UWM Research Foundation

Guiding Innovation. Fostering Partnerships.

Attract funding and partners to advance, grow and develop the innovation pipeline at UWM. The UWM Research Foundation (UWMRF) was formed to serve and support UW-Milwaukee faculty and student research through fostering corporate research partnerships, igniting UWM-founded startups through programs, funding and education; and leveraging our intellectual property expertise to further support innovation, entrepreneurship and collaboration with our community and worldwide.

Since the UWMRF was founded in 2006, we have continued to evolve and provide new sources of crucial funding as well as education support for our innovators at UWM.

Key programs include:

• New in 2026 is the SE Wisconsin Founder Factory, a pre-accelerator program built with 4 key partners to provide startup founders the critical business & leadership training needed for growth and investment.
• Catalyst grants are for research projects with the potential to become products or services in the marketplace. Through generous donors, since 2007, we have provided $6.27 million in awards to 120 teams, attracting $49 million in additional funding, 20 new startups and 70 issued patents.
• Bridge grants allow UWMRF startup entrepreneurs to reach key new milestones with their product development and attract further investments. To date, we have awarded $600,000 to 14 startups and attracted an additional $18 million in funding.
• ENGAGE Mentors, established in 2020, provide a seasoned network of 22 experts for our startups at UWM to tap into for advice, networking and support.
• SBIR/STTR grant consulting, initiated in 2022, helps UWM innovators identify government commercialization funds to support their own invention or to partner with other small companies to conduct applied research at UWM in their laboratories.
• Express licensing is designed to make the process quick, easy, fair and less expensive so our UWM startups can focus on product development rather than long negotiations.
• Panther Partnering was created to encourage more industry collaborative research at UWM with our faculty experts. The menu of licensing terms for our intellectual property is transparent, easy and provides a win/win setup for both UWM and the company needing research help.

THANK YOU for participating in 414 for UWM Giving Days to ensure our innovators get the support they need! Please consider making a gift today!