The worldwide rankings, , place 麻豆原创 in a tie with Yale University (57) and ahead of U.S. institutions such as Vanderbilt (56), Princeton (44) and Florida State University (38).

The NAI rankings may be further adjusted as patent corrections are submitted by universities.

This is the 11^th year that 麻豆原创 has ranked in the top 100 universities in the world for patents.

鈥淚nnovation is at the heart of our mission at 麻豆原创, and these latest patent rankings reaffirm our commitment to pushing boundaries and making impactful advancements,” says Winston V. Schoenfeld, 麻豆原创鈥檚 interim vice president for research and innovation. 鈥淭he range of inventions reflects the dedication and ingenuity of our researchers across the research enterprise, and their efforts continue to position 麻豆原创 as a leader in innovation, both nationally and globally.”

The patents were secured by 麻豆原创鈥檚聽, which brings discoveries to the marketplace and connects 麻豆原创 researchers with companies and entrepreneurs to transform innovative ideas into successful products.

Svetlana Shtrom听鈥�08MBA, director of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Technology Transfer Office, says university patents are a valuable asset for universities, industry and society.

鈥淧atents facilitate transfer of technology from universities and foster collaboration between academia and the private sector,鈥� Shtrom says.聽鈥淭hrough collaboration with industry, university technologies provide solutions to pressing problems and create new products and services that benefit the public.鈥�

She says the patents also reflect the commitment of the university鈥檚 researchers to innovation, and they serve as a beacon to attract more students and faculty who are interested in cutting-edge research and entrepreneurship.

Here are a few of the 麻豆原创 inventions that led to patents in 2023:

Passive Insect Surveillance Sensor Device
Lead researcher: Bradley Willenberg, assistant professor, 麻豆原创

麻豆原创 researchers have developed a low-cost, easy-to-use device for detection of mosquitos and other insects that also indicates whether an insect carries a specific infectious disease. Through simple color-based tests (colorimetric assays) and biomolecular tools for detection (DNA aptamers conjugated to nanoparticles), a user can monitor viral presence in insect saliva samples. By doing so, various mosquito-borne emerging pathogens, including Zika, Dengue, and Chikunguya, can be detected.聽 The easily deployable technology can potentially help in the global fight and prevention against these deadly diseases. The .

Antiplasmodial Compounds
Lead researcher: Debopam Chakrabarti, professor and head,

This technology is a method of treatment for malaria by administration of specific fungus-derived compounds. Annually, malaria affects more than 200 million people and kills more than 600,000. Caused by Plasmodium parasites carried in mosquitos, an effective treatment is desperately needed. 麻豆原创 researchers used a聽 library of fungi found in habitats and ecological niches across the U.S. to find potential antimalarial compounds. The unique chemicals they identified provide starting points for developing lead compounds of new drugs against malaria. The research team is .

Coating for Capturing and Killing Viruses on Surfaces
Lead researcher: Suditpa Seal, Pegasus Professor and chair,

This technology is a nano-coating designed to capture, hold and kill viruses on a surface, such as on personal protective equipment and clothing, using natural light sources to protect against infections.

The COVID-killing coating is made with a nanomaterial that activates under white light, such as sunlight or LED light. As long as the nanomaterial is exposed to a continuous light source, it can regenerate its antiviral properties, creating a self-cleaning effect.

The efficacy of the disinfectant was shown through a study that was published in聽ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces聽this past year. The study found that the coating can not only destroy the COVID-19 virus, but it can also聽combat the spread of Zika virus, SARS, parainfluenza, rhinovirus and vesicular stomatitis.

Production of Nanoporous Films
Lead researcher: Yang Yang, associate professor,

麻豆原创 researchers have created , such as for fuel cells, hydrogen production, photocatalysts, sensing and energy storage, and electrodes in supercapacitors. The method improves performance and versatility and does not require use of costly precious metals, such as gold. Instead, the 麻豆原创 technology uses low-cost, earth-abundant resources such as iron, cobalt and nickel. The nanoporous thin films are designed to help meet today鈥檚 challenges in renewable energy production and conversion applications.

Method of Forming High-Throughput 3d Printed Microelectrode Array
Lead researcher: Swaminathan Rajaraman, associate professor, NanoScience Technology Center

This invention is a . The device has small channels and chambers that guide liquids, like samples or chemicals, to a central area where there are special electrodes. These electrodes can send and record electrical signals from tiny groups of cells called spheroids. Scientists can use this to see how cells react to different conditions and substances. The innovation offers an easy way to study biological cells, tissues and electrophysiological responses. The technology can help lead to advancements in disease modeling, toxicity assessments and drug discovery.

Adaptive Visual Overlay for Anatomical Simulation
Lead researcher: Greg Welch, Pegasus Professor, AdventHealth Endowed Chair in Healthcare Simulation,

This anatomical simulation allows users to wear a head-mounted display that presents an anatomical scenario onto a patient to allow for medical training, surgical training or other instruction. Users who experience the simulation will see a real body part or other anatomical items projected through an augmented reality system. The innovative, and provides constant, dynamic feedback to medical trainees as they treat wounds. Almost like a video game in real-life, the Tactile-Visual Wound Simulation Unit portrays the look, feel, and even the smell of different types of human wounds (such as a puncture, stab, slice or tear). It also tracks and analyzes a trainee’s treatment responses and provides corrective instructions.

