About UA Research

The University of Akron is the public research university for Northern Ohio with an annual research budget of more than $50 million and a portfolio of more than 300 issued, pending and provisional patents. UA is home to best-in-class programs including:

• Largest polymer science and polymer engineering program in the world
• One of the five fastest growing engineering colleges in the country
• First-in-kind collaborations like The Timken Engineered Surfaces Laboratory and Conquer Chiari Research Lab, as well as more than 115 active industry sponsored research projects
• One of the first six winners of the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s i6 Challenge for biomedical technology commercialization with ABIA
• One of the first three National Science Foundation’s I-Corps Sites programs to train technical faculty and graduate student in Lean Launchpad business principles

University of Akron Research Foundation

UARF was established in 2001 to promote and support university/industry collaboration and to provide effective mechanisms by which UA discoveries and inventions are developed and commercialized. UARF’s unique initiatives include:

• Seniors Fellows program through which former industry executives mentor faculty, facilitate industry collaboration, advise startup companies, and encourage innovation and regional economic development
• Akron Innovation Campus, a new model of mixed-use buildings where university startups and independent companies share space adjacent to campus
• Advice for startup formation, including supporting the creation of more than 50 technology-based startup companies
• Founder of the $33 million Exxon/YANPET elastomer training program