Technology Business Assessment Group funds new faculty projects

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

(June 16, 2009 Stillwater, OK) – Oklahoma State University's Technology Business Assessment Group has funded new faculty research projects with the potential for commercial success.  The group identified these projects from a number of high-level proposals submitted in response to a solicitation this spring. Funding for the program is administered by the OSU Office of Intellectual Property Management, and is generated by royalties from OSU-licensed technologies.  

Created in 2005, the Technology Business Assessment Group funds projects in need of feasibility demonstration and/or prototype development for commercialization purposes.  The group is comprised of private sector partners experienced in new product identification and new technology evaluation.  This includes early-stage capital investors, bankers, and representation from i2E, the Meridian Technology Center for Business Development, the OSU Center for Innovation and Economic Development, the OSU William S. Spears School of Business, the OSU Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer, and the OSU  Office of Intellectual Property Management..   
The projects selected to receive this round of funding are:

“Identification of Targets for Major Metabolites of SHetA2,” Dr. K. Darrell Berlin, Chemistry.  With this funding, Dr. Berlin will build on his ongoing partnership with University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Professor Dr. Doris M. Benbrook in the pursuit of an anti-cancer drug.  Their anti-cancer agent, SHetA2, is currently being evaluated by the National Institutes of Health for screening on animals.  This work is in the final stages before going to clinical trials in humans.  In this project, Berlin and OSU colleague Dr. Richard Bunce will obtain a metabolite of SHetA2 that Benbrook can then test against various proteins.  The goal of this project is to determine the effects of SHetA2 on kidney cancer.  These tests will be critical to FDA approval as the team moves forward with the development of the drug.  

“Constructing and Testing a Portable Balance and Stability Training Apparatus to Reduce the Incidence of Falls in the Elderly,” Dr. Bert H. Jacobson, Educational Studies.  The consequences of falling can be an emotional, physical and financial catastrophe for the elderly and their families.  This apparatus will be a tool in physical therapy, rehabilitation and/or exercise for the elderly that will allow the individual to work independently on improving balance and muscle strength.  Through contacts with medical supply distributors and assisted living communities, Dr. Jacobson will use this funding to build and test prototypes of the apparatus.

“Vacuum-assisted Fabrication of Absorber Materials for RF and Acoustic Insulation Applications,” Drs. Raman Singh and Ranji Vaidyanathan, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.  This project will develop and commercialize a process for vacuum-assisted fabrication of electromagnetic and acoustic absorber materials.  By greatly reducing the time necessary to dry and infiltrate foam materials, the process is expected to result in significant cost savings over current technology.  Funding will be used to support product development of the proposed technology, which would then be commercialized and licensed in collaboration with an industrial partner.