Tag: patent

  • Mapping Project to Find Innovation, Entrepreneurial Networks

    The University of Maryland in College Park will develop analytical mapping tools that identify innovation and entrepreneurial networks, and help spot opportunities for new business collaborations. The project, funded by part of a $500,000 grant from U.S. Department of Commerce, is based on research conducted by a Maryland doctoral candidate in urban and regional planning.…

  • Technology Developed for Aerial Vegetation Measurements

    A scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a technical consultant from industry have developed and patented a technology that converts digital cameras to color infrared cameras for aerial photography. Raymond Hunt, with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service  in Beltsville, Maryland and David Linden, chief scientist at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in McLean, Virginia…

  • Long Term Effects Found in Simple Family Planning Method

    Women who used a simple method for family planning were found to continue using the method for two years after the first year of adoption. The research team from Georgetown University Medical Center and Population Reference Bureau in Washington, D.C. published their findings online in the Journal of Family Planning & Reproductive Health Care (paid…

  • America Invents Act Signed Into Law

    President Obama signed into law today the America Invents Act at a high school in Alexandria, Virginia, not far from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The bill that passed the Senate earlier this month and House of Representatives in June, changes patent procedures to recognize parties who are first to file their applications, a procedure…

  • Smartphone Advance Can Improve Efficiency, Extend Battery

    Researchers at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor have devised a more efficient “idle mode” for smartphones and Wi-Fi devices that reduces power use and can extend battery life. Computer science and engineering professor Kang Shin and doctoral student Xinyu Zhang will present their discovery, still in proof-of-concept stage, next week at the ACM International…

  • Student Engineers/Entrepreneurs Develop Child Safety Device

    Two engineering students at Michigan Technological University in Houghton are taking to market a device they built to keep children from unbuckling their seat belts. Collin Veele and Alex Cotton say they have secured a provisional patent and trademark, and now their Buckle Blocker is ready for the marketplace. The Buckle Blocker, which would typically…

  • Companies Need Better Mix of Business, Patent Strategies

    Science and engineering companies often develop innovations based on multiple discoveries, which calls for better integration of their patent and business strategies, according to study by three intellectual property analysts. The paper by Deepak Somaya at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana college of business (pictured left), with David Teece of University of California at…

  • U.S. Patent No. 8 Million Signed, Reform Bill Action Urged

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) held a ceremonial signing today of the eight millionth U.S. patent awarded in the agency’s history. The USPTO’s director and acting Secretary of Commerce used the occasion to urge the Senate to complete its work on patent reform legislation. USPTO issued patent no. 8 million on 16 August…

  • Microbes Found to Clean Nuclear Waste, Generate Electricity

    Researchers at Michigan State University in East Lansing have shown the ability of certain microbes to generate an electric current while cleaning up uranium in wastewater. The team’s findings, for which patents have been filed, appear online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (paid subscription required). Microbiologist Gemma Reguera (pictured right)…

  • Manufacturing Process Devised for More Economical LEDs

    Materials scientists at University of Florida in Gainesville have developed a new manufacturing process for light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, used in flat-panel displays and solid-state lighting. The process is described in an article now appearing in the journal Nature Photonics (paid subscription required), and has been licensed to a company for commercialization. Two research teams…