Our clients range from Fortune 500 companies to startup firms operating with venture capital funding to individual inventors.

How We Do It

We are highly flexible in providing our clients many options on how to work with B&A. This flexibility ensures that your needs are met in the manner that best suits your budget, your preferred modes of external collaboration, and the nature of the project.

Consulting Services:

Consulting services are provided on an hourly or daily basis to address client questions and problems. Dr. Bicerano's current professional fees for standard technical consultation services are $ 175/hour if rendered in the facilities of B&A or "on site" but within a 50-mile radius from these facilities, and a "per diem" rate of $ 1400/day (regardless of the number of hours worked) if rendered "on site" and outside of the 50-mile radius. Dr. Bicerano's fees for services as a consulting expert on legal issues are $200/hour or $1600/day.

Contract Research:

Contract research involves focused projects of a larger scale, with mutually agreed milestones and deliverables, undertaken to provide solutions to problems requiring a more intensive effort. A contract research project may last from one week to years depending on the magnitude and complexity of the challenge and provides a very cost-effective alternative to conventional "in-house" research and development.

Retainer:

Another option, which may be appropriate in projects where there is a fairly consistent and predictable amount of work needing to be done on a continuous basis, is a Retainer with a fixed monthly payment by the client.

In general, Consulting, Contract R&D, and Retainer are work-for-hire arrangements. The client owns all rights to all intellectual property developed during these types of collaborations unless alternative contractual agreement terms are made. Our work has led to the filing of dozens of patent applications for five different clients, with the commercial rights assigned to the client, resulting thus far in 30 issued U.S. patents in nine distinct patent families for four clients.

Additional Opportunities:

Other business arrangements are also available. For example, in a joint development agreement, the client typically makes significantly less (and in some cases no) direct cash payment for the time spent by B&A on the project. Instead the client and B&A work on the basis of a profit-sharing agreement, with the possibility of joint ownership of intellectual assets generated during the project also being negotiated as a component of the agreement.

Why Bicerano & Associates Consulting

We pledge to always maintain the strict confidentiality of any proprietary information provided to us by our clients. We will also be happy to sign a formal Secrecy Agreement with a client if requested.

B&A has partnered with several state-of-the-art laboratories for experimental work as well as with a leading business and technical intelligence provider. The services of these affiliates are provided at cost, without any markup or surcharges, with invoices submitted to our clients directly by our affiliates. This "client-friendly" policy differs from the common practice followed by many other consulting firms which add significant surcharges or commissions to the fees charged by their affiliates.

The first consultation session, intended for B&A to learn about your needs and assess how we may be able to help overcome your challenges, is always provided free of charge.

Through our commitment, experience and expertise, B&A is establishing business relationships that will last a lifetime.  

Call Bicerano & Associates Consulting, LLC at (912) 235-2238 or use our online form or email us at bicerano@polymerexpert.biz today!