IU Tech Transfer Toppling Records
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowMore technology transfer activity is occurring at Indiana University than ever before. Some 485 inventions have gone from concepts and creations developed on-campus to market over the last three years — a record — and Vice President For Research Fred Cate says sustained investment by IU is driving the growth. In an interview on Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick, Cate said the university and its Innovation and Commercialization Office have improved the process by which students and researchers can create something tangible.
Cate said tech transfer has become integrated into the way IU operates. "We’ve completely restructured the way we approach technology transfer," he said. "From the moment we hire a good faculty member or we bring in a great student, we try to work with them the entire way through their career, so that we’re giving these disclosures, they’re thinking about the practical benefits of what they’re doing and they’re working with us to get those to the market."
Last year alone, IU earned 141 patents an increase from 57 recorded the year before. "Tech transfer is all about tacking the ideas that come out of the lab, that come out of the research environment, and translating them into products and services that could be useful to the community," Cate said. "Just like we publish article or give presentations, a far more effective way to get things out is to do it through tech transfer."
Since 1997, IU says research has yielded some 3,200 inventions and over $145 million in licensing and royalty income.