In 2007, the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative (USTAR) was created. At the time, their goal was simple: expand the technology economy in Utah by primarily focusing on recruiting top research talent to the University of Utah and Utah State, specifically researchers who had a history of commercializing technology. In theory, this would evolve into the creation of new jobs and businesses within Utah, which sounds fine and dandy until a legislative audit in 2013 revealed USTAR had exaggerated the number of jobs created and the amount of money brought in.
