Research universities can be more than centers of research and education; in the best cases, they can also be hotbeds of innovation and entrepreneurship. We have examined successful innovators and noted similarities and differences. This article describes results from a preliminary investigation that supports a vibrant innovation ecosystem in the fields of materials, energy, and environment at Stanford University. The results are drawn from interviews of a small number of successful innovators in these fields. All of the interview subjects were similar in that they operated within a gap between the present state of the art and a vision of how a particular innovation could reshape the world around them. Important differences were also observed. We found that successful models can be grouped into three successful classes of inquiry: basic research, the search for new solutions to well-known problems, and exploiting the evolutionary arc of technology. Each class of inquiry appears to be matched to definite approaches, and we believe that distinct factors can be used to drive cultural change and enhance the effectiveness of researchers and organizations. Future research in this area may carefully examine these factors and the broader applicability of these findings to other innovation contexts.