U-M 1st in research spending, sets new tech records

The University of Michigan continues to serve as a pipeline for new economy research, start-ups and the innovations they need to be successful.

The university has recently been declared No. 1 for R&D spending in the nation’s public universities. That sort of investment has helped the university launch 10 start-ups, license 97 technologies and record 290 new inventions over the last fiscal year.

“The record (for new start-ups) is 13 but we average nine,” says Ken Nisbet, executive director of office of Tech Transfer at the University of Michigan. “Ten isn’t a record but with the economy this year we are really proud of that number.

The new technology licenses ties a record at U-M, which was set four years ago. The 10 start-ups is two more than the year before and brings the university’s total to 93 over the last decade. The university estimates those start-ups have created more than 2,000 jobs over the last 15 years.

Those start-ups include Histosonics, which was spun out of the university last year. The Ann Arbor-based company employs about a dozen people and has locked down $11 million in seed capital. HistoSonics (histo meaning tissue and sonics  meaning sound waves) is developing a medical device that uses tightly focused ultrasound pulses to treat prostate disease. The idea is to create a non-invasive, image-guided system that can destroy tissue with robotic precision.

“It just has tremendous potential,” Nisbet says.

U-M plans to display some of its new start-ups and inventions at its annual Celebrate Invention reception between 3-6 p.m. today in the Michigan League Ballroom. For information, click here or Diane Brown at (734) 936-1572 or dibrown@umich.edu.

Source: Ken Nisbet, executive director of office of Tech Transfer at the University of Michigan
Writer: Jon Zemke