News

Portland State University’s Lab2Market program selected six new technologies at the Lab2Market Technology Disclosure Competition in October, two from Portland State University professors.

Through a three-year grant of $600,000 from the National Science Foundation’s Partnerships for Innovation Program, the Lab2Market program helps new technologies reach the marketplace by providing a bridge between the laboratory and real-world applications. At the technology competition in October, six new technologies were selected that reflect the world-class research being done around the region in science and engineering with promising commercial applications.

“We are thrilled with the commitment to commercialization exhibited by these six innovation teams,” said Melissa Appleyard, Ames Management of Innovation and Technology Professor, Portland State, on behalf of the Lab2Market leadership team. “Coupled with the deep expertise of the Lab2Market mentors in technology launch, we are optimistic that these teams will develop a solid commercialization plan with a realistic fix on the market. It's great to see a commercialization network in Oregon come together.”

Two of the new technologies are from Portland State Professors David Peyton, Chemistry, and Shalini Prasad, Electrical and Computer Engineering. David Peyton’s selected technology is a quest to improve anti-malaria drugs by focusing on drug-resistant strains of the disease. Peyton’s research pursues alternative approaches that show promise of being effective against multidrug-resistant malaria, which remains devastating to populations outside of the U.S.

PSU Professor Shalini Prasad’s selected technology essentially comprises a combination of organic and inorganic sensing elements that are sensitized to trap specific bio-chemical agents that in turn produce unique opto-electronic signatures for specific agents. These biochemical sensors are expected to be three orders more sensitive than the current state-of-the-art nanoparticle Raman scattering based sensors.

The other four technologies selected were Oregon State University Professors Chih-hung Chang and Brian Paul’s novel approach to the nanofabrication of dendrimers; University of Portland’s Professor Sister Angela Hoffman’s technique for Taxol extraction from soil to help treat cancer patients; the “FAST-ID” of harmful insects developed by IPM Development Company under the leadership of Chief Technology Officer Philipp Kirsch; and power generation for wireless sensors based on technology developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and being commercialized by Perpetua under the leadership of Jon Hofmeister. The FAST-ID and Perpetua projects are housed in the Portland State Business Accelerator.

Teams of expert mentors including IP attorneys, “serial” entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and technology transfer officers are meeting monthly with the six innovators to help the technologies reach the marketplace with the Lab2Market program committing $2,000 to each team to help fund facilities.

Portland State Business Accelerator
The Portland State Business Accelerator (PBA) is an economic development initiative of Portland State University. The PBA supports start-up technology businesses by providing affordable office space, delivering a variety of support services, and linking participant businesses to selected research and development capabilities of University faculty and students. These supports combine to help start-ups accelerate their business and product development cycles. Fore more information please visit www.portlandaccelerator.com/.

Lab2Market
Oregon’s Lab2Market initiative is a three-year, NSF-funded program that facilitates the commercialization of novel technologies and the creation of high-wage jobs by forging networks between private-sector business expertise and world-class research at Oregon’s universities. At the end of the three years, Lab2Market researchers plan to have launched 12 new technologies through licensing agreements or start-up ventures.

For Immediate Release (#06-018)

Source: Melissa Appleyard (503-725-9581)
Portland State School of Business Administration