WARF to receive national medal of technology

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) will be among the recipients of the 2003 National Medal of Technology, an annual award conferred by the president of the United States that recognizes significant and lasting contributions to the country’s economic, environmental and social well-being through the development and commercialization of technology.

The award recognizes WARF’s many contributions to the field of university technology transfer, a process that is central to delivering to the public the benefits of university research.

“This honor is so well-deserved and a very appropriate recognition of what WARF has achieved, not only for this campus but also nationally,” says Martin Cadwallader, dean of the Graduate School. “WARF is a leader in the arena of technology transfer, and its support of UW–Madison research has been pivotal to our success.”

WARF will officially receive the award from President Bush in a White House ceremony honoring both National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology laureates on March 14.

The specific accomplishments for which WARF is being recognized include its support of UW–Madison research; its pioneering role in the patenting and licensing of university ideas for the public good; its partnerships with many of the nation’s leading companies; and its work to ensure passage of the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act, which gave U.S. universities the right to own inventions arising from federally funded research and license the technologies to companies for commercial development.

“This award not only represents great recognition for WARF, but also for the entire field of university technology transfer,” says Carl Gulbrandsen, WARF’s managing director. “The founders of WARF had tremendous foresight, and it is their vision that has led to this honor both for us and our industry.”

WARF’s nomination for the award was prepared and submitted in May 2003 by the American Chemical Society (ACS), the nation’s largest society of chemists and chemical engineers. After the National Medal of Technology nomination committee reviews and evaluates all nominations, it recommends laureate candidates to the U.S. secretary of commerce. The secretary in turn makes recommendations to the president for final selection.

Organizations that have been past recipients of the award include many of the country’s top companies such as 3M, AMGEN, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Corning, Inc., Dow Chemical, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., Inc. and Proctor & Gamble. Individuals and teams also are eligible to receive the medal, which was established by an act of Congress in 1980 and first awarded in 1985.

Founded in 1925 to protect and manage a discovery by biochemistry professor Harry Steenbock that eventually eliminated the childhood disease rickets, WARF is a pioneer in the field of university technology transfer, or the patenting of university ideas and inventions for licensing and development by industry. A private, nonprofit foundation, WARF gives the income it receives from the licensing of UW–Madison inventions back to the university to support further research.

The roster of UW–Madison research discoveries patented and licensed through WARF through the years include coumarin, the basis for the most widely prescribed blood thinner for treating cardiovascular disease, and its counterpart, warfarin, still the most common rodenticide worldwide; a storage solution for transplant organs that dramatically increased organs viability and availability; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) innovations that improved the diagnosis of trauma-induced injury, cardiovascular disorders and other diseases; and vitamin D derivatives that have been prescribed worldwide for diseases resulting from vitamin D deficiency.

“On the behalf of the WARF staff and Board of Trustees, I want to extend my appreciation to the ACS for nominating us, and to the secretary of commerce and the president for selecting us,” says Gulbrandsen. “I also want to thank our trustees for 80 years of guidance and UW–Madison for the excellence of its science. Both have been essential to our success.”