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UF tech success at top of the list

Even Harvard can't touch the University of Florida when it comes to profiting from research.

By JAMES THORNER
Published October 7, 2006

What does Harvard offer its tech-savvy students that the University of Florida can't?

Not much, judging from a new study measuring a university's talent for patenting its research and converting it to cash.

A study by the Milken Institute released last month put UF in fifth place, ahead of 17th-ranked Harvard but behind such tech stalwarts as MIT and the University of California.

While the findings might not lift Florida from its persistently lower R&D rankings compared with Massachusetts and New York, even the study's authors didn't seem to expect the strength of Florida's flagship university.

"The University of Florida ranks fifth, which is perhaps surprising to many, but it has seen remarkable success," lead study author Ross DeVol wrote.

You can thank Gatorade for helping nudge the university into elite company. UF's signature fluorescent green soft drink has earned the school tens of millions of dollars since it flooded the market in the 1970s.

But the study suggests Gatorade, invented by a UF doctor to revitalize sweaty football players, was just one of a slew of inventions the school has moved to market, many tied to Florida's particular climate.

Some recent examples are AntGuard (a repellent-infused plastic to keep ants off pet food bowls), the Durable Dummy (a 6-foot mannequin modeled on a Chippendale dancer that's used to train paramedics) and heart-healthy peanuts.

"Its weakest area is in startups, but the university has seen improvement in recent years," DeVol wrote of UF.

The Milken Institute, a nonprofit California think tank founded by billionaire financier Michael Milken, flagged $32-million in licensing fees collected at UF from 2000 to 2004. The same four years saw the university register 189 patents, the study said.

Much of the credit went to the university's Office of Technology Licensing. In an interview with the school newspaper, director David Day said his office has grown more entrepreneurial over the past six years. Day's office has published much higher dollar and patent figures than those reported by Milken, but wasn't available Friday to explain the discrepancy.

Florida State University did well, too, but its run on royalties was based mostly on a single anti-cancer drug named Taxol, marketed since 1993 by Bristol-Myers Squibb. The University of South Florida did not appear on the list.

The 320-page Milken study dealt mostly with biotechnology, a field that promises therapies through genetic engineering. Despite birthing such companies as AxoGen Inc., and Applied Genetic Technologies, UF managed only 33rd place on the biotech patent ratings.

Harvard came in 11th on the same list. Looks like you can't rule out the competition from Cambridge after all.

James Thorner can be reached at (813) 226-3313 or thorner@sptimes.com

Beyond Gatorade

Some University of Florida patents that have found a niche in the market:

AntGuard: A chemically treated tray that thwarts ants from reaching pet food bowls and potted plants.

Durable DummY: A sturdy mannequin modeled on a Chippendale dancer used by paramedics for training.

Sentricon: A termite bait that destroys colonies.

Temperature Management System: Air-conditioned shoulder pads for overheated football players.

Fathead Minnow Chip: A system for tagging a minnow's genes with fluorescent dye to test for water contamination.

Source: University of Florida

[Last modified October 6, 2006, 23:29:59]