Demonstrating the Value of the University as a Business and Innovation Driver: The Utah Experience

Vice President for Research

The University of Utah

Demonstrating the Value of the University as a Business and Innovation Driver:

The Utah Experience

“The Evolving University Research Park”

68th Annual Meeting of the ORAU Council of Sponsoring InstitutionsKnoxville, TNMarch 6, 2013

Tom ParksVice President for Research

University of UtahSalt Lake City



Academic Science and The Marketplace

“Applied research invariably drives out pure” Vannevar Bush, 1945

“A great deal of basic research has been done…But I think the time has now come to zero in on the targets by trying to get our knowledge fully applied”

Lyndon B. Johnson, 1966 “There’s a lot more to a liberal education than improving the economy”

Derek Bok, 2009

Our society’s ability to make policy decisions on grounds other than economic ones is decreasing and important non-economic values may be left behind

On the other hand, increased productivity and an expanding economy improve human well-being

Berman, E.P. (2012) Creating the Market University. Princeton Univ. Press


The University of UtahTed McAleer, USTAR Authority



The Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) Program

USTAR Research Team Funding

USTAR Buildings &Infrastructure

Technology Outreach Program

USTAR Authority



Programmatic Investment

• Research TeamsCapitalize on areas of university research strength that

match Utah’s strategic economic development goals

Interdisciplinary research focus Senior faculty plus a team of junior faculty, post-docs,

research staff, and graduate studentsUniv. of Utah teams chosen through an on-campus

RFP, preliminary selection by Provost and VPR, then final selection by the USTAR Governing Authority (the legislatively-mandated group that controls funding)

Investment of ~$5 million per team spread over 4-5 years



Univ. of Utah USTAR Program: FY07-12

•$61 million spent in support of faculty teams•36 faculty members recruited into 11 teams Fossil Energy

Alternative Energy Digital Media

Diagnostic ImagingCircuits of the BrainImaging TechnologyNanoscale and Biomedical Photonics

Biomedical Device Innovation Wireless Nanosystems

Nanotechnology BiosensorsMicro- and Nano System Integration



USTAR vs. non-USTAR PI Performance Metrics for FY12

USTAR = 25 PIs (among 34 USTAR faculty)Non-USTAR = 815 other University of Utah faculty with extramural

grants and contracts

Metrics (expressed as per capita ratio of USTAR:non-USTAR PIs)

Extramural funding ($) 1.5Invention disclosures 8.4Provisional U.S. patents filed 5.8Full U.S. patents filed 4.0Licenses issued 5.7Startup companies (FY07-12, n= 11 USTAR groups) 2.3



USTAR Research• Grant applications submitted• Grants funding (fed, industry sponsored) • GOED Centers of Excellence funding

FY2007 FY2015

USTAR Teams• Faculty hired• Research facilities completed

USTAR Technology Development• Disclosures filed• IP applications filed • Patents issued

USTAR Commercialization• Spin-off companies• Commercial research• Licenses to firms

Economic Impact Associated with USTAR

• New earnings• New jobs• New tax revenues

USTAR Approach to Implementation and Assessment

Ted McAleer, USTAR Authority




The University of UtahUSTAR Authority

Category Adjusted FY13 Plan

December 31, 2012(Actuals)

Results vsPlan

State investment in USTAR research to date

$107.7 Million N/A

Faculty hiring activity 19 teams* 21 teams51 faculty hires

External research grants awarded through June 30, 2012

$105.9 M* $142MM

External research grants proposed for FY13 and beyond

No prospectus target

$270+ Million

Disclosures to date ~160 348

Provisional patents and patents filed to date

No prospectus target

213

Companies started in Utah to date 11* 15

10+ active projects

* Based on 63% of Prospectus ($107.7MM actual vs. $171.8 MM in 2005 Prospectus) (Note: of the $107.7MM, $74.76MM is State and $33MM is ARRA

Summary of Progress at Q2 FY13







USTAR Facilities and Infrastructure at Utah State University

October 7, 2010 ribbon cuttingBiofuels Infrastructure

USU BEERC:Hybrid Energy R&D Ctr (primarily private investment)

USU USTAR Core Facilities• Clinical nutrition center• Bio Safety Level 3• Vivarium• Life science labs

USTAR Authority



USTAR Research Building at the Univ. of Utah

U of U – 2012 projected opening

Core Facilities in 208,000 sf

• 18,000 sf Nanofabrication facility

• 5,300 sf Microscopy suite

• Small-animal imaging facility

• VivariumUofU – Apr2012 opening

U of U: April 19, 2012 Ribbon Cutting

USTAR Authority

Nanofabrication facility



Regional Technology Outreach

• In FY2012, 200+ projects in 21 of 29 counties

• Seed grant program (TCG) has yielded 98+ prototypes, 30+ new companies, 176+ new employees and over $20.3 Million in new private capital

• Team is working with USTAR Faculty on over 20 commercialization projects

USTAR Authority



Licensing of Intellectual Property is Just One of Several Ways Universities Help the Transition of Knowledge into

Practice1. Movement of highly-skilled students into public or private

employment2. Publication of research results in the open research literature that is

read by workers in all sectors3. Personal interaction between the creators and users of new

knowledge (e.g, via professional meetings, seminars, industrial liaison programs, etc.)

4. Corporate-sponsored research agreements with university researchers

5. Multi-firm arrangements such as university-industry cooperative research centers

6. Personal individual faculty and student consulting arrangements with private firms

7. Entrepreneurial activity of faculty and students occurring outside the university without involving university-owned intellectual property (IP)

8. Licensing of IP to established firms or new start-up companies

Merrell, S. & Mazza, A.-M. (2011) Managing University Intellectual Property in the Public Interest, National Academy Press, 102 pp.

Demonstrating the Value of the University as a Business and Innovation Driver: The Utah Experience

Education

e s s r e s e

ustar faculty nonustar

ustar funding

s o u r c e

utah ustar program

fy12 ustar

ustar governingauthority

ratio of ustar