University of Utah celebrates its 5,000th invention

SALT LAKE CITY — Richard Brown was an undergraduate at BYU when he started his first company, working with microwave engineers on a device that could cut knot-free lumber.

Thirty-five years later, the University of Utah's engineering dean is still collaborating and inventing, and he has moved on to his fourth company. The University of Utah on Tuesday celebrated his latest idea, a "smart food tray," as the school's 5,000th invention since it started keeping records in 1965.

Back then, it was another Dean Brown, engineering dean Wayne Brown — founder of the Wayne Brown Institute that fosters entrepreneurship — who logged the first invention, a "continuous electroplating process and apparatus" used to purify metals.

Richard Brown, along with Joel Ehrenkranz, an Intermountain Healthcare endocrinologist who stops by Brown's office for weekly brainstorming sessions, developed the food tray, which measures carbohydrate, fat, protein and calorie consumption in real time.

"It's not a question of having ideas," Ehrenkranz said. "It's knowing which ones to back."

Neither will take credit for having the idea first. The tray could help diabetes sufferers precisely monitor the amount of insulin they need; it could also track calories for dieters, sodium and cholesterol for those with heart problems or potassium for people with kidney failure.

An initial trial is planned at Intermountain Medical Center now that Brown and Ehrenkranz have filed an "invention disclosure," an official notice to the school that they believe they have a novel idea. It will be at least four years until they know their chances at securing a patent.

Researchers affiliated with universities keep a one-third interest in their work; their department and the school each get a third, as well. The U. has long boasted of its success in commercializing research, and overtook MIT last year for number of spinoff companies.

Speaking of faculty in general, Brown said, "We want to see that the results of our research make a difference in the world. There's no better form of disseminating research results than creating a product."

In 2009, the school had 19 startup companies, 79 executed licences and 108 patent applications, according to a survey by the Association of University Technology Managers. It took in $12.4 million in licensing income, 25th in the country, while spending $354 million on research.