Dedicated students, distinguished colleagues and dear friends,

Happy Friday!

California’s $4.1 trillion GDP in 2024 is bigger than that of Japan or the United Kingdom or even India with a population of over a billion! That’s right! And that ranks California as the 4^th largest economy in the world, right behind the U.S., China and Germany. And the tech-heavy Silicon Valley is the largest contributor to this lofty achievement. Of course, the presence of Stanford University as a STEMM research university was the most significant factor in the development of the remarkable engineering and technology enterprise known as Silicon Valley today. Much of the early development of Silicon Valley is attributed to the entrepreneurial spirit of Stanford University and its “startup culture.” In fact “… it’s almost an unwritten rule that you have to start a company to be a successful professor at Stanford.”

The great majority of technology startups are the byproducts of university research, either directly or indirectly. And, across the U.S., university research continues to be a major contributor to innovation and American economic growth. American universities performed over $100 billion in R&D in 2023, and the technologies developed by universities and research institutions led to the launch of 714 new commercial products. In the same year, over 25,000 invention disclosures were reported to universities. Nearly 3,000 patent licenses, over 3,200 copyright licenses, and more than 1,600 other types of licenses were also recorded in 2023.

Here at S&T, we are proud of our innovation history and are taking steps to unleash our own spirit of a “startup culture.” In that regard, our newest college, the Kummer College of Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development, under the leadership of Dean James Sterling, has implemented a new initiative to establish the Ozark Foundry Innovation Ecosystem. Sterling’s Team Innovation Projects (TIP) initiative is a student-centered, yearlong, company-sponsored program designed to engage students with dedicated corporate liaisons to ensure industry-standard project planning and management. To “take to market” new campus developed ideas, our Office of Technology Transfer and Economic Development provides guidance and material support for new or existing startups. The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) supports business success by offering a combination of coaching, mentoring, training and technical assistance. The office provides step-by-step training at no cost and offers guidance on exploring new ideas, management, marketing and strategic planning for new and existing startups.

We are also in the final stages of onboarding a leading “innovation practitioner” to bring focused attention to well-established startup practices. This new leader will start and manage our business accelerator, establish S&T’s venture programs, incubator and, most importantly, our educational entrepreneurial thinking programs. Our Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIRs) will comprise successful entrepreneurs and subject matter experts including accountants, financial analysts, patent lawyers and investors. EIRs could also serve as instructors and mentors in their areas of expertise.

Nearsighted or farsighted, we cannot afford to underestimate the impact of university research and expect to continue unprecedented national economic achievement. University research is a great deal, considering that about 55% of U.S. basic research – the fundamental research that often leads to breakthrough innovations – is conducted in universities, and that each dollar of university research spending can generate around $1.50 to $1.80 in economic output due to the multiplier effects. Moreover, universities are talent factories as they produce the educated possibility thinkers who drive our national knowledge economy.

Absent 20/20 vision, we can, nonetheless, extrapolate past remarkable results and continue to nourish the golden goose of university research that has fueled the engines of innovation, entrepreneurship, economic development and national prosperity for nearly a century.

Warmly,

-Mo.

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Mohammad Dehghani, PhD
Chancellor
mo@mst.edu | 573-341-4116

206 Parker Hall, 300 West 13th Street, Rolla, MO 65409-0910
chancellor.mst.edu