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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