Each March, millions of people fill out brackets for the NCAA Tournament. When the games tip off, March Madness is all about matchups. A team may be excellent throughout the year, but if they can’t figure out how to overcome challenges against a certain opponent, they won’t be successful.
You’re facing challenges in your business, too. Using the right tools can help you power through them. The good news is you have the benefits of a great team on your side, as researchers from the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs are developing innovative technology with uses far and wide across industries. We’re here to help you connect with the perfect fit — at no additional cost to you — by licensing these technologies for your company.
Now, let’s build your “One Shining Moment.”
R&D Innovation Performance Study: Strategy Must Guide Materials Industry Innovations
Materials can redefine markets, but makers of plastics, metals, composites, nanomaterials and more aren’t as effective as they could be in new product development. According to our R&D Innovation Performance Study, just 8% of materials manufacturers have innovation strategies and goals that address all company departments, versus 27% of companies in other industries.
Do you work in the materials industry and want a better, faster way to develop new products? Read our blog to learn how each department in your company can contribute to your innovation strategy.
Traditional electromagnetic devices require large quantities of coils and high electrical currents, resulting in bulky designs and high-power consumption. Thermal actuators are limited by slow heat transfer rates, while electroactive polymers suffer from durability issues and complex manufacturing processes.
To address these issues, scientists at the Naval Postgraduate School are pioneering a novel approach using microfluidic networks for an artificial muscle system. These networks consist of interconnected channels linked through a manifold, which activates the electrodes of electroactive polymers.
Designed for uses like prosthetics and armored skeletons, this technology is low-weight, low-cost, energy-efficient, disposable, and ready to be licensed. Get more details below.
Imagine you're a detective trying to solve a mystery, but all your evidence is covered in smudges. Pathologists face a similar challenge when diagnosing diseases with biopsy samples. These samples are put on slides and looked at under a microscope, but sometimes the slides aren't perfect. They might have stains, fading, bubbles, or pen markings.
To help pathologists diagnose diseases more accurately and quickly, VA researchers have created a tool called iQC that determines if slides are suitable for diagnosis.
iQC looks at every pixel on a slide and categorizes them. It uses machine learning to tell which pixels belong to the tissue, which are stains, which are marks from pens, and so on.
Interested in licensing this technology for commercial use? Learn more below.
Many biological materials need water, but water’s properties can impact biomolecular structures, resulting in destabilized proteins and susceptibility to increased temperatures. That’s why biological materials must be refrigerated during storage and transport.
Using water-free protein liquids, Air Force scientists have developed ultra-stable protein ionic liquids that retain more than 60% binding activity, even after repeated exposure to high heat. Kept at room temperature, protein ion liquids stabilized through these methods can maintain biological activity for about five years.
Applications of this method include conversions of restrictive enzymes, insulin, and antibodies, as well as increasing shelf life and creating bioactive plastics with renewable surfaces.
