Tag: Innovation

CEOs should develop an ambivalent mindset in crises, says UAH professor’s research

sarah JonasResearch Results

When their companies face crises like disruptive changes, the way chief executive officers (CEOs) perceive or interpret the crises matter for their companies’ adaptation to the changes, according to research by a University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) associate professor of marketing.

UCI researchers eavesdrop on cellular conversations

sarah JonasResearch Results

Irvine, Calif., Feb. 17, 2020 — An interdisciplinary team of biologists and mathematicians at the University of California, Irvine has developed a new tool to help decipher the language cells use to communicate with one another. In a paper published today in Nature Communications, the researchers introduce CellChat, a computational platform that enables the decoding of signaling molecules that transmit information and commands between the cells that come together to form biological tissues and even entire organs.

Chula Turns Old Smartphones into 2,500 Microscopes for Schools

sarah JonasAnnouncement

Chulalongkorn University, in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, will retrofit 500 old smartphones donated by Thai Samsung Electrics, Co., Ltd. with CU Smart Lens invented by Professor Sanong Akasit, Ph.D., Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, and turn them into microscopes. The microscopes will be donated to 500 marginal schools throughout the country as part of the “2,500 Microscopes from Old Cell Phones for Marginal Schools“ project, which supports equal opportunity in science education for all.

UCI scientists measure local vibrational modes at individual crystalline faults

sarah JonasResearch Results

Irvine, Calif., Jan. 11, 2021 – Often admired for their flawless appearance to the naked eye, crystals can have defects at the nanometer scale, and these imperfections may affect the thermal and heat transport properties of crystalline materials used in a variety of high-technology devices. Employing newly developed electron microscopy techniques, researchers at the University of California, Irvine and other institutions have, for the first time, measured the spectra of phonons – quantum mechanical vibrations in a lattice – at individual crystalline faults, and they discovered the propagation of phonons near the flaws.

UCI engineers reveal molecular secrets of cephalopod powers

sarah JonasResearch Results

Irvine, Calif., Dec. 17, 2020 — Reflectins, the unique structural proteins that give squids and octopuses the ability to change colors and blend in with their surroundings, are thought to have great potential for innovations in areas as diverse as electronics, optics and medicine. Scientists and inventors have been stymied in their attempts to fully utilize the powers of these biomolecules due to their atypical chemical composition and high sensitivity to subtle environmental changes.

UCI, UCSD study: People more likely to pick up prescriptions via automated kiosks

sarah JonasResearch Results

Irvine, Calif., Dec. 10, 2020 — Ever see long lines at the pharmacy counter and give up on a medication, or find that the drive is just a little too long? A study by the University of California, Irvine and UC San Diego found that patients using an automated kiosk in their workplace had better prescription pickup rates without sacrificing instruction from pharmacists.

UCI researchers develop rapid antibody generation technology

sarah JonasResearch Results

Irvine, Calif., Dec. 7, 2020 — Using the same strain of yeast that ferments wine and makes dough rise, a team led by University of California, Irvine and Harvard Medical School researchers has developed an in vitro technology that can rapidly hypermutate antibodies. The new technology generates antibodies faster than animal immune systems and better than current synthetic methods, giving researchers the tools for evolving exceptionally potent agents, including therapeutic candidates that target SARS-CoV-2.

UC researchers pioneer more effective method of blocking malaria transmission in mosquitoes

sarah JonasResearch Results

Irvine, Calif., Nov. 3, 2020 — Employing a strategy known as “population modification,” which involves using a CRISPR-Cas9 gene drive system to introduce genes preventing parasite transmission into mosquito chromosomes, University of California researchers have made a major advance in the use of genetic technologies to control the transmission of malaria parasites.

$1M Awarded to Companies Innovating Solutions to Challenges Facing Hospitality Industry in UNLV-hosted Competition

sarah JonasAnnouncement

The Lee Prize for Innovation and Entrepreneurship recently awarded nearly $1 million to eight companies developing solutions that could help spur recovery in the hospitality industry amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Cancer treatment without side effects?

sarah JonasResearch Results

Irvine, Calif., Oct. 27, 2020 – Treating cancer without debilitating side effects has long been the holy grail of oncologists, and researchers at the University of California, Irvine and Switzerland’s Lausanne University Hospital may have found it. Charles Limoli, professor of radiation oncology at UCI, and Marie-Catherine Vozenin, associate professor of radiation oncology at the Swiss facility, used an ultra-high dose rate of radiation therapy to eliminate brain tumors in mice, bypassing key side effects usually caused by cranial irradiation.

