For decades, America’s energy research and development establishment has favored incremental progress over transformational change, says Jeff Muhs, USTAR researcher and executive director of Utah State University’s Energy Dynamics Laboratory (EDL). And incremental change, Muhs states, will not free us from our energy dilemma.

Muhs will speak at the Salt Lake City Main Public Library Feb. 16, keynoting a Utah Museum of Natural History (UMNH) “Nature of Things” lecture. The lecture is free to the public and takes place from 7:00 to 8:30 pm. The library is located at 400 S 200 E.

Jeff Muhs

“In the talk, I plan to argue that America’s energy innovation engine is largely stalled but we as a nation can get it running again,” Muhs said. “I will also explain EDL’s role in nurturing ‘risky’ transformational clean energy technologies and describe some of the lab’s research with game-changing potential for our energy and economic future.”

Now in its fifth year, the lecture series explores the delicate relationship between humans and the natural world. The series brings together esteemed local and regional researchers and nationally-renowned experts to discuss timely issues, new ideas, and scientific advancements that impact our ability to live and develop in more sustainable ways. The theme for the 2011 series is “Reinventing Energy.”

“Jeff is part engineer, part visionary,” said USTAR executive director Ted McAleer. “His talk is one that anyone interested in energy innovation will find exciting.”

Muhs is well suited to kick off the 2011 series. He leads EDL’s efforts in a number of areas, primarily in energy efficiency and renewable energy. He also oversees EDL’s interactions with federal sponsors and associated R&D programs. Muhs came to USU in 2007 as a USTAR research professor where he worked with faculty colleagues to successfully launch and grow the USU Biofuels Center into a thriving research operation.

Beyond serving as EDL Director, Muhs oversees the development of new energy ventures for USU. He has testified before the U.S. Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Committee as an expert witness on the topic of beneficial reuse of carbon. Prior to joining USU, Mr. Muhs spent 18 years at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory where he was named “Engineer/Scientist of the Year” and “Science Communicator of the Year” in 1997 and 2004, respectively.

Muhs has over a dozen patents to his credit, three of which are now commercial products (fiber optic splitters used in LANs, a vehicle weigh-in-motion system, and a solar lighting system for which he received a prestigious R&D 100 Award in 2006). He briefly served as vice president of research for Sunlight Direct, Inc., a spinout from ORNL. He also served as an energy and science policy advisor in the U.S. Senate, drafting several provisions included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and America COMPETES Act.

On March 2, the series will resume with a lecture by Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund. For more information on that event, visit http://umnh.utah.edu/nature

About Energy Dynamics Laboratory:
EDL is a non-profit research corporation owned by Utah State University (USU) as a part of USURF. USTAR helped to fund EDL’s launch in 2010. Situated on USU’s Innovation Campus in North Logan, Utah, EDL has access to state-of-the-art facilities and equipment. EDL in-house expertise is complemented by its sister organization, the Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL), which has a 50-year legacy of resources in engineering, systems integration, program management and technology innovation. EDL also has offices in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Vernal, UT. 

EDL scientists and engineers are developing disruptive technologies that enable new, practical solutions for the most intractable energy and environmental challenges facing America today. Partnered with academic and industry leaders, EDL confronts these challenges by creating what it calls “transformational” energy systems. Business areas include: Intuitive and Solar Buildings, Vehicle and Roadway Electrification, Environmental and Wind Measurements, Next Generation Fossil Energy, and Algae Energy Systems.

For more information on EDL, visit http://www.energydynamicslab.com

By Julie Kiefer, U of U Brain Institute

For 50-70 percent of patients in the advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease (PD), Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) can seem like a miracle. DBS is a surgical treatment in which electrodes that emit electronic impulses are implanted deep into the brain. The moment the device is switched “on”, PD’s characteristic movement disorders – including tremor, muscle rigidity, and slowed movement – vastly diminish. What’s more, patients who have undergone DBS slash intake of therapeutic medications by an average of 50 percent, decreasing unpleasant side effects such as uncontrolled bodily movement.

Despite the successes of DBS, it is far from the perfect solution. Following treatment, patients experience new difficulties, such as a reduced ability to learn new tasks, called procedural learning. Alan “Chuck” Dorval, Ph.D., Brain Institute USTAR investigator and assistant professor of bioengineering, University of Utah, attributes such adverse effects to the fact that scientists understand very little about how, or why, DBS works.

“Originally, DBS was the outcome of a serendipitous discovery,” he explained. “In order to treat this disease more efficiently, we need to understand the ways brains in disease and healthy states process information differently. That’s my job.”

USTAR recruited Dorval to its biomedical device innovation team in June 2009, largely based on his work with DBS conducted while a postdoctoral researcher at the University of North Carolina.

Alan Dorval, U of U Brain Institute

Dorval has been instrumental in expanding the institute’s expertise in the area of neural interfaces – the design of devices that improve central nervous system functions in impaired individuals. “One of the major goals of the Brain Institute is to partner with colleagues at the U, a world leader in the area of neural interfaces, to build next-generation technologies,” said John White, Ph.D., executive director of the Brain Institute. “Hiring Chuck Dorval was a big step toward this goal. He gives us increased strength in rational device design, computational methods, and animal models of human motor disorders.”

Dorval is uncovering the mysteries of how the parkinsonian brain works by examining brain activity in rats with PD-like symptoms. He has found that neurons in the parkinsonian basal ganglia – a region that signals to motor circuitry in the brain – fire neural signals more rapidly and less rhythmically than healthy ones. When the diseased rats are treated with DBS, the neurons fire even faster, and extremely rhythmically. These findings suggest that just as a crew relies on a coxswain’s rhythmic chants to row smoothly, the brain’s motor circuitry depends upon regular signaling from the basal ganglia to drive efficient body movement.

 His research also explains why DBS treatment makes it difficult to learn new tasks. A coxswain who focuses his efforts on counting loudly and persistently will have trouble performing other duties simultaneously. Similarly, when DBS-treated basal ganglia continually issue rapid, strong commands to motor circuitry, they are less able to perform other functions, like facilitating procedural learning. “Any other information that the basal ganglia are trying to process can’t get through. It is being drowned out,” said Dorval.

Dorval is now using what he has learned about how PD and DBS affect information processing to design improved and novel types of DBS. He is determining whether by changing where DBS is positioned in the brain, and by altering DBS electrical patterns, he can reduce PD motor symptoms without creating adverse side effects. “It’s conceivable to come up with a type of stimulation that treats the motor symptoms but also allows the basal ganglia to process other information,” he explained. (more…)

Eric Warren from the Utah State University Research Foundation shares this story about Paul Israelsen, who has been very active with the USTAR program at USU since the initiative’s inception. Congratulations to Paul for this award and a lifetime of achievement!

Energy Dynamics Laboratory Deputy Director Paul Israelsen was presented the Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology yesterday by Utah Governor Gary Herbert to recognize Israelsen’s transformational solutions to environmental issues, which foster both the economic growth and the energy independence of Utah.

During a ceremony in Salt Lake City, Herbert presented the award to Israelsen. The citation that accompanied the award states that, “Paul’s contributions will help place Utah at the forefront of transformational energy systems for the future.”

Paul Israelsen

Over the course of his career, Israelsen has employed more than 500 Utahns through multiple start-up companies he helped develop in the state. Israelsen has also been awarded 20 patents