UMass announces $215K in Tech Development Fund awards

MARTIN T. MEEHAN, president of the University of Massachusetts system, said, "With these awards, we are investing in today and are seeding tomorrow." / COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
MARTIN T. MEEHAN, president of the University of Massachusetts system, said, "With these awards, we are investing in today and are seeding tomorrow." / COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS

DARTMOUTH – Eight University of Massachusetts technology projects will each receive $25,000 in Tech Development Fund Awards, University of Massachusetts President Martin T. Meehan said Thursday.

“With these awards, we are investing in today and are seeding tomorrow. This program pays enormous scientific and economic dividends and demonstrates the critical role that public research universities play in our world,” Meehan said.

Winners include a drug that may be more effective at fighting cancer, antibiotics derived from marine organisms, a low-noise amplifier for quantum computers and an all-natural anti-fogging substance that would prevent condensation buildup on glass surfaces.

Awarding of Tech Development Funds is administered by the Office of Technology Commercialization and Venture, which is based out of the university president’s office in Boston. Tech Development Award funds are earned from commercial licensing income derived from previous faculty projects and a grant from the president’s office.

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Originating from federal funding, each of the eight projects will use the funds to further advance their projects from the development, or prototype, phase.

According to Abigail Barrow, interim executive director of the OCTV, the following recipients, picked from a pool of 35 applicants representing all five UMass campuses, were selected for commercial viability and their potential to become a startup company or receive licensing.

  • Matthew Bell, Engineering Department, UMass Boston, “Practical Quantum Limited Amplifiers for Secure Communications and Quantum Information Processing.” This team will prototype and commercialize a new type of low-noise amplifier to be used in a quantum computer, a new approach to computing.
  • Sivappa Rasapalli, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UMass Dartmouth, “Developing Novel Antibiotics: Biomimetic Optimization of Marine Natural Product Inspired Leads for Dual Efflux pump-Biofilm Inhibition.” This team at UMass Dartmouth has developed anti-bacterial marine compounds and will collaborate with local pharmaceutical companies toward drug discovery.
  • Alfred Crosby, Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, UMass Amherst, “CR Diagnostics: Measuring In Vivo, Soft Tissue Mechanics.” This technology, which involves the measurement of pressure in synthetic materials or biological tissue, in vivo, addresses a critical need in medical research and may be able to significantly decrease time and cost of clinical procedures and trials.
  • Beth A. McCormick and Dr. Regino Mercado-Lubo, Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, UMass Medical School, “Development of SipA Adjuvant Chemotherapy Targeted to Multidrug Resistant Tumors.” The technology will develop and utilize a bacterial pathogen to assist in cancer therapeutics, with the aim of reducing the amount of chemotherapeutics needed for effective cancer cell killing, lessening side effects and reducing the incidences of drug resistance. This technology could lead to the development of a new and robust class of multidrug resistance therapeutics targeted to certain cancers.
  • Akshay Kokil and Daniel Schmidt, Department of Plastics Engineering, UMass Lowell, “Vinyl hydroxyl Ether Resins: A New Family of Resins.” Vinyl hydroxyl ether resins are designed to display superior chemical and thermal resistance. Potential commercial applications include coatings for chemical storage tanks, pipes and ducting.
  • Joey Mead, Carol Barry D. Eng., Artee Panwar, Tehila Nahum, Department of Plastics Engineering, UMass Lowell (with Hanna Dodiuk and Samuel Kenig from the Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, Israel), “Commercialization of Corrosion Resistant Coatings with Improved Durability.” The team will develop corrosion-resistant coatings based on their superhydrophobic surface coatings that repel both water and even reduce ice accumulation. The coating can be applied using a commercial spray gun and has proven to be highly durable under a variety of abrasion tests. Corrosion is a costly problem for both commercial and defense related industries.
  • Jie Song, Department of Orthopedics and Physical Rehabilitation, UMass Medical School, “Injectable temporary surgical adhesion barriers.” This technology features injectable hydrogels with precisely controlled degradation over a broad timeframe to prevent scarring and internal tissue adhesions following surgical procedures.
  • Gang Han, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, UMass Medical School, “The Development of Near-infrared Persistent Luminescence Nanocrystals for Biomedical Applications.” Han’s lab has developed new bioluminescence-like nanoparticles. The successful development of these long-lasting, light-emitting nanocrystals would provide improved, noninvasive imaging technology for evaluating structural and functional biological processes in living animals and patients.

Additional discretionary awards, funding aimed at helping target potential commercial markets, were awarded to the following recipients:

  • Alexey Tonyushkin, Physics Department, UMass Boston, “Novel Design of FFL-based Magnetic Particle Imaging Devices.” $5,000 award. Magnetic Particle Imaging or MPI is an emerging biomedical imaging that is more advanced than Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
  • Kenneth Carter and Yinyong Li, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, UMass Amherst, “FogKicker.” $10,000 award. The FogKicker is a new, patent-pending anti-fog solution made from natural materials. Uses include protection of vehicle windshields, eyewear, mirrors, windows and display screens.

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