National Academy of Medicine elects UCI biomedical engineer Kyriacos A. Athanasiou

sarah JonasAnnouncement

Irvine, Calif., Oct. 22, 2020 — University of California, Irvine biomedical engineer Kyriacos A. Athanasiou has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest distinctions awarded to professionals in the medical sciences, healthcare and public health. He is one of 90 new U.S.-based members announced this week, along with 10 new international members.

UCI materials scientists discover design secrets of nearly indestructible insect

sarah JonasResearch Results

Irvine, Calif., Oct. 21, 2020 – With one of the more awe-inspiring names in the animal kingdom, the diabolical ironclad beetle is one formidable insect. Birds, lizards and rodents frequently try to make a meal of it but seldom succeed. Run over it with a car, and the critter lives on. The beetle’s survival depends on two key factors: its ability to convincingly play dead and an exoskeleton that’s one of the toughest, most crush-resistant structures known to exist in the biological world.

OnSight Medical Wins TCT Connect 2020 hark Tank Innovation Competition

sarah JonasAnnouncement

The Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) is pleased to announce that OnSight Medical, an AI-based company specializing in cardiac ultrasound imaging, has won the TCT 2020 Shark Tank Innovation Competition which took place during the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT), the world’s premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine. The winner was also presented with the Jon DeHaan Foundation Award for Interventional Innovation.

UCI biochip innovation combines AI and nanoparticle printing for cancer cell analysis

sarah JonasResearch Results

Irvine, Calif., Oct. 7, 2020 – Electrical engineers, computer scientists and biomedical engineers at the University of California, Irvine have created a new lab-on-a-chip that can help study tumor heterogeneity to reduce resistance to cancer therapies. In a paper published today in Advanced Biosystems, the researchers describe how they combined artificial intelligence, microfluidics and nanoparticle inkjet printing in a device that enables the examination and differentiation of cancers and healthy tissues at the single-cell level.

Mount Sinai Health System, Healthcare Association of New York State and Hospital Innovation and Lean Network of New York to Host Conference: “Lean and Innovation in a COVID-19 World”

sarah JonasHigher Education Event

Virtual conference will highlight Lean innovations that have helped healthcare organizations plan for, manage and mitigate many aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic

CLEVELAND CLINIC UNVEILS TOP 10 MEDICAL INNOVATIONS FOR 2021

sarah JonasAnnouncement

An up-and-coming gene therapy for blood disorders. A new class of medications for cystic fibrosis. Increased access to telemedicine. These are some of the innovations that will enhance healing and change healthcare in the coming year, according to a distinguished panel of clinicians and researchers from Cleveland Clinic.

In conjunction with the 2020 Medical Innovation Summit, Cleveland Clinic announced the Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2021.

UCI researcher receives NIH Transformational Research Award

sarah JonasAnnouncement

Irvine, Calif., Oct. 6, 2020 — University of California, Irvine biomedical engineer Chang Liu is the recipient of one of nine Director’s Transformative Research Awards this year from the National Institutes of Health under its High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program, the agency announced today. Liu’s five-year, $8.4 million grant will support a project to develop a system for making antibody generation a routine and widely accessible process.

UCI is ranked among nation’s top 10 public universities for sixth year in a row

sarah JonasAnnouncement

Irvine, Calif., Sept. 14, 2020 — The University of California, Irvine has been ranked eighth among the nation’s public universities in U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 list of “Best Colleges,” released today. This is the sixth consecutive year in which UCI has placed in the top 10. UCI placed 35th among all American universities – public and private – and rose to second in the subcategory of social mobility, which takes into account the graduation rate of students awarded Pell Grants.

ARPA-type funding gives green technology an ‘innovation advantage’, study finds

sarah JonasResearch Results

• Startups funded by US energy agency ARPA-E file patents at twice the rate of similar cleantech firms, according to latest research.
• UK should trial its own climate-focused ARPA as part of Covid-19 recovery package, argues Cambridge researcher.
• Learn lessons from US by supporting startups through “valley of death” to boost productivity and innovation in green tech.

