On Feb. 19, 1927, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) completed its first licensing agreement with the Quaker Oats company.

The license, based on a discovery by professor Harry Steenbock, permitted Quaker Oats to fortify its cereals with Vitamin D. Professor Steenbock used ultraviolet radiation to add vitamin D to milk and other foods. These fortified products held unprecedented potential for preventing rickets, a softening and weakening of bones in children, usually due to vitamin D deficiency.

Today, WARF distributes the income from commercial licenses to the UW-Madison, the inventors and their departments. Each year, WARF contributes more than $45 million to fund additional UW-Madison research.