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Although economic growth stagnated in 2009, a new survey says scientific research from about 150 universities created 555 startup companies and resulted in over 4,500 patent optioning and licensing deals last year, earning $1.8 billion in payouts for the institutions in the process. The numbers continue a decade-long trend of the increased role of universities in generating commercial products for businesses.
"Technology transfer" -- as the process of universities commercializing their findings is known -- allows businesses to turn the fruits of academic research into new technologies, such as new drugs and energy-saving products. In return, universities collect licensing fees or royalties, or a partial ownership stake in a product. Universities also typically have a small staff dedicated to brokering deals on hand -- not an insignificant source of employment itself.
The Association of University Technology Managers, which conducted the survey, found across-the-board gains in almost all areas examined. Staffing, non-"royalty buyout" licensing, and optioning all showed nontrivial increases. Startup creation held steady from 2008 -- but, because fewer institutions participated in this year's survey, there was growth in relative numbers.
Comparisons from year to year are dicey for the AUTM survey, because the roster of participating institutions changes. That caution aside, total licensing income rose to $1.76 billion in 2009 from $1.3 billion in 2008, about a 35 percent increase.
In 2009, technology transfers resulted in the creation of 555 companies -- about the same as in 2008. The number of employees working on university licensing increased slightly from 1,039.34 reported in 2008, to 1,049.76 in 2009.
The number of patent applications by universities and medical research institutions in 2009 dipped to 12,109 from 12,194 in 2008 -- a small decline in absolute numbers. But again, those figures come from a smaller pool of universities, and in terms of number per institution, the data show an increase.
In 1991, only about 1,500 patents were filed by institutions. By 2002, that number had risen to about 6,500. Today's much greater figure tracks the general trend: investors like what they see happening on campus.
Licensing Income and Other Data on University Technology Transfer, 2009
| Institution | 2009 Research Spending | Start-Ups | Licenses and Options Executed | Patent Applications | 2009 Licensing Income |
| Northwestern U | $400,012,497 | 3 | 31 | 168 | $161,591,544 |
| Columbia U | 604,660,000 | 13 | 51 | 202 | 154,257,579 |
| New York U | 308,834,000 | 5 | 38 | 50 | 113,110,437 |
| U of California System | 4,686,598,210 | 47 | 237 | 928 | 103,104,667 |
| Wake Forest U | 162,084,439 | 3 | 8 | N.A. | 95,636,362 |
| U of Minnesota | 590,880,956 | 3 | 53 | 65 | 95,168,525 |
| U of Washington/Washington Research Fdn. | 1,076,044,801 | 10 | 231 | 145 | 87,339,905 |
| U of Massachusetts | 489,060,000 | 1 | 50 | 85 | 70,553,428 |
| Massachusetts Inst. of Technology | 1,375,073,000 | 18 | 91 | 509 | 66,450,000 |
| Stanford U | 733,266,108 | 9 | 77 | 221 | 65,054,187 |
| U of Wisconsin at Madison | 1,132,000,000 | 1 | 57 | 129 | 56,714,000 |
| U of Florida | 496,063,499 | 10 | 115 | 180 | 53,880,476 |
| California Inst. of Technology | 521,436,800 | 18 | 37 | 381 | 47,665,535 |
| U of Rochester | 377,246,000 | 2 | 15 | 63 | 46,025,270 |
| U of Iowa Research Fdn. | 334,936,000 | 3 | 21 | 18 | 42,922,081 |
| U of Texas System | 2,272,779,788 | 22 | 161 | 330 | 32,428,040 |
| U of Georgia | 349,730,000 | 6 | 124 | 71 | 30,531,425 |
| Mount Sinai School of Medicine of NYU | 321,299,455 | - | 8 | 36 | 25,081,703 |
| Duke U | 709,803,045 | 4 | 97 | 155 | 19,048,244 |
| U of Michigan | 1,016,565,913 | 8 | 78 | 153 | 18,311,368 |
| Case Western Reserve U | 332,661,000 | 5 | 31 | 104 | 16,281,957 |
| Research Foundation of SUNY | 849,961,108 | 5 | 49 | 140 | 16,205,537 |
