Universities ‘over-estimate’ role in commercial applications

The Hechinger Report 24 January 2020

At a time when they would seem to be searching for new sources of revenue, United States colleges and universities are producing a surprisingly small proportion of the nation’s patents and start-ups and making so little money from licensing inventions that, at many institutions, it doesn’t even cover the cost of managing them, writes Jon Marcus for The Hechinger Report.

Most of the more than US$75 billion a year from the federal government and other sources that the National Science Foundation calculates is spent by academia on research is not intended to immediately result in commercial applications. It’s about fundamental knowledge. The basic research performed in university laboratories underpins discoveries that may take years to end up in the market, if they ever do.

In fact, academic institutions accounted for only 6,639 of the 304,126 patents granted in 2016, the last year for which the figure is available, according to the National Science Board. “When you look at university PR offices, they always talk about how there’s this new research coming out of some department, and it’s going to revolutionise the economy,” said Lee Vinsel, an assistant professor of science, technology and society at Virginia Tech who is a co-author of a forthcoming book, The Innovator’s Delusion. But, he said, “we’ve been overestimating the role we’re playing.”
Full report on The Washington Post site

Receive email updates from UWN

Global newsletters    Africa newsletters    Other
    (other includes related events and webinars)

Data will be processed according to our standard terms & conditions.

Research focuses on production of jet fuel from halophytes

UAE University staff

With an eye to developing a clean, alternative aviation fuel to reduce carbon emissions, researchers at the United Arab Emirates University have been focusing on the production of jet fuel from sustainable resources such as halophytes, which are salt-tolerant plants that could be cultivated on a wider scale in the region’s coastal areas.

The value of being human: How teachers can work alongside AI

Michael Milligan

Artificial intelligence is now a part of our evolution in technology and teachers need to be encouraged to find ways to bring AI into the classroom and have students use it in a way that is beneficial to them in the long term.

Ground-breaking research on seawater biodesalination

UAE University staff

As water scarcity reaches critical levels globally, a research team at the United Arab Emirates University seeks to revolutionise seawater desalination practices, offering a path to mitigate water scarcity while championing environmental preservation.