Solder Brings In $40 Mil In Royalties

A material most people never see or touch makes modern life possible. It also earns its federally-backed academic inventors record levels of royalty dollars. The material is solder. Specifically, lead-free solder, used in countless electronic products. Lead-free solder was developed 15 years ago by researchers from the Energy Department's Ames National Laboratory and Iowa State University. In 2011, lead-free solder brought ISU nearly $40 million in royalties, the most in the college's and the lab's history. ISU's contract with the Energy Department lets the university keep royalties from government-funded intellectual property.