It is “unleashing the intellectual power of URI.” That’s how Michael McMahon, executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, described the impact of legislation passed in June that allows faculty at state schools to take an equity stake in their inventions and ideas.
It’s about time.
The more we hear about this new state law, the more frustrating it is to think that it has not been in place until just a few weeks ago. Now, researchers at our state schools have the green light to start their own companies, apply for grants – and use the money they secure as they see fit.
It is the proverbial win-win. The professors, who so choose, can tap their own entrepreneurial energies to chase the American dream.
The state wins because in all likelihood, these budding companies will be located where it is most convenient for the professor – in Rhode Island.
And the schools win because it puts them on even footing with neighboring state schools when it comes to recruiting and retaining the best and brightest from the academic ranks.
McMahon pointed out last week that schools like the University of Connecticut and University of Massachusetts have enjoyed a competitive advantage over URI on this front. He noted that the University of Connecticut, for example, has become a national leader in the use of fuel cells. And both neighboring state universities, said McMahon, have contributed significantly to their respective state’s technology sectors.
Ying Sun, a professor in URI’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is a perfect example of why this legislation is so important.
Sun, along with a doctoral student and two colleagues have developed a special clamp for neurological research. It uses digital processors to control nerve and muscle movements. It’s attracted the interest of a small company from St. Louis that has signed on to become a part of the team. Sun and the others are excited about the possibilities.
The arrangement they have developed is a good one for all sides. But under the new law, the URI researchers may not have needed the outside help – and the state may have had more to gain in the long run.
Sun and other researchers like him are destined to come up with other ideas (he currently has three patents pending on biomedical technologies).
When they do, this new law should help ensure that they have the option of spearheading their own companies, and in the process, growing jobs here.
Listen to the comments of Jeff Seemann, dean of URI’s College of the Environment and Life Sciences, who believes wholeheartedly that eliminating the prohibition on commercialization should enhance the school’s ability to attract top faculty.
“Faculty are like everyone else: they’d like to see their ideas turned into useful products, and they like to make a few dollars. This will provide an incentive for them to do that. We want to encourage this kind of entrepreneurial activity that has created economic benefits in places like Boston, North Carolina and California.”
Yes, we do. And we need to do a better job of adopting proactive laws here that will allow our talented researchers to compete on a level playing field with their counterparts in neighboring states.
We have everything to gain and nothing to lose by doing so.
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