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USF Ranked 35th, UCF 8th For 2008 Patent Research

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By TED JACKOVICS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 9, 2008

TAMPA - The University of South Florida ranks 35th nationwide in patent research, The Patent Board's 2008 Universities Patent Scorecard shows.

The University of California ranked first, the University of Central Florida eighth, the University of Florida 32nd and Florida State University 104th.

The Chicago-based institution tracks and analyzes the business value of patent assets. The scorecard includes ratings of industry impact, links to science and numbers of patents.

"Patents are one of the primary foundations of innovation," said Rod Casto, USF's associate vice president for technology development. "They provide protection for ideas so that further investments in research, development, and commercialization will occur."

A strong technology transfer program enables universities to recruit top-tier faculty, Casto said. That furthers local economic development and industry partnerships, he added.

The portfolio of technologies that have been developed at USF range from environmental sensors to gene therapy, said Valerie Landrio McDevitt, director of the Division of Patents and Licensing at USF.

Examples include:

• Voda LLC, a Florida company providing underwater mass spectrometers for environmental testing and monitoring the water quality of oceans and lakes.

• IRx Therapeutics is a privately held company started with USF technologies for treating patients with head and neck cancer.

• Rehab Ideas is a Florida company developing new technologies which will improve the lives and mobility of combat veterans who use wheelchairs.

USF has been issued 25 patents so far in 2008 and 27 in 2007, the university reported.

Rankings

The Patent Board's 2008 Universities Patent Scorecard:

1. University of California

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

3. California Institute of Technology

4. Stanford University

5. Rice University

8. University of Central Florida

32. University of Florida

35. University of South Florida

104. Florida State University

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at (813) 259-7817.

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