Florida's technology innovation strengths are most prominent at its research universities. There, a talented and diverse cadre of scientists is working in cutting-edge, multidisciplinary areas to develop high quality research that often results in real-world applications. Eight of Florida's universities are classified in the Very High or High Research category by the Carnegie Foundation, and that number will continue to grow as more and more of them achieve record levels of research funding every year. Total research funding at Florida's universities reached nearly $1.7 billion in external awards in 2009. The majority of that funding, almost $1.1 billion, came from federal sources, while industrial sources added $98.8 million. An additional $506 million was awarded by the state and the numerous non-for-profit organizations and partnerships supporting R&D and innovation in Florida. Universities in Florida classified in the Very High (VH) or High Research (H) category by the Carnegie Foundation include: Furthermore, Florida's Centers of Excellence program is designed to bridge the gap between academia and industry and give university-produced innovations a push toward commercial viability. Starting with three in 2003, the state currently has a total of nine such Centers dedicated to a variety of disciplines at leading research universities around the state.
LIFE SCIENCES
Center of Excellence in Regenerative Health Biotechnology: University of Florida
Center of Excellence in Biomedical and Marine Biotechnology: Florida Atlantic University
Center of Excellence for Biomolecular Identification & Targeted Therapeutics: University of South Florida
Center of Excellence for Nano-Bio Sensors: University of Florida OPTICS/PHOTONICS
Photonics Center of Excellence: University of Central Florida
Center of Excellence in Laser Technology: University of Central Florida
CLEANTECH
Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center: Florida Atlantic University
Florida Institute for Sustainable Energy Technology Incubator: University of Florida
ADVANCED MATERIALS
Center of Excellence in Advanced Materials: Florida State University For more information on the Centers of Excellence or other research related topics and news, please visit the Florida Resarch Consortium. |