System for Extracting Water from Lunar Regolith and Associated Method
Lead researcher: Phil Metzger 鈥�00MS鈥�05PhD, associate scientist,

This invention is and help to establish the industry. The process consists of robot mining of the regolith (loose, heterogeneous superficial deposits covering solid rock), transferring the mined material to a conveyer, and passing the soil through grinding and crushing stages. Included are mechanisms to sort the material into ice, metals, and other minerals, and final transport and cleanup. This technology allows mining water on the moon, which supports NASA missions, enables further commercial operations in space, and supports Space Force activities.

Inorganic Paint Pigment with Plasmonic Aluminum Reflector Layers and Related Methods
Lead researcher: Debashis Chanda, professor, NanoScience Technology Center

This invention, a plasmonic paint, draws inspiration from butterflies to create the first environmentally friendly, large-scale and multicolor alternative to pigment-based colorants, which can contribute to energy-saving efforts and help reduce impacts on climate.

The plasmonic paint uses nanoscale structural arrangement of colorless materials 鈥� aluminum and aluminum oxide 鈥� instead of pigments to create colors.

While pigment colorants control light absorption based on the electronic property of the pigment material, hence every color needs a new molecule, structural colorants control the way light is reflected, scattered or absorbed based on the geometrical arrangement of nanostructures.

Such structural colors are environmentally friendly as they only use metals and oxides, unlike pigment-based colors that use artificially synthesized molecules.

The researchers have combined their structural color flakes with a commercial binder to form long-lasting paints of all colors. And because plasmonic paint reflects the entire infrared spectrum, less heat is absorbed by the paint, resulting in the underneath surface staying 25 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than it would if it were covered with standard commercial paint.

Plasmonic paint is also lightweight, a result of the paint’s large area-to-thickness ratio, with full coloration achieved at a paint thickness of only 150 nanometers, making it the lightest paint in the world.

System and Method for Radio Frequency Power Sensing and Scavenging Based on Phonon-electron Coupling in Acoustic Waveguides
Lead researcher: Hakhamanesh Mansoorzare 鈥�21, postdoctoral researcher,

To meet the growing energy needs of the internet of things (IoT) and wireless communication systems, this new technology is .

The invention harvests ambient energy, specifically radio frequency electromagnetic waves, the most abundant form of communication among IoT nodes and hubs.

The technology can reduce the electronic industry鈥檚 reliance on batteries and broaden the expansion of the IoT and its energy needs.

麻豆原创 secured 63 patents in 2022, ranking it No. 53 in the world and No. 21 among public universities in the nation, as shown in the annual Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted U.S. Utility Patent rankings report released this week.

This places the university ahead of leading public and private institutions such as Yale University (61 patents), Carnegie Mellon University (59 patents), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (49 patents) and Florida State University (33 patents).

This is the 10th year that 麻豆原创 has ranked in the top 100 universities in the world for patents, and the new ranking represents an seven-spot jump from last year鈥檚 worldwide ranking.

鈥淚 continue to be impressed by the sustained technology development of our 麻豆原创 researchers 鈥� placing 麻豆原创 among the top 25 public universities in the U.S. for patents granted and surpassing many other prestigious institutions,鈥� says Winston Schoenfeld, 麻豆原创鈥檚 interim vice president for research and innovation.聽鈥溌槎乖粹�檚 consistent top rankings over the last decade demonstrate our strong dedication as a research institution to innovation and translation for societal benefit.鈥�

Svetlana Shtrom ’08MBA, director of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Office of Technology Transfer, says 麻豆原创 is very strategic in selecting inventions for patent protection to ensure fiscal responsibility and to maximize the potential of receiving impactful patents.

鈥淣ot every invention results in a patent,鈥� Shtrom says. 鈥淔or an invention to be patentable, it must be deemed by the United States Patent and Trademark Office to be novel, nonobvious and useful. 麻豆原创鈥檚 success in receiving patents reflects the depth of the university鈥檚 research and the commitment of its researchers to seek solutions to pressing problems, identify the most efficient and effective methods, and reach beyond the well-established standards to create impactful innovations.鈥�

Here are a few of the 麻豆原创 inventions that led to patents in 2022:

Interdigitated Electrodes For In vitro Analysis of Cells

Lead researcher: Swaminathan Rajaraman, associate professor, NanoScience Technology Center

This invention is a new tool for biosensing that uses nanoengineering, optics and electrical engineering to increase data collection and improve decision-making during in vitro drug development, single cell analysis, organs on a chip studies and toxicity testing. The nano-optics, or plasmonics, in the sensors enhance detection limits by several orders of magnitude. The tool enables electrical and optical analysis of both single cells and cell networks.

Pharmaceutical testing of vital drug compounds is very expensive and time consuming. Tools such as this invention, along with human cells, help with weeding out ineffective drug compounds and advancing promising ones, thereby saving time and money.

麻豆原创 is actively .

