Purdue Innovates helps secure its place as the only university, once again, on the list of brands driving positive social change
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – For the third year in a row, Purdue University is the only university that Fast Company magazine has named to its list of “Brands That Matter,” an annual list honoring organizations that fulfill the mission and ideals of their brand with intention and authenticity. Purdue shares this space with brands like the NFL, Bombas and Rare Beauty and is one of only six three-time winners.
Fast Company received more than 1,100 nominations for its 2023 list, ultimately selecting one list of 165 brands for “achieving relevance through cultural impact and social engagement.” This year, Purdue’s application was presented Purdue innovatesthe university’s internal pipeline for technology commercialization, intellectual property protection and business creation.
Last year’s entry focused on Purdue’s performance in its 21st century land-grant mission, including frozen tuition fees, Purdue Global and the Purdue Polytechnic High Schools. Purdue Recognition 2021 focused on Purdue’s ability to provide a high-value education with initiatives such as The data mineexceeding undergraduate enrollment goals and increasing student success – all while uniting in a shared commitment to protection through the Protect Purdue COVID-19 campaign.
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Purdue Innovates comes full circle on Purdue’s claims to solve real-world problems by giving researchers the tools to move their work from the lab to the world, without learning the ins and outs of commercialization. This agile system takes advantage of a rich academic ecosystem while ensuring that every innovative idea has a chance to make a difference in its field.
“I want to thank the editors and judges of Fast Company who once again selected Purdue University as a significant brand, the only university on the list this year and every year since the honor’s inception,” said R. Ethan Braden, executive vice president. and Director of Marketing and Communications for Purdue University and Purdue Global. “And I want to congratulate everyone at Purdue for contributing to a culture where the perseverance to make a real difference together is at the center of what we do, every day.”
Fast Company says this year Education Winners, a category that Purdue shares with Sesame Workshop and Quizlet, deserve recognition for their “commitment to education.” Fast Company’s selection cites Purdue Innovates as an initiative that “encourages students and faculty to explore and create,” making some of the university’s most groundbreaking research possible.
On 800 patent applications have been filed and 262 patents have been issued for innovations born at Purdue so far in fiscal year 2023. In the same time frame, 14 startups have launched through Purdue Innovates, and the Trask Innovation Fund has granted seven awards to support short-term projects enhancing the value of ongoing Purdue projects.
During calendar year 2022, the Purdue Research Foundation was ranked fourth among American universities, ahead of Stanford and Harvard, for patents received from the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Excellence at scale – and outside the ivory tower
Purdue Innovates finds efficiency in providing experts in patents, licensing, product marketing and business law to researchers so they can focus on science and education. Purdue experts have streamlined the patent application, licensing and business formation process, removing common barriers to commercialization for university projects.
In addition to demonstrating excellence in laboratory-to-market technology transfer, Purdue University remains a leading producer of shared knowledge in the form of academic and teaching publications, as evidenced by its continued and renewed status as a university. R1 research establishment and membership in Association of American Universities.
“I am very proud of this recognition. Rather, Purdue is committed to delivering results that matter,” said Brooke Beier, senior vice president of commercialization at Purdue Innovates. “This honor is a well-deserved nod to the passionate, entrepreneurial-minded faculty, staff, students, alumni and partners empowered by the Purdue ecosystem to bring game-changing technologies to market. world.”
Based at a public university, the Purdue Innovates team focuses on impact rather than profit.
For example, a malaria treatment developed by Purdue biochemist Philip Low, could be produced for as little as $1 per pill, thanks to manufacturing partners in India and Vietnam. Results from a phase 2 clinical trial in 2021 showed the drug was nearly 100% effective in overcoming the disease in just three days. Meanwhile, Low continues other drug development projectsincluding prostate cancer diagnostics and FDA-approved lung cancer treatments.
In another case, materials engineer Rahim Rahimi developed and advanced a flexible microneedle array capable of providing the oxygen and bactericidal agents needed for non-healing wounds, which affect more than 5 million people in the United States and are a leading cause of limb amputations. Last year, the innovation was one of the first recipients of the Proof of Concept Fund, receiving more than $89,000 to help bring it to commercial use.
Other world-changing projects currently supported by Purdue Innovates include:
- Smart contacts, which monitor glaucoma better than current standards without consulting a doctor and with the same comfort as a standard contact lens.
- Food fraud prevention at the atomic level: detection of ingredients, preparation and even the point of origin of a food sample.
- Polymer films used to make wearable biometric sensors which are flexible and breathable for long periods of time.
- HADAR: machine vision that sees texture and depth beyond traditional thermal imaging, essential for autonomous vehicles or robotics.
In addition to Fast Company’s “Brands That Matter” honor, Purdue was recognized as a top 10 most innovative universities for six consecutive years by US News & World Report. As number 4 in the country most trusted public universityaccording to Morning Consult, Purdue has frozen tuition for 12 consecutive years, a move that will have saved Purdue families $1 billion by the end of the year. In July,
Purdue was named No. 3 most recognized American public universities (and No. 10 in the world), ahead of institutions like Yale University, Cambridge University and UCLA.
The fall issue of Fast Company magazine, including the Complete list of 2023 Brands That Matter, is available online now and will be on newsstands from October 10.
About Purdue University
Purdue University is a public research institution with excellence on a grand scale. Ranked among the top 10 public universities and with two top-4 colleges in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with unparalleled quality and scale. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue in all formats and locations, including 50,000 in-person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 12 years in a row. Learn how Purdue never stops in its persistent pursuit of the next giant leap, including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business and Purdue Computes, in https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.
About Purdue Innovates
Purdue innovates is a unified network of the Purdue Research Foundation to assist Purdue faculty, staff, students and alumni in commercializing intellectual property or creating startups. As a conduit to technology commercialization, intellectual property protection and licensing, startup creation and venture capital, Purdue Innovates serves as a gateway to translating new ideas into world-changing impact. world.
For more information about licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at otcip@prf.org. For more information about involvement and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact Purdue Innovates at purdueinnovates@prf.org.
Writer/media contact: Christy McCarter, mccarter@purdue.edu@ChristyMcCarter
Sources: Brooke Beier, Ethan Braden
