University of South Florida opens state-of-the-art facility primed to support innovation in Tampa Bay

New space provides opportunities for companies to connect with a major research institution

TAMPA, Fla., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of South Florida recently opened a new state-of-the-art research center that will deepen the connection between university innovation and the business community and help advance the Tampa Bay region's growing startup ecosystem. Located at the USF Research Park on USF's Tampa campus, the three-story, 120,000-square-foot mixed-use building features advanced laboratory facilities, as well as office and meeting spaces for new and established companies.

This expansion comes at an advantageous time for the university and Tampa Bay, as nationally leading innovators, entrepreneurs and science and technology firms are being drawn to the area, often citing the talent pipeline generated by USF as a reason for their decision.

"The University of South Florida's new Research Park building marks a new era in the university's robust and renowned research enterprise – the opening of a vibrant home for solving problems in our community, our state, our country and beyond," said USF President Rhea Law.  "It will serve as a catalyst for bringing together leading researchers, entrepreneurs, financial investors and corporations at an ideal time for USF and the Tampa Bay region's rapidly expanding innovation economy."

The $42 million project has allowed the university to significantly expand its Research Park, providing much-needed space. It's currently home to more than 65 companies and dozens of additional student-led startups as well as university, state and federal research labs and has been consistently at capacity in recent years. 

 "The USF Research Park has long been a thriving community bridging research and innovation for our faculty, students and partners," said Sylvia Wilson Thomas, interim vice president for research & innovation. "Bold, ambitious new technologies have always found a home here. This incredible new building is a catalyst for our inventors and partners, helping them flourish in a modern marketplace and contribute to an innovation ecosystem to change the world."

USF's innovation enterprise generates more than $582 million in statewide impact each year, sustains more than 4,000 jobs and returns more than $71 million in tax revenue to local, state and federal coffers, according to a 2019 analysis from the Washington Economics Group, a leading national firm. Eighty-two percent of the jobs created by USF innovation statewide are in the knowledge-based services sector.  The research enterprise is a key element to USF's annual economic impact of more than $6 billion.

For more information about the USF Research Park, visit here.  

The University of South Florida, a high-impact global research university dedicated to student success, generates an annual economic impact of more than $6 billion.  Over the past 10 years, no other public university in the country has risen faster in U.S. News and World Report's national university rankings than USF. Serving more than 50,000 students on campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee, USF is designated as a Preeminent State Research University by the Florida Board of Governors, placing it in the most elite category among the state's 12 public universities. USF has earned widespread national recognition for its success graduating under-represented minority and limited-income students at rates equal to or higher than white and higher income students. USF is a member of the American Athletic Conference. Learn more at www.usf.edu.

SOURCE University of South Florida