Visual-Tactile Virtual Telepresence

Lead researcher: Greg Welch, AdventHealth Endowed Chair in Healthcare Simulation in 麻豆原创鈥檚聽College of Nursing

This invention is a tactile-visual system for social interactions between isolated patients (for example, those with COVID-19) and remote visitors such as loved ones, family members, friends or volunteers. Besides enabling people to visually interact with each other, the system gives isolated patients the perception of being touched and the visitors the perception of touching. For example, a loved one might be able to virtually stroke the patient鈥檚 arm or head, or even squeeze the patient鈥檚 hand. A simple realization might include tactile transducer 鈥渟trips鈥� placed on the patient with two-way video via touch-sensitive tablets, where touching the visual image of the strips on the tablet results in tactile sensations on the patient鈥檚 skin.

麻豆原创 is actively .

Monolithic Neural Interface System

Lead researcher: Brian Kim, associate professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

This invention is an innovative brain-machine interface (BMI) system that can enable throughput of 1,000 or more parallel recordings to repair human cognitive or sensory-motor functions. Current BMIs consist of bulky devices with massive external wire connections and packaging complexity. By internalizing the external wires within integrated circuits and miniaturizing the interconnections onto a single silicon chip, 麻豆原创’s new monolithically integrated neural interface (MINI) device provides unprecedented scalability for high-density recordings. Thus, embedding more than 1,000 channels, 1,000 amplifiers and 1,000 electrodes on a silicon die is possible. Wireless and battery-less, the new system offers the large-scale recording capability needed to advance brain research, brain mapping, and clinical translations of BMI recordings.

麻豆原创 is actively .

Cerium Oxide Nanoparticle Compositions and Methods

Lead researcher: Sudipta Seal, Pegasus Professor and chair of the聽Department of Materials Science and Engineering

This invention is a wet chemical synthesis process for fabricating cerium nanoparticles (CNPs) used in biomedical applications. With a synthesis process primarily based in water, particle size and chemistry can be controlled while also keeping costs low. The process also allows the CNPs to be easily integrated into many different applications, such as surface coatings and sunscreens. For instance when integrated into a sunscreen, CNPs can absorb dangerous, cell-killing free radicals produced during solar radiation exposure, which could be important not only for beachgoers but also for astronauts in space.

麻豆原创 is actively .

Spermine Pro-Drugs

Lead researcher: Otto Phanstiel, professor, College of Medicine

This invention is a spermine pro-drug designed to treat symptoms of a low spermine disorder. The invention provides a new potential therapy for Snyder Robinson Syndrome (SRS). Patients with SRS have little or no spermine synthase (SMS) enzyme activity and cannot effectively make spermine from spermidine. Spermine is one of the naturally occurring polyamines and plays important roles in maintaining cell health.

麻豆原创 is actively .

Color-Changing Fabric and Applications

Lead researcher: Ayman Abouraddy, Florida Photonics Center of Excellence Professor, College of Optics and Photonics

This invention is a color-changing fabric that enables a user to change colors and patterns on demand. For example, a person wearing a shirt and slacks made with the 麻豆原创 technology ChroMorphous庐 can use her smartphone to change the colors and patterns without switching to another outfit. The same applies to a purse or backpack to match the outfit. Unlike existing color-changing technologies, the 麻豆原创 invention does not depend on a wearer鈥檚 body heat, a room鈥檚 ambient temperature, or sunlight to work. ChroMorphous庐 is like traditional fabric 鈥� cut it, sew it, wash and iron it. Various applications include fashion and accessories, upholstery, medical, defense and artistic uses.

For instance, in a particular field like medicine, you could imagine a children’s hospital room that allows the child to change the color and patterns on the curtains and furniture to fit their personality. Being treated in a hospital can be hard for anyone, especially a child. By allowing them to feel a bit more comfortable and in control of their environment, it can make their hospital stay less stressful, which makes it easier for the doctors and nurses to treat the child.

麻豆原创 is actively .

Plasmon-Assisted Photothermoelectric Effect-based Detection of Infrared Radiation on Asymmetrically Patterned Graphene

Lead researcher: Debashis Chanda, professor in 麻豆原创鈥檚 NanoScience Technology Center

This invention is a low-cost method that can enable ultrafast, tunable mid-infrared detection and imaging without the need for expensive and complex cryogenic cooling. The novel graphene-based method paves the way for multi-spectral imaging in the mid-IR domain, which is not available in current technologies. Companies can use the invention for IR detection and imaging in the 3-5 碌m range band and the 8-12 碌m band for areas such as space exploration, spectroscopy, chemical/biological identification, short-range communication and remote sensing.

This technology is licensed to a startup company.

Filtration System and Method for Treating Water Containing Nitrogen and Phosphorous Compounds

Lead researcher: Ni-bin Chang, professor, Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering

This invention is a filtration system that effectively removes nitrogen and phosphorus from water and transforms the compounds into reusable byproducts: ammonia and aluminum phosphate. The 麻豆原创 aluminum-based green environmental media, AGEM(^TM), compositions can co-treat stormwater runoff, wastewater effluent and agricultural discharge.

This technology is licensed.

About the Rankings

The NAI has released the rankings based on calendar year data provided by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) since 2013.

The NAI is a member organization comprising U.S. and international universities, and governmental and nonprofit research institutes, with more than 4,000 individual inventor members and fellows spanning over 250 institutions worldwide. It was founded in 2010 to recognize and encourage inventors with patents issued from the USPTO, enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate, and mentor innovative students, and translate the inventions of its members to benefit society.

