"You have to be absolutely clear about your policies and principles," David Litster, a physicist and former dean of research at MIT, said at a recent conference on commercializing academic research. "We have to remember that the primary goal of a university is the discovery of new knowledge and the education of students. Patents are just a byproduct of that."

Sharpe says procedures are in place at MU to monitor potential conflicts of interest among faculty "so they don't get overly skewed in their work." He adds that product development in no way compromises the traditional goals of scientific inquiry. "What drives [faculty] research tends to be intellectual interests and curiosity. What we try to do is develop research that can improve peoples' lives," Sharpe says.

Under Sharpe's watch, the number of patents coming out of MU campuses has been growing from a relative trickle to a steady stream. There were just 12 patents issued to inventors on the four university campuses in fiscal year 1999-2000. In FY 2003-2004, there were 25 patents issued. Commercialization is running apace as well. Just eight licenses or options were signed for MU inventions in FY 1999-2000. Last year, there were 33 signings.

The inventiveness of MU faculty is taking many forms. Radioisotopes used for medical imaging and cancer treatment have been among the most successful products. One faculty inventor has started a company to develop a new non-hormonal contraceptive. Another has a company using a new technique to produce difficult-to-manufacture, blue-light-emitting diodes. Also in the works are a drug that shows promise in reversing Type 1 diabetes, an early detection test for breast cancer that utilizes markers found in nipple aspirate fluid, and ways to produce gold and silver nanoparticles that may have many far-reaching applications for electronics and medical therapeutics.

Sharpe is open about the fact that only a fraction of patents are ever licensed and only a fraction of licensed products ever make much money. But while the odds may be small, inventing can prove lucrative. "Jeff Phillips is going to become a very wealthy man," Sharpe says. And MU will become a wealthier university, Phillips adds.

"Not to gloat, but this will be the greatest patent money-wise and life-saving wise to come to the university. Millions and millions of dollars will come to the university. They'll build buildings with this money." While Phillips acknowledges that his invention may boost his income, he plans to continue doing drug research as before at MU. "It hasn't really changed my goals," he said. "I'm still interested in developing products that in my lifetime do important stuff. Always have your patients as your focus, and if you do you'll come out OK."

Phillips' advice to a university hoping that inventive lightning strikes on a regular basis? Encourage researchers, he says, help them learn to recognize when they have something that is really new and marketable: "People don't realize they are inventing things. That's the challenge we have as a university, to really come alongside people, and to be there when it happens."