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Universities and COEs/CATs say continued funding and revised IP frameworks accelerate commercialization
Summary
University witnesses said Centers for Advanced Technology (CATs) and Centers of Excellence (COEs) deliver strong returns and urged restored/increased funding; they described new interinstitutional IP agreements and pilot licensing models to get research into industry hands faster.
Multiple university witnesses and industry partners told the committee that state‑funded research hubs — Centers for Advanced Technology (CATs) and Centers of Excellence (COEs) — produce high returns on investment and serve as the pipeline between research and manufacturing. They urged increased, sustained funding and described new approaches to intellectual property (IP) and licensing to accelerate commercialization.
Duncan Brown of Syracuse University and others summarized the centers’ outputs: applied research, student training, demonstration projects in under‑resourced communities and commercialization support. Panelists described models that provide non‑exclusive, royalty‑free research licenses for collaboration while exploring upfront‑funded IP options where companies pay a fixed fee and secure licensing and commercialization rights immediately (an Ohio State‑style model referenced as an example). The Tech Hub and interinstitutional IP frameworks were presented as pilots to test faster transfer paths.
University witnesses said modest state investments — for example the New York FIRST recruitment program and targeted COE seed funding — can leverage substantial federal and private dollars when timed to recruit high‑profile investigators or to fund translational labs. Witnesses asked lawmakers to restore and increase core CAT/COE operating dollars (historically ~$1,000,000 per center) to keep the centers effective.
Why it matters: State policy choices on CAT/COE funding and IP frameworks shape whether academic discoveries become local companies and jobs, or leave the state. Lawmakers heard that relatively small increases in operating support can enable activity that attracts federal grants and private investment.
What’s next: University representatives will provide follow‑up details on IP pilots and center‑by‑center performance metrics; several members indicated interest in targeted increases to COE/CAT budgets and in preserving a broad network rather than consolidation.
