Dear Colleagues,
Last month Governor Henry McMaster declared April to be South Carolina Innovation Month, a month-long celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship in South Carolina. This statewide initiative recognizes the creativity, ingenuity, and talent of the state's entrepreneurs, researchers, and business leaders. As part of this initiative, CURF proudly highlights examples of Clemson University research enterprises' innovation accomplishments and our role in driving commercialization through intellectual property protection, technology maturation investments, and licensing activity.
During FY22, CURF received 50 innovation disclosures from the University's talented faculty, staff, and students. The diversity of innovations represents the exceptional creativity and ingenuity throughout the Clemson University research enterprise. CURF filed 33 US patent applications in FY22, representing a significant financial commitment toward the commercialization of technologies in the intellectual property portfolio.
CURF continues to make financial investments to de-risk and advance Clemson's innovations through our technology maturation program. During the last eight years from FY15-22, CURF has funded 45 research projects totaling $1.27M. Over 50% of the technologies funded through this program have generated follow-on research awards to Clemson University totaling $10M, resulting in an 8X return on investment. In addition, 22% of funded technologies have been licensed to start-ups or existing industry partners.
During FY22, CURF executed 27 license agreements, demonstrating a continued commitment to our technology transfer and commercialization mission. These licensing activities translate groundbreaking research into products and services to benefit South Carolina and beyond.
I am proud of the tremendous accomplishments of CURF and our Clemson researchers in FY22 and am excited about the future. We look forward to continuing to work together with the research enterprise to support and advance Clemson's exceptional research programs toward the public benefit.
Best regards,
Chris
