Supercluster Facts & Figures
Origin of the Superclusters: In 2004, Colorado State University began exploring how to marshal its resources to address the global problems and to transfer innovative biomedical and technical research to help address critical global challenges.
Creation of the Superclusters: After considerable research, Colorado State President Larry Edward Penley and other University leaders coined the term “Supercluster” to describe an alliance between experts in research, engineering, business and economics that aims to expedite the commercialization of innovative research outcomes and intellectual property for global society’s benefit. The Colorado State Supercluster model is patterned after Michael Porter’s theory of economic clusters, exemplified by Silicon Valley’s technology hub and the California wine cluster. In an economic cluster, a critical mass of production facilities develops, attracting ancillary industries such as shipping, packaging and tourism. Colorado State’s academic Superclusters aggregate a critical mass of academic research talent. This serves as a magnet for scholars in other disciplines and additional organizations or industries that benefit from that academic research or connection.
Definition of Superclusters: A Supercluster is a multidisciplinary alliance that integrates experts from many fields with the goal of improving quality of life - by taking research innovations to the global marketplace more efficiently and at an accelerated pace. Superclusters focus on overlap areas between Colorado State University’s internationally competitive research and the great global challenges, such as infectious disease, cancer, agriculture, energy and the environment.
Superclusters vs. traditional tech transfer: Universities traditionally patent discoveries and seek companies willing to license such early stage innovations. Universities have pushed to bring these innovations to industry for consideration. The old model relied on scientists to gauge the marketability of research – a step that often occurred at the end of the discovery process. Conversely, the Superclusters allow business experts to gauge marketability, and create a pathway for the full life cycle of new products and services for the marketplace – from the research stage to use in society.
Structure of the Superclusters: Emulating solid business practices, each Supercluster, organized to address a specific global need, will appoint a chief scientific officer who oversees University research and academic activities for that area. Together the chief scientific officer and a chief operating officer will jointly focus on forging business alliances and developing new applications and opportunities for the results of that research via the non-for-profit vehicle called CSU Ventures. A technology transfer specialist working for a division of CSU Ventures seeks opportunities for patents, licenses and startups, as well as equity investors. Two additional support staff will facilitate and encourage increased funding respectively from foundations and the federal government.
Governance of the Superclusters: The Supercluster enterprises are divisions of a new not-for-profit entity called Colorado State University Ventures. CSU Ventures is governed by its own board with a CEO whose responsibility is to facilitate the component Supercluster enterprises. The entity is a subsidiary corporation of the existing Colorado State University Research Foundation (CSURF), a private, non-profit foundation that helps fund University research and education efforts.
What Colorado State University’s Superclusters model means
- For academic research: Researchers can focus on their area of expertise, while leaving the issues of transfer, patenting and licensing to experts with a specific focus on their research area. The academic structure of the Supercluster will encourage researchers to collaborate to address the broad challenges of a research problem and increase the likelihood of external funding for the research. In addition, researchers eager to have information in the global marketplace can see the technology adopted more quickly to better solve global problems.
- For business development: Businesses that thrive on commercializing cutting-edge technology can more easily work with Colorado State University through its ally – CSU Ventures - for licensing, collaborative research and partnership opportunities. The not-for-profit structure at the edge of the University will facilitate and encourage the involvement of industry expertise and the design will ease the challenges traditionally experienced when moving research from academia into the marketplace.
- For global solutions: Each Supercluster will be organized around areas where the University has preeminent expertise and where a “great global challenge” exists. The University’s goal is to use its growing international connections to link strategically its Supercluster expertise to similarly interested governmental, academic, research, and corporate partners outside the United States - to play the central role in creating solutions to global health, environment and energy solutions.