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MARCH 2014
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In This Edition Licensing and Intellectual Property Newly Released Berkeley Technologies Lead Faculty Inventors with New Patents Awarded
IPIRA manages UC Berkeley's intellectual property portfolio, based on inventions created by our stellar faculty and student scientists. We aim to provide
David Schaffer Daniel Portnoy Marc Hellerstein
valueadded services to Berkeley's research community through the out licensing of Berkeley's innovations, facilitation of industry research dollars,
Grants Walmart Manufacturing Innovation Fund
and patent drafting services, among educational programs and industry partnered events.
Office and Campus Press UC Berkeley Technology Transfer Initiatives Berkeley Innovative Genomics Initiative (IGI) UC Berkeley Among World's Top 10 Research Universities Launch of Hellman Graduate Awards Berkeley Researchers Develop New Technique to Herd Cells Berkeley Scientists Continue to Miniaturize OnChip Inductors Events Robots and New Media Panel Day 2014 MRS Spring Meeting & Exhibit QB3/IPIRA NSF SBIR Bootcamp Annual UC Technology Transfer Forum
SBIR / STTR Office Hours with Errol Arkilic [info] Build Your Financial Model Office Hours with Rob Schock [info] View entire newsletter for more on Intellectual Property Announcements, Researcher Toolbox, Portfolio Startup News, and Recommended IPIRA and Community Events.
New Berkeley Technologies Released for Licensing
Engineering & Physical Sciences Partially Coherent Phase Recovery by Kalman Filtering 2014118 Optimization of Kalman filter algorithm on phase imaging with applications in medical imaging and wafer inspection. Patent Status: patent pending.
OccupantTracking Fan 2014097 Electric fan with tracking algorithm and movement recognition software for energy-efficient personalized comfort. Patent Status: patent pending.
UltraThin IiiV on Si NChannel Mosfet 2014053 Ultrathin highmobility IIIV semiconductor layer that enhances the performance of nchannel MOS transistors. Patent Status: patent pending.
Electroporation Electrode Configuration and Method 2010137 Electrode configuration capable of delivering high electric fields with low potential differences between electrodes. Patent Status: published application 2013019644 | WO 2011/153164.
Software DNA Sequence Assembly Software (Design Evolver) 2014048 Next generation sequence assembly software that works in conjunction with the j5 DNA assembly tool developed and licensed by the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI). Patent Status: under internal review.
Healthcare Point of Care Assays to Rapidly Diagnose Infectious Diseases 2014130 Assay that amplifies the activity of proteolytic enzymes and enables their visual detection at low biomarker concentrations and in resourcepoor settings. Patent Status: patent pending.
Genetically Encoded Reporters for Hyperpolarized Xenon MRI 2013090 A promising new class of genetically encoded molecular reporters for hyperpolarized MRI that achieves orders of magnitude greater than conventional methods. Patent Status: patent pending.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To explore all Berkeley innovations and ways to collaborate with the University, visit http://techtransfer.universityofcalifornia.edu/default.aspx?campus=BK.
Patents Awarded in March 2014
AdenoAssociated Virus Virions with Variant Capsid and Methods of Use Thereof Patent Number: 8,663,624. Inventors: Schaffer, et al. Status: Licensed.
Interferon.Beta. Production Modulating Listeria Strains and Methods for Using Same Patent Number: 8,679,476. Inventors: Portnoy, et al. Status: Licensed.
Method for HighThroughput Screening of Compounds for Discovery and Quantification of Actions, Particularly Unanticipated Therapeutic or Toxic Actions, in Biological Systems Patent Number: 8,663,602. Inventors: Hellerstein. Status: Licensed.
Researcher and Entrepreneur Toolkit
Walmart U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund Created from a collaboration among Walmart, the Walmart Foundation, and the United States Conference of Mayors, the Fund is dedicated to manufacturing innovation and will provide $10 million in grants to applied research projects over the next five years. For the Fund's first year, priority will be given to Request For Proposals on innovation in manufacturing processes for textiles and apparel as well as common manufacturing processes that apply to a broad range of consumer goods, such as small motor development and tooling for plastic injection molding. Submissions of letters of inquiry are due by April 22, 2014. Visit www.usmanufacturingfund.com and RFP requirements for more information. An information call will be hosted on April 3, 2014. Interested UC Berkeley investigators are encouraged to contact our Industry Alliances Office at iao@berkeley.edu for assistance.
