The “vast majority” of patents issued in Iowa are being generated in advanced manufacturing research areas, according to a report released yesterday by the Iowa Economic Development Authority. According to the briefing paper prepared for the state by the Battelle Technology Partnership Practice, of the 5,192 patents awarded in Iowa between 2005 and 2010, 4,059 (78 percent) were in advanced manufacturing-related areas. The sector also attracted $30 million in federal small business research funds between 2005 and 2009 for a wide range of projects. A separate report released on Iowa’s information technology sector characterized that industry as divergent, “not growing and not highly concentrated or specialized,” but with employment heavily concentrated in two subsectors: software and computer services and communications network services. To access the reports, click here.