NUtech Ventures: Recent Episodes
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The Emerging Innovator of the Year was awarded to Changmou Xu, research associate professor of food science and technology. This award recognizes an individual, often a junior faculty member, for recent innovation contributions. Xu’s research focuses on developing healthy beverages made from aronia berries. His startup company, A+ Berry, is currently creating a line of juice and wine products that will be launched in the market soon.
The Emerging Innovator of the Year award went to Eric Markvicka, assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering. The award recognizes an individual, often a junior faculty member, for recent innovation contributions. Marckvicka’s research focuses on the intersection of computer and material science, to transform how materials interact with the human body and the external environment. His systems have applications for wearable biosensors, soft robotics and multifunctional materials.
The Startup Company of the Year award went to TurfGrade. The award recognizes a startup company — founded by Nebraska faculty, staff or students — that has made significant progress in becoming a sustainable business. TurfGrade is led by Bill Kreuser, formerly a Nebraska agronomist. The company is using a software platform to make turfgrass management simpler and more sustainable. Among other features, the platform provides guidance for applying fertilizer and plant growth regulators.
The Prem S. Paul Innovator of the Year award went to Ron Faller, director and research professor of the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility. The award recognizes an individual who exemplifies innovation and entrepreneurship by advancing novel research into significant commercial use. Ron Faller is the director of Nebraska’s Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, which conducts research related to highway design and safety. He and his team work closely with public transportation officials and companies to develop and test innovative new technologies in highway safety.
The Breakthrough Innovation of the Year award went to Nebraska’s Midwest Roadside Safety Facility and TrafFix Devices, Inc. The award recognizes a technology developed in the past year that will likely have a profound impact on industry, business or a field of study. The Delta crash cushion, a new roadside safety device, is the result of a six-year partnership between Nebraska researchers and engineers at TrafFix Devices, Inc. Now commercially available, the final product represents top-notch Nebraska research paired with a global business strategy.
The Outstanding Graduate Student of the Year award went to Jackson Stansell, a graduate student in biological systems engineering. The award recognizes a student who has developed a new innovation and is making progress toward commercialization. Stansell has co-developed a management system for fertigation, the application of fertilizer through an irrigation system. He has worked with NUtech to patent the system. In spring 2021, he joined NUtech’s entrepreneurship program to assess the system’s commercial potential by conducting customer interviews.
The Creative Work of the Year award went to Megan Hopkins, project director of the Nebraska Collegiate Prevention Alliance. The award recognizes an individual who has developed a creative innovation, which is typically protected under copyright. Hopkins has co-developed an online program that addresses substance abuse among college students. According to program data, participating students receive fewer alcohol sanctions and are more likely to remain enrolled by junior year. The program is being used by 18 Nebraska colleges and has also been licensed to colleges in Missouri.
The Prem S. Paul Innovator of the Year award went to George Graef, professor of agronomy and horticulture. The award recognizes an individual who exemplifies innovation and entrepreneurship by advancing novel research into significant commercial use.
Graef is a world-class soybean breeder who has developed conventional varieties, glyphosate-tolerant varieties, LL55-tolerant varieties and food grade varieties, used to make tofu. He works closely with academic and industry collaborators.
The Breakthrough Innovation of the Year award went to Bob Hutkins, professor of food science and technology. The award recognizes a technology developed in the past year that will likely have a profound impact on industry, business or a field of study.
Hutkins is a renowned scientist in probiotics and prebiotics, and has developed several probiotic strains that show a positive effect on the human microbiome. He is a co-founder of faculty startup company Synbiotic Health, which is working to commercialize synbiotics — combinations of probiotics and prebiotics — for food, beverage and nutraceutical products.
The Emerging Innovator of the Year award went to Shudipto Dishari, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering. The award recognizes an individual, often a junior faculty member, for recent innovation contributions. Dishari’s research focuses on designing ion-conducting and light-harvesting polymers, exploring the nanoscale phenomena within polymeric thin films and membranes. Her work could help reduce the cost and improve the energy efficiency of hydrogen-based fuel cells. Other potential applications include energy conversion and storage device systems, such as lithium batteries, semi-conductors and biochemical systems.