Called the Virtual Experience Research Accelerator, or VERA, the system will enable researchers to carry out large studies in extended reality (XR) environments, including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality and mixed reality, with large and wide-ranging populations. The four-year project will be led by Professor Greg Welch, a computer scientist and engineer, and the AdventHealth Endowed Chair in Healthcare Simulation in 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Nursing. Welch also holds secondary appointments in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and the School of Modeling, Simulation and Training (SMST).

The NSF announced the funding today as part of a $16.1 million investment the agency is making in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure through its Computer and Information Science and Engineering聽 (CISE) Community Research Infrastructure 鈥� or CCRI 鈥� program.

鈥淰ERA could transform the way XR researchers carry out human subjects research,鈥� Welch says. 鈥淚t will allow researchers to run studies relatively quickly, using a large number of study participants with wide-ranging demographics, to realize faster generation of better-quality results that are more generalizable to the larger population.鈥�

One goal of the VERA project is to provide researchers with a new and powerful tool that could lead to improved XR technologies that are more effective for the user and make XR research more available to underrepresented groups, such as older adults or people with disabilities, who could potentially benefit from the technology, Welch says.

Other institutions also receiving NSF CCRI awards this year are the University of Pennsylvania; the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; UCLA; and Penn State.

The 2023 CCRI projects will provide researchers and students across the nation with access to transformative resources through platforms for carrying out AI research on social robotics and research in immersive virtual environments that could also benefit AI research.

鈥淎 critical element to the success of the AI research revolution is ensuring that researchers have access to the data and platforms required to continue to drive innovation and scalability in AI technologies and systems,鈥� says NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. 鈥淭his infrastructure must be accessible to a full breadth and variety of talent interested in AI [research and development], as that is the driving force behind modern discoveries.鈥�

While VERA is primarily aimed at human subjects research in XR, it will also contribute to the success of AI research by providing researchers with a tool for collecting large data sets of realistic human behavior that is representative of the general population, Welch says.

About VERA

The VERA project will address a critical problem in human subjects research in XR 鈥� a vast majority of the studies rely on relatively small convenience samples of college-age participants that are not demographically mixed and take a relatively long time to carry out, Welch says.

鈥淏ecause laboratory-based studies are relatively slow, they are typically limited to relatively small population samples, and because those samples are not typically representative of the general population, the findings typically are not either,鈥� he says.

VERA will combine the ideas of distributed lab-based studies, online studies, research panels, crowdsourcing and virtual environments into a unified system for carrying out XR-based human subjects research. To create a large, wide-ranging pool of research participants, the team will recruit participants from around the country to serve in a standing participant pool.

The system will be comprised of a study management program, the participant pool, and a virtual metaworld where participants can join studies, and researchers can attend meetings and events as well as interact with 3D visualizations of final study data.

Individuals recruited for the VERA participant pool will include those who already own VR equipment as well as those who will have it provided to them. The system will allow for participants to take part in studies remotely, without having to come to a lab.

The VERA Team

In addition to Welch, the VERA team includes principal investigators Shiri Azenkot, an associate professor with Cornell Tech and a co-founder and Director of XR Access; Jeremy Bailenson, a Thomas More Storke Professor at Stanford University; Gerd Bruder, a research associate professor with 麻豆原创鈥檚 Institute of Simulation and Training, SMST; Tabitha Peck, an associate professor with Davidson College; and Valerie Jones Taylor, an associate professor with Lehigh University.

Co-investigators are Jonathan Beever, an associate professor in 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Arts and Humanities; Nicholas Alvaro Coles, a research scientist with Stanford University and the Director of the Psychological Science Accelerator; Carolina Cruz-Neira, an Agere Chair Professor in 麻豆原创鈥檚 Department of Computer Science; John Murray, an assistant professor in 麻豆原创鈥檚 Nicholson School of Communication and Media; and Rui Xie, an assistant professor in 麻豆原创鈥檚 Department of Statistics and Data Science.

Several industry and nonprofit organizations are involved, as is the XR Association.

Next Steps

The VERA team will begin developing the system and curating a participant pool during the first year of the work, as well as build a community around the project.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really a joy to be working on this,鈥� Welch says. 鈥淲ith VERA, both established and advancing researchers will have a new power tool to do more great research, and researchers who do not have a laboratory where they can run XR human subjects research, due to perhaps money or space limitations, will now have a practical and powerful way to run studies. VERA offers a chance to do something for the amazing XR research community, by making high-quality human subjects research accessible to more researchers.鈥�

Researcher Credentials

Welch received his doctorate in computer science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and joined 麻豆原创 in 2011.

Bruder received his doctorate in computer science from the University of Hamburg in Germany and joined 麻豆原创 in 2016.

Beever received his doctorate in philosophy from Purdue University and joined 麻豆原创 in 2015.

Cruz-Neira received her doctorate in computer science/virtual reality from the University of Illinois Chicago and joined 麻豆原创 in 2020.

Murray received his doctorate in computer science from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and joined 麻豆原创 in 2018.

Xie received his doctorate in statistics from the University of Georgia and joined 麻豆原创 in 2019.

The report ranked 麻豆原创 No. 27 among public universities in the nation in 2021 and No. 60 worldwide.

