University of Utah ranks first for creating new startups.

• Position: Around Utah

Salt Lake City -- The UNIVERSITY OF UTAH was ranked first in the country for creating new startup companies from research-based inventions. The University of Utah shares the No. 1 ranking with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and remains ahead of prestigious institutions such as Columbia, Michigan and Johns Hopkins. The accomplishment is based on the latest survey by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), an organization that ranks more than 150 public and private research institutions throughout the country.

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"It's encouraging to see that the U of U's commitment to research and technology commercialization is paying off," says Spencer Eccles, executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED). "It further validates the foresight of Utah's leadership and State government's commitment to support innovation and commercialization in Utah."

According to AUTM, the University of Utah started 20 new companies in fiscal year 2008 from technologies based on its varied research. For the previous two years, the University of Utah ranked second to MIT.

"This year's ranking came as a pleasant surprise because this...