University of Wisconsin-Madison helps connect innovators with opportunity

University of Wisconsin-Madison helps connect innovators with opportunity

By Teree Caruthers, Business Climate

Ranked sixth in the nation among universities for research and development expenditures, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is a powerful economic engine in the region and across the state. The university’s research programs are credited with fostering 362 startup companies, which support nearly 25,000 jobs and contribute more than $2.3 billion to the state economy each year.

“The research dollars that our faculty bring home to Wisconsin have a significant regional economic impact,” says Marsha Mailick, University of Wisconsin-Madison vice chancellor for research and graduate education. “These dollars pay for salaries, which are reinvested in the local economy, as well as services and supplies provided by Wisconsin companies, creating even more jobs and revenue.”

Mailick says investments in faculty and staff have been vital to the university’s successful research and development efforts.

“Nineteen Nobel Prizes have been awarded to UW faculty and alumni. That’s why we continue to invest in our faculty, staff and students. It’s our people that are our most critical resource for maintaining our position as a top research university,” she says.

The value of the research is also reflected in innovative startup companies and new technologies. The Discovery to Product’s Igniter Fund program is designed to bring technologies developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to market. University Research Park offers state-of-the-art facilities where researchers can turn ideas into viable businesses. The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) – ranked seventh worldwide in 2015 for the number of new patents – covers the costs of patenting and licensing that enable university researchers to commercialize their discoveries. Read more …