The is conducted by the National Academy of Inventors and the Intellectual Property Owners Association. It ranks institutions every year based on the number of patents received through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

麻豆原创 secured 45 patents in 2021 and was ahead of Carnegie Mellon (38), Texas A&M University (40) and Pennsylvania State University (39). The three universities that earned the top spots were The University of California system (589), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (335) and The University of Texas (203).

“Patents are an important element in the transition of technological advancements into societal benefit,鈥� says Winston Schoenfeld, 麻豆原创鈥檚 interim vice president for research. 鈥溌槎乖粹�檚 consistent ranking among top patent producers speaks to the value of technologies our researchers continue to develop and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to ensuring these realize true impact through patenting and translation.”

The patents were secured by 麻豆原创鈥檚 , which brings discoveries to the marketplace through intellectual property protection, marketing and licensing processes and connects 麻豆原创 researchers with companies and entrepreneurs to transform innovative ideas into successful products.

Svetlana Shtrom 鈥�08MBA, director of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Technology Transfer Office, says patents reflect the depth of university鈥檚 research and innovation.

鈥淔or an invention to be patentable, it must be novel, nonobvious and useful,鈥� Shtrom says.聽 鈥溌槎乖粹�檚 patent ranking is a testament to our pioneering researchers and their tireless efforts to advance the frontiers of science, engineering and medicine.鈥�

Here are some of the 麻豆原创 inventions that led to patents in 2021:

Heart Failure Readmission Evaluation and Prevention Systems and Methods

Lead researcher: Thomas Wan, professor and associate dean for research in the College of Health Professions and Sciences

This invention is a decision support tool for enhancing patient care and reducing hospital readmissions related to heart failure. The innovation enables hospitals to identify and analyze patient-centric human factors such as choice, rest, environment, nutrition, habits, activity and other human factors that affect a patient’s health outcomes. Results generated by the tool enable medical practitioners and patients to develop and use interventions that mitigate the risks of readmission.

Autonomous Systems Human Controller Simulation

Lead researcher: Gregory Welch, Pegasus Professor and AdventHealth Endowed Chair in Healthcare Simulation in the 麻豆原创 College of Nursing

This invention uses dynamic, realistic simulations to facilitate real human awareness and trust in an autonomous control system like a self-driving vehicle. Studies have shown that real humans have negative feelings, such as uncertainty, concern, stress or anxiety, toward automated systems. This invention provides a dynamic virtual human who continually shows awareness of a system鈥檚 state, reacting to situational data in synchronization with the system. The invention can be used for medical, financial and other autonomous systems.

Synergistic Iron and Clay-Based Green Environmental Media for Nutrient Removal

Lead researcher: Ni-Bin Chang, professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science

This invention is a green, cost-effective water filtration system. It removes excess nutrients including nitrogen and phosphorus from stormwater, wastewater, and agricultural discharge. Using a mix of clay, sand and iron particles, the invention’s green environmental media efficiently removes nitrogen and phosphorus that can then be reused in crops, gardens and yards. This invention is licensed to a publicly traded, internationally recognized water management products and services company.

Multi-component In Vitro System to Deduce Cell Signaling Pathways by Electronic Stimulation Patterns

Lead researcher: James Hickman, founding director and professor in the 麻豆原创

This invention is a cell culture analog system that helps reduce dependency on animal testing while providing improved predictions of responses of humans or other organisms, such as plants, animals or insects. The system analyzes different cell types and records the cell responses before, during and after a stimulus. In example applications, the multi-component in vitro system can mimic or simulate the effects of living tissues and organs, such as cardiac pacemaking, muscle dynamics, and neuronal information processing. This patent is licensed to a 麻豆原创 startup company, Hesperos, Inc., which is accelerating drug discovery using a human-on-a-chip platform.

Agrichemical Compositions and Methods of Making and Using Same

Lead researcher: Swadeshmukul Santra, professor in the NanoScience Technology Center, , and

This invention, also known as T-SOL, simultaneously enhances plant growth, increases crop yields, and protects plants from bacterial and fungal diseases. Examples include citrus canker, citrus greening, scab and bacterial leaf spot. Usable in liquid or powder form, the new green technology is eco-friendly and safely eliminates as much as 99% of harmful microorganisms from a plant鈥檚 surface.

Heterostructured Thin-film Catalysts Comprising Nanocavities

Lead Researcher: Yang Yang, associate professor in the Nanoscience Technology Center

This invention is a catalyst that enables better use of alternative fuel sources. The catalyst increases the energy harvesting capabilities of solar cells and can also function as a photocatalyst for water splitting 鈥� the chemical reaction used to derive hydrogen fuel from seawater. Developed using low-cost, nontoxic, and chemically stable titanium dioxide, the technology works without heavy doping, narrow band gap semiconductors, or costly and potentially environmentally toxic noble metals and co-catalysts. .

