Generall, every employer has a policy or agreement governing ownership of intellectual property developed while you work for the employer.

In a university, intellectual property may be jointly owned by you, the university, and the sponsor. The question of ownership is complicated by the fact that companies funding research have their own policies. At VPI, a company sponsoring research can pay a higher overhead rate for sole ownership of the research results. If you leave the univerity to develop a research idea into a commercial product, then the university is likely to have a right to part of the profits. Many universities have organizations to help researchers commercialize their ideas.