The process of technology transfer at Caltech is “a function of market pull rather than technology push,” according to Gilbert. Since 1996, Caltech has cultivated more than 80 start-ups from the university.

Caltech operates the Grubstake Program, which is funded by alumni and trustees and provides up to $50,000 in grants to proof-of-concept projects with commercial potential. In exchange, participating faculty are required to allocate half of royalties to the lab and the balance of royalties to sustain the fund.

Gilbert added: “Almost any faculty member [at Caltech] can call a Silicon Valley venture capitalist and get a 20-minute meeting.” In his view, the two types of VCs he encounters are the old-school types who decide within five minutes whether they will fund an entrepreneur and the “young Turks” who undertake “due diligence until you drop dead”.

For companies that make it to Series A rounds of financings, the deals typically range between $3 and $10 million per company. The investors purchase approximately 50 percent of the company while the founders (most often three per company) retain as much as 25 percent.

“The founders get more or else you are killing the golden goose,” Gilbert said. One additional note is that only 37 percent of Caltech start-ups are backed by VC money. The remaining companies are funded by friends and family, angels, independent investors or small public companies.

Banta, who serves as managing principal of the Illinois Emerging Technology Fund in addition to his role at IllinoisVENTURES, described the historical origin of the Offices of Technology Management at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as well as the funding mechanisms.

As described in his presentation, the purpose of IllinoisVENTURES is to create a “seamless system for technology commercialization”. He illustrated how his firm converted more than 750 opportunities into more than 35 “seeded projects” and pointed at Phoenix Coal Corp., iCyt and Advanced Biofuels as portfolio companies leading the effort.

Tiemeier at the University of Chicago acknowledged that “the university has gone through an evolution of how it views tech transfer”.

From the inception of the ARCH Development Corp. in 1986 to the spin off of ARCH Venture Partners in 1994 to the 20 staffers who serve UChicagoTech today, the university has created 46 companies that in total have raised more than $615 million in capital.

Schelhorn of The Ohio State University led a spirited presentation detailing opportunities at her university. Having joined in 2006, Schelhorn’s mission is to forge partnerships between private and public entities in her region. She plans to announce success stories in the years to come.

Crandell, who also serves as chairman of the IVCA, explained that the first ARCH fund was only $9 million but took more than 18 months to bring together. The model of sourcing and funding the top 1 percent of professors has allowed the firm to manage more than $1 billion throughout six funds.