By Carrie Wells 

Maryland universities have ramped up efforts in recent years to help students and faculty turn their discoveries into growing businesses but lag far behind many colleges around the country in spinning off companies and pulling in millions of dollars in licensing revenue.

Helping faculty and students create businesses to market the medical devices, computer programs or other creations can help boost a university's bottom line and shore up the local economy if the startup companies stay in the area.

"We have such great potential here, and it's lain fallow for so long," said Benjamin H. Wu, a deputy secretary at the state Department of Commerce who sits on a committee examining the issue. "Our economic climate has paid the price. There was some regret there. … If we had looked it at in the past, our business climate might not have needed improving over the last eight years."

The committee will issue recommendations in the coming weeks for improving the state's track record in technology commercialization, also known as tech transfer, Wu said.

Read more at http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-university-commercialization-20160324-story.html