The Startup Company of the Year award went to Agricultural Flaming Innovations. The award recognizes a startup company — founded by UNL faculty, staff or students — that has made significant progress in becoming a sustainable business.
Agricultural Flaming Innovations is founded by George Gogos, professor of mechanical and materials engineering; Stevan Knezevic, professor of agronomy and horticulture; and Chris Bruening, who received his doctorate in mechanical and materials engineering from UNL. The team developed equipment that uses heat for certified organic weed control. When mounted to a tractor, it directs propane-fueled flames at weeds, which wilt and die — leaving crops unaffected.
The Creative Work of the Year award went to James Le Sueur, Samuel Clark Waugh Distinguished Professor of International Relations and chair of the Department of History. The award recognizes an individual who has developed a creative innovation, such as a film, which is typically protected under copyright.
Le Sueur is the co-producer and director of the documentary film, “The Art of Dissent,” which explores the role of artistic activism during Czechoslovakia’s communist takeover and nonviolent transition from communist power. The film premiered in August 2020 at the Rhode Island International Film Festival, where it won the Social Spotlight Award, which recognizes films that are bringing awareness to critical and underreported issues.
The Commercialization Partner of the Year award went to Omni-Threat Structures (OTS). The award recognizes a company that has licensed and developed a university technology, bringing it to market as a product or service. OTS builds disaster-resistant structures. The company has licensed modified concrete formulations and methods that provide shielding from high level electromagnetic pulse energy (EMP). The technology protects sensitive electronics from EMP, which can cripple power grids, data centers and other critical infrastructure.
Directed, written, narrated, and filmed by James Dean Le Sueur.
Love, tolerance and creative freedom aren’t just for fairytales.
"The Art of Dissent" celebrates the power of artistic engagement in Czechoslovakia before and after the 1968 Soviet-led invasion. The documentary’s main protagonists – Václav Havel, banned singer Marta Kubišová, and the underground rock group the Plastic People of the Universe – became the most recognizable dissidents during the 1970-80s. Havel fused literary, rock n’ roll, political, and philosophical worlds into a hybrid network that eventually toppled the totalitarian regime.
A co-production of NUtech Ventures in at the University of Nebraska and Czech TV in Prague, "The Art of Dissent" combines rare archival footage with interviews filmed over three years in the Czech Republic, England, and the United States. Production began with his film partner and producer, Mariana Čapková, and then Le Sueur worked on closely on the movie with Alena Jirásek (researcher and translator), Susan Pahlke (researcher and second camerawoman), and Martin Bouda (Czech TV film archivist) to weave historical footage and contemporary interviews into a unique and compelling interplay. The final version of the movie was produced by FRMOL Productions in Prague.
Our film celebrates the power and courage of dissent to build tolerance, truth and civil society.
Official Website: theartofdissentfilm.com |
Follow the Film on Facebook @ facebook.com/theartofdissentfilm |
Follow Film on Twitter@ twitter.com/artdissent |
More on the director: jameslesueur.com,
Facebook @ facebook.com/James-Dean-Le-Sueur-102607511331809/
Nebraska’s Bilal Khan has developed technology to help public health officials undergo contact tracing, a process that alerts individuals who were potentially exposed to patients recently diagnosed with Covid-19. The technology was originally designed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as part of a sociological research study and is ready to pilot.
The Commercialization Partner of the Year award went to Bayer Crop Science, which licensed university plant genetics technology and incorporated it into herbicide-resistant soybeans and cotton. The gene technology helps farmers improve yields by controlling weeds and was developed by Nebraska’s Donald Weeks, emeritus Maxcy Professor of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Tom Clemente, Eugene W. Price Distinguished Professor of Biotechnology.
The Startup Company of the Year award went to Drone Amplified, headed by co-founder Carrick Detweiler, Susan J. Rosowski Associate Professor of computer science and engineering. The company’s drone-mounted technology uses ping-pong sized spheres that ignite prescribed burns and backfires, starving incoming wildfires of potential fuel. It also provides a safer alternative for crews who would otherwise fight wildfires by aircraft or vehicle.
The Emerging Innovator of the Year award went to Eric Weaver, assistant professor of biological sciences. He is developing a universal flu vaccine using an epigraph model, which has 16 components rather than the typical four. This goal of this research is to effectively protect against all known flu strains, resulting in vaccines that could be used for animals and humans.
