Economic Development


Featured economic development news



Research and development expenditures spanning all University of Kansas campuses increased to $546.1 million in fiscal year 2024, surpassing the half-billion-dollar mark for the first time in university history. The reverberations of that growth extend far beyond KU to benefit people throughout the Sunflower State and beyond.
With $5 million in support from U.S. Department of Energy, the University of Kansas and Avium, a startup firm founded by researchers from KU’s School of Engineering, aim to make clean hydrogen more affordable.
An assortment of KU faculty and students in university research settings against a backdrop of a geological formation in Kansas.
The University of Kansas ranked 37th among public institutions in the Top 100 U.S. Universities Granted Utility Patents in 2024, a list published by the National Academy of Inventors. The list showcases universities that play a pivotal role in advancing the innovation ecosystem and driving economic growth in the United States. KU ranked 59th among all universities.

Latest economic development news

Thu, 04/17/2025
The University of Kansas ranked 37th among public institutions in the Top 100 U.S. Universities Granted Utility Patents in 2024, a list published by the National Academy of Inventors. The list showcases universities that play a pivotal role in advancing the innovation ecosystem and driving economic growth in the United States. KU ranked 59th among all universities.
Fri, 02/28/2025
Research and development expenditures spanning all University of Kansas campuses increased to $546.1 million in fiscal year 2024, surpassing the half-billion-dollar mark for the first time in university history. The reverberations of that growth extend far beyond KU to benefit people throughout the Sunflower State and beyond.
Tue, 10/29/2024
With $5 million in support from U.S. Department of Energy, the University of Kansas and Avium, a startup firm founded by researchers from KU’s School of Engineering, aim to make clean hydrogen more affordable.
Thu, 10/17/2024
The woods can be a place of adventure and beauty, a peaceful escape for a walk. But among the leaves and grass, the threat of ticks can turn a hike into a health-altering encounter with Lyme disease. A recent $3 million Small Business Innovation Research award will fund the research and development of a vaccine to stop Lyme disease in its tracks.
Wed, 07/10/2024
Panasonic Energy and the University of Kansas today announced that they have signed an agreement aimed at promoting the development of next-generation technologies and the cultivation of specialist expertise in the field of lithium-ion batteries.
Wed, 06/05/2024
For the second year in a row, the University of Kansas has landed a spot on the National Academy of Inventors' top 100 U.S. Universities Granted Utility Patents list. The 2023 list showcases universities that play a pivotal role in advancing the innovation ecosystem within and beyond the United States.
Thu, 03/28/2024
Research expenditures spanning all KU campuses increased to $368.6 million in 2023, capping nearly a decade of steady expansion. Last year alone, externally funded research at KU supported the salaries of 4,372 people, and the university spent $78.9 million in 97 Kansas counties on research-related goods and services, according to a report from the Institute for Research on Innovation & Science.
Thu, 03/14/2024
An upcoming cybersecurity conference will bring together experts in the field from industry, workforce and research to KU. FBI Director Christopher Wray will be the first keynote speaker at 8:35 a.m.
Fri, 02/09/2024
KU's Institute for Sustainable Engineering has a new name —Wonderful Institute for Sustainable Engineering-KU (WISE-KU). The naming builds on the university’s deep relationship with The Wonderful Company, a global agricultural company co-founded and led by Stewart and Lynda Resnick.
Tue, 10/10/2023
A $3 million initiative based at the University of Kansas will empower biomedical researchers in public universities and colleges across several Plains states to carry their innovations to the marketplace.