Research, Technology Commercialization Up Again at UC

Research funding at the University of Cincinnati (UC) and its affiliates has hit an all-time high at $332 million.

This Fiscal Year 2005 total, announced today at the UC Board of Trustees meeting, is up nearly 4 percent from $320 million in 2004.

Since 2001, UC’s research enterprise has grown more than $100 million.

"In the face of large budget cuts across the board at some of the largest national funding organizations, UC has continued to increase its research dollars," said Sandra Degen, PhD, acting vice president for research at UC.

"This speaks volumes about the quality of proposals and work being produced by UC’s faculty, and clearly shows we are in line with the goal to grow our research excellence as outlined in our UC|21 academic plan," she added.

Research funding at UC is heavily dominated by grants and contracts from federal and state agencies, with federal government funding totaling $176 million. Additional funding comes from industry, local government and nonprofit organizations.

UC also saw increases in technology transfer, the commercial application of research findings, in Fiscal Year 2005.

The Intellectual Property Office, led by Anne Chasser, reported 89 invention disclosures, or written notification that an invention has been made, (up from 76 in 2004), 40 U.S. patents filed (up from 29 in 2004) and nine patents issued (consistent with 2003 and 2004).

Royalty income and distributions reached nearly $1 million, up from $300,000 in 2004.

"This is one more indicator that our great university continues to move the needle," said UC President Nancy Zimpher, PhD. "It’s important news not just for UC, but for the entire Cincinnati USA region. Our world-class researchers are to be especially commended for this wonderful progress."

UC’s research enterprise and academic programs are listed among the nation’s best by a number of ranking organizations. The National Science Foundation lists UC as 22nd among public universities for federal research expenditures. The Princeton Review recently named UC one of the Best Midwestern Universities. UC is ranked 145th among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in their annual ranking of colleges and universities. This one-year leap builds on gradual improvement over the previous five years during which UC moved up 27 places, from 172 to 145.