University of Maryland MIPS Program Approves 19 Technology Development Projects Worth $4 Million

Projects Span the State, Universities to Advance Commercially Promising Products       

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Aug. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Maryland's Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program today announces it has approved 19 new technology development projects worth $4 million.

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The projects, which team companies with universities across the state, focus on advancing commercially promising technologies into the marketplace.

"From Hooper's Island to Baltimore, from Leonardtown to Bethesda, companies and faculty are creating the next generation of technologies that will improve our lives, enhance our environment and add jobs in Maryland," said Martha Connolly, director of MIPS. "Some of the biggest and most promising companies in Maryland, from Lockheed Martin to Northrop Grumman, from Martek Biosciences to MedImmune, from CSA Medical to WellDoc, have each taken advantage of MIPS projects to advance technologies. Small companies and startups in this round are hustling to create a thriving future economy in Maryland."

Winning projects, listed by company, faculty, value, and official project title, include:

• 20/20 GeneSystems Inc. (Rockville) and Feng Jiang, associate professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore ($79,124): MicroRNA as a Blood Analyte for Lung Cancer
• AHPharma Food Safety Products Inc. (Salisbury) and Jeannine Harter-Dennis, associate professor, University of Maryland Eastern Shore ($279,866): Radiant and Manure Burning Heat System NH3 Control
• Allegiance NanoSolutions (Baltimore) and Jewel Barlow, director, Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel ($127,500): Nanotech Superhydrophobic Coating for Wind Turbine
• Biomedica Management Corp. (Baltimore) and Leonid Medved, professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore ($325,698): Optimization of Novel Hemostatic Agent ClotBlock
• Blue Infusion Technologies LLC (Columbia) and Marc Cohen, research scientist, University of Maryland, College Park ($148,500): BEARTek Glove Bluetooth Module
• CoolCAD Electronic LLC (College Park) and Alireza Khaligh, assistant professor, University of Maryland, College Park ($154,807): SiC-Based, Ultra-Compact EV Battery Charger
• Global Resource Recyclers Inc. (Forestville) and Qingbin Cui, assistant professor, University of Maryland College Park (112,983): Carbon Emission Reductions from FSB
• Hooper Island Oyster Aquaculture Company (Fishing Creek) and David Tilley, associate professor, University of Maryland, College Park ($143,000): Salting System for Oyster Aquaculture
• Information Technologies Curves (Gaithersburg) and Elise Miller-Hooks, associate professor, University of Maryland, College Park ($177,500): Next Generation Algorithms for Ridesharing Services
• Innovative Bios (Baltimore) and Ryan Casey, associate professor, Towson University ($134,522): Renewable Cell Culture Broth
• InstantLabs Medical Diagnostics Corp. (Baltimore) and Jennifer Johnson, assistant professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore ($225,000): Development of PCR Assay for the Detection of MRSA
• Leadership Health LLC (Leonardtown) and Jae Kun Shim, associate professor, University of Maryland College Park ($890,000): Enabling the Expansion of Physical Therapy Clinics
• Otomagnetics (Bethesda) and Benjamin Shapiro, associate professor, University of Maryland College Park ($189,075): Magnetic Therapy Injection to Treat Hearing Loss
• Plasmonix, Inc. (Halethorpe) and Joseph Lakowicz, professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore ($159,749): Translational Development of Plasmonic Substrates
• Shore Thing Shellfish LLC (Valley Lee) and J. H. Hixson, hatchery program manager, Morgan State University ($113,597): 'In-Situ' Oyster Setting
• Smart Slope LLC (Brooklyn) and Andrew Ristvey, regional extension specialist, University of Maryland, College Park ($200,100): Alternative Substrate Blends for Greenroof Media
• Syntonics LLC (Columbia) and Don DeVoe, professor, University of Maryland, College Park ($140,059): MEMS Components for PARCA Software-Defined Antenna
• VisiSonics Corporation (College Park) and Nail Gumerov, senior research scientist, University of Maryland, College Park ($235,200): Enhanced 3D Audio Experience via Personalization
• Zuvachem Inc. (Lutherville) and Frank Robb, professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore ($122,124): Enhanced Microbial Production of Isoprene

This is the 50^th round of MIPS grants. Projects are co-funded by MIPS and participating companies. All funding goes to support the work of faculty and graduate students for each project.

Companies contributed $2.5 million and MIPS $1.5 million for this round of projects. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency provided additional funding.

Part of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech), an initiative of the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, MIPS provides grants for technology product development projects that team Maryland companies with researchers in Maryland public universities.

Blockbuster and emerging products developed by Maryland companies have benefited from MIPS, including Martek Biosciences' nutritional oils, Hughes Communications' HughesNet™, MedImmune's Synagis®, Black & Decker's Bullet® Speed Tip Masonry Drill Bit, WellDoc's mobile diabetes management platform, and CSA Medical's diseased-tissue ablation device. Products with MIPS projects have generated more than $23.6 billion in revenue and added thousands of jobs to the region.

MIPS has supported research projects with more than 500 different Maryland companies since 1987.

"These projects mark the last round of the 25^th year MIPS has supported technology companies innovating in Maryland," said Connolly. "MIPS companies have created nearly 3,000 high-quality, high-paying jobs in the state and we expect that pace to increase as current startups blaze the trail to a bright, innovation-driven economic future for Maryland."

For more information about MIPS and the upcoming MIPS 25^th Anniversary Gala and Impact Awards, visit: http://www.mips.umd.edu.

About the Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) Program
MIPS, a program of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) in the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, supports university-based research projects to help Maryland companies develop technology-based products. Commercial products benefiting from MIPS projects have generated more than $23.6 billion in revenue, added thousands of jobs to the region, and contributed to successful products such as Martek Biosciences' nutritional oils, Hughes Communications' HughesNet™, MedImmune's Synagis®, and Black & Decker's Bullet® Speed Tip Masonry Drill Bit.

SOURCE University of Maryland