Tech Transfer Reaches All-Time High

Products developed at Rochester are used every day in the graphic arts and printing industry. Children receive vaccinations developed at Rochester to fight childhood diseases. And soon new advances may be widely available to improve eyesight.

All of these products are based on technology developed and patented at the University. Now a major source of revenue for the University, the commercial rights for cutting-edge products and research are bringing more revenue than ever from private companies.

In fact, in 2001, companies paid more than 10 times more for technology rights than they did just two years before. And just eight months into 2002, the University had already brought in more than $42 million.

"Once a university has achieved this level of revenue, companies and venture capitalists begin to recognize that the University is 'licensing- and start-up-friendly,' " says Mark Coburn, director of technology transfer. "It creates an exciting, sustainable process of technology transfer and helps to foster and attract resources to cultivate more innovative research."

Some widely used projects developed and patented at the University include imaging technology developed by Kevin Parker, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Theophano Mitsa '91 (PhD); a vaccine that has virtually wiped out one of the causes of many childhood bacterial infections, including meningitis; and technology developed by David Williams, director of the Center for Visual Studies, that can be used to detect tiny imperfections in the human eye that can then be repaired.

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