UMass Science, Technology Driving the State's Innovation Economy 

President Robert L. Caret

Dear friends of UMass:

I spent five days on a statewide bus tour in 2011, and five more on a second bus tour in 2012, asking business, government, and non-profit leaders to assess how UMass was doing.  How were we affecting lives?  Were we making a difference?  What more could we do?

Nearly unanimously, people saw us as a major force for good in the Commonwealth: educating the next generation of leaders, helping to fuel the innovation economy through partnerships with the business community, enriching the social and cultural fabric of our state...And when I asked if there was anything else that we could do, the answer was always, "We want you to do more... "Help us create facilities like the Mass. Green High Performance Center in Holyoke and the Emerging Technology and Innovation Center in Lowell." ... "Expand educational opportunities in our cities..." ... It was good to know that people liked us and wanted more from us, not less.

This e-newsletter, a first for the UMass President's Office, puts a spotlight on the economic and workforce development efforts we are engaged in across all parts of the Commonwealth.  It is part of our interest in telling and selling the success story that is UMass.

As we ring in the new year, it's important to note that 2013 has a particular resonance for us at the University.  This year we will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the University's flagship campus in Amherst, which came about as a result of the signing the year before of the Morrill Land Grant Act, the landmark legislation that created much of our national network of public higher education.

We live in a state rich in colleges and universities, of course.  Throughout the world, the name "Massachusetts" is synonymous with higher education excellence.  With a record 71,000 students enrolled on our five campuses, we are the largest university in New England.  Nearly 250,000 UMass graduates live and work in Massachusetts, which means that we have an enormous impact on the workforce, on the economy , and on society. 

The University attracts nearly $600 million a year in research funding, and the licensing income earned from faculty discoveries reached $54 million last year, making UMass a national leader in this area.  We are second in Massachusetts in generating licensing income, behind only MIT.

Nearly 150 years after its founding, the University of Massachusetts has ascended to a level its founders couldn't have imagined.  Yet, the dream and vision our founders possessed remains unchanged.  As we enter a new legislative season, I would encourage our state leaders to continue to look toward their public research university with its strategic presence in every part of the Commonwealth as a critical resource for the Innovation Economy that is worthy of strategic investment.

Sincerely,

Robert L. Caret

President

MGHPCC Opens in Holyoke 

Gov. Deval Patrick and Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray joined President Robert L. Caret, local government and industry leaders to celebrate the opening of the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) in Holyoke, an initiative that Gov. Patrick called "a testament to what is possible when government, academia and business work together...that will serve as an economic development model for the state and the nation for generations to come."

Read more from UMass Amherst Research News

$50M Matching Funds to Boost R&D 

An Economic Development Bill that provides for $50M in matching funds for university research and development proposals, to support collaborative R&D projects among businesses and universities, was passed in 2012.  The bill was made possible with the support of many industry groups and through the efforts of speaker DeLeo, chairman Joseph Wagner, Senate President Murray, other key members of the Legislature and Gov. Patrick.

Read more from Mass.gov

MLSC Provides $6M to UMD Biomanufacturing Facility

The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center at its December board meeting voted to approve $6M in additional support for UMass Dartmouth's Massachusetts Accelerator for Biomanufacturing in Fall River.  The additional support will provide for four independent production suites, additional equipment for industry partners and workforce development, and increased capacity for client services.  In related news, the MAB celebrated its topping off milestone on Dec. 6.

MassCEC Awards UMass Lowell $260K for Wind Energy Research

The Mass. Clean Energy Center board awarded $260,000 to UMass Lowell's Wind Energy Research Group to help strengthen and grow the group's research capacity and to conduct research on wind turbine blades in partnership with the Charlestown Wind Turbine Testing Center.  Learn more from the MassCEC release.

Workshops to Build W. Mass Life Sci Economy Under Way at UMass Amherst

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is conducting workshops and building an inventory of all of the life sciences capabilities in Western Massachusetts - including the area's precision manufacturers, Biomanufacturing, Bio-IT and more - with the help of a $308,000 grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.

Read more from MassLive.com

UMass President Grant Fund Process Opens in January

UMass President Caret is expected to announce in late January the 2013 program to fund faculty members through the President's Science and Technology Initiatives Fund, which supports promising research projects that contribute to the growth of the Commonwealth's Innovation Economy.  Last June, funded projects ranged from creating standards for testing robotic systems to detecting financial fraud in large-scale securities data to developing new skin cancer imaging technologies.  The President's Office has funded $8.3M in the program since 2004, and has attracted over $200M in state, federal and industry research funds to UMass. 

