LIHU‘E — From wearable rings that detect date-rape drugs to solar-powered desalination technology that converts seawater into fresh water, the University of Hawai‘i’s new fellowship program is turning sci-fi solutions for modern problems into reality.
Launched this year and managed by the UH Office of Innovation and Commercialization (OIC), the Patents2Products program is designed to grant innovators at UH opportunities to create next-generation technologies.
“The Patents2Products program is the first of its kind in the state of Hawai‘i and is designed to mature the readiness level of UH-developed, impact-driven technologies in the blue economy and health care sectors,” said Steven Auerbach, interim director of OIC.
“The program provides in-depth innovation and entrepreneurship training and experience to help develop the next generation of scientists and technologists to translate their world-class research into impactful, commercial products or services that can improve our everyday lives.”
Part of a $2.4 million grant from the Office of Naval Research, the one-year program is available for Ph.D. candidates and postdoctoral researchers in the University of Hawai‘i system.
Fellows accepted into the program will receive intellectual property training, technology transfer guidance and industry mentorship — all with the goal of teaching creators early in their careers how to produce commercialization opportunities from innovative ideas.
“I’m hoping to learn a lot about the patenting process,” said Kaylee Clark, a UH Manoa postdoctoral researcher and Patents2Products Fellow designing a wearable ring that can detect flunitrazepam, also known as Rohypnol — a drug commonly used in sexual assaults.
“Just, like, the structure of businesses, and how to take technology that you develop in research and bring it into a viable product that can actually make an impact.”
The fellowship utilizes the National Science Foundation I-Corps Desert and Pacific Regional Hub, a partnership between eight universities across five states, to bolster fellows’ resources and learning opportunities throughout their time with the project.
Additionally, each fellow will receive salary compensation, a $10,000 research stipend and access to the UH system facilities and specialized equipment.
“This program complements a whole slew of other programs we have here in the innovation ecosystem at the University of Hawai‘i,” said UH vice president for research and innovation Vassilis Syrmos. “We tried to couple this program with our accelerator incubators and entrepreneurship ecosystem that we have.”
Other projects being developed by Patents2Products’ inaugural cohort include:
• Medical technology designed to increase awareness and early detection of obesity risk factors in low- to middle-income and rural environments.
• A filtration system that enhances environmental DNA analysis of water, allowing for more efficient and accurate research of aquatic ecosystems.
• Solar-powered desalination technology that could help solve international freshwater shortages and replace energy-intensive water purification processes with a more sustainable solution.
• Wastewater analysis technology that can rapidly characterize influenza diversity that could better inform flu vaccine development.
• Improved pharmacological systems that can increase vaccine antigen production.
• A programmable genome insertion tool, designed to incorporate DNA into living cells as a means of treating genetic disease.
OIC will begin recruiting for next year’s cohort in the fall, and an information session for interested faculty sponsors and applicants will be hosted on Nov. 1. For updates and more information about the program, visit research.hawaii.edu/patents2products or email patents2products@hawaii.edu.
“Our mission for Patents2Products is to educate and empower young talent to develop the necessary skills to ripen and shepherd groundbreaking technologies to the marketplace, and explore new pathways to become STEM leaders of emerging industries of our future,” said Rebecca Chung, Patents2Products program lead and OIC associate director of innovation programs.
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Jackson Healy, reporter, can be reached at 808-647-4966 or jhealy@thegardenisland.com.