Use Pivot to access and keep track of global research funding and collaboration opportunities Pivot is available to the Berkeley campus community and combines the most comprehensive, editorially maintained database of funding opportunities worth an estimated $33 billion with a unique database of 3 million scholar profiles, and growing. [sign up]
Office and Portfolio Startup News
IPIRA streamlines the translation of cuttingedge ideas from campus research to product launch successes Since IPIRA’s founding, our technology transfer office has facilitated more than 150 startups launched with intellectualproperty licenses from Berkeley and liaised sponsored research transactions from over 800 companies. Subsequent licensing revenues and sponsored research dollars have contributed to continual scientific education and training for our campus scientists. A myriad of entrepreneur oriented programs in partnership with other campus departments also fostered a fertile breeding ground for notable startups like Ensighta (cyber security startup, acquired by FireEye) and Eko Devices (smartphonestethoscope startup, Founder.org awardee). [news]
Amyris and Kurary expand collaboration in farnesenebased poloymers Amyris and Kuraray Co., Ltd. (TSE:3405), a pioneering global chemical products company with a long history of commercializing a range of resins, fibers, textiles and other materials, have extended their ongoing collaboration in high performance polymers using Biofene®, Amyris's brand of renewable farnesene. Amyris will receive an undisclosed amount of collaboration funding over the next two years, and Kuraray will purchase approximately $4 million of Amyris's common stock in April of this year. [news]
CellScope gets featured on Rock Health incubator startups with a female founder Amy Sheng cofounded Cellscope and leads product operations. Previously, Amy managed the cell phonemicroscopy work in the Fletcher Lab at UC Berkeley. [news]
Berkeley Affiliate News
UC Berkeley ranked world's top 10 research universities California universities scored highly in an annual ranking based on the reputation of world research universities by the Times Higher Education magazine of Great Britain, with Stanford, UC Berkeley, Caltech and UCLA in the top 10. Rankings are based on the opinions of professors and scholars. [news]
UC Berkeley takes genomic engineering to the next level with new Innovative Genomics Initiative (IGI) backed by Li Ka Shing Foundation The Li Ka Shing Foundation has provided a $10 million gift to support the initiative, establishing the Li Ka Shing Center for Genomic Engineering. UC Berkeley and UCSF will provide $2 million in startup funds. UC Berkeley Professor Jennifer Doudna, who invented the revolutionary CRISPR/Cas9 "DNAsnipping" technology, will serve as executive director of the IGI and hold the new Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair in Biomedical and Health Sciences post. The new genomic engineering technology significantly reduces drug discovery time, with researchers already adapting the technology to reprogram stem cells to regenerate damaged organs. [news]
Hellman Fellows Fund launches new fellowship program at Berkeley The Hellman Graduate Awards will support UC Berkeley doctoral students who exhibit the capacity for great distinction. This program is made possible by a multiyear grant totaling $1.47 million from the Hellman Fellows Fund, established by Berkeley alumnus Chris and Warren Hellman. [news]
UC Berkeley researchers "herd" biological cells with electricity, technique can create "smart bandages" to accelerate healing Researchers discovered that direct current fields can be used to deliberately guide migration of a sheet of epithelial cells. The team demonstrated first data of directing cell movement by electricity on a group of cells. Further research could accelerate advancements in tissue engineering and other medical techniques. [news]
Onchip inductors to revolutionize electronic circuit design Research from UC Berkeley scientists, sponsored by Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), on insulated nanocomposite magnetic materials demonstrate a significant enhancement in inductance of up to 80 percent, which corresponds to at least a 50 percent shrink of the onchip inductor size. Results have the potential to enable a new wave of miniaturized electronics and wireless communications devices. [news]
Professor Mary Wildermuth's lab advances research to improve plant resistance By adapting microdissection techniques normally used in cancer research, Berkeley researchers were able to peer inside the plant cells to identify the set of genes in order to starve mildew and improve crop resistance. Wildermuth's research is funded by Berkeley's Bakar Fellows Program. [news]
Events
Collaborative Drug Discovery 10th Anniversary Community Meeting April 4, 2014
The theme of the conference will be “Modern Drug Research Informatics Applications to CNS, Infectious, Neglected, Rare, and Commercial Diseases”. Confirmed speakers include industry leaders from Gates Foundation, NIAID, Genentech, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Orphagen Pharmaceuticals, Systamedic, and Mnemosyne Pharmaceuticals. This conference is typically attended by Biologists, Medicinal Chemists, and Research Scientists who collaborate on compounds and screening data. There will be technical training as well as open meeting with opportunities with the speakers.