Polymer Composite Having Dispersed Transition Metal Oxide Particles

Lead Researcher: Sudipta Seal, chair of and professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering

This invention enables manufacturers to produce polymer composites with more effective, higher-performing nanoparticles than other methods used today. Polymer composites are essential to energetic materials (propellants, explosives, fuels), optics and structural materials. Compared to other powder-based preparation methods, the 麻豆原创 technology also improves worker safety by eliminating the need for powder handling. The invention is licensed to a 麻豆原创 startup company, Helicon Chemical Company, which is developing a drop-in-ready, upgraded propellant binder that will improve the performance of missiles, rockets, aerospace propulsion systems and munitions for government and commercial customers. The company’s proprietary technology allows for the rapid modernization of current armaments and future hypersonic weapons programs 鈥� aligning with one of the Department of Defense鈥檚 top research and development priorities for 2022. The startup has been awarded multiple Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer grants by U.S. defense agencies to conduct the feasibility and scaleup of the technology. Currently, the startup is in the process of raising series A funding.

in 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Nursing. The computer scientist and engineer is also the co-director of the聽. He is one of 164 national faculty members, only 10 from Florida, who will be honored at the NAI鈥檚 national conference on Wednesday in Phoenix, AZ.

The NAI Fellows Program recognizes academic inventors who have demonstrated a spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society. Election to NAI Fellow is the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors, according to the NAI.

Cartwright will be part of a panel of university presidents who will discuss the role of innovation in university culture, innovating for future generations and the role of inventions in promotion and tenure. The awards induction ceremony will follow later in the day. The Florida High Tech Corridor is sponsoring many of the conferences events.

Welch聽is the university鈥檚 17^th NAI fellow. He holds additional faculty appointments in 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Engineering and Computer Science聽and in the聽麻豆原创 Institute for Simulation and Training within the .聽聽His work has resulted in 18 ideas or products that have eventually been granted patents 鈥� including 10 at 麻豆原创, which the Technology Transfer Office is working to license to companies. The key to innovation is collaboration, time to think and finding solutions to real problems, he recently said.

Welch has a vast range of experience from working at NASA鈥檚 Jet Propulsion Lab on the Voyager project to serving as a research professor at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill for many years before joining 麻豆原创 in 2011.

The past two years have been exceptionally accomplished ones for Welch, a Chicago native. In 2020, he was named a Pegasus Professor 鈥� the highest honor bestowed to faculty at the university. Last month he also earned recognition at the

To date, NAI Fellows hold more than 48,000 issued U.S. patents, which have generated over 13,000 licensed technologies and companies, and created more than one million jobs. In addition, over $3 trillion in revenue has been generated based on NAI Fellow discoveries.

The 2021 Fellow class hails from 116 research universities and governmental and non-profit research institutes worldwide. They collectively hold over 4,800 issued U.S. patents.聽Among the new class of fellows聽are 33 members of the National Academies聽of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and three Nobel Laureates, as well as other honors and distinctions.聽Their collective body of research and entrepreneurship covers a broad range of scientific disciplines involved with technology transfer of their inventions for the benefit of society.

Two faculty members, Pegasus Professor of Optics and Photonics Martin Richardson and , were among the 2020 cohort of fellows. Earlier this year, 麻豆原创 was ranked No. 25 in the nation among public universities for producing patents.

Their fellowships bring the total number of IEEE fellows at 麻豆原创 to 17, underscoring the national prominence of 麻豆原创 professors among their peers in research involving advanced electrical and computer systems and methods.

Professor Jun Wang has achieved fellow status for outstanding contributions to low-power computer disk storage system design. Pegasus Professor Greg Welch has been honored for his outstanding contributions to tracking methods and augmented reality applications.

Jun Wang

A computer scientist and engineer, Wang is a professor in 麻豆原创鈥檚 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering with a joint faculty appointment in 麻豆原创鈥檚 Department of Computer Science.聽 As co-director of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Computer Architecture and Storage System Laboratory, Wang is widely known for his efforts in making computers work faster and more efficiently with advanced methods, as well as developing open-source tools, hardware and platforms.

For more than 20 years Wang has been making significant contributions to massive storage and computer architecture. He has co-authored more than 150 publications on his research, which includes massive storage and file system, memory and disk architecture, data-intensive computing, and high-performance computing.

Wang is best known for his pioneering research in low-power disk system design. He has developed a low-power disk array prototype showing real-time power and energy conservation with 30-50% savings at scale without degrading performance. IBM, Google, and Western Digital make energy-efficient storage products inspired by Wang鈥檚 work.

His contributions to data storage systems enables scientists and engineers to conduct big data analyses with complex access patterns in faster and easier ways. His pioneering solution on redundancy-reuse design also opens up a new data deduplication direction in memory and storage research at the early stage of the big data era.

A widely recognized global expert in massive storage and file technology, Wang has received numerous awards including U.S. National Science Foundation CAREER Award and the Department of Energy Early Career Principal Investigator Award. He received Editorial Excellence and Eminence Award (EEE) of IEEE Transactions on Cloud Computing in 2018.

Greg Welch

The computer scientist and engineer is the AdventHealth Endowed Chair in Healthcare Simulation in 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Nursing. He is also co-director of the 麻豆原创 Synthetic Reality Laboratory, and holds faculty appointments in the Department of Computer Science and 麻豆原创 Institute for Simulation and Training.

He has co-authored more than 150 publications on his research, which includes virtual and augmented reality, virtual beings, motion tracking displays, and healthcare technology. His contributions to tracking methods includes the development of a computational approach to combining sensor measurements that has improved the efficiency and accuracy of changing images in head-mounted displays, commonly known as headsets or glasses.

