USF ranks among top 20 public universities for patent production

The University of South Florida has once again reaffirmed its reputation as an emerging research institution, earning a place for the 13th consecutive year among the top 20 public universities for producing U.S. utility patents. 

The National Academy of Investors released its annual rankings today, placing USF No. 18 among all U.S. public research universities for the 81 new patents the university secured in 2025. USF placed No. 27 among all U.S. public and private universities, and No. 41 among universities worldwide. The rankings are determined by data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The new rankings demonstrate USF’s longstanding commitment to research, invention and commercialization, the university’s leadership says in a release. Patent production is one of the key indicators that the academic research being conducted at the university is translating to practical products and technologies that benefit society. 

“At the University of South Florida we are dedicated to fostering an environment where innovation thrives and where our discoveries have a meaningful impact on our region, our state, our nation and globally,” USF President Rhea Law says in the release. 

All together, the three universities in Florida’s “High Tech Corridor” — USF, the University of Florida and the University of Central Florida — collectively secured 285 patents in the last year, the release says. This places the corridor ahead of other nationally-recognized centers of innovation, such as North Carolina’s “Research Triangle” and the University of Texas System. 

Patents secured in the past year at USF include: 

• Gray Mullins, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering who, along with post-doctoral research Tristen Mee, invented a measurement system that verifies the dimensions of concrete foundations while they are being poured, eliminating the long delays required by current temperature-based testing methods, the university says. 
• A multidisciplinary team of USF researchers has developed a new way to measure pain in newborns following surgery, by using a camera and microphone to record a baby’s face, body movements and sounds. 
• Yu Zhang, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, developed a smart computer system that uses advanced AI to manage air traffic at multiple airports.