Robots and New Media April 4, 2014
For decades robots have diligently been tasked to perform a range of duties largely scoped within industrial manufacturing. Recently, we have seen the emergence of a new landscape of more personal, expressive, and emotional robotic platforms. Increasingly, robots play a critical new role as extensions of ourselves, enabling our creativity, creating new objects, serving as companions, expressing emotions, empowering communities, and challenging our civil rights. What are some exciting opportunities, as well as new legal, philosophical, and ethical dilemmas? This symposium will deconstruct, debate, and explore this concept of Robots and New Media.
2014 MRS Spring Meeting & Exhibit April 2125, 2014
The 2014 Materials Research Society (MRS) Spring Meeting and Exhibit will be held in San Francisco at the Moscone West Convention Center, San Francisco Marriott Marquis and The Westin San Francisco. The scientific sessions include emergent areas of materials research as well as some wellestablished ones. Fiftyseven symposia will comprise the technical core of the meeting. The symposia are grouped into the following topical clusters: Materials for Energy Soft Materials and Biomaterials Electronic and Photonic Materials Nanomaterials General Materials Science, Theory and Characterization Symposium X The conference will also host a Career Center to match materials science job seekers and employers. For details, visit http://www.mrs.org/spring2014/.
QB3/Berkeley IPIRA Spring 2014 NSF SBIR Bootcamp April 29 & May 27, 2014
This bootcamp assumes a basic understanding of the SBIR grant application process and focuses on the specifics of the NSF application. Specific differences between the NSF and NIH applications will be addressed to ensure a successfully written SBIR/STTR application. The course culminates in a submission clinic to guide grant filings for the upcoming June 10, 2014 NSF SBIR deadline and June 11, 2014 STTR deadline. Registration and online application are due by April 25. Course includes a 2.5hour working session, a 2.5hour filing clinic, access via web conference, and presubmission review by course instructors.
Annual University of California Technology Transfer Forum
May 8, 2014
The University of Technology Transfer Forum is organized by the University of California Office of the President and showcases technology innovations from across the UC system. The annual Forum brings together industry partners, investors and UC researchers to showcase commercially relevant UC research; discover potential investments; preview promising licensing opportunities; and explore new collaborations. This year's event will highlight the work of UC's 2013 ProofofConcept Commercialization gap grant recipients. 2013 Berkeley projects include: LowCost Arsenic Remediation for California Groundwater, Ashok Gadgil Noise Reduction for Hearing Aids, Frederic Theunissen
Mentor Office Hours
SBIR / STTR Office Hours Errol Arkilic is a Founder of M34 Capital. M34 is an investment company that focuses on seed and earlystage projects being spun out of academic and corporate research labs. Typical investments range from $50,000 to $250,000 and usually represent the first outside capital deployed. M34 focuses on turning science projects into companies across a broad spectrum of technologies and geographic distributions. He is also a Founder of USRCA.org, a nonprofit with a focus on entrepreneur education for science and engineering graduates. Location: 2150 Shattuck Avenue, Suite 1000, Berkeley, CA Date: 1st Thursday each month Time: 4:00 pm 5:30 pm To sign up, email iao@berkeley.edu.
Build Your Financial Model Office Hours Rob Schock is a finance specialist with over 30 years of senior management experience. His experience spans Fortune 100 companies to Silicon Valley startups. As Chief Financial Officer, Rob has installed management control systems, created business models, run accounting departments, designed compensation programs, and managed investor, bank and auditor relationships. Rob is currently a parttime Chief Financial Officer at Picture Marketing, a marketing company on the list of Bay Area 100 fastest growing companies for two years, and a founding member of the Venture Consulting Group (“VCG”), a network of executives providing consulting and management services to early stage and emerging technology companies. Rob has served as a mentor for Keiretsu Entrepreneur Academy, and UC Berkeley Haas Business School’s and UC Davis Business School's Annual Business Plan Competitions. Location: 2150 Shattuck Avenue, Suite 1000, Berkeley, CA
Date: 1st and 3rd Tuesday each month Time: 3:30 pm 5:00 pm To sign up, email iao@berkeley.edu. Know someone who might benefit from our newsletter? Share it! Please send any correspondence and content suggestion to ipira@berkeley.edu. Copyright © 2014 UC Berkeley Intellectual Property and Industry Research Alliances, All rights reserved.