But one of his most widely used 鈥� and seen 鈥� contributions is in augmented reality. He co-developed methods for using computers and digital projectors, such as those in a conference room, to dynamically change the appearance of real physical objects. Spatial augmented reality, which is commonly called projection mapping, is today used from advertising to concerts to decorations and stage effects 鈥� such as changing the appearance of Cinderella鈥檚 castle during evening shows at the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom Park.

The innovator is a widely recognized global expert in simulation and modeling, and has received numerous awards including two previous honors from IEEE 鈥� the IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Long Lasting Impact Paper Award in 2016 and the Virtual Reality Technical Achievement Award from the IEEE Visualization and Graphics Technical Committee in 2018.

Most recently Welch, who holds 18 patents 鈥� 10 at 麻豆原创, was named to the National Academy of Inventors and with colleagues earned an Innovation award at TechConnect World Conference. In 2020, he was honored by 麻豆原创 as a Pegasus Professor 鈥� the highest faculty distinction at the university.

The conference, which has been held annually for over 20 years, advertises itself as the 鈥渓argest innovation pipeline on the planet.鈥� It has connected over 20,000 inventions with industry partners.

Bruder and Welch鈥檚 invention, which is awaiting a patent, resulted from research looking for ways to improve wearable headgear people use when entering AR environments. The new tech allows the user to magnify objects in real time, mimicking how our eyes naturally magnify and adjust objects with the blink of an eye.

Current AR technology allows users to magnify objects but only from photos or by activating other steps in the headgear. Bruder and Welch鈥檚 invention, however, implements machine learning to allow users to focus and react in real time. Users can even utilize hand gestures to customize the degree of magnification.

The team鈥檚 initial research shows the technology can be applied to magnify heads, allowing users to observe facial expressions in greater detail. Users can also gain a tactical advantage by magnifying objects such as cars or equipment. In the future, Bruder expects it may be used to enhance military and commercial surveillance.

This technology has been years in the making, the collaborators say.

Bruder has a master鈥檚 degree and a doctorate in computer science from the University of M眉nster in Germany. In 2016, he left his native Germany to start working at 麻豆原创, where he met Welch, a Pegasus Professor who co-directs the housed at IST. They鈥檝e been working together ever since. A year ago, they submitted an invention disclosure and began the process of commercializing their research.

鈥淏efore I joined 麻豆原创, I鈥檇 never seen this level of interest in the research I鈥檓 doing,鈥� Bruder says. 鈥淭his university, and my institute in particular, are tremendously good at making connections between basic researchers like me and people in the industry.鈥�

During the commercialization process, the Technology Transfer Office helped Bruder and Welch file for a patent, and suggested potential uses for the research they wouldn鈥檛 have imagined otherwise.

Jennifer McKinley, who leads business development for the Department of Physical Sciences, encouraged the duo to submit their innovation to the TechConnect Conference. McKinley also delivered the presentation for the award-winning technology in November on behalf of the research team. The technology was also recently recognized at the 2021 Spatial User Interaction Conference, receiving the 鈥淏est Poster/Demo Award.

Welch is no stranger to innovation. Since arriving at 麻豆原创, his research has helped produce at least 10 patents.

Others connected with 麻豆原创 were also recognized at the conference, held late last month.

This year, materials science and engineering grad Christina Drake 鈥�07PhD participated in the Innovation Showcase, with a nanoparticle disinfectant spray her company, Kismet Technologies, is developing in collaboration with two other 麻豆原创 professors. At the 2020 virtual conference, Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering Fudong Liu received a Defense Innovation Award for his work using catalysts to minimize pollutants in engine exhaust.

That鈥檚 one of the findings in a new study Stanford and 麻豆原创 published in the journal .

The results of three experiments included in the study indicate that AR experiences can affect real-world behavior, which is important as AR is being used more and more to train nurses, doctors and other health care professionals.

鈥淧art of the goal of trying to create virtual humans for health care education is that they produce reactions from the health care provider or elicit behaviors corresponding to a real person,鈥� says聽Greg Welch, an endowed chair in 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Nursing who is a co-author of the study. 鈥淵ou want the students to act in the learning environment as if it was real. So, for example, students should connect to a virtual patient as they would a real patient.鈥�

Health care training often relies on medical training mannequins or patients portrayed by skilled actors. These simulated patients allow students to learn in a safe environment, where mistakes don鈥檛 actually harm a real patient.

With the addition of AR, which superimposes digital images on real-world environments, the richness and realism of the experiences are thought to be increased. For example, AR could be used to show a student a three-dimensional diagram of a mannequin patient鈥檚 organs or to simulate a patient鈥檚 parents so that students can practice breaking bad news to loved ones.

The use of AR in health care training is infrequent but increasing in use, Welch says.

The study consisted of three experiments, each exploring the relationship between people and AR. In the first experiment, researchers found participants completed hard tasks less proficiently and easy tasks better when an AR person was present, mimicking the typical real-world occurrences of social facilitation and inhibition.

In the third experiment, researchers found that people wearing headset equipment allowing them to see AR images felt less connected to people who were not wearing headsets.

The second experiment, which reinforces prior work by Welch and study co-author Jeremy Bailenson, a professor in Stanford University鈥檚 Department of Communication, examined whether subjects in an AR setting would sit in a chair already perceived to be occupied by a virtual human.

