The University of Texas System established the Office of Research and Technology Transfer to encourage and facilitate large-scale research collaborations among UT institutions, with other campuses, and with private industry partners. The goal of these collaborations is to strengthen the research itself and to permit communities, the state, business, and industry to gain more from university research and education. This office is also responsible for developing special research opportunities for UT System institutions through collaborations with federal labs.
Texas Ignition Fund sparks 14 inventions
Austin Business Journal - 9-Apr-2008
The Texas Ignition Fund granted a total of $465,000 to 14 inventions that have the potential to become commercialized. The University of Texas System's newly-created $2 million fund is meant to facilitate the commercialization of technologies or products developed within the UT System. "We are pleased with the quality of these first proposals for Ignition Fund grants and delighted that the availability of the grants has spurred so much interest on UT campuses," UT System Chancellor Mark G. Yudof says. "It is our hope that the grants will speed the commercialization process and, over time, produce significant contributions to the Texas economy and society." See complete article
UT System Awards Funds to Spur Commercialization of Inventions
A tiny, innovative chip that could be implanted painlessly in humans and diagnose acid reflux before later dissolving might prove to be one of the most dramatic commercial products invented at a UT System institution in the coming years.
Or it could be that an advanced process for extracting lipids from algae to create less expensive bio-fuels gets the nod as the most eye-popping invention to originate at a UT System campus.
The two technologies were among 14 developed at UT System institutions that were awarded Texas Ignition Fund (TIF) grants announced today (April 9) totaling $465,000 to help get the advancements out of the laboratory and into commercial use. See complete Press Release
Texas a top contender in biotech field, report says
Texas has been named for the first time as one of the top five biotechnology economic development regions in the world by newsletter FierceBiotech. In addition to Texas, the 2008 rankings include New York, Massachusetts, Florida and California, as having state programs that are "driving the development of new facilities that will likely have a profound impact in determining where the industry will find its most fertile soil for future growth."
Houston Business Journal - 25-Feb-2008 See complete article.
State wants added path to tenure at Texas universities
The way academic institutions grant tenure to faculty may change as part of Gov. Rick Perry's push to make commercialization a priority at Texas universities. Perry is proposing that all public universities make the commercialization of research one of the several factors considered when granting tenure to professors, according to Secretary of State Phil Wilson. Austin Business Journal - 08-Feb-2008 See complete article.
See News Section for more articles. |
Events
Patent Law Workshop - See video presentation and powerpoint slides (click for link) of recent Patent Law Workshop on April 25, 2008
sponsored by The Office of Research & Technology Transfer.
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The Texas Ignition Fund (TIF)
"UT steps in to kick up the heat..."
A significant gap, referred to as the “valley of death,” often exists between a researcher’s disclosure of an invention and actual product development. Many potentially viable research discoveries are lost for lack of funding to test and prove a concept or put it into practice. A total of $2 million of U. T. System Administration funds are available through the TIF to help overcome this considerable barrier to commercialization.
The TIF will be used to fund grants of up to $50,000 for costs such as personnel, equipment, supplies, instrument use fees, market studies and business plans. We believe that TIF grants will both ignite and accelerate the movement of discoveries in our institutions into the commercial domain.
Round one awards were announced April 1, 2008, and can be seen at the TIFAwardees site. The next due date for submission of applications for the second round of funds will be April 18, 2008, with a decision made June 2, 2008. A UT faculty member or researcher must collaborate with the technology transfer officer(s) at his/her institution,
and each institution must implement a review process to screen faculty proposals. Please refer to instructions and application.
The Texas Emerging Technology Fund (ETF)
Governor Rick Perry realized the way to ignite the Texas economy is through empowering the rich source of innovation hidden deep in the heart of all the state universities. Legislation during the 79th session was passed which approved the Emerging Technology Fund (ETF) allowing the Governor's office, through a 17 member advisory committee, to administer a pool of approximately $295 million dollars to approved applicants. These funds are not grants but awarded dollars to be used as capital funds to expedite the process of taking research from the lab to the marketplace. These awards are all invested back into Texas, spurring economic growth and life changing research developments. The ETF awards are funded in three designated categories of: Incentives for Commercialization, Research Grant Matching; and Research Superiority Acquisition of Talent. To see the current list of UT inventors and companies that have received these funds, and to learn more about what they are doing in the industry, please see link at If you would like to learn more about how you can apply for these funds, please go to our ETF section.
Research Collaborations Report - The Office of Research & Technology Transfer has been the lead UT System office involved in defining high-potential areas for partnerships and cross-System regional research centers. This initiative began with a System-wide faculty survey about interdisciplinary research and collaborations and regional meetings of selected faculty and administrators. See the executive summary, with the full report due to be finalized in the near future.
RTT Newsletter Quarterly updates on research and technology transfer initiatives by the Office of Research and Technology Transfer. Find out about these recent developments.
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