News Center

The pursuit of entrepreneurialism is a dogged, risky and somewhat sweaty one. For those interested in being educated in the venture, The Princeton Review's annual ranking of the top 25 undergraduate and top 25 graduate entrepreneurship programs offered at U.S. institutions provides a picture of the best places to get schooled.

SALT LAKE CITY—The University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business has joined the ranks of "Entrepreneur Magazine’s" Top 25, winning special recognition for its innovative, experience-based approach to business education (http://www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges/undergrad/1.html).

SALT LAKE CITY—As an orthopedic and spinal surgeon in training in 2004, Dr. Alpesh Patel knew there had to be a better way to detect when a surgeon accidentally nicks an esophagus or a bowel with a scalpel.

"When it does occur it actually can be pretty devastating to a patient, with a high mortality rate," Patel said. "There wasn't a great way in real time to detect that this injury has occurred." In fact, most leaks aren't detected until after the surgery site is closed and the patient begins to exhibit symptoms of a complication.

Imagine being able to tell if someone is lying based on their eye movement, or how about being able to rid children of head lice without using any chemicals, or using a small device to pinpoint electrical shorts in vehicles.

Students, professors and investors are doing just that through the University of Utah, making the school the largest university generator of startups in the U.S. after tying the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the previous two years.

University of Utah students are earning more than just grades. Intellectual-property rights developed at the school generated licensing fees of more than $54 million over the three-year period from 2007 to 2009.