MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY | DIVISION OF RESEARCH & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
INNOVATIONWORKS SPRING/SUMMER 2021 | VOLUME 2
OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER NEWSLETTER
SKROWNOITAVONNI
THE WORLD IS HIS OYSTER The average seafood connoisseur likely assumes that the seafood they purchase locally and consume was caught from nearby waters, along their respective coastline. Many would be surprised to learn that many of the oysters they eat are not native or their seed are not native, but are grown in local waters. While that may not be common for many coastal states, it is indeed true for oyster supplies in Maryland. Dr. Ming Liu and a team of researchers at Morgan State’s Patuxent Environmental and Aquatic Research Laboratory (PEARL), home of the university’s aquaculture facility in Calvert County, Maryland, are working to change that narrative. They are developing Maryland superior native stock – the Chesapeake PEARL Oyster!
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Dr. Liu is an oyster genomics researcher who joined Morgan in 2017. He is the principal investigator, and lead on all things related to oyster production at the PEARL. In joining Morgan, Dr. Liu was looking to capitalize on the huge market opportunity that currently exists in Maryland. There are a number of challenges to Maryland aquaculture industry, such as mortality caused by diseases and low-salinity waters, slow growth, and lack of selective breeding programs to develop locally derived lines. Despite the conditions, Dr. Liu and his team, along with the help of student researchers, have been working to develop oyster lines with superior traits including improved survival and growth rates, generating more profit for hatcheries struggling with high demand, cost, and limited supply. One byproduct of their research is the creation of Maryland-derived triploid and tetraploid oysters. Triploid oysters, with three sets of chromosomes, are sterile, and more energy efficient, which promotes rapid growth and superior meat quality. In the Chesapeake Bay region, more than 90% of farmed oysters are triploids. Commercial triploid production uses male tetraploid oysters (four sets of chromosomes) mating with female diploids (nature oysters), thus making tetraploids and tetraploids are very precious because they are difficult to produce. Maryland’s oyster industry does not have its own tetraploid broodstock, which forces Maryland growers to rely on other states. (continued on page 4)
Dr. Ming Liu in his PEARL laboratory
WHAT DRIVES INNOVATION?
It's not Indy 500 racers, or creative Uber drivers. Innovation Drivers are the factors that drive both “big I” (new and potentially disruptive innovation), and “little i” (incremental) innovation. Common drivers of organizational innovation include: consumer need, improved quality, creation of new markets, reduced labor and material costs, improved efficiency, reduced environmental damage and energy consumption, and conformance to regulations. Innovators themselves may be driven by a personal or emotional connection. Each issue of Innovation Works will provide the reader a window on what drives Morgan’s innovators.
MORGAN'S ENERGETIC INNOVATOR
As the inventor behind Morgan’s first-ever technology licensing agreement, Seong W. Lee, PhD is no novice to innovation. Dr. Lee and his team of students developed the “Method and Design of the UltraClean Mobile Combustor for Waste Biomass and Poultry Litter Disposal,” known as Cykloburn. The Cykloburn technology among other innovations taking place in Dr. Lee’s lab stemmed from a variety of “innovation drivers.” This included making improvements in the technology’s quality and efficiency, in addition to reduced environmental damage and energy consumption. The system itself, which feeds directly to the needs of poultry farmers, significantly reduces poultry waste, creates electricity for operations and provides heating for poultry houses, reducing operational costs for the farmers. That was just the tip of the innovation iceberg that lived beneath the surface of Dr. Lee’s lab, the Center for Advanced Systems and Environmental Control Technologies (CAESECT), in the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. School of Engineering.
Dr. Seong Lee and a student collaborator
The success of the Cycloburn system didn’t slow down the energetic Lee and the innovation taking place in his lab. After being awarded a U.S. Patent for the System and Method for Biomass Combustion (U.S. Patent 10,253,974) he and his students transitioned into Phase Two of their Cycloburn technology - development of the feeder drying system (U.S. Patent Pending) . The technology recycles the residual heat from the poultry liter combustion process to reduce moisture content of poultry litter feed, to reduce moisture content of poultry litter and also improve combustion efficiency and reduce gas emissions. Further development of the system continues to align with Dr. Lee’s initial reasoning for his work: decrease environmental pollution, increase energy efficiency, and reduce costs for Maryland’s poultry farmers. (continued on page 4)