Iowa State University has been ranked 70th in the world among universities granted U.S. utility patents in 2014, according to a new report released by the National Academy of Inventors and the Intellectual Property Owners Association. ISU researchers earned 31 U.S. patents in 2014, including patents for wind turbine tower systems, computer encryption logic, bioasphalt, using mesoporous silicates for delivering bio-molecules into plant cells, and new methods to improve the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The top university for patents, the University of California, earned 453 patents. The NAI and IPO compile the rankings each year by calculating the number of utility patents granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that list a university as the first assignee on the printed patent. Iowa State was the only Iowa university ranked in the top 100.