Eg: Start out looking at nanoparticle functionalisation, then stumble on a very useful sensor application or targeted molecular delivery.
Eg: Work on autonomous air sensor, then find simple off shoot application for tuberculosis using a completely different technology.
Eg: Build a medical laser for transdermal drug delivery then find applications in dental work and scar tissue removal.
Eg: Design a flexible heterogeneous compute cluster for hpc application, then get customers who want it for the low administration cost.
You start by bringing some very competent and diverse people together to tackle some tricky and new problem. Then after a while you'll have found a bunch of peripheral questions and applications for one thing or other you create in the project.
People talking and sharing experience and knowledge will almost always find new stuff out in the dark. If you're working on the edge of knowledge there is almost always interesting stuff hiding just outside the light of your personal flashlight. Bringing people together in multidisciplinary projects is amazing.
