U.S. gov is biggest supporter of Science Center’s tech transfer funding program

With a grant of $1 million, the federal government is the single biggest supporter of the University City Science Center‘s QED, the four-year-old program that funds local university research in hopes of getting professors’ work to market. QED has raised $2.4 million to date from federal, city and state government funds, as well as private sector funds

QED has awarded $3.6 million in grants to researchers. This number includes the universities’ matching award, since every university that receives a QED grant must match it. An initiative launched under Science Center president Steve Tang, it’s the only program in the area that focuses on funding university research in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. It also offers business guidance to its awardees. Find the most recent QED awards here.

Below, find a breakdown of QED funding. Every funding source, except for the City of Philadelphia’s Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, invested in the program in the form of a grant, meaning it doesn’t expect any return on its investment. The City of Philadelphia will be repaid from its share of successful QED projects.

Click the infographic to get to the bigger, interactive version.

William Penn Foundation: $300,000

Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation: $500,000

Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development: $500,000 — $400,000 through the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority and $100,000 through the Discovered and Developed in PA program

Wexford Science and Technology: $200,000

In early 2012, Tang said he hoped to raise $20 million for the QED program to make it sustainable. He also testified this fall at a U.S. Senate hearing saying that the Science Center should be allowed to apply for federal research grants.