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February 17, 2005

UW profs team with tech companies, thanks to WTC

Sounder sleep, healthier teeth and gums, eco-friendly food packaging, more powerful electronics — these are some of the innovative ideas generated by Washington researchers and business entrepreneurs that are being supported through public investment from the Washington Technology Center.


WTC’s Research & Technology Development grants program awards more than $1 million annually to university researchers teamed with technology companies on projects that show potential for commercial success. Twelve grants totaling more than $657,000 were awarded in the most recent round of funding. Seven of the twelve awards went to UW researchers, who received a combined total of $419,682 in funding for their collaborative projects.


The financial assistance provided by these awards is designed to help companies develop innovative new products and get the support necessary to conduct critical research and development studies. The ultimate goal is to accelerate the delivery of new technologies to market, and create healthy businesses and higher wage jobs in Washington. The outcome of the research in these 12 projects is estimated to generate 650 new technology jobs in Washington over the next five years.


Following is a list of the seven projects involving UW research teams and a one-sentence description of each project. Additional details on the technology projects can be found at http://www.watechcenter.org/index.php?p=Phase+Two+RTD+Grant+Winners&s=397.  



  • CellVitro Technologies, Inc. of Seattle is teamed with Albert Folch from Bioengineering to create a unique nanoscale “lab-on-a-chip” device to assist with the drug discovery process.



  • DiMeMa, Inc. of Seattle is working with Maya Gupta from Electrical Engineering on a software solution for optimizing compression and structuring of scanned paper documents.



  • Insitu Group of Bingen is working with Rolf Rysdyk from Aeronautics & Astronautics to establish a framework for autonomous real-time task and path planning for miniature robotic aircraft called Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).



  • Kronos Air Technologies, Inc. of Redmond is teamed with Alexander Mamishev from Electrical Engineering to develop a novel heat transfer technology for microelectronics.



  • MicroGREEN Polymers, Inc. of Stanwood is working with Vipin Kumar from the UW’s Microcellular Plastics Lab to develop and test environmentally-friendly food packaging made from 100 percent recycled materials.



  • Pro-Tech Services, Inc. of Mukilteo is partnered with Vishesh Kapur, Pulmonary & Sleep Medicine Specialist at the UW Medical Center and Harborview Medical Center to develop a new device that measures changes in autonomic nervous system activity during sleep as a means to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea.



  • Second Act Partners, Inc. of Redmond is teamed with Pierre Mourad from the Applied Physics Laboratory and Neurological Surgery to develop a novel power toothbrush for improved dental care.


The Washington Technology Center (http://www.watechcenter.org/) is a statewide economic development agency focused on technology and innovation.