Smart schools resist the temptation to treat every new idea like it's the next Google.

To look in on university research is to see the subatomic structure of modern entrepreneurial capitalism. Through a process called technology transfer, academic researchers patent their work, then license it, often under a royalty agreement, to companies that ultimately bring the innovation to market. Many of the great breakthroughs of the past 30 years--in fields such as computing, telecom, the Internet, and fiber optics--were first conceived in a university lab.

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