Since the 1980 passage of the US Bayh-Dole Act, academic technology transfer has gained profile globally as a key component of knowledge-driven economic development. Research universities are seen as key contributors. In this article, focusing on the USA and drawing on over twenty years of experience in the field of academic technology transfer in the USA and Canada, John Fraser, a former President of AUTM, the global association of academic technology transfer professionals, uses recently published statistics as a springboard for his perspective on the increasing economic and social importance of the commercialization of discoveries and innovations emanating from academic research. He looks in particular at trends in the means by which transfer is achieved and the search for new and more accurate ways of measuring its effectiveness and impact as well as the "success" of university technology licensing offices. (Contains 1 figure, 2 tables, and 10 notes.)