| Emory U | 416,476,261 | 1 | 36 | 53 | 15,034,198 |
| U of Illinois (Chicago, Urbana-Champaign) | 905,365,000 | 8 | 49 | 132 | 13,364,056 |
| U of Utah | 354,653,777 | 19 | 79 | 108 | 12,422,572 |
| Johns Hopkins U | 1,242,316,445 | 10 | 99 | 458 | 12,387,415 |
| Harvard U | 705,074,000 | 8 | 65 | 175 | 12,308,207 |
| U of Pennsylvania | 760,836,000 | 4 | 62 | 517 | 11,658,000 |
| Vanderbilt U | 457,357,428 | 1 | 46 | 64 | 11,329,700 |
| U of Missouri, all campuses | 339,124,184 | 5 | 79 | 48 | 10,400,726 |
| Texas A&M U System | 630,655,000 | 6 | 63 | 63 | 9,897,559 |
| Tulane U | 130,908,211 | - | 2 | 12 | 9,366,708 |
| Georgetown U | 230,637,658 | - | 11 | 50 | 9,222,996 |
| U of Chicago/UCTech | 336,155,979 | - | 16 | 29 | 9,025,392 |
| Iowa State U | 253,323,000 | 1 | 82 | 32 | 8,832,802 |
| Baylor College of Medicine | 305,687,000 | - | 56 | 14 | 8,809,000 |
| Tufts U | 172,866,529 | - | 9 | 20 | 8,390,154 |
| Rutgers U | 236,502,404 | 5 | 87 | 60 | 8,128,609 |
| Carnegie Mellon U | 232,992,000 | 10 | 19 | 49 | 8,041,047 |
| U of Oregon | 110,321,683 | 1 | 33 | 3 | 7,188,653 |
| Ohio U | 41,256,000 | - | 1 | 49 | 6,875,069 |
| Louisiana State U System | 401,306,000 | 6 | 17 | 65 | 6,349,177 |
| U of Virginia Patent Fdn. | 261,604,000 | 2 | 57 | 161 | 6,347,487 |
| Washington U of St. Louis | 567,383,000 | 2 | 53 | 106 | 6,301,462 |
| Indiana U (ARTI) | 422,084,735 | 6 | 30 | 72 | 5,952,499 |
| Loyola U of Chicago | 36,519,094 | - | - | 8 | 5,772,000 |
| Thomas Jefferson U | 94,784,221 | - | 18 | 16 | 5,531,467 |
| Cornell Research Fdn., Inc. | 687,430,951 | 3 | 23 | 129 | 5,100,407 |
| North Carolina State U | 380,600,000 | 4 | 91 | 118 | 4,930,022 |
| Michigan State U | 373,184,000 | - | 44 | 60 | 4,449,445 |
| U of Colorado | 718,000,000 | 11 | 62 | 118 | 4,430,040 |
| U of Southern California | 533,040,769 | 5 | 13 | 120 | 4,399,006 |
| Purdue Research Fdn. | 524,117,000 | 10 | 85 | 137 | 4,201,112 |
| U of Pittsburgh | 653,925,000 | 3 | 41 | 105 | 4,129,172 |
| U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill | 666,871,589 | 1 | 72 | 61 | 3,063,947 |
| Albert Einstein College of Med/Yeshiva U | 142,966,051 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 2,966,838 |
| Clemson U | 140,969,423 | - | 13 | 64 | 2,837,226 |
| Colorado State U | 311,720,381 | 1 | 22 | 65 | 2,776,439 |
| Brigham Young U | 27,299,213 | 9 | 27 | 74 | 2,687,163 |
| U of Alabama Birmingham Research Fdn. | 431,732,000 | 5 | 29 | 31 | 2,668,761 |
| U of South Alabama | 32,882,000 | - | 1 | 4 | 2,553,723 |
| Georgia Inst. of Technology | 581,278,634 | 9 | 65 | 239 | 2,411,613 |
| Oregon State U | 209,061,000 | 4 | 27 | 25 | 2,407,725 |
| U System of Maryland | 817,083,316 | 7 | 44 | 145 | 2,392,959 |
| U of Nebraska | 374,822,789 | 6 | 32 | 139 | 2,273,608 |
| Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc. | 211,519,580 | 6 | 35 | 86 | 2,022,510 |
| University of Houston | 99,262,000 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 1,952,557 |
| Arizona State University | 254,006,785 | 5 | 49 | 126 | 1,878,749 |
| Dartmouth College | 145,953,505 | 1 | 9 | 26 | 1,833,707 |
| Boston University/Boston Medical Ctr. | 371,652,029 | 4 | 23 | 45 | 1,776,497 |
| Ohio State U | 716,461,278 | 7 | 27 | 61 | 1,711,719 |
| U of Kentucky Research Fdn. | 248,952,000 | 14 | 19 | 37 | 1,700,000 |
| U of Tennessee | 284,211,680 | 2 | 16 | 146 | 1,609,779 |
| North Dakota State University | 113,214,000 | - | 96 | 24 | 1,539,570 |
| Kansas State University Research Fdn. | 105,116,954 | - | 6 | 17 | 1,509,490 |
| Oregon Health & Science University | N.A. | 3 | 57 | 36 | 1,492,748 |
| Oklahoma State University | 163,066,112 | 3 | 14 | 23 | 1,469,443 |
| University of Miami | 318 | 4 | 20 | 117 | 1,442,697 |
| Miami University | 22,616,538 | 1 | - | 2 | 1,412,242 |
| University of Kansas | 207,115,000 | 2 | 14 | 81 | 1,406,616 |
Source: Association of University Technology Managers
