To kick off 2008, University of Connecticut researchers trumpeted the development of microscopic chips that would be used to monitor the health of soldiers.
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But industry appeal of UConn”™s research remains elusive.
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UConn received $800,000 in licensing income in the fiscal year ending June 2006, according to the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), nearly half its level of the previous year and trailing the University of Massachusetts, which chalked up $27.2 million over the same stretch; and Rutgers University, which tabulated $5.1 million.
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The University of California system led the nation with $193 million in license income in 2006, followed by New York University at $157 million.
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The two institutions illustrate two ways schools can profit by effective technology commercialization programs ”“ in the case of California, by plowing $3 billion annually into research; in the case of NYU, by hitting on a blockbuster drug.
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While UConn has made gains this decade in licensing, its researchers have yet to produce a major product or spinout capable of generating millions of dollars in royalties for the university.
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“You can go to each school that has significant licensing income and identify one or two grand slams,” said Bruce Carlson, who leads UConn”™s office for technology and commercialization.
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Under the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, universities may retain rights to innovations developed under federally funded research programs, and are expected to give preference for any licenses to small businesses. Some have argued the act deserves substantial credit for the United States reinvigorating its commercial technology offerings in the 1980s.
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The law requires university employees ”“ including students who are being paid for research ”“ to disclose inventions. Schools then have the option of contacting potential corporate partners to develop the technology for sale.
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Under state law, the inventor gets a third of any royalties and about half that amount more for the individuals”™ research programs. UConn and its schools or labs participating in the invention split the remainder.
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Carlson has been working to build up UConn”™s capabilities, particularly in the area of startups that often provide jobs. UConn has been actively promoting low-cost “incubator” space for such startups in hopes of sparking a commercial hit. UConn received credit for producing one startup in the 2006 fiscal year. Carlson also hopes more companies will sponsor research at UConn in exchange for a share of any profits.
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“A new model is emerging,” said Walter Plosila, vice president of Battelle Memorial Institute”™s technology practice, who has studied university corporate parks. “What we”™re seeing are strategically planned, mixed-use campuses designed to create an environment that fosters collaboration and innovation, and promotes (technology) commercialization.”
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Yale University last year bought the former Bayer Corp. campus in West Haven, intending to reserve space for companies developing technologies produced in Yale labs. Yale, whose cooperative research office managing director Jon Soderstrom is AUTM”™s president-elect, was not included on the AUTM list.
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Prior to becoming president of UConn last summer, Michael Hogan was provost at the University of Iowa, which received $17 million in license income in 2006. Carlson said Hogan is committed to duplicating the University of Iowa”™s success.
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“He and I have had a number of conversations,” Carlson said. “He has come into the university with a major emphasis on the overall university research portfolio.”
