TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The University of Arizona reported a record number of inventions this year.
Tech Launch Arizona set a year-long goal to create 300 new inventions, hoping to beat their 274 from the year before.
303 inventions were recorded between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022. That’s the most inventions recorded for a single year in the university's history.
Tech Launch Arizona says they have supported over 2,500 jobs in Arizona over the last 5 years which is a $1.6 billion dollar impact on the state.
Software, engineering and health sciences startups are a part of those inventions that are impacting the state of Arizona and beyond.
“Anything from calibrations to running a program. It's being researched here at the university and inventions are coming out of that," said Doug Hockstad, Associate Vice President Tech Launch Arizona.
Some of the inventions include a non-addictive pain reliever, a cancer antibody drug for treating tumors, and a company that can measure how someone is using the web and flag questionable behavior.
Tech Launch Arizona doesn’t have a new number goal in mind, but they do hope to make an impact in another way.
"Nationally let’s recognize that undeserved populations are not represented well in the inventor pool. In particular, in women. We’re really going to focus on that with UA and TLA to get more of a real diverse mixture of inventors," said Hockstad.
Tech Launch Arizona will be celebrating their 10 year anniversary in October where they will be giving out awards like inventor of the year.
For a detailed list of inventions, visit Tech Launch Arizona's website.
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Brooke Chau is a reporter for KGUN 9. She was a part of Fresno State's newscast, Fresno State Focus and interned at KFSN-ABC30 in Fresno, CA before coming to KGUN 9. Share your story ideas and important issues with Brooke by emailing brooke.chau@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