The Breakthrough Innovation of the Year award went to Gary Pickard, professor of veterinary medicine and biomedical sciences, and Patricia Sollars, associate professor of veterinary medicine and biomedical sciences. The team has developed a herpes vaccine that has been successfully tested on mice. The research has further implications for animal protection and cancer treatments in humans.
The Prem S. Paul Innovator of the Year award went to Shane Farritor, chief technical officer of Virtual Incision and Lederer Professor of mechanical and materials engineering. The award recognizes an individual who exemplifies innovation and entrepreneurship by advancing novel research into significant commercial use.
Farritor is a co-founder of Virtual Incision, a university spin-off company developing miniaturized robots for general surgery abdominal procedures, such as colon resections. The company has more than 140 issued patents and patent applications, and has raised millions of dollars to advance its technology.
NUtech Ventures awards Bill Kreuser as Emerging Innovator of the Year for his development of the Greenkeeper app, a support tool designed exclusively for turf grass professionals and based on research from Nebraska Extension turf experts. Desktop and mobile friendly, Greenskeeper allows multiple users to quickly reference prior applications, monitor pest control while on the course, check product applications logs, pest reports, product tracking and alerts, and the weather. Dr. Kreuser has also founded Turfgrade, a start-up company providing services and data based on the Greenkeeper app licensed from NUtech Ventures.
NUtech Ventures presents the Breakthrough Invention of the Year award to Ben Terry and the Intuitive Sensor Implantation System. This technology is a capsule–based system for implanting biometric sensors in the gastrointestinal tract. The capsule travels through the intestines until reaching the implantation site, where the sensor-containing portion of the capsule attaches to the intestinal wall and the bulk of the capsule is passed naturally. The sensor may be in communication with a smart phone, tablet, smart watch, or computer for continuous and real-time data monitoring. The embedded sensor will later slough off and pass naturally. The capsule can implant any biosensor for diagnosis or long-term monitoring of physiological conditions. Alternatively, the capsule may be used to implant long-term drug delivery devices.
NUtech Ventures presents the Start-up Company of the Year award to Epicrop Technologies. Founded by Drs. Sally MacKenzie and Michael Fromm, Epicrop is developing a revolutionary epigenetic technology for improving crop yields. Epigenetic modifications are naturally occurring biological marks on the plant's DNA or chromatin. These epigenetic marks help the plant develop normally and to adapt to its environment. Importantly, epigenetic marks are involved in regulating gene expression but do not cause changes in the genome or any protein sequences to occur.
Although epigenetic modifications within crops have been known for many years to be important for plant development, their role in crop performance is only now emerging.
Epicrop's epigenetic technology is unique as it is able to improve crop yields and stress tolerance without making any changes to the DNA sequence of the plant. The final crop plant is genetically identical to the starting plant and contains no foreign genes or any changes to the plant's DNA.
NUtech Ventures presents the Dr. Prem S. Paul Innovator of the Year award to John Woollam. Woollam, an internationally known expert in ellipsometry and a member of the faculty since 1979, is also is founder and president of the J.A. Woollam Co., a university spin-off that has emerged as a worldwide leader in the production of spectroscopic ellipsometry instrumentation. Spectroscopic ellipsometry is a process that uses reflected polarized light to detect properties of materials and make precise measurements of films that are only an atom or two thick.
Dr. Woollam holds numerous patents, many co-owned by J.A. Woollam Co. and University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is a Fellow in the National Academy of Inventors.
Civil engineers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have invented 3-D software that visually detects structural damage. It analyzes data collected from remote sensing technology, including drones and lidar, and uses pattern recognition to pinpoint areas that are likely damaged.
This software is now available for licensing. For more information, visit: https://nutech.flintbox.com/public/project/51000/
Dr. Yuguo Lei developed a novel miniature device for cell manufacturing for use in personalized medicine. This technology produces cells at a significantly higher yield, with lower costs, less contamination and higher purity. It can be integrated in a clinical workflow for use in a patient’s point of care setting. NUtech Ventures recognizes his significant accomplishment as the 2017 Emerging Innovator.