Patent Power

Led by the Department of Biomedical Engineering, CWRU researchers attained an eye-opening 97 patents in 2021. That ranks CWRU 21^st among the world’s 100 most innovative universities, according to the National Academy of Inventors.

The academy conducts an annual innovation ranking in collaboration with the Intellectual Property Owners Association, aiming to showcase the value of university research. Schools are ranked according to their attainment of utility patents, the most common patents awarded by the U.S Patent Office.

Case has shown steady growth in the innovation rankings since they began in 2013. The university ranked 51^st in 2015, 46^th in 2016 and 43^rd in 2017. It ranked as high as 17^th in 2018, with 95 patents. 

The latest ranking, released in September 2022, places Case among the most innovative universities worldwide and ahead of the likes of Columbia, Yale, Duke, Vanderbilt and Carnegie Mellon.

Most of the university’s patents are attained by researchers connected to the Case School of Engineering or the CWRU School of Medicine, with the Department of Biomedical Engineering serving as a nexus of invention.

Joe Jankowski, the university’s Chief Innovation Officer, credits an innovative faculty and a robust tech transfer program.

 “We have a broad portfolio, one that touches on improving the human condition with applications ranging from new medicines and vaccines to flame-retardant materials and energy-efficient data storage systems,” he said in a statement.