OPINION: UNM Rainforest Innovations turns research into real-world solutions

Give up a good job as a corporation lawyer with 30 years of experience to take a job starting up a tech transfer unit at University of New Mexico?

At the time it seemed like a good idea; and as it turns out, it was a great idea.

Why? Because whatever I was thinking has led to so much success in the tech transfer organization now known as UNM Rainforest Innovations (UNMRI).

Candidly, despite my lack of direct experience, I actually got the job to start up UNMRI because after 18 months, the UNM committee in charge of the CEO search couldn’t get anyone else to take the job.

That was in 1995. And today, I still serve on the board of UNMRI.

So why would I even have considered taking on this challenge? It all started in the mid-80s when I heard Tom Perkins of Kleiner Perkins describe his firm’s novel work with tech-based start-ups in Silicon Valley.

I thought, why shouldn’t New Mexico, far from population centers, pursue this as an economic development strategy?

I soon educated myself on the legal aspects of organizing and financing start-ups and began doing legal work for a few start-ups. That was about the only knowledge that I took with me as I became CEO of UNMRI. Accumulating a lot of other knowledge and skills needed to create a well-functioning tech transfer program was far more challenging than I had expected.

I left the Modrall Sperling law firm in mid-1995. I set up an office in the south campus, hired a couple of Ph.D.s to get to know UNM’s research faculty and hopefully come across commercially promising research. As for me, I was lucky to get lots of good advice from managers of other universities’ tech transfer offices. I was learning every day on the job.

By the time my five years as CEO of UNMRI were up, it was up and running, had brought in about a million dollars in licensing revenue and later brought in a few million dollars more from licenses secured during my tenure as CEO. But that was the low-hanging fruit.

My successor at UNMRI left after a couple of years and then we had the great good fortune to be able to hire Lisa Kuuttila as CEO of UNMRI.

With her came a level of managerial skills and professionalism honed by decades of experience in tech transfer and her related positions at other universities. I knew we were going to do great things.

Today, Kuuttila and UNM Rainforest Innovations have become key players in both technological advancement and economic development in New Mexico.

Its mission is pretty straightforward: Take cutting-edge UNM research and turn it into real-world solutions — file patents, foster start-ups and license technologies that promise impact in the marketplace.

Much of what UNMRI does is behind the scenes: Protecting the discoveries of UNM’s brightest minds by securing patents hopefully safe from challenges and connecting with entrepreneurs and investors who can bring UNM discoveries to life through start-ups.

Fast forward to 2024, UNM consistently ranks in the top 100 universities worldwide for the number of U.S. patents issued. In 2023, UNMRI received 92 new technology disclosures from research faculty, filed 70 patents, 33 patents were issued and 44 license agreements were signed to bring these innovations to market.

The numbers for 2024 will be higher.

Just so you know, UNMRI isn’t just about patents. Since 2012, it has also become an important cog in New Mexico’s economic development, especially when it comes to tech transfer and start-ups. With 885 U.S. patents and 170 start-ups launched by UNM, the university’s economic development influence is clear and expanding.

Currently, UNMRI also provides support for 92 start-up companies, 51 of which are based here in New Mexico.

There can be no doubt that UNMRI has become an essential part of New Mexico’s innovation landscape. From discovering groundbreaking technologies to supporting a vibrant start-up ecosystem, UNMRI plays, and will continue to play, a pivotal role in shaping the state’s future.