Research Universities as
Center for Transfer of
Technology
Jasmina Vujic
Professor and Chair
Department of Nuclear Engineering
University of California at Berkeley, USA
April 3, 2009
• Research universities in the U.S. have distinctive
mission to serve society as:
– centers of higher education, including undergraduate,
graduate and professional education,
– to discover new knowledge though advanced
research,
– to be an active working repository of organized
knowledge, and
– to provide long-term societal benefits through
transmitting advanced knowledge to broader
community.
• Using the University of California at
Berkeley (one of the best public research
universities in the World) as an example,
this talk gives a short overview of:
– how the advanced research is organized and
conducted,
– how it is incorporated into the curriculum, and
– how the transfer of new knowledge to industry
and general society works.
Campus Demographic & Resource Highlights 2008-09
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UC Berkeley established in 1868
Students
– ~24,636 Undergraduates (CoE 2,687)
– ~10,317 Graduates (COE 1,673)
Degrees granted in 2007-08
– B.S. 6,960; M.S. and professional 2,406
– Ph.D. 865
Faculty/Staff
– ~2,028 Faculty (CoE 237)
– ~18,500 Staff
Faculty Honors
– Nobel Laureates 7, NAS 128, NAE 84 (total of 20 Nobel Prize winners)
Space
– 1,232 Acres ,180 acres in core campus
Finances
– FY2008 Expenditures of ~$1.8b; July 2008 Endowment Value of ~$3 billion
Organization
– UC Berkeley is divided into 14 colleges and schools, and some 300
departments and programs
• ALUMNI
– Living alumni: 431,500 (January 2009)
– Nobel Prizes won by alumni: 24
– Famous alumni:
• Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computers
• Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google
• Jack London, novelist
• Andrew Grove and Gordon Moore, co-founders of Intel
• Gregory Peck, actor
• Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense, 1961-1968
• Steve Chu, Nobel Laureate, current Secretary of Energy
• Stephen Bechtel, President of Bechtel Company
• Pete Wilson, Governor of California, 1991-1999
Peer Comparisons
UC Berkeley’s primary peer group is comprised of
private and elite research universities
National Research Council Rankings of
Graduate Programs
The Times Higher Education Supplement
World University Rankings
(Based on 3-year Average, 2004-06)
Top Universities
Number of Departments in the Top 10
1. University of California, Berkeley
33
1. Harvard University
2. Stanford
31
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3. Harvard
26
3. Cambridge University
4. Princeton
22
4. Oxford University
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
20
5. University of California, Berkeley
6. Cornell
19
6. Stanford University
6. Yale
19
National Rankings for Engineering Programs
U.S. News & World Report
2009 Top Graduate (4/08)
2009 Top Undergraduate
1
MIT
1
MIT
2
Stanford
2
UC Berkeley
3
UC Berkeley
2
Stanford
4
Georgia Tech
4
Georgia Tech
5
Univ. of Illinois, U.C.
4
Univ. of Illinois, U.C.
6
Cal Tech
4
Cal Tech
7
Carnegie Mellon
7
Univ. of Michigan, A.A.
8
USC
8
Cornell
9
Cornell
9
Carnegie Mellon
10
Univ. of Michigan, A.A.
9
Purdue
Currently, State funding represents
less than 1/3 of total campus revenue
Gifts and
Endowment Payout
10%
Auxilliary
8%
Research (dir.&indir.)
28%
State Appropriations
31%
Student Fees
23%
UC Berkeley College of Engineering
• Department of Bioengineering
• Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer
Science
• Department of Industrial Engineering and Operational
Research
• Department of Material Science and Engineering
• Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Department of Nuclear Engineering
• Program in Engineering Science (Engineering Physics,
Applied Math&Statistics, Computational Engineering
Science)
College of Engineering Sources & Uses of Funds
Uses
Sources
Total: $185.6 million
(FY2005-06)
Private tuition and fees have increased more rapidly
than UC fees
Mandatory Undergraduate Tuition and Fees
Adjusted for Inflation (FY2006)
35000
30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
Berkeley
Harvard
Stanford
MIT
Yale
Princeton
2006-07
2005-06
2004-05
2003-04
2002-03
2001-02
2000-01
1999-00
1998-99
1997-98
1996-97
1995-96
1994-95
1993-94
1992-93
1991-92
1990-91
1989-90
1988-89
1987-88
1986-87
1985-86
5000
0
Average undergraduate student budget 2009-2010
Living on campus
Living off campus
Living at home
$9,748
$9,748
$9,748
Housing, food and $15,308
utilities
$10,036
$4,278
Books and
supplies
$1,306
$1,306
$1,306
Personal
expenses
$1,336
$1,474
$1,856
Transportation
$614
$1,030
$1,946
TOTAL
$28,313
$23,594
$19,134
Registration and
fees
Mission:
Educating Leaders, Creating Knowledge, Serving Society
Excellence
• Undergraduate programs ranked No. 2
• Graduate programs ranked No. 3
-- U.S. News
Access
• 65% of Cal’s undergrads are 1st or
2nd generation Americans
• More Pell grants than all Ivy Leagues
combined
• Nation’s top producer of female
PhD’s in science, engineering
Aspiration:
The Best Engineering School Worldwide,
Public or Private
 as measured by impact,
 which depends on assets:
1. Competitive edge in recruiting &
retaining top faculty
2. The best opportunities for our
students
3. Programs & facilities to foster
innovation
Berkeley Engineering is more selective than ever
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
Applications
Admissions
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Freshman Applications and Offers of Admission
Demand is up across all departments
3,500
3,000
2,500
BIO
CEE
2,000
EECS
IEOR
1,500
MSE
ME
1,000
NE
UNDECL
EngSci
500
0
Applications by Department
UC Berkeley Research Summary
Research in 2007
Research funding
$504.2 million
- federal, state and public sources
75%
- non-profit sources
19%
- private sector
6%
Total number of inventions
1,931
Active license agreements
248
Active patents
532 U.S. patents, 385 foreign patents
Who funds R&D in the USA
• Federal institutions
– Various Federal Departments (Department of
Energy, Department of Education,
Department of Defense,..)
