ASU recognizes inventive faculty at AzTE event
Arizona State University recently honored some of its most inventive and entrepreneurial faculty at a ceremony hosted by Arizona Technology Enterprises (AzTE), the university’s exclusive intellectual property management and technology transfer organization.
“AzTE supports the university’s economic development mission by helping to protect and translate laboratory innovations into the marketplace,” said Ken Polasko, AzTE’s deputy managing director. “This event is about thanking faculty for the time and energy they put into helping move technology into the marketplace, and recognizing them for the real-world impact of their cutting-edge research.”
In fiscal year 2010, ASU faculty members were issued 17 patents, signed nine new technology licensing agreements and launched four startups. Faculty also submitted a record 187 invention disclosures to AzTE. These inventions will provide the technology inventory for the next generation of new deals or startups.
R.F. “Rick” Shangraw Jr., ASU’s senior vice president for Knowledge Enterprise Development, spoke about the ways ASU has evolved its technology transfer operations since the arrival of President Michael Crow.
“The biggest change we have made in the last few years is to treat the technology transfer operation as a service provider to faculty, not a pure revenue generator,” said Shangraw. “It is our job to facilitate the process of getting technology out of our labs and into industry – with the cycle completing when those relationship help us bring industry research funding back into their labs.”
Shangraw also discussed the importance of aligning the university's expectations with the unique needs of different industry sectors.
“One size does not fit all in the tech transfer business. Different sectors have very different requirements and we must respect these differences as we build our collaborations.”
Cody Friesen, an assistant professor in the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, discussed his experience launching a startup focused on developing high-density energy storage technologies.
“As soon as you start pitching to [venture capital firms], your whole world changes,” said Friesen. “It’s really critical that you leverage the resources that ASU, AzTE and your entrepreneurial partners can provide.”
One of those ASU resources is Venture Catalyst at ASU, the university’s entrepreneurial assistance initiative designed to help faculty, students and ASU-linked companies launch new startups or accelerate existing ventures.
“We launched Venture Catalyst last October to provide the critical business support services ASU faculty entrepreneurs need to help manage risk and reach success in the marketplace,” said Charlie Lewis, AzTE’s vice president for venture development. “Venture Catalyst offers a host of great resources, including connection to more than 80 outside mentors who have extensive experience as entrepreneurs or business executives.”
The full list of faculty honorees follows below. Read more about how AzTE works with ASU researchers to protect and commercialize their inventions.
Faculty Patent Recipients
Abbas Abbaspour-Tamijani
#7,724,110
Compact Switchable Filter for Software-Defined Radio
Lawrence Clark
#7,649,216
Total Ionizing Dose Radiation Hardening Using Reverse Body Bias Techniques #7,719,304
Radiation Hardened Master-Slave Flip-Flop
John Femiani
#7,729,541
Comparative and Analytic Apparatus and Method for Converting Two-Dimensional Bit Map Data Into Three-Dimensional Data
Ian Gould
#7,645,596
Method of Determining Nucleotide Sequence of Oligonucleotides and DNA Molecules
Mark Hayes
#7,645,596
Method of Determining Nucleotide Sequence of Oligonucleotides and DNA Molecules
Keith Holbert
#7,649,216
Total Ionizing Dose Radiation Hardening Using Reverse Body Bias Techniques
Joseph Hui
#7,734,859
Virtualization of a Host Computer’s Native I/O System Architecture Via the Internet and LANs
John Kouvetakis
#7,582,891
Materials and Optical Devices Based on Group IV Quantum Wells Grown on Si-Ge-Sn Buffered Silicon
#7,589,003
GeSn Alloys and Ordered Phases with Direct Tunable Bandgaps Grown Directly on Silicon
#7,598,513
SixSnyGe1-x-y and Related Alloy Heterostructures Based on Si, Ge and Sn
Michael Kozicki
#7,560,722
Optimized Solid Electrolyte for Programmable Metallization Cell Devices and Structures
Noeleen Melody
#7,709,643
Synthesis of Sodium Narcistatin and Related Compounds
Jose Menendez
#7,582,891
Materials and Optical Devices Based on Group IV Quantum Wells Grown on Si-Ge-Sn Buffered Silicon
#7,589,003
GeSn Alloys and Ordered Phases with Direct Tunable Bandgaps Grown Directly on Silicon
George Pettit
#7,557,096
Synthesis of Combretastatin A-4 Prodrugs and Trans-Isomers Thereof
#7,705,188
Structural Modification on Resveratrol: Sodium Reservastatin Phosphate
#7,709,643
Synthesis of Sodium Narcistatin and Related Compounds
Anshuman Razdan
#7,729,541
Comparative and Analytic Apparatus and Method for Converting Two-Dimensional Bit Map Data Into Three-Dimensional Data
Thomas Taylor
#7,645,596
Method of Determining Nucleotide Sequence of Oligonucleotides and DNA Molecules
Trevor Thornton
#7,557,096
MESFETS Integrated with MOSFETS on Common Substrate and Methods of Forming the Same
Bruce Towe
#7,702,395
Neurostimulator
Sarma Vrudhula
#7,630,852
Method of Evaluating Integrated Circuit System Performance Using Orthogonal Polynomials
Peter Williams
#7,645,596
Method of Determining Nucleotide Sequence of Oligonucleotides and DNA Molecules
Licensed Technologies
Nicole Herbots – SiO2 Associates, LLC
Joseph Hui – 4Blox, Inc.
John Kouvetakis – Translucent, Inc.
Doug Loy – Plextronics, Inc.
Jonathan Posner – Illumina, Inc.
Dong-Kyun Seo – NanoVoltaix, Inc.
Trevor Thornton – SJT Micropower, Inc.
Bruce Towe – EndoStim, Inc.
Sarma Vrudhula – Nayalogic, Inc.
Startups
Thomas Moore – Sun Catalytix
Trevor Thornton – SJT Micropower, Inc.
Bruce Towe – EndoStim, Inc.
Sarma Vrudhula – Nayalogic, Inc.