The University of Connecticut increased its research spending in 2011, but still has a ways to go before its technology transfer efforts compete with the nation’s elite institutions.
UConn spent $162.7 million on research in 2011, up 3 percent from a year earlier, according to the annual U.S. Licensing Survey recently released by the Association of Technology Managers.
However, the school’s license income dipped slightly to $757,360 from $898,141 in 2010.
The numbers are an indicator of where UConn stands as a research institution, and are becoming increasingly more important as the state invests hundreds of millions of dollars to elevate the school’s status.
Compared to the top notch research universities, UConn isn’t yet on the same playing field.
The University of California system, for example, which is the perennial powerhouse, spent $5.4 billion on research in fiscal 2011, and brought in $182 million from licensing.
The University of Michigan, which is a school with a pedigree UConn someday hopes to mirror, spent $1.2 billion on research and brought in nearly $15.6 million in license income. Meanwhile, Penn State University, another school UConn would like to compete with, spent $804.8 million on research and generated $2.9 million in license revenue.
Mary Holz-Clause, UConn’s economic development director, said the school’s 2011 results were good, but have a lot of room for improvement.
And while past numbers are important, she said how UConn performs over the next few years is even more significant as the school beefs up its research capacity.
UConn is in the middle of several major projects that aim to boost its ability to attract research funding. That includes over $1 billion of state investment in bioscience, genomic research, faculty, and a new technology park. All those projects are in the early stages of development and will be implemented over the next few years.
“We are trying to create an environment and ecosystem of innovation,” Holz-Clause said. “We expect research to grow as a result of these investments.”
Holz-Clause said the rule of thumb is that there should be one invention disclosure for every $2 million in research funding that comes in the door, so as the school ramps up its hiring of 300 new faculty over the next few years, it should result in significant improvements.
UConn President Susan Herbst has set an aggressive goal to increase research spending to $300 million annually, but it will take some time before that happens.
UConn’s tech transfer program has its roots in the 1980s but was completely remolded and revamped last decade, so it’s still a relative newcomer to the game.
Still, UConn holds its own in several major tech transfer categories.
In 2011, for example, UConn had 67 invention disclosures, although that was down from 91 a year earlier.
UConn had 18 patents issued in 2011, as well as 29 new patent applications.
Nationwide, university and research licensing and startup activity remained strong in fiscal 2011 despite rough economic headwinds, according to the AUTM survey.
The number of new startups increased 3 percent and the number of license/option agreements signed with startups increased 14 percent. Meanwhile, total research and development spending increased 4 percent to $61 billion, while license income saw a 2.5 percent jump to $2.5 billion.
Universities have always been major sources of science and technology innovation, but there is increasing pressure to turn ideas into practical uses that create new businesses and jobs.
“Silicon Valley” and the “North Carolina Triangle” have become model examples. In Connecticut, Yale University and its Science Park is the benchmark.
UConn has raised its profile over the last decade as a research institution. The school is still in the second phase of a $2.3 billion campus upgrade, which has led to the construction of modern buildings that have attracted researchers from around the world.
And last year, the state earmarked another billion dollars or so to spur innovation and research. That includes a $170 million investment to build a technology park that will add up to 1.4 million square feet of research, technology and academic space on the North Campus in Storrs.
The state is also pouring $864 million into the UConn Health Center campus in Farmington to try to create a bioscience hub. That investment helped lure genetics research institute Jackson Laboratory to want to build a new facility within the Health Center campus as well. That is part of a $1.1 billion investment.
Traditionally, many schools rely on federal grants for research funding, but Holz-Clause said it is her goal to boost private investment at UConn. It’s becoming increasingly important at a time of much uncertainty around federal spending.
Currently, research funding from private industry only makes up about 4 percent of UConn’s portfolio.
“We have aggressive plans to grow that,” Holz-Clause said. “We are putting in personnel and working hard to develop strong relationships with industry.”
One of the biggest opportunities to collaborate with private industry will come with the new technology park, Holz-Clause said. Besides providing lab space for faculty and students, there will also be room for private companies to relocate there so they can leverage the school’s academic resources.
Holz-Clause said she expects to have several significant announcements on partnerships with private industry in the coming months. In the meantime, she said the school continues to be diligent in building its tech transfer program, recognizing that it will take a few years of investment before major progress is made.
“Hopefully we find one of those big wins,” Holz-Clause said.
