Colorado High-tech sector looks toward CU for second wind

University research labs could be the catalyst to
recharge Colorado’s lagging tech economy, according to state and business
leaders.

By Jennifer Beauprez
Denver Post Business Writer

Technology transfer – the process of moving inventions out of labs and into
the commercial world – has been around for years. But as tech leaders
grapple for a second wind, university research is taking on more importance
nationwide.

Agilent Technologies Inc., Nokia Corp. and McData Corp. are working
together with ITU Ventures of Colorado to develop new technologies from
university laboratories, said Chad Brownstein, a partner in ITU, a California
venture capital firm.

State officials are also touting university research as a key to high-tech
growth: the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association will invest
$10 million in ITU’s fund to create startups from university research. And
university research was a major topic earlier this month at Gov. Bill Owens’
technology winter retreat in Aspen.

"I’ve been surprised by the level of interest," said Jack Burns, vice president
of academic affairs and research for the University of Colorado at Boulder.
"It’s something we talk about all the time, but people are just beginning to
realize the tremendous potential of the literal gold mine locked up within
the university system."

CU, in particular, has been among the worst when it comes to pulling ideas
out into the corporate world, Brownstein said.

University officials say that’s changing under the leadership of Elizabeth
Hoffman, in her second year as CU’s president.

"We didn’t do very well in the past," said John Carpenter, professor of
pharmaceutical sciences at CU. "But the culture has changed a lot, and we
think we’ve got everything in line to have a world-class operation."

CU has grappled with management turnover in its tech transfer office, which
prevented long-standing relationships between business and the university.
Despite being ranked No. 8 in the nation for its science, the school has
lagged behind in getting researchers to patent ideas, license them and
create new companies.

In 2000, CU raked in $300 million in sponsored research, generating $2.2
million from licenses and creating three companies.

That same year, the granddaddy of technology transfer, the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, garnered $727 million in research grants, which
created 31 companies and netted $30 million from royalties, according to
the Association of University Technology Managers.

Stanford University generated $440 million in research grants, reaped $34
million in royalties and created eight companies.

CU has produced 25 companies in the past seven years.

To foster change, CU recruited tech transfer veteran Burns from the
University of Missouri-Columbia. The school also hired David Allen from
Ohio State University to be CU’s assistant vice president of tech transfer.

"There’s massive opportunity here at the University of Colorado," Allen said.
"I didn’t take this job to just continue the status quo."

Allen said CU will boost its tech transfer staff to 16 people from 11 and
double its budget to $2.3 million. It installed a new computer database for
managing research inventions, created a business advisory board and
opened communication with faculty, giving seminars on how to take their
ideas to the business world.

Researchers will also have more financial incentive to think in terms of
business. They will get one-third of the royalties if their invention is licensed
to an outside firm. A year ago, researchers got only 25 percent of the
proceeds.

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,33%257E493469,00.html