UMass President awards $750,000 for Innovative Faculty Research 2012

Licensing Income was Strong for Q1, FY2012

The University had a strong first quarter in terms of income generated from the commercialization of academic research, reporting $19.7M of earnings.  The major income was from Mass Biologics at the Medical School, with other major income generators coming from Amherst (Anellotech, a biofuels start-up), and from Worcester (Sunovian, formerly Sepracor, for work in the development of Clarinex).  FY 2012 earnings were $53.9 million, marking the second best earnings year in the history of the University.  It was the fourth best year for faculty members disclosing new discoveries...the second best year for the number of patents issued...and the best ever in startup-company creation.

CVIP Technology Development Fund Opens

CVIP recently launched the 10th annual CVIP Tech Development Fund.  The purpose of the fund is to assist faculty in conducting work that leads to the commercialization of their technologies.  The $200K fund supports grants at $25K each.  Previous grants have helped develop technology that led to new startups such as Anellotech (Amherst), Reflectance Medical (Worcester), and Dartmouth Medical Research (Lowell), and licenses with existing companies (such as Boston Scientific).  Earlier this year, UMass President Caret announced $225,000 grants to UMass researchers for investment in new technologies through the fund.  Applications are due Jan. 15, 2013, and awards will be announced in March.

Read the entire CVIP Memo

UMB Venture Development Center Funding News

The UMass Boston Venture Development Center (VDC) has raised a total of $36 million in the past two years.  Examples include Pressure BioSciences Inc.'s $1.7 million round, while 4s3 Bioscience is scheduled to graduate from the incubator with a $20 million Series A round in hand.  A third promising life sciences startup, enEvolv, is joining the VDC.

Stay up to date with all VDC news at UMass Boston VDC

UMass Among Top 14 in Licensing Income

The Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) recently released its official FY2011 listing of technology licensing revenue for US universities.  UMass, with over $35M in income that year, was among the top 14 universities reporting to AUTM, among the top 6 of all public universities, and in the top 2 for Massachusetts.  Among public universities, only California, Washington, Texas, Wisconsin and Utah had higher licensing incomes than UMass.  In the state, only MIT ($76M) exceeded UMass's licensing income.

Donahue Institute names new Director of Economic and Public Policy Research

Defense Technology Initiative Regional Advisory Meeting: Detailed State Reports Released

Donahue Assesses W. Mass Business & Entrepreneurship

Medical Device Design, Business Development for Entrepreneurs Course

The Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2) and MassMEDIC have joined forces to offer a course to provide aspiring entrepreneurs the necessary toolbox to bring their medical devices to market.  The course will run Tuesday evenings from Jan. 29 to March 19, 2013.  Topics include needs finding; disease state fundamentals; IP reimbursement, and regulatory affairs basics; business models; prototyping; animal trials; and financing strategies.

More Information and Registration

'Talent Pipeline' Internship Program Modeled After Boston Campus Initiative

As part of Speaker DeLeo's Economic Development Bill signed by Gov. Patrick, a $1M "talent pipeline" program for internships with local startup companies has been developed, modeled after a successful program developed by the Entrepreneurship Center at UMass Boston known as StEP, the Student Entrepreneurship Program.

Clean Energy Internship Program Expanded 

At the Global Cleantech Meet-up 2012, which was co-produced by Mass. Tech Transfer Center and Mass. Clean Energy Center and held on Oct. 16-18, Gov. Patrick announced an expansion to the clean energy internship program dedicated to connecting students throughout the Commonwealth to internships at Massachusetts-based clean energy companies.  The $1M will expand the program to include fall and spring opportunities for college students at 25-50 clean energy companies across the state.

Read more from Mass.gov

Med School STEM Program Earns A+

The Mathematics Learning Community program developed by the Regional Science Resource Center at UMass Medical School was accepted for inclusion in the STEMworks! Change the Equation database of programs that deepen young people's learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).  The resource center, a longtime collaborator with Intel Corp., provides training and support for school professionals in grades K-8.

Read more from UMass Medical's news release

Over 1,000 Attend 9th Annual STEM Summit

Over 1,000 educators, business leaders, and government officials attended the 9th Annual STEM Summit at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Thursday, Oct. 18, where Lt. Gov. Tim Murray announced $780,000 in funding to promote and advance Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education, jobs and workforce development.  In June, President Caret announced the ABLE4STEM program to double the number of STEM degrees it awards to underrepresented minorities.

More info on the STEM Summit can be found at CharlestownPatch