Scalable Uniform Thin‑Film Deposition from Nanopowders
TS-074525 —
Many advanced electronic, sensing, and optical devices rely on high‑quality thin films, yet manufacturing uniform, defect‑free films over large areas remains challenging. Conventional solution‑based approaches often result in rough, cracked, or non‑uniform coatings, while vacuum‑based de…
- College: College
of
Engineering
(COE)
- Inventors: Rahaman, Mohammad Mahafuzur; Gouma, Pelagia "Perena"
- Licensing Officer: Randhawa, Davinder
Strain‑Activated Programmable Surfaces for Controlled Drug Delivery in Mechanically Regulated Diseases
TS-072945 —
Many mechanically mediated conditions such as vascular hypertension, glaucoma, and abdominal distension, present intermittent, unpredictable episodes that demand drug release only when symptoms emerge. Conventional platforms often leak at baseline, require external triggers, or cannot synchronize …
- College: College
of
Engineering
(COE)
- Inventors: Zhao, Yi
- Licensing Officer: Randhawa, Davinder
Reversible Shape-Changing Amorphous Polymers via Liquid Crystal Templating
TS-071745 — The Need
Current two-way shape memory polymers (SMPs) require expensive, crystalline or liquid crystalline monomers and complex synthesis, limiting their use in cost-sensitive and biocompatible applications. Widely used amorphous polymers (e.g., polystyrene, PMMA) are inexpensive and common in con…
- College: College
of
Engineering
(COE)
- Inventors: Wang, Xiaoguang "William"; Dupont, Robert; Zhang, Meng
- Licensing Officer: Randhawa, Davinder
Topological Surface State-Based Thermal Switch
TS-070531 — The Need
Efficient heat switches are crucial for various applications, including solid-state refrigeration, solar thermal installations, waste heat scavenging, and electronics cooling. Current technologies often suffer from irreversible thermodynamic losses or inefficiencies, limiting their effectiv…
- College: College
of
Engineering
(COE)
- Inventors: Heremans, Joseph; Kang, Joon Sang; kim, Min Young
- Licensing Officer: Ashouripashaki, Mandana
Novel Hydrothermal Cathode Nanoparticle Synthesis Method for Fast-Charging Batteries
TS-070308 — The Need
Current lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode materials suffer from poor electronic conductivity and limited lithium-ion diffusion, especially under high-rate charging conditions. These limitations hinder the performance of lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) in demanding applications such as elect…
- College: College
of
Engineering
(COE)
- Inventors: Kim, Jung Hyun; Sayre, Jay; Singavarapu, Lakshmi Surag; Yap, Jun Wei
- Licensing Officer: Randhawa, Davinder
Bulk Ferroelectric Thermal Switch
TS-069780 — The Need
Efficient thermal management is crucial in various industries, yet current solutions often fall short in terms of performance and adaptability. There is a significant need for a technology that can effectively control heat flow in bulk materials, enhancing the efficiency of systems ranging…
- College: College
of
Engineering
(COE)
- Inventors: Heremans, Joseph; Wooten, Brandi
- Licensing Officer: Zinn, Ryan
Innovative Solutions for Cell Viability and Targeted Delivery
TS-066100 — Research tool to transfect cells ex vivo using electroporation through electrospun core-shell fibers for research applications
The Need:
Conventional electroporation methods often result in low cell viability due to heat generation, especially when working with primary cells. These methods also face challenges with non-specific transport of molecules, high vector integration rates leading to mutagenesis, and inefficacy in …
- College: College
of
Engineering
(COE)
- Inventors: Gallego Perez, Daniel; Das, Devleena; Duarte Sanmiguel, Silvia; Higuita Castro, Natalia
- Licensing Officer: Willson, Christopher
DNA-cage erasable labels for fluorescence-based imaging
TS-043819 — Compositions and methods for analyzing multiple biomarkers without damaging tissue.
Histopathology is a cornerstone of tissue analysis used to diagnose many clinical conditions. Many of these diagnoses are based on identifying the presence of specific biomarkers, which can be indicated by colored labels. Currently, only 1-2 markers can be analyzed per slide, reducing accuracy and…
- College: College
of
Engineering
(COE)
- Inventors: Winter, Jessica; Jergens, Elizabeth; Lee, Kil Ho "Kilho"
- Licensing Officer: Willson, Christopher
Semi-crystalline Polymer Nanocomposite and Foam Structure and Method for Making the Same
TS-038002 — A new way to create polymer nanocomposite foam structures with enhanced mechanical properties.
Nanotechnology is a constantly growing field, and has a vast potential to change the world for the better. One of the many things products that the nanotechnology field has given to us is the polymer nanocomposite and their foams. This foam has a greater value than traditional plastic foams, since…
- College: College
of
Engineering
(COE)
- Inventors: Lee, L James; Chiu, Debbie Yven; Fu, Dajiong; Li, Dachao; Yen, Ying-Chieh
- Licensing Officer: Zinn, Ryan
Liquid-impregnated porous polypropylene surfaces for liquid repellency
TS-037943 — A new way to make a liquid-impregnated porous polypropylene surfaces, that is more durable and cost effective.
Polypropylene is one of the most commonly used plastic material for consumer packaging. It is also used in many other things, like textiles, stationary, plastic parts, and many other things. When used as packaging, there are a few problems that need to be addressed, and one of them is that it is n…
- College: College
of
Engineering
(COE)
- Inventors: Bhushan, Bharat; Brown, Philip
- Licensing Officer: Zinn, Ryan
Superoleophobic Polymer Surfaces Prepared by Nanoparticle Incorporation
TS-037495 — A technique to entrap SiO2 particles in polycarboante, creating a superoleophobic surface.
Superoleophobic surfaces have a number of advantages including antifouling, self-cleaning, anti-smudge, and low-drag. These applications are useful in a number of industries including medical, transportation, aerospace, energy, and construction. Current techniques for creating superoleophobic…
- College: College
of
Engineering
(COE)
- Inventors: Bhushan, Bharat; Brown, Philip
- Licensing Officer: Zinn, Ryan
Method for Oil–Water Separation Using Nanoparticles and Binder
TS-037436 — A coating which repels oil and attracts water, creating a highly efficient separation technique.
Across numerous industries, such as oil and natural gas processing, liquid-repellent surfaces are often essential to product development, or even operational sustainability via equipment maintenance. Current liquid repellents are optimized to protect against all liquids, including oil and water (s…
- College: College
of
Engineering
(COE)
- Inventors: Martin, Samuel; Bhushan, Bharat; Brown, Philip
- Licensing Officer: Zinn, Ryan
Method for Repellency of Surfactant-Containing Liquids Using Nanoparticles and Binder
TS-037423 — A surface coating which repels both oil and water.
Materials with a coating that repels both water and oil would be advantageous across a wide variety of industries and products. Benefits of this kind of coating could include antifouling, self-cleaning, and antismudging capabilities. While modern clear coats and paints do offer protectio…
- College: College
of
Engineering
(COE)
- Inventors: Martin, Samuel; Bhushan, Bharat
- Licensing Officer: Zinn, Ryan
Paired Lewis Acid Site Zeolite Catalysts for the Selective Conversion of Glucose to Fructose
TS-030928 — A zeolite catalyst with a unique chemical structure that utilizes paired Lewis acid sites to increase the catalytic selectivity for the isomerization
of glucose and other sugars into fructose.
Fructose is a key compound in the food and fermentation industries that is typically produced via the enzymatic isomerization of glucose. The enzymes used to efficiently convert glucose to fructose are expensive to manufacture and sensitive to processing conditions. An alternative approach is to d…
- College: College
of
Engineering
(COE)
- Inventors: Brunelli, Nicholas "Nick"; Deshpande, Nitish; Parulkar, Aamena
- Licensing Officer: Randhawa, Davinder
Simulcure Technique - Fabrication and Preparation of Structural Composites
TS-014977 — A fabrication technique to prepare a composite structure with sensor elements distributed in 3-D space for visualizing stress distribution.
Trends in home automation, wearable electronics, and autonomous vehicles have created networked ecosystems, in which computers coexist and play a critical role. In these ecosystems, sensors provide necessary inputs to monitor the environment and take situation-specific action. Currently, sensors a…
- College: College
of
Engineering
(COE)
- Inventors: Sundaresan, Vishnu Baba
- Licensing Officer: Randhawa, Davinder
Stretchable and Flexible E-Fiber Wire Antennas
TS-014971 — A new process to fabricate stretchable and flexible wire antennas with conductive fibers (E-fibers)
Current processes to manufacture flexible, mechanically durable antennas on E-fibers yield non-stretchable prototypes and lack fine print details. The geometric accuracy of printed antennas is less than 1 mm, and the devices are prone to failure due to fatigue and wear from deformation. The antenn…
- College: College
of
Engineering
(COE)
- Inventors: Volakis, John; Kiourti, Asimina
- Licensing Officer: Randhawa, Davinder