The annual maturation grant funding program aims to assist researchers in advancing new technologies on the path to market by awarding up to $20,000 in direct costs to the highest ranking proposals.
Important 2023 Dates
| Proposal receipt to campus research office | Oct. 20, 2023, at 5 p.m. |
| Awards announced on or before | Dec. 7, 2023 |
| Project start date | Jan. 3, 2024 |
| Project completion date | Oct. 25, 2024 |
| Final report due | Nov. 15, 2024 |
Guidelines
- Open to all UT researchers, faculty, staff and students at all campuses and institutes.
- Projects must be related to an existing UT invention disclosure, OR a proposal can be accompanied by a new UT invention/creation disclosure.
- Researchers who have not received a maturation grant award in the past two years are especially encouraged to apply.
- All proposals should clearly respond to the four questions outlined in the proposal application.
- Proposals that only generate basic research results should not be submitted.
Proposal Requirements
- Please read the appropriate application overview (updated yearly) and complete the UTRF Technology Maturation Grant Proposal application. Other forms of submission will not be accepted.
- The proposal should not exceed 2 pages, excluding references and figures. One page of references and one page of figures may be included as appendices. Half a page is allotted for each question on the application. Therefore, the proposal plus the appendices must not exceed 4 pages.
- The proposal should be received by the campus-specific research office by posted deadline date.
Judging Criteria
A panel of technical and business experts from inside and outside of the university will rank-order projects based on the following criteria:
- Demonstration of a Path for Commercial Development
- Market Potential
- Stage of Development
Examples of Eligible Projects
- Establishment of application or proof-of-concept
- Prototype development
- Addressing specific questions or suggested improvements from potential licensees
- Meaningfully improving intellectual property related to a technology
Past Winners
- In the past 15 years, more than $1,000,000 in awards has been made to more than 100 projects.
- Complete list of past winners