
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 1, 1994                   TAG: 9406010049
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By TED KOHN
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

VIRGINIA TECH INVENTS THE ENGINES FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH

I WAS pleased to read the May 20 editorial (``From Tech, a test that's good for you''). It's always gratifying to see Virginia Tech get recognition for scientific accomplishments and contributions to the economic development of the area.

However, in reading the editorial in light of my background and involvement in this type of activity, it struck me that it represented, at most, the tip of a large iceberg. And as the bridge crew of the Titanic proved, I believe that a better feeling for the size of the berg may be quite useful to your readers. Therefore, I'd like to discuss in somewhat greater detail what's being done at Tech in this area, as well as contributions made by several groups to this success story.

The process for commercially usable discoveries and inventions consists of essentially the following steps:

Identification and evaluation of promising technology (invention disclosures).

Legal protection of intellectual properties (patenting, copyrights).

Commercial development of technology (marketing, licensing, new companies, etc.).

At Tech, primary responsibility for this process rests with Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc., a nonprofit corporation affiliated with the university. VTIP works in close cooperation with the Center for Innovative Technology. Both organizations evaluate all invention disclosures, and one or the other then takes the lead in patenting and development of a given disclosure.

When a technology is suitable for a small or new company in this area, both VTIP and CIT work with the Virginia Tech Business/Technology Center, which brings together entrepreneurs, technical and management personnel, and start-up capital to assist the company, and the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, which can supply the physical home for the new company in a central location close to, but separate from, the university campus and its facilities. This combination of facilitating organizations provides a nurturing environment in which new companies can get started.

At last count, in addition to Dominion Biosciences, Inc., 17 small companies in the Blacksburg area have been established based in whole, or in part, on Tech-originated technologies. Of these, seven are licensed by CIT and 10 by VTIP. Dominion is availing itself of both since it is licensing the cockroach technology from VTIP. One of these companies (VTLS Inc.) is nearing the 100-employee mark at its headquarters in the Corporate Research Center, and has offices in other states and overseas. Several others have the potential of becoming engines of economic growth in this area.

It may be of interest to put into perspective the degree of utilization of Tech's inventions and discoveries:

VTIP receives an average of 80 invention disclosures a year. Based on the dollar amount of research at the university, this is approximately one disclosure per $1.5 million. This ratio puts us in the country's top five major research universities. (MIT is No. 1 with one disclosure per $1 million of research.)

Tech inventions have, thus far, generated a portfolio of 101 U.S. patents. In the past few years, we've added to this portfolio at a rate of about 20 patents a year. This consistently ranks us in the top 20 to 25 universities in the country, well above our ranking in research budgets.

Sixty-two Tech technologies are currently licensed, and ongoing activities promise steady growth of this number.

VTIP revenues from these technologies currently exceed $600,000 a year, are projected to grow at an annual rate of 10 percent to 20 percent, and have more than covered costs of managing the technologies in the past few years.

All in all, this hardly reflects a ``potential greatly underutilized at Tech.'' While full utilization is a worthy goal, efforts and accomplishments of Tech researchers and the commercial results are something of which the whole Tech family can be proud.

It may be worth noting that time and effort, which faculty members put into the research generating these inventions and into helping bring them to commercial fruition, are often unrecognized portions of the more than 55-hour work week of the average university professor.

Ted Kohn is director of Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc., in Blacksburg.

by CNB