Arkansas celebrates record invention haul

Invention disclosures at University of Arkansas hit a new high in the 2019 fiscal year, climbing 52% year-on-year to reach a total of 47.
University of Arkansas Technology Ventures, the university’s tech transfer office, said the number of patent applications had also risen, by 23% year-on-year to 54.
Overall, the TTO managed to grow inventions, patents and licence agreements both year-on-year and compared with its historical average. The office is jointly run by the university’s Office of Economic Development and Office of Research and Innovation.
Technology Ventures now aims to maintain the momentum in the current year, leveraging initiatives including its three venture funds targeting fledgling research – including $1m per year from its Chancellor’s Commercialisation Fund and $400,000 per year from the Chancellor’s Gap Fund.
The former derisks inventions with significant market potential, while the latter supports projects endorsed by the US government-backed NSF I-Corps accelerator scheme.
University of Arkansas recently raised a third fund sized at $1m – Chancellor’s Fund for Humanities and Performance Arts – to drive intellectual property based on creativity.
David Hinton, associate director of Technology Ventures, said: “Receiving so many high-quality invention disclosures, a more than 50% increase from last year, is a testament to the type of faculty, staff and students we have on campus and the innovative research they are doing.”