Commercialization of innovations from the University of Colorado Boulder has had an $8 billion impact on the U.S. economy and a $5.2 billion impact on the Colorado economy — and the university doesn’t plan to slow down anytime soon.
Massimo Ruzzene, vice chancellor for research and innovation and dean of the institutes at CU Boulder, delivered a speech on the state of research at the university on Monday.
“I’m really excited about where we are, but more importantly I’m really excited about where we’re headed as an institution,” Ruzzene said.
His address kicked off Research and Innovation Week at CU Boulder, as the university will host public events showcasing research happening on campus.
CU Boulder has $684 million in total research funding for 2023. Federal agencies supply $486 million of that research, which comes from organizations including NASA, National Science Foundation, and National Institutes of Health.
Additionally, CU Boulder has seen a decade of sustained growth in research funding. In 2014, CU Boulder had $412 million in total funding with steady growth continuing each year.
The National Academy of Inventors ranked the CU system no. 14 for recent patents nationwide. The system ranked no. 5 in the nation for startup creation, and in fiscal year 2021, CU launched 25 startups, a record high.
In 2022, Venture Partners executed 87 license and option agreements partnering CU Boulder technologies with commercial businesses. Additionally, there are more than 60 entrepreneurial courses offered across campus and there are more than 900 CU Boulder startups that have participated in the New Venture Challenge.
In discussing the impact of CU Boulder research, Ruzzene mentioned a Longmont-based company that makes sustainable building materials co-founded by CU Boulder scientists and engineers.
The company is called Prometheus Materials and creates sustainable building materials to replace cement by harnessing microalgae as a zero-carbon alternative.
Ruzzene said such success from CU Boulder researchers helps build a culture of innovation on campus which creates numerous benefits.
“Their success is our success,” Ruzzene said.
For example, he said graduate and postdoctoral student success promotes the reputation of the institution and program. Undergraduate research boosts student success by enhancing student learning, increasing retention and graduation rates, increasing enrollment in graduate education and develops critical thinking skills.
Ruzzene said CU Boulder is a lead public university recipient of NASA funding, a top-ranked university in geosciences and in the top 3% worldwide for scholarly research citations.
In arts and humanities, Ruzzene said, CU Boulder seeks to be a leader in research excellence in terms of endowments and fellowships.
CU Boulder has a new dedicated arts and humanities grant program that launched this year and provided $100,000 to fund 19 projects in July in areas including music, history, journalism, theater and dance.
Moving forward, Ruzzene said the university continues to look for new partnerships to drive new innovations. One example is finding opportunities to expand national security research through CU Boulder’s Center for National Security Initiatives.
There are eight full-time researchers at NSI building independent teams, and the university is progressing toward having a secure facility for research in the classified space.
Ruzzene said the university’s goal is to continue to grow core facilities and advanced computing capabilities. It’s also looking to continue its strong ties with national labs and pursue opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.
In sustainability efforts, CU Boulder looks to be a leader in the research space of climate technology, social justice and the energy transition, Ruzzene said.
“What we do needs to matter, it needs to be important and it needs to have a positive impact,” Ruzzene said.