The researchers found that most people would not sit in the chair occupied by the AR person, even if they had their AR headsets off and could see no one was really there. Additionally, no participants wearing the AR headsets and seeing the AR person sat in the virtually occupied chair.

Previous work by Welch and colleagues has also found people would avoid walking through a virtual human who was only visible through an AR headset, even after removing the AR headset.

鈥淚f a person is present, we generally try to give them space,鈥� Welch says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something ingrained in our human nature and reinforced through real world cultural norms that makes it hard for us to violate another person鈥檚 space. We choose to avoid each other if possible.鈥�

The emerging understanding supports the idea that real people tend to treat AR people as if they were really present, supporting the idea that AR patients or AR family members of patients could be effective additions to health care education.

鈥淪howing that AR technology is effective in such circumstances is a small step toward people having confidence in using it for training,鈥� Welch said.

The research was carried out at Stanford University in California.

Co-authors of the study also included Mark Roman Miller, a doctoral student in Stanford鈥檚 Computer Science Department; Hanseul Jun and Fernanda Herrera, doctoral students in Stanford鈥檚 Department of Communication; and Jacob Yu Villa, a graduate of Stanford鈥檚 Symbolic Systems Program.

Welch is the聽AdventHealth Endowed Chair in Healthcare Simulation聽at 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Nursing. He is also the co-director of the聽. He holds additional faculty appointments in the聽聽at the聽聽and in the聽. He received his doctorate and master鈥檚 degrees in computer science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his bachelor鈥檚 degree in electrical engineering technology from Purdue University. He joined 麻豆原创 in 2011.

Presented by the Visualization and Graphics Technical Committee (VGTC) of IEEE, the world鈥檚 largest technical professional organization for the advancement of technology, the award recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to the community through their research.

鈥淕reg鈥檚 enthusiasm for the pursuit of using virtual reality to improve our everyday life is truly inspiring,鈥� said Professor Betty Mohler, Technical University of Darmstadt and 2018 IEEE Virtual Reality conference general chair. 鈥淗is energy is a key ingredient to getting this technology to be helpful in the more challenging aspects of medical training, such as social interactions and personalized aspects of medicine.鈥�

Welch has more than 25 years of experience in the field of virtual reality technology. His publications related to human motion tracking have been cited nearly 10,000 times. He has also co-authored more than 100 publications and is a co-inventor on multiple patents, including a new simulated patient that brings the 鈥渉uman factor鈥� to health care training. An innovator and active researcher in the field, Welch currently has more than $3.8 million in research funding.

In addition to serving as the Florida Hospital Endowed Chair in Healthcare Simulation at the College of Nursing, Welch is a co-director of the 麻豆原创 Synthetic Reality Laboratory and holds additional faculty appointments in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the 麻豆原创 Institute for Simulation & Training.

Welch recently received the award at the 25th annual IEEE Virtual Reality conference in Reutlingen, Germany. The conference is the largest, most respected and prestigious in the field of virtual reality and three-dimensional computer interfaces. More than 500 academic and industry experts from over 20 countries attended this year鈥檚 event.

鈥淚 am extremely humbled to receive this award, as it involves considerable effort on the part of many deserving people,鈥� said Welch. 鈥淭hese individuals inspire me to keep pushing forward for all of us.鈥�

The IEEE VGTC Virtual Reality Technical Achievement Award was established in 2005. Welch is the second 麻豆原创 professor to have received the prestigious international honor. Kay Stanney, a former professor and trustee chair in the 麻豆原创 Industrial Engineering & Management Systems Department, received the honor in 2006.

鈥淪imulation and technology are incredibly important to nursing education and clinical practice today as they help students and practitioners learn and sharpen their skills and ultimately, improve patient safety 鈥� and the future applications in health care are limitless,鈥� said Mary Lou Sole, dean of the 麻豆原创 College of Nursing.

鈥淚n recent years, the College of Nursing has advanced its teaching and research-related capabilities in this rapidly expanding field and formalizing a program was the next step. We鈥檙e excited to educate and empower a new generation of simulation experts to make a positive impact in nursing and patient care,鈥� Sole added.

The program capitalizes on 麻豆原创鈥檚 location in Orlando, the epicenter for modeling, simulation and training. 麻豆原创, recognized by U.S. News & World Report among the 鈥淢ost Innovative Schools鈥� in the nation, brings together interdisciplinary teams of health care educators, practitioners, computer scientists and engineers to develop and use cutting-edge applications for simulation, training and practice to advance health care.

Students will work alongside nationally recognized faculty who are actively conducting research in simulation and includes four certified health care simulation educators (CHSE). The experts include:

Additionally, students will have access to the university鈥檚 world-class facilities, which range from conventional low/medium/high-fidelity simulators (computerized manikins) to unique virtual reality-based 鈥榟umans鈥� and scenarios that offer unprecedented human appearance, behavior and overall experiences.

Applications are being accepted now

Classes for the Nursing and Healthcare Simulation program, both MSN and graduate certificate, will begin in Fall 2016. Applications for these inaugural classes are due June 1, 2016. Late applications are being聽considered until the inaugural cohorts are full. Applications for Fall 2017 are due by Feb. 15, 2017. Prospective students are invited to attend an 聽to learn more.

The college has also added a new adult-gerontology nurse practitioner graduate program in acute care.