When computer science professor David Naylor started his online Interactive Electronics Laboratory in 1998, he knew its concept was extraordinary for the time.

Naylor and former UIC lab associate Stephan Werges wrote a free downloadable software that allows any student, anywhere, to use "virtual" electrical circuitry items—such as transistors, resistors, and other components—to build and test a circuit online.

Since its introduction, hundreds of students from UIC and other schools have used the online lab to supplement course instruction.

In February 2002, Naylor and Werges took their online facility into the private sector. The two closed an exclusive licensing deal with the university to launch a start-up company called Starthis, built upon patent-pending, machine-control software technology they developed at UIC. The software, originally developed for distance learning and instruction, now will be deployed for industrial use and may, in time, have additional applications.

The knowledge and expertise Naylor and Werges gained from working and teaching at their campus lab led them to start the company. In turn, software being developed at Starthis improves the work of Naylor's UIC lab.

The venture neatly illustrates the winning cycle of an educational outreach program that leads to an entrepreneurial venture, which, in turn, provides direct and indirect benefits to the university.