Stanford tops world’s innovative varsities
American universities continue to dominate top ranking
FBy David M. Ewalt
or the fourth year running, Stanford University tops Reuters’ ranking of the World’s Most Innovative Universities, a list that identifies and ranks the educational institutions doing the most to advance science, invent new technologies and power new markets and industries.
Contributing to its solid foothold at No. 1 is Stanford’s steady stream of patents and research, which are frequently cited by other academics around the world. Those citations play a key role in the ranking of the world’s most innovative universities, which was compiled in partnership with Clarivate Analytics, and is based on proprietary data and analysis of numerous indicators including patent filings and research paper citations.
Recent Stanford research highlights include several developments in the field of artificial intelligence, including the next generation of camera systems to guide self-driving cars and simulators that can predict potential drug interactions before new pharmaceuticals are ever tested on humans.
While a few UK and Asian schools have ascended, American universities continue to dominate the top of Reuters’ ranking. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, places second on the list, and Harvard University comes in third, making 2018 the fourth consecutive year that those universities have held those exact spots. The University of Pennsylvania came in fourth place for the second consecutive year, and the University of Washington is up two spots to round out the top five. The University of Texas System placed sixth. Belgium’s KU Leuven, ranked No. 7, is the highest ranked university outside the US, followed by Imperial College London (No. 8), the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (No. 9) and Vanderbilt University (No. 10). Overall, eight of last year’s 10 highest-ranked universities
killed while hunting in Africa.
Gov C.L. “Butch” Otter’s spokesman Jon Hanian told The Idaho Statesman in a story on Friday that the governor’s office is looking into the matter involving Commissioner Blake Fischer.
Fischer and his wife shot at least 14 animals in Namibia, according to the photos and descriptions included in an email he sent to more than 100 recipients. That included a giraffe, leopard, impala, sable antelope, waterbuck, kudu, warthog,
remained in the top 10.
Research
Other universities on Reuters’ ranking have broken out of the pack because of new, groundbreaking research. The biggest mover on this year’s list is the University of Manchester, which surged 27 places from No. 80 to No. 53, largely because of research into the supermaterial graphene. Graphene is one of the strongest materials on Earth, yet also extremely light, flexible and highly conductive; it could prove a hugely important ingredient for future innovations in electronics, energy, transportation and other industries. Physicists theorized the existence of graphene in the 1940s, but it was first produced in 2004 by two University of Manchester scientists. Ever since then the university has dominated the world’s research into the cutting-edge material. Manchester is home to the UK’s National Graphene Institute, and patents related to graphene account for about a quarter of all filings from the university over the five-year period examined for this list.
Geopolitical trends are also a factor in this year’s rankings. In Europe, uncertainty over the United Kingdom’s “Brexit” from the European Union may already be pushing research out of the country: Germany added two universities to the Global Top 100 in 2018, and Reuters’ regional ranking of Europe’s Most Innovative Universities showed German universities gaining more than any other country. In Asia, Chinese universities are increasing their presence among the top 100 thanks to a new government push for innovation, and a focus on filing more patent applications.
Overall, the United States continues to dominate the list, with 46 universities in the top 100; Germany and Japan are tied for second best performing country, with nine universities each. South Korea has eight universities on the list; China, France and the United
gemsbok (oryx) and eland.
“I didn’t do anything illegal. I didn’t do anything unethical. I didn’t do anything immoral,” Fischer said.
Most of the photos with the African animals are posed as standard big game hunting photos of the kind often seen in Idaho with deer, elk and mountain lions.
The photo causing some to question Fischer’s judgment and ability to remain a commission member is one of him smiling broadly with four dead baboons propped in Kingdom each have 5; Switzerland has 3; Belgium, Canada, Israel and The Netherlands have 2, and Denmark and Singapore each have 1. Considered on a regional basis, North America has 48 universities in the top 100, Europe has 27, Asia has 23, and the Middle East has 2. There are no universities in the top 100 located in Africa, South America or Oceania.
Careful observers might note a few differences between how non-US institutions rank on Reuters’ regional innovation lists, Asia’s Most Innovative Universities and Europe’s Most Innovative Universities, and how they rank on the global list. An institution’s relative ranking may change from list to list, since each ranking is dependent on summarizing 10 indicators and comparing that with others in a specific population; when that population changes, individual rankings might change as well. Furthermore, the global list is restricted to institutions that filed 70 or more patents with the World Intellectual Property Organization during the five-year period examined by Thomson Reuters. The cutoff for regional lists is just 50 patents, allowing a more in-depth view of the most active institutions within a limited geographic area.
Of course, the relative ranking of any university – or whether it appears on the list at all – does not provide a complete picture of whether its researchers are doing important, innovative work. Since the ranking measures innovation on an institutional level, it may overlook particularly innovative departments or programs: a university might rank low for overall innovation but still operate one of the world’s best medical schools, for instance. And it’s important to remember that whether a university ranks at the top or the bottom of the list, it’s still within the top 100 on the planet. All of these universities produce original research, create useful technology and stimulate the global economy. (RTRS)
front of him, blood visible on the abdomen of the smallest baboon. Fischer killed them using a bow and arrows.
“So I shot a whole family of baboons,” Fischer wrote below the photo in the emails he sent.
Keith Stonebraker, a former commission member, told the newspaper an apology by Fischer would satisfy him.
“They killed a whole family, including small baboons, and I think that’s revolting,” Stonebraker said. “It just puts a bad light on us.”
The commission Fischer serves on makes policy decisions concerning Idaho’s wildlife, and it often manages game populations through hunting and fishing regulations. Those regulations are intended to require ethical behavior in the pursuit of wildlife. Some of Idaho’s policies, such as on wolf and grizzly bear hunting, have been challenged in federal courts. (AP)
‘Project’ wraps up for yr:
Officials at Isle Royale National Park say they’ve wrapped up the first phase of a multi-year effort to rebuild the gray wolf population.
Three females and one male were trapped on the Minnesota mainland in recent weeks and flown to the Lake Superior park. A fifth wolf died during transit.
Two other wolves were already at the park – the last survivors of a population that had nearly disappeared because of inbreeding and other factors.
Officials had hoped to bring some Michigan wolves to the park this year. But superintendent Phyllis Green says bad weather has hampered trapping. She says the next phase of the project could include relocating some Canadian wolves this winter. (AP)