WARF Celebrates Centennial with $206.9 Million Commitment to UW-Madison Research
2026 research support
This milestone reflects WARF’s enduring mission: to translate university research into real-world benefit. The combined investment strengthens laboratories, accelerates technology commercialization and embeds a permanent home for cross-disciplinary collaboration at the heart of campus.
“This announcement celebrates WARF’s shared legacy with UW-Madison and Morgridge Institute researchers and serves as a springboard into the university’s next era of transformative breakthroughs,” says WARF CEO Erik Iverson.
Investing in people, projects and possibilities
The total $206.9 million commitment consists of:
$50.0 million to fund strategic initiatives, the annual Fall Research Competition and matching grants for externally funded projects.
$35.9 million to directly support faculty researchers, graduate student fellows and staff scientists — fueling both current and future talent on campus.
$39.9 million of operational and functional support for innovation and commercialization services provided by WARF at no cost to the university.
$5.2 million to advance the Morgridge Institute for Research and its mission to improve health.
Additional support that will bolster initiatives like WARF Accelerator and WARF Therapeutics, which guide promising technologies and advance drug discovery.
And, $75.8 million representing the value of WARF’s centennial celebration transfer of its share in the Discovery Building to UW-Madison and the Morgridge Institute as well as funds for future support of the facility.
“WARF’s centennial is not only a time to honor everyone who has sustained WARF’s unwavering support for UW-Madison innovation over the years, but also a moment to look ahead with optimism to shaping another 100 years — and more — of research excellence,” says WARF Board Chair Deborah Keller.
“For a century now, WARF’s support has been instrumental in our efforts as a university to serve the people of Wisconsin, and to help meet real challenges, from investing in UW-Madison innovations that become spin-off companies that stay in the state to creating pathways for promising new cancer treatments,” says UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin. “We remain grateful to WARF for its commitment to advancing research at the university and making a difference for the people we serve.”
A gift of significance: The Discovery Building
In a gesture befitting its centennial, WARF has transferred its ownership in the Discovery Building to its two tenants: UW-Madison and the Morgridge Institute for Research. Opened in 2010 as a hub for interdisciplinary science, the building now enters a new chapter under university-based stewardship.
“This transfer honors the collaborative spirit that defines the Discovery Building and ensures its continued role as a catalyst for collaborative research and innovation,” says Morgridge CEO Brad Schwartz. “It’s a great way to start WARF’s second hundred years.”
A century of support — and a vision for the future
Since its first grant of $1,200 in 1928, WARF has provided more than $4.6 billion in support to UW-Madison and the Morgridge Institute for Research, including $213 million to faculty inventors over the past 20 years. WARF’s self-sustaining model — which covers the full cost of patent management and commercialization — has saved the university and Wisconsin taxpayers $530 million during that same 20-year interval.
Grants to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR) remain the cornerstone of WARF’s annual support. Each year, the Vice Chancellor identifies strategic priorities, and WARF’s Board of Trustees determines the level of funding that will best amplify UW-Madison’s global research leadership.
“WARF’s ongoing support for UW-Madison catalyzes bold new research directions that are critical in responding to society’s most vexing challenges,” says Vice Chancellor for Research Dorota Brzezinska. “WARF’s motto is ‘partnering with University of Wisconsin research to solve the world’s problems,’ and with this support, WARF is doing just that – helping UW-Madison to very effectively and efficiently turn bold ideas into inventions, and inventions into products for the public good. It’s the Wisconsin Idea in action.”
Throughout the foundation’s history, supplemental grants from WARF have catalyzed transformative interdisciplinary initiatives and enabled the construction or revitalization of 52 research facilities across the UW-Madison campus. Among these landmark projects stand the Discovery Building and the newly completed Morgridge Hall—two architectural embodiments of a bold, decades-long vision to create a nexus of collaborative research innovation. Rising side by side on North Orchard Street, these facilities mark the realization of a dream long held by university leaders: a vibrant corridor where disciplines converge, ideas ignite and the future is shaped.
Celebrating a century of discovery
As WARF enters its second century, its commitment to UW-Madison remains steadfast: to empower researchers, spark innovation and build a future where ideas become impact.
More information about WARF’s centennial celebration is available at warf.org/centennial. For a full itemization of WARF’s 2026 support, visit warf.org/grants.
About WARF
Celebrating a century of service in 1925, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) patents and licenses discoveries from UW-Madison research, manages an investment portfolio generated from licensing and investment proceeds, and provides annual grants to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Morgridge Institute for Research to support further scientific investigation and research. By driving collaborations among researchers, investors, industry and entrepreneurs, WARF commercializes innovations from campus through various initiatives. WARF Accelerator improves the commercialization potential of university intellectual property through industry engagement and investment in proof-of-concept milestones to validate market potential, demonstrate commercial value and de-risk technology. WARF Therapeutics partners with UW-Madison and Morgridge Institute researchers employing an industry-focused approach to improve the value propositions of drug candidates. WARF Ventures is an early-stage venture fund that invests in startups based on UW/WARF technologies. Learn more at warf.org.
Jeanan Yasiri Moe
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF)
+1 608-960-9892
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