Head of Regents, Ohio University President Honor Faculty Inventors
Attention Editors, Reporters: Photos of Roderick Chu and the recipient of
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Contact: Gary Meyer, (740) 593-1818, meyerg@ohio.edu, or Andrea Gibson, (740) 597-2166, gibsona@ohio.edu
ATHENS, Ohio (October 12, 2000) -- Inventors of a technique to detect viral infections and a method that uses light to measure blood glucose in diabetics were among 37 Ohio University faculty, staff and students honored for their work by university and state leaders Wednesday at the university's annual Inventors' Appreciation Dinner. Those recognized included four faculty members who received five patents for new inventions this year, including the university's 50th U.S. patent.
Roderick Chu, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, appeared at the event, which he said recognizes the important link between university-based inventions and regional economic growth.
"I applaud the knowledge, skills and creativity at Ohio University," Chu said. "I'm here to celebrate your ability to take your inventions to the marketplace and to make a living -- a good living -- with them."
The faculty members recognized for patents received this year include Joseph Jollick, a professor of microbiology, who received two U.S. patents -- including the university's 50th federal patent in June -- for a method to detect viral infections. Jollick collaborated on the research with David Scholl, a former student of Jollick's who now serves as president and CEO of Diagnostic Hybrids Inc., a biomedical firm in Athens.
"We are pleased that Ohio University's 50th issued patent is associated with an Athens-based company," said Gary Meyer, assistant vice president for technology and economic development at Ohio University. "We're always searching for opportunities to match local entrepreneurial talent with the university's intellectual property."
Other faculty honored for patents awarded this year were Paul Jepson, Russ Professor of chemical engineering, for a system to remove contaminants from gas and oil pipelines; Gary Small, Presidential Research Scholar and professor of chemistry and biochemistry, for a device that uses infrared light to measure blood glucose in diabetics; and John Kopchick, Goll-Ohio Eminent Scholar and professor of molecular and cellular biology, for development of a transgenic mouse used in studies of growth hormone.
Jepson, Kopchick and 11 other scientists and engineers also were honored for filing patent applications for their research work this year. Others were recognized for completing the first step in the patent process -- disclosing inventions to the Technology Transfer Office, which manages the university's technology-based intellectual property.
Ohio University ranks first in the state of Ohio for the number of invention disclosures per total research dollars spent.
"It is through the commercialization process that university-based technology is transferred to the public via the marketplace, resulting in new drugs, technologies and other products that improve the lives of consumers," Meyer said. "Ideas have always been the currency of academia, and now they're also the currency of the marketplace economy."
The event was sponsored by the Technology Transfer Office, which is part of the Vice President for Research division, and the Office of Ohio University President Robert Glidden.
Recipients of the inventors awards include faculty, staff and students from the university's Edison Biotechnology Institute; the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Department of Chemical Engineering in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology; Department of Biomedical Sciences in the College of Osteopathic Medicine; and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Department of Physics and Astronomy and Department of Mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Roderick Chu, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, discussed the connection between university-based inventions and economic growth at Ohio University's annual Inventors' Appreciation Dinner.
Joseph Jollick, a professor of microbiology, was recognized for receiving two U.S. patents in the past year, including the university's 50th federal patent.
