To view The Patent Scorecard, go to www.iptoday.com/articles/2008-9-oldach2.asp.
ORLANDO, FL - Sept. 16, 2008 -- The University of Central Florida joined prestigious research universities such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University in the top 10 of this year's "Patent Scorecard," which ranks technology innovations gained from patents.
UCF jumped from 21st to eighth to surpass Harvard University and the University of Wisconsin in the top 10. No other top 10 university realized a greater increase in ranking.
The Patent Scorecard 2008 determines the strength of a university's patents as measured by how frequently they are cited in subsequent patents. The rankings are published in the September issue of Intellectual Property Today.
"The work we're doing at UCF is being utilized by research scientists worldwide," said M.J. Soileau, vice president for Research and Commercialization at UCF. "In this key measure of innovation, that we are among national leaders such as Stanford and MIT reflects the creativity of our faculty and our strategy to focus on key areas of research, graduate education and partnership."
UCF also ranked third in the industry impact category, which measures the role a university's patents play in serving as a foundation for other patents and technologies.
The rankings help to predict future economic impact in a community, said Christine Wren, a spokeswoman with The Patent Board, which compiled the rankings.
"This is not just a patent count," Wren said. "We're trying to look at the impact -- that's where UCF stepped up."
The rankings are further evidence of Central Florida's emergence as a high-tech innovation center and as a key component of the Florida High-Tech Corridor, which extends from Kennedy Space Center, through Orlando and across to Tampa and St. Petersburg.
UCF researchers received a university-record $122.8 million in external research funding in 2007-08, an increase of 336 percent since 1998. This was the fourth consecutive year of more than $100 million in external research funding.
The Patent Board ranking is often used by investors and industries to gauge which institutions are contributing most frequently to the development of cutting-edge technology.
The recognition signals that UCF's innovations are leading the way in the extremely competitive world of developing companies that produce high-tech, high-wage jobs. For example:
-- Raydiance, a laser technology company developed by Peter Delfyett, a professor at UCF's College of Optics and Photonics, has raised $27 million in venture capital and was described by BusinessWeek as producing one of the top ten disruptive technologies in the nation. Raydiance has an office in the Central Florida Research Park.
-- Petra Solar Inc. founder Shihab Kuran has licensed a half-dozen AC-DC power conversion patents from UCF and raised $14 million in venture capital. His company, which also has an office in the Research Park, strives to transform the way solar panel systems are sold and installed.
UCF's campus-wide culture of entrepreneurship, business coaching and mentoring, incubation services, the world-class Research Park and the support of the Florida High Tech Corridor Council are key factors in moving technologies developed at the university into the business world, said Tom O'Neal, associate vice president for Research and Commercialization and the founder of UCF's award-winning Incubation Program.
The University of California system tops the Patent Scorecard and is followed by MIT, the California Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Rice University, the University of Texas, New York University, UCF, the University of Wisconsin and Harvard University.
-- UCF --
Contact: Barb Abney, UCF Office of Research & Commercialization, 407-823-5139, babney@mail.ucf.edu.
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