– National Science Foundation
– National Institute of Health
• Private foundations and sponsors
• Industry
Example: The DOE-Nuclear Engineering
University Programs (NEUP)
• FY 09: DOE-NE R&D Programs will allocate up
to 20% of their appropriated funding to
universities through this new NEUP
• Annual solicitations will include:
– Research & Development (R&D)
– Capabilities, Infrastructure & Equipment
– Scholarships & Fellowships
Vision: Innovation and Impact
Fusing Bio-Info-Nano into
Intelligent Systems
Educating Global Technology
Leaders
The Best Technologies for the
Biggest Problems
The College’s Strategic Priorities
Engineering Better Health
Educating Global Technology Leaders
Sustainable
Energy & Environment
IT to Serve Society
Overall Strategic Priority:
Educating Global Technology Leaders
Our goal − educate leaders for a global economy, not commoditized technical contributors
Center for Entrepreneurship &
Technology
900+ students each year learn to:
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See big picture and recognize
opportunities
Develop business judgment
Communicate effectively
Build global virtual teams
Strategic Priority #1:
Sustainable Energy &
Environment
Our integrated solution:
1. Conservation & Energy Efficiency
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Power-Aware Buildings
Fuel Efficiency
Sustainable Transportation
2. Renewable Energy
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Alternative Fuels
Alternative Power
3. Nuclear Energy
4. Coal to Gas Substitution
5. Carbon Capture & Storage
Strategic Priority #2:
Engineering Better Health
Better diagnostics, treatments, and care:
– Exquisite Detection (before symptoms
appear) – nanoscale cancer detectors;
immuno-sensors for tropical diseases
– Targeted Therapies – noninvasive
surgeries; body-compatible prosthetics
and tissue grafts; computer modeling
for benign drug testing
– Intelligent Systems – diagnostics,
sensors, and controls to manage
chronic disease and promote wellness
Dx: Diagnosis
Rx: Treatment
Mx: Monitoring
Strategic Priority #3:
IT to Serve Society:
Fueling innovation through CITRIS
Best New Technologies
• Fusion of Bio-Info-Nano
technologies
• Early-stage interactive
industry collaboration
Taking on Large-Scale
Societal Problems
• Use-inspired research:
• Security
• Poverty
• Pandemic disease
• Environment
• Social, economic, policy
issues with tech solutions
… Technology for Social Impact
• The UC Berkeley provides effective support for campuswide research efforts;
• It advocates for research needs and resources; and
maximizes the benefits of Berkeley's research to the
scholarly community, and to the quality of life in the local
community, the state, and the nation.
• The UC Berkeley campus helps inventors (faculty and
students) to facilitate transfers of technologies created at
UC Berkeley to the commercial sector for public use and
benefit.
• University of California Office of
Technology Licensing activities include:
– Evaluating the commercial potential of new
technologies
– Determining patentability, prosecuting patents
– Registering copyrights
– Marketing and licensing patents, tangible materials,
and software
– Negotiating license agreements
– Receiving and distributing royalties and other income
to the inventors, UC Berkeley and its Departments
• UC Berkeley Industry Alliances Office (IAO)
works with faculty and companies to enable
innovative research relationships. The IAO is
responsible for negotiating all research contracts
with private industry.
• Many research centers and projects on UC
Berkeley Campus have created membership
programs which companies can join, in order to
receive research benefits.
• Research organization
– Individual faculty and their graduate students
– Teams of faculty and graduate students
– Research Centers established by the faculty
– Research Institutes
– Multi-campus research centers
– Collaborations with national laboratories
(LBNL, LLNL, LANL)
– Collaboration with industry
Graduate Programs and Involvement of Graduate
Students in Research
• Traditionally, departments
offer MS and PhD programs
• A very small number of
students take the M.Eng.
