By Angie Hunt and Deb Berger
AMES, Iowa – As a leading research university, Iowa State puts science, technology and human creativity to work. The impact is measured through external support for innovative research solutions that lead to new patents, startup companies and support for business and industry.
That $601.7 million includes nearly $285 million for research projects like an interdisciplinary team working with zebrafish that could lead to new advances in regenerative medicine for patients with blood diseases such as leukemia.
For fiscal year 2022, 37 U.S. patents and 32 foreign patents were issued to the Iowa State Research Foundation including patents for a device to manage kidney disease and technologies to improve crop varieties and for vaccine development.
The added income to Iowa’s economy comes from ISU start-up and spin-off companies. SoyLei Innovations, a startup firm in the ISU Research Park, is commercializing a soybean oil-based alternative to petroleum-based asphalt additive to extend the life of pavement.
These companies and cohorts participated in Iowa State University Research Park accelerators, for a total of 124 companies and research centers employing more than 2,300 people. The park, which is south of campus, is the only university-based research park in Iowa.
The ranking is for research funding for universities without a human medical school. Rankings for federal agency funding include:
• Top 1% – Dept. of Agriculture
• Top 2% – Dept. of Energy
• Top 9% – National Science Foundation
The revenue comes from sales of ISU-licensed technologies and products in 2021. Global sales totaled $83 million. The Office of Innovation Commercialization executed 34 license and option agreements – 10 in Iowa – on institutional technologies.
