High Impact
Research Powerhouse
| USF News
The number 83 has proved to be an important one for USF. That's the number of patents granted to the university by the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 2010 — a number that puts USF ninth worldwide among universities granted U.S. patents last year.
It's an impressive accomplishment owing to USF's unwavering focus on ingenuity and entrepreneurism.
USF was the only university in Florida to make the list of the top 300 patenting organizations compiled by the Intellectual Property Association. The list, largely occupied by corporate entities, includes 13 American universities and university systems and one university in China.
The ranking speaks volumes about USF's growth as a global research university and a key economic driver for the region, according to USF President Judy Genshaft.
"For a public research university, each patent represents the potential of a considerable return on investment in the creation of new products, new jobs and new industries. Each patent also represents the potential to improve health care, lives and our economy."
USF has patented a wide range of new technologies, including TC5214, an anti-depressant now in clinical trials with Targacept and AstraZeneca, new stem cell therapies, a rolling dance chair that allows people with disabilities to move more freely, and underwater laboratory equipment that can operate autonomously in the oceans' depths.
More recently, USF and its researchers have been granted U.S. patents in fuel cell technologies, air purification systems and even an amusement park ride