USU investment boosts economy
Three technological innovations involving Utah State were recently approved in the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative (USTAR) Technology Commercialization Grant round.
In describing USTAR and its purpose, Jacoba Poppleton, public relations and marketing specialist, said USTAR is a long-term, state-funded investment aimed to strengthen Utah’s knowledge economy.
Poppleton said the program’s goal is “to recruit world-class researchers and build state-of-the-art interdisciplinary research and development facilities and to form first-rate science, innovation, and commercialization teams across the state.”
The end-goal of such a plan is to create higher-paying jobs and more technological-based firms to improve the state’s current financial situation, particularly in regards to its tax base.
“To achieve these measures, world-class research teams are being recruited to Utah to conduct research in innovation focus areas where the state already has distinct competitive advantages,” Poppleton said.
These focus areas include biomedical technology, brain medicine, energy, digital media, imaging technology, and nanotechnology – a branch of technology dealing with the manufacture and manipulation of objects as small as individual molecules and atoms.
A portion of the USTAR funding supports construction of state-of-the-art research facilities at the University of Utah and Utah State University.
This plan has helped USTAR fulfill their goal of “attracting top-level, nationally-known faculty to USU and the University of Utah,” said Michael O’Malley, USTAR marketing and public relations representative in Salt Lake City.
USTAR’s relationship with USU since its 2006 development is increasing.
Two of the organization’s new research buildings are to be unveiled at the North Logan Innovation Campus, located at 650 E. Grand Ave., North Logan, Thursday, Oct. 7, at 1:30 p.m. One of the buildings and its 110, 000 square-feet is to be focused on life science research and commercialization, and for three research teams to move into the new space.
O’Malley said that these three new innovations, as well as the new facility in North Logan, are sure to help the organization continue to reach that goal.
The antifungal aminoglycoside (FG08), developed by Tom Cheng, USU associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, essentially has the ability to fight growing fungal activity through significant plants and humans, Cheng said.
“FG08 is active against a broad spectrum of significant plant and animal pathogens,” Cheng said.
He said here are many uses for the project, including application to agriculture and crop and human fungal infection treatment, and the innovation has the ability to generate 50 jobs within the state of Utah, with potential for an annual revenue of $10 million in five years.
Cheng said the project was sparked by a “great need to protect from in-culture and human use” of objects that carry high amounts of harmful bacteria.
Cheng said that there were challenges to the research, with regards to applying a research so small – dealing with some of the basic physical structures of an object – to then making it applicable on a large-scale basis.
“How can you take these compounds and apply it to thousands of acres?” Cheng said as he pondered the endeavor that’s been pursued since around the same time USTAR was born.
The second project, the Backflow Prevention System, is a “device with a purpose to be installed in waste-water pipes and prevent waste-water from damaging the interior of structures in the event of a backflow,” Poppleton said.
The system is waiting for a patent to continue its development.
Michael Johnson, principle investigator of the project and research assistant professor at the Utah Water Research Laboratory, said he is optimistic about the way the system can help close to home.
“During rainstorms, or when obstructions are present, a sewer can become backed up and wastewater can flow back into homes and businesses, causing serious and costly damage,” he said.
Johnson said recently-constructed businesses and other entities have already begun to require backflow prevention systems.
Poppleton said that Water Preventions, LLC, located in Logan, has licensed the project.
This innovation, Poppleton said, can provide 25-30 new jobs within Cache Valley, and a $10-$12 million dollar revenue with five years.
A combination of three local companies and three universities have combined to bring forth the third approved innovation, making synthetic diesel from conditioned biogas.
Both organic and agriculture waste treatment have been applied to the project.
“Funding from the USTAR TSG will be used to optimize production from biogas to conditioned gas to synthetic diesel,” said Conly Hansen, USU professor of nutrition and food sciences and biological and irrigation engineering. “With funding from USTAR, we will be able to enable production of synthetic diesel on a large scale.”
This project could potentially generate 50 jobs within the state, and an annual revenue of $30 million in five years.
The new building next month on Innovation Campus, is an area of the university that O’Malley said is a “must-see.”
O’Malley said he is also very positive about the new-career potential that USTAR has and will continue to spark.
“If (potential research employees) know they’re coming through a campus that has the latest in resource and infrastructure, that’s a pretty attractive location,” he said.
–rhett.wilkinson@aggiemail.usu.edu