Staff Picks

"Every year, American universities spend millions of dollars patenting inventions developed on their campuses. Big names such as Stanford and the University of California system lead the pack in patent activity, but hundreds of other universities are also trying to strike gold by monetizing intellectual property. The idea is simple: By investing in patents and selling or licensing them to industry, the university will profit. But in practice, this strategy rarely pays off." (gms)

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"New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine made history in 2018 when it became the first top-ranked medical program to offer full-tuition scholarships to all students, regardless of need or merit.  The number of applicants, predictably, spiked in the year that followed. But then, the share of incoming students considered “financially disadvantaged” sank to 3% in 2019, down from 12% in 2017, reports showed.  “Tuition-free schools can actually increase inequity,” said Jamie Beaton, co-founder and CEO of Crimson Education, a college consulting firm.  “Tuition-free colleges experience surges in application numbers, dramatically boosting the competitive intensity of the admissions process,” he said. “This in turn can skew admissions towards middle- or higher-income applicants who may be able to access more effective admissions resources, such as tutoring or extracurriculars.”" MLH

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"Successful entrepreneurs know how to thrive amid uncertainty. They pare down to the essentials. They lean into change. And they solve problems by sidestepping traditional constraints. With that in mind, we asked four entrepreneurs in residence at the Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship at MIT for advice on managing risk, harnessing artificial intelligence, and launching during uncertain times. "

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" AI “agents” are coming, whether we are ready or not. While there is much uncertainty about when AI models will be able to interact autonomously with digital platforms, other AI tools, and even humans, there can be little doubt that this development will be transformative – for better or worse. Yet despite all the commentary (and hype) around agentic AI, many big questions remain unaddressed, the biggest being which type of AI agent the tech industry is seeking to develop?" MLH

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"Since the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in occupied office space in metropolitan downtowns have varied widely across the United States. This variation in the change in occupied office space across downtowns could be due to variation in the composition of employment or the desirability of working in specific downtowns. Some occupations are better suited to remote work than others, and some industries have embraced remote work more enthusiastically than others. In addition, some downtowns may be less desirable places to work due to a wide range of factors, such as the availability of public transit, parking, walkable amenities, public safety, or the quality of existing office buildings. Using detailed data on leased office space, Jordan Rappaport documents that changes in occupied office space since the pandemic have varied widely across both downtowns and neighborhoods within the same downtown. Using detailed data on the composition of employment, he finds that variations in occupation and industry can account for only a modest share of the variation in the change in occupied office space across and within downtowns. Instead, most of the variation is likely attributable to other characteristics that make some downtowns more desirable places to work than others." MLH

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"These findings, from Gallup’s annual Environment poll conducted March 3-16, come as big technology companies, including Google, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon, have joined large financial institutions in pledging to greatly increase nuclear power. With artificial intelligence data centers on the rise, tech companies are finding that their energy needs will exceed what is available from other energy sources." -CAN

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"Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) constitute an integral part of the US economy, driving job creation and economic growth. They account for approximately half of private-sector employment and play a crucial role in fostering competition, all the while supporting local communities. Yet, little if any research has focused on how SMB decision-makers think about the economy and how policy changes could affect their decisions. We use a survey of SMB decision-makers that we developed to foray into such research." MLH

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"Germany will get a new “super–high-tech ministry” responsible for research, technology, and aerospace, according to the coalition agreement published by the incoming government this week."

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"2025 FLC National Meeting Now Virtual and Free to Attend The updated schedule is available here (subject to updates). REGISTER NOW! To better serve our federal tech transfer community, the 2025 FLC National Meeting is moving to a virtual format. This change is in response to the February 26 Executive Order and its impact on travel and spending. The virtual event will kick off on May 13, and feature several courses and sessions each week through June 5.  The updated schedule is available soon. If you have questions, please contact us at info@federallabs.org. "

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"Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology has announced a transformative $10 million gift from alumnus Niles Noblitt and his wife, Nancy, to establish the Noblitt Entrepreneurship Program (NEP), a newly endowed initiative focused on fostering innovation, entrepreneurship, and business-focused opportunities for students. The announcement was made during the college’s annual Sawmill Society weekend, a gathering of entrepreneurial alumni and students who network and mentor while learning more about the next generation of innovators at Rose-Hulman."

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"housands of workers have been laid off at the Department of Health and Human Services and now we can include in that the dismantling of HHS' Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. The entire OSDBU staff has been forced out by the agency, except for executive director Shannon Jackson."

