Success Stories
In each of these examples, the use of intellectual property (patents and/or copyrights) has helped accelerate efforts to develop the innovations, bring them to the public and offer significant benefit.
Manipulating particles with light - Arryx
In 1997, two University of Chicago physicists developed holographic optical tweezers, which use diffracted beams of laser light to manipulate mesoscopic particles (0.1- to 10-micron). The light acts as a "tractor beam" pinning a particle in place and moving it as the beam moves. By diffracting the beam holographically, tens, hundreds or even thousands of particles can be manipulated simultaneously. This makes it possible to manufacture versatile 'tools' for nanotechnology. In late 2000, the University of Chicago helped found a start-up company, Arryx (www.arryx.com), to license and explore the technique's development.
Novel mathematics curriculum - Everyday Learning
In the late 1980s, a new elementary mathematics curriculum, developed by University of Chicago mathematicians, met with little interest from traditional publishers even though the approach demonstrated clear benefits over existing curricula. In response, in 1988, the University helped launch and fund a company, Everyday Learning, to publish the curriculum. Between 1988 and 1995, the company experienced exceptional growth and was included on Inc.'s list of the 500 fastest-growing companies in 1994 and 1995. It was acquired by the Tribune Company in August 1995 and is now a division of McGraw Hill. For more information, see http://www.sra4kids.com/everydaylearning/
Neural networks revolutionize mammography - R2 Technology
Long before the available computing technology could prove the idea, University of Chicago medical physicists conceived of using pattern-recognition neural networks to improve the detection of breast cancer by mammography. The idea was patented in the 1980s, even though the scale of computing power needed was at the time prohibitively expensive. In the 1990s, the idea proved to be remarkably prescient, and in 1993, a company called R2 Technology (R2=second reader) was formed around a license to the University of Chicago patents. R2 launched a product called Image Checker™, which, in clinical trials, improved the detection of breast cancer by 20 percent. Image Checker also showed that 66 percent of breast cancers could have been detected one year earlier, 50 percent two years earlier and 33 percent three years earlier. R2's Image Checker technology is now being adopted rapidly by hospitals around the world. www.r2tech.com
Anticipating machine failure - SmartSignal Corporation
Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory developed a computer-software platform that anticipates a machine's failure long before it happens. The statistical software package can be used with any machinery or plant, train itself in a matter of minutes in a piece of machinery and predict equipment failure sometimes months ahead of time. The technology had the potential to change the way industrial and consumer equipment is operated, enhancing safety, reliability, cost-effectiveness and convenience. But the software lacked a user interface and ran on five different platforms in six different computer languages. In 1997, ARCH Development Corporation - the predecessor of UChicagoTech - formed a company, SmartSignal Corporation (www.smartsignal.com), to license Argonne's copyrighted software and turn it into a user-friendly, marketable product. Today, SmartSignal's customers include Delta Airlines (for jet-engine monitoring), Archer Daniels Midland (for chemical plants), U.S. Steel (for steel manufacture) and Sun Microsystems (for computer hardware and software reliability).
