Michael
D. McKinney, M.D.
One of the most gratifying things about visiting different A&M System universities and agencies these past few months has been learning about the breadth and scope of research being conducted across the state.
Meeting with researchers and seeing their work firsthand has reminded me that the A&M System touches the lives of countless Texans, even in ways that are not immediately apparent. Serving Texans has always been at the heart of our land-grant mission.
Since 1980, when Congress passed the Bayh-Dole Act that allows universities to patent discoveries made through government-funded research, universities have increasingly focused on the transfer of research to the marketplace. Today, this effort nationwide adds more than $40 billion to the country's economy each year and supports more than a quarter of a million jobs through product licensing.
The A&M System is a relative newcomer to this effort. An office for technology licensing was created at Texas A&M in 1992 and was moved to the System level in late 2005, where it expanded its scope of services to include the formation of start-up companies around technologies developed by A&M System researchers.
In keeping with the spirit of innovation found across the A&M System, we have quickly become a major player in the national arena. The Office of Technology Commercialization has processed more than 2,600 inventions created by A&M System faculty and staff, which have generated revenues exceeding $60 million related to intellectual property rights.
The Office of Technology Commercialization ranks among the top 10 technology transfer offices in the United States in the number of licenses executed annually with small businesses.
This is a remarkable indicator of success.
Our future is bright. Governor Rick Perry is interested in technology, and so are Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst and Speaker of the House Tom Craddick. The Emerging Technology Fund and the Regional Centers for Innovation and Commercialization that they have created will help push our state and the A&M System to the forefront in technology.
We in the A&M System have some of the country's most talented and skilled scientists, statisticians and physicians. I am committed to nurturing this spirit of innovation throughout our universities and agencies.
While it is clear that we have the potential to move to the forefront in these exciting new endeavors, we must remember that out of 1,000 business plans, perhaps 100 will have enough merit to justify financial backing. And out of these 100, only one or two, given luck and good timing, will ever find success in the marketplace.
As David Packard, a co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, once said, the driving force for the development of new products is not technology, and not money, but the imagination of people.
We are blessed with an abundance of imagination in the A&M System, which makes me confident that we can increase our odds for success by continuing to support our scientists and researchers.
