ROLLA, Mo. — The Missouri University of Science and Technology has received a substantial check for royalties on technology patents, along with a sizable grant to benefit women in STEM programs.
The first was a record-breaking sum of $966,235 in royalty income from Missouri S&T’s Technology and Economic Development department’s seven new patents awarded from 36 applications. This amounted to a 38% increase in royalty income over the last fiscal year.
Out of the 29 other applications not yet accepted, the university received 24 invention disclosures, which is the intermediate step to gaining a patent.
“According to recent data available from the Association of University Technology Managers, Missouri S&T has outperformed many of its peer universities in total number of invention disclosures, number of disclosures per research expenditures, licensing revenue, and royalty per invention disclosure,” Dr. Kamal Khayat, interim vice chancellor for research and innovation, said in a news release.
For more information about the university’s Technology and Economic Development department, visit ecodevo.mst.edu.
In addition to their royalty income, Missouri S&T received a $1 million grant to attract and retain women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) from the National Science Foundation. The project will be led by Dr. Jessica Cundiff and will aim to attract and retain women both as professors and students over the next three years.
Missouri S&T’s students and their professors are both predominantly male by a wide margin. Only about 23% of Missouri S&T’s 7,200 students are women.
“Increasing the representation of women faculty at Missouri S&T has the potential to transform what it means to become an engineer to citizens in the region and make Missouri S&T a true destination of choice for all,” Cundiff said in a news release.
The school hopes to increase opportunities for women by improving campus culture, opening up more resources for women and creating a provost position to help voice faculty concerns.
“I applaud Dr. Cundiff and the entire team for securing this important and highly competitive grant,” said Missouri S&T Chancellor Mo Dehghani in a news release. “These initiatives will greatly enhance our efforts to recruit more women into our faculty and leadership ranks, retain more women in these positions, and provide greater opportunities for their professional advancement as well as that of the university. This in turn will support our efforts to make S&T a true destination of choice.”
