The Internet of Things (IoT) promises to bring dramatic improvements in many areas of modern day living. Paramount to this technology is the deployment of sensors that will keep us informed (monitor) of the state of the things around us and in certain instances control them as well. Academic research has often been the cradle of innovation; however, innovation alone is not sufficient to enable IoT sensors to be ubiquitous. While many innovations in IoT sensors have spawn from academic laboratories, successful translation into commercial products require effective hand-offs and assistance over multiple stages (pipeline) toward commercialization. The convergence of academic and industrial research provides an attractive platform to accelerate the implementation of commercial sensors. This partnership offers industry the ability to access cutting edge research and subject matter experts while not carrying large risk during this exploratory phase of research and development. On the other hand, academic researchers gain access and better understanding to manufacturing sensors and their necessary rigor when deployed in the ‘real-world’. With a career in industry and now in academia, in this talk, I will present both an industrial and academic perspective that illustrates the benefits of this partnership toward practical implementation of sensors.