Degree
• Programs are developing
more experimental
programs, such as 5 year
BS/MS, one-year
professional programs with
flexible schedules, on-line
programs
• Departments have almost
complete autonomy on
admissions decisions
• Graduate division only insists
upon minimum standards
• Admissions are very
competitive
• Graduate students join
research groups and do
research
• Graduate students are
expected to write research
papers and participate in
proposal writing
Master’s Degree Requirements
Master of Science
• Plan I
– ≥ 20 semester units
– 8 strictly graduate units in
the major subject (University
requirement),  2 units MSE
298 or 299
– Thesis
• Plan II
GPA  3.0
– ≥ 24 semester units
– 12 strictly graduate units in
the major subject (University
requirement),  2 units MSE
298 or 299
– Project report
– Comprehensive exam
(preliminary exam or other)
Master of Engineering
– ≥ 40 semester units
– ≥ 20 graduate units must be
in graduate courses
– 16-20 units of courses
oriented toward design and
analysis (12 graduate units
in major)
– 8 units (grad or adv UG) in
social sciences and
humanities, or from
professional schools
– 4-8 graduate units in
professionally-oriented
individual study or research,
culminating in a written
report
Doctoral Degree education and Research Requirements
• Ph.D.
– ≥ 33 units (all graded)
– ≥ 18 graduate units in
the major field GPA 
3.5
– Two minors for
breadth, each of  2
courses ( 2 courses in
total of advanced upper
division UG classes)
GPA  3.0
– Preliminary
examination
– Qualifying examination
– Dissertation
– ≥ 1 semester as GSI
• Doctoral and Master students
are funded from faculty
research grants
• Can work up to 50% during 2
semesters and up to 100%
during summer
• Work on proposals and
research papers
• Post-docs are also funded by
faculty research grants and
they supervise graduate
students
College of Engineering Research Centers
– Berkeley Wireless Research
Center
– Berkeley Nuclear Research
Center
– Center for Entrepreneurship &
Technology
– CITRIS
– Center for Intelligent Systems
– Digital Library Projects
– Earthquake Engineering Research
Center
– Electronics Research Laboratory
– Engineering Systems Research
Center
– Gigascale Systems Research
Center
– GLOBE
– Institute for Environmental
Science and Engineering
– Institute of Transportation Studies
– International Computer Science
Institute
– Intel Research Laboratory @
Berkeley
– Integrated Materials Laboratory
– Microfabrication Laboratory
– The Millennium Project
– Pacific Earthquake Engineering
Research Center
– Partners for Advanced Transit and
Highways
– Power Systems Engineering
Research Center
Berkeley Research Centers Corporate
Sponsorship
• Tiered structure:
– Focus on funding for faculty
research
– Gives companies a large
vision with which to engage
– Provides a “front door” for
those unfamiliar with UC research
– Coordinated with development offices
Berkeley Wireless Research Center (BWRC)
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BWRC is a pioneer in a new wave of university-industry-government
partnerships.
The Center is focused on forging deep relationships with leading wireless
companies so that industry can rapidly transfer new technologies and
university researchers can benefit from industrial experience.
BWRC provides an environment for research into the design issues
necessary to support next generation wireless communication systems and
expand the graduate research program in the wireless segment.
Center membership provides access to faculty and graduate students
involved in a large interdisciplinary research effort with a modest
investment.
The critical-mass combination of UC Berkeley researchers, government
funding agencies and leading companies in their respective areas has the
potential of making truly significant advances possible.
BWRC Projects
EXAMPLE: Berkeley Wireless Research Center
http://bwrc.eecs.berkeley.edu/
• Participating Members Companies have the opportunity of direct
involvement with the research team, and open access to the
research center. Participating Member Companies may send a
senior employee to work at the Center, on a regular basis, as a
visiting researcher.
• Visiting researchers will fall into two classes:
– Provisional Industrial Researcher (PIR) is a visiting researcher who is present at
the Center for less than 2 continuous months.
– Visiting Industrial Fellow (VIF) is a visiting researcher who is present at the
Center for more than 2 continuous months. VIF’s will be required to sign the
University of California Patent Policy.
• Participating Member Companies support the Center through the
following contributions:
– Product, equipment or technology donations
– Annual gift of $180K
– $90K/yr for an additional visiting researcher
EXAMPLE: Berkeley Wireless Research Center
• Associate Member Companies have the opportunity of informational
involvement with the faculty and student researchers. This includes
access to all research results, presentations, reports and attendance
at research retreats.
• Associate Member Companies benefit from having access to all
BWRC research collectively supported from all sources.
• Associate Members support the Center through the following
contributions:
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Product, equipment or technology donations
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Annual gift of $90K
Thank you!