UCI develops low-cost, accurate COVID-19 antibody detection platform

sarah JonasResearch Results

Irvine, Calif., Aug. 19, 2020 — A robust, low-cost imaging platform utilizing lab-on-a-chip technology created by University of California, Irvine scientists may be available for rapid coronavirus diagnostic and antibody testing throughout the nation by the end of the year. The UCI system can go a long way toward the deployment of a vaccine for COVID-19 and toward reopening the economy, as both require widespread testing for the virus and its antibodies.

Shaping the Future of Food

sarah JonasMarketplace

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center announced the lineup of TableTalks, a series of conversations shaping the future of food that will follow each AgTech NEXT conference session on Tuesdays, September 22 – November 10 from 1:30 – 2:15 PM.

UCI cyber-physical security researchers highlight vulnerability of solar inverters

sarah JonasResearch Results

Irvine, Calif., Aug. 18, 2020 – Cyber-physical systems security researchers at the University of California, Irvine can disrupt the functioning of a power grid using about $50 worth of equipment tucked inside a disposable coffee cup. In a presentation delivered at the recent Usenix Security 2020 conference, Mohammad Al Faruque, UCI associate professor of electrical engineering & computer science, and his team revealed that the spoofing mechanism can generate a 32 percent change in output voltage, a 200 percent increase in low-frequency harmonics power and a 250 percent boost in real power from a solar inverter.

UCI materials scientists study a sea creature that packs a powerful punch

sarah JonasResearch Results

Irvine, Calif., Aug. 17, 2020 – University of California, Irvine materials scientists are learning about resilience from the mantis shrimp. The ancient crustaceans are armed with two hammerlike raptorial appendages called dactyl clubs that they use to bludgeon and smash their prey. These fists, able to accelerate from the body at over 50 mph, deliver powerful blows yet appear undamaged afterward.

UCI scientists get ‘initial hit’ in developing drug to treat COVID-19

sarah JonasResearch Results

Irvine, Calif., Aug. 5, 2020 – When the coronavirus pandemic hit, almost everyone at the University of California, Irvine – and colleges across the nation – had to abandon campus. But James Nowick, professor of chemistry, was not a part of that exodus. That’s because his lab, which designs and constructs chemical molecules, had the right equipment to help in the global push to find treatments for COVID-19.

NSF grants $18 million to UCI for materials science and engineering center

sarah JonasAnnouncement

Irvine, Calif., July 14, 2020 – The National Science Foundation has awarded $18 million to the University of California, Irvine in support of a new materials research science and engineering center. UCI is one of three MRSECs newly funded by the NSF in 2020, joining 16 other existing centers at leading research institutions in the United States.

WFIRM and Oracle Health Sciences collaborate to pair Body-on-a-Chip with advanced data analytics

sarah JonasAnnouncement

The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) and Oracle Health Sciences have teamed as part of the Innovation Quarter’s iQ Healthtech Labs™ to develop a consortium of industry, government, and academic members that will study novel approaches to establishing the safety of new drugs that are nearing clinical investigation in humans and FDA approval.

Foundation donates $1 million to UCI’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering

sarah JonasAnnouncement

Irvine, Calif., June 24, 2020 – The Lincoln Dynamic Foundation, created by University of California, Irvine alumnus John D. Lincoln, has made a $1 million gift to the university’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering to establish the World Institute for Sustainable Development of Materials. The new institute will advance interdisciplinary research, education and knowledge translation in an effort to innovate, evaluate and adopt technologies that utilize safer, nontoxic chemicals and materials, with the goal of mitigating environmental impacts.

Leveraging Uncertainty During The Pandemic: Lessons From Expert Entrepreneurs

sarah JonasFeature

While the future has always been unpredictable, the global uncertainty caused by the novel coronavirus is at a record high. To help us steer through this unprecedented crisis, Professor Saras Sarasvathy shares insights on entrepreneurial decision-making and offers four strategies seasoned founders use to turn uncertainty into opportunity to co-create a better future.

Rutgers’ William Roberts, inventor of air-inflated greenhouses, dies

sarah JonasExpert Pitch

New Brunswick, N.J. (June 9, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick faculty are available to discuss the late William Roberts, who had a 41-year career at Rutgers and invented the air-inflated greenhouse covering system that revolutionized agriculture worldwide. Roberts, a Distinguished…