Report on the External and Internal Research Activity of Temple University – FY2007
This report presents a summary of the internal and external research activity of each department, college/school, center/institute, and unit of Temple University. Information is provided on grant expenditures, indirect cost recovery, grant awards, number of proposals submitted, and other research-related activities.
The report provides expenditure and indirect cost recovery data by funding source (i.e., Federal, State, Private or Local) for the University as a whole, as well as for each college/school over an nine-year period (FY1999 to FY2007). Awards information is provided for the past seven-year period (FY2001 to FY2007). Expenditures and awards for FY2007 are also sorted by sponsored project functional classification and individual department.
Also included in the report is a comparison of Temple’s grant expenditures against a select group of neighboring and/or comparable urban research universities. Additionally, Temple activity is ranked and viewed from a national perspective, using NIH award data and NSF expenditure data.
The external research activities that are presented are concluded with an analysis of the activity of the Office of Clinical Trials, and a table which lists the number of proposals for external funding submitted during FY2007, by campus.
The report concludes with a summary of the projects funded by the Return of Overhead Incentive Grant Program, now beginning its seventh year. This summary includes a listing of the external grant dollars subsequently awarded to recipients as well as external grant dollars pending. In addition, a summary of the projects funded by the Tobacco Settlement Formula Funds has been included. FY2007 data demonstrates the continued success of these programs in leveraging significant external support for research at Temple University.
Commercial
Opportunities:
A new program has been initiated within the
Office of Vice President for Research to assist
Temple's research endeavors. John Aybar as
the Director of Strategic Initiatives will
coordinate the efforts and help build commercial
relationships that generate new funding sources
for research projects at both campuses. He
will capitalize on university wide strengths
of cross-disciplinary capabilities and lay
the foundation for new efforts of potential
benefit. His specific responsibilities will
include: working with faculty to identify
commercial opportunities, developing business
plans with the faculty and staff, interfacing
with companies and managing the business development
process.
You can reach John at 2-5135 or his cell
phone 610-517-7818,
E-mail: jaybar@temple.edu
Protecting
Research Results: Technology Transfer at Temple
If you invent something, which may have commercial
potential, the first question you will want
to answer is whether the invention is patentable.
Patent protection is an absolute requirement
for most inventions to be commercialized successfully.
However, please keep in mind that many unpatentable
inventions may nevertheless have great commercial
potential. It is a good idea to informally
contact our Office of Technology Transfer
(OTT) to discuss a potential invention even
in the very early stages of research. Submission
of an invention disclosure to OTT establishes
a claim to inventorship and should be made
as early on as possible. The invention disclosure
requires detailed information, which will
serve as the basis for an evaluation of the
patentability and of the commercial potential
of the invention. The more accurate and complete
the invention disclosure, the better OTT will
be equipped to proceed quickly.
Based on the preliminary assessment, OTT will
make a decision either: (a) not to pursue
the commercialization of the invention, in
which case Temple formally releases the invention
to the inventors to do as they wish, or (b)
to investigate further the market potential
and the patentability of the invention. In
the latter case, the Invention disclosure
is forwarded by OTT to an outside patent attorney,
while OTT pursues further marketing analysis.
Before preparing the patent application, the
patent attorney will give OTT an opinion of
the likelihood that patent protection can
be obtained. If OTT makes a decision to file
the patent application, our staff coordinates
the contacts between the inventor and the
patent attorney.
An inventor should keep in mind that a publication
or even just an oral presentation of any kind
prior to the filing of a patent application
might jeopardize patent protection. Dissertations
are considered publications when made available
to the public, typically when listed in the
institution's library catalog. The text of
a proposal funded by a federal agency constitutes
a publication unless steps were taken to preserve
the confidentiality of specific information
contained in the proposal. Determination of
what constitutes a publication may not always
be a simple matter. For example, the abstract
of a talk to be presented at a future meeting
may or may not constitute a publication. Divulging
the invention to a third party (perhaps a
potential licensee) without a prior confidentiality
agreement can also be a bar to patentability.
The need to disseminate and discuss research
results in the scientific community demands
that publication not be unduly delayed. OTT
assists inventors in facilitating the compromises
required to meet these two conflicting demands.
For additional information on Technology Transfer
at Temple please visit us at www.patents.temple.edu
or contact our office directly at 215-204-5732.
