During the 2002-2003 fiscal year, Case Western Reserve University's College of Arts and Sciences and Case School of Engineering produced more than twice the expected number of invention disclosures-and they are on track to do so again this year.

The Case School of Engineering's and College of Arts and Sciences' invention disclosures, which are a standard measure of faculty involvement in technology transfer, are up more than 23 percent so far in 2003-2004, compared with the same period last year.

Based on statistics from the Association of University Technology Managers and research expenditures at the College of Arts and Sciences and Case School of Engineering, the university should expect to produce 20 to 25 invention disclosures each year from the two schools. Last year the schools produced more than twice that number, and so far this fiscal year they have produced 35.

"I continue to be delighted with the pace of activity in the Case School of Engineering and College of Arts and Sciences," said Nick Frollini, director of engineering and physical sciences for the tech transfer office. "We are seeing positive growth in all key areas, and the level of invention disclosures is well above what we would expect to see based on national averages. Clearly our researchers are performing at the highest levels."

Partially as a result of this increased participation by faculty, the tech transfer team already has closed more transactions in the first five months of this year (eight) than they did for the entire previous fiscal year. Two of the new deals include the university taking an equity position in early-stage companies in the region.

In addition, revenue from new transactions for the first half of the year for these two schools has already exceeded $400,000-which represents a 33 percent increase over the entire past fiscal year.

Return to the online edition of the 12-11-03 Campus News.