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"There’s a lot of brain power in Michigan’s research universities. And there’s even more when they put their heads together.  Three of them — Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University in Detroit — have been collaborating since 2006 in an economic development effort called the University Research Corridor (URC). Now, that research corridor has expanded into the U.P., with the recent addition of Michigan Technological University. "

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"The most common roles that US quantum technology companies are trying to fill range from highly specific, like quantum algorithm developer and error-correction specialist, to much more general, like roles in business, software, and hardware, according to a 2020 survey of 57 US quantum companies by the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C). Many of the position skills that the surveyed companies listed as necessary were general STEM skills rather than quantum skills. For example, an engineer in quantum control systems must be proficient at circuit and systems testing, control theory, noise measurement, and analysis, none of which are quantum specific. Not surprisingly, jobs that are more closely related to quantum technology necessitate more quantum-specific skills. An error-correction scientist requires knowledge in quantum algorithm development, quantum science, and theoretical mathematics and statistics."

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"If congressional Republicans go through with some of the deep Medicaid cuts they are considering, three states would be left in an especially tight bind. MLH South Dakota, Missouri and Oklahoma have state constitutions requiring that they participate in Medicaid expansion, the part of Obamacare that expanded the health program for the poor to millions of adults. If Republicans choose to make the projected budget reductions by cutting into Medicaid expansion, the other 37 states (and D.C.) that participate in the expansion could stop covering working-class adults. Nine states have laws explicitly requiring them to stop Medicaid expansion or make significant changes if the federal share of spending drops."

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"With artificial intelligence no longer the stuff of science fiction, its benefits and risks are being debated by everyone from casual observers to scholars. A new Pew Research Center report examines the views of two key groups: the American public and experts in the field of AI. These surveys reveal both deep divides and common ground on AI. AI experts are far more positive than the public about AI’s potential, including on jobs. Yet both groups want more personal control of AI and worry about lax government oversight. Still, opinions among experts vary, with men more optimistic about AI than women."

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"The multi-billion-dollar project is slated to develop a long-vacant former steel mill site, with the potential for thousands of jobs. But residents fear further contamination and displacement in a community that’s experienced chronic disinvestment." --CAN

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"If a job is about more than the title or even the pay—but also a chance to find a deeper meaning and sense of purpose—the honorees in the inaugural class of most innovative companies in economic development are chasing a similar ideal, just on a larger scale. These accelerators, city agencies, and public-private partnerships are working to cultivate innovation economies in their regions—and in a sector that often (and understandably) focuses on the headline numbers—jobs created, dollars invested—these honorees did more than just stoke the economic engine; they afforded spaces for new narratives and creative communities." MLH

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"Researchers and tech companies are in a global race to develop quantum computers that can solve hard scientific problems that conventional computers can't, and that they hope can eventually support advances in areas like drug discovery, AI, and cryptography. To learn more about quantum computing and progress in the field, writer Sara Frueh chatted with Mark Horowitz, professor of electrical engineering and computer science and Yahoo! Founders Professor in the School of Engineering at Stanford University. Horowitz chaired a 2019 National Academies report on quantum computing." MLH

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"  While the top minds in artificial intelligence are racing to make the technology think more like humans, researchers at Elon University have asked the opposite question: How will AI change the way humans think? The answer comes with a grim warning: Many tech experts worry that AI will make people worse at skills core to being human, such as empathy and deep thinking. “I fear — for the time being — that while there will be a growing minority benefitting ever more significantly with these tools, most people will continue to give up agency, creativity, decision-making and other vital skills to these still-primitive AIs,” futurist John Smart wrote in an essay submitted for the university’s nearly 300-page report, titled “The Future of Being Human,” which was provided exclusively to CNN ahead of its publication Wednesday." MLH

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"The EU is looking to train more professionals in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines to spur new technologies and drive economic growth, but some of the deficit in advanced skills would have to come from abroad, experts say. The European Commission says the EU needs an additional two million professionals in science and engineering. Its new STEM Education Strategic Plan could help plug that gap by encouraging member states to anchor STEM disciplines in national education policy, increase the number of STEM students, and also attract research talent from abroad. Robert-Jan Smits, outgoing president of the executive board at the Technical University of Eindhoven (TU/e) is happy to hear that the Commission is finally acting on this issue. The STEM skills gap hinders innovation in Europe, he told Science|Business, and universities like the TU/e are doing their best to train new STEM students, but it’s very difficult to keep up with the demand. “Even if we would double the numbers of our graduates, it would still not be enough,” he said. " MLH

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