Clark School Faculty Recognized at Celebration of Innovation and Partnerships

The University of Maryland’s Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) hosted the Celebration of Innovation and Partnerships (formerly Invention of the Year Awards) reception on Tuesday, April 29, 2014, at the University of Maryland University House. Researchers from the A. James Clark School of Engineering were involved in all three Outstanding Invention of 2013 Awards and the 2014 UMD Corporate Connector of the Year.

UMD’s innovations help to stimulate the local economy, provide valuable products for public use, and help fuel research and entrepreneurial initiatives through inter- and intra-university collaborations. Speakers at the reception included University of Maryland President Dr. Wallace Loh, University System of Maryland Chancellor Dr. William “Brit” Kirwan, Vice President for Research Dr. Patrick O'Shea and OTC Executive Director Dr. Gayatri Varma.

The event was part of the University of Maryland's 30 Days of EnTERPreneurship, a month-long celebration and exhibition of innovation and entrepreneurship on the College Park campus.

Winners recognized at the Celebration of Innovation and Partnerships include the following:

OUTSTANDING INVENTIONS OF 2013

INFORMATION SCIENCE CATEGORY

Dynamic Proofs of Data Retrievability from Cloud Storage
Elaine Shi (computer science), Emil Stefanov (University of California, Berkeley), Assistant Professor Charalampos Papamanthou (ECE)

Researchers at the University of Maryland, in collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley, developed a dynamic proof-of-retreivability scheme that requires 300 times less bandwidth than currently available technologies. This innovative technology makes dynamic proof of retrievability of data practical and efficient and thus attractive for the industry implementation. This technology gives clients of cloud storage providers assurance that their data has not been modified and that no data loss has occurred.

LIFE SCIENCE CATEGORY

Polymer Based Material Resin for 3D Printing of Medical Implants and Devices
Graduate student Anthony Melchiorri (BioE), Professor John P. Fisher (BioE)

Researchers at the University of Maryland have developed a polymer-based material resin that possesses properties desirable for 3D printing of medical devices and implants, such as vascular grafts and other tissue engineered materials. By adjusting the concentration of the individual components of the resin, the researchers are able to fine tune the mechanical strength and printing resolution. For instance, in one embodiment the material resin was formulated to enable the medical device to have mechanical properties similar to cardiovascular tissue, and in another instance to have more rigid mechanical properties similar to bone tissue. The ability to adjust the mechanical properties of 3D printed devices and customizing them to patient-specific requirements allows this technology to be used for a wide range of tissue engineering and medical applications.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE CATEGORY

Safe, Low-Cost, High-Energy-Density, Solid-State Li-ion Batteries
UMERC Director Eric D. Wachsman (MSE), Assistant Professor Liangbing Hu (MSE), Venkataraman Thangaduarai (University of Calgary)

Researchers at the University of Maryland Energy Research Center (UMERC) have designed an intrinsically safe, robust, low cost, high energy solid state lithium-ion battery. Fabrication processes are done with conventional ceramic processing equipment in ambient air without the need of dry rooms, vacuum deposition, or glove boxes. Thus, the cost of manufacturing is dramatically reduced below an estimated $100/kWh. This new approach promises to dramatically alter the solid state lithium-ion battery landscape with an expected effective energy density of 2050Wh/L for a 300 Volt battery pack with an approximate 200 µm/repeat unit. The result is increased discharge ability without mechanical cycling fatigue while possessing improved thermal uniformity, strength, weight, and form factor.

2014 UMD CORPORATE CONNECTOR OF THE YEAR

Dr. Michael Pecht and the UMD Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE)

Dr. Pecht’s engagement with the private sector has played a large role in making UMD CALCE, headquartered at the College Park campus, the world’s largest manufacturing consortium in electronic parts reliability engineering, accelerated testing, and supply chain management. Over 150 corporations, federal labs, universities and leading international research centers are members.

Published April 30, 2014