Indiana University confirmed earlier this week that the number of invention disclosures filed by faculty and researchers nearly doubled between FY 2009 and FY 2012. As a result, the greater Indianapolis area is gaining a reputation as one of the nation's most promising emerging innovation hubs.

"We are committed to helping IU faculty and researchers move their discoveries from the university to the marketplace in an effort to promote scholarship, economic development and additional research opportunities," explained Marie Kerbeshian, vice president of technology commercialization for the Indiana University Research and Technology Corporation. "When a faculty member contacts us with an invention disclosure, we work closely with them to develop their ideas along the commercialization pathway."

The IUTRC actually represents a consortium of seven IU campuses surrounding the cities of Bloomington and Indianapolis, and commercialization efforts have already yielded important advances in such diverse areas as ecological preservation and cardiorespiratory medicine. With each location aided by its own dedicated technology manager, the schools have collectively amassed nearly 500 patents and given rise to more than 70 startup companies since 1997.

As alluded to earlier this year in President Obama's State of the Union address, similar efforts across the academic community will be instrumental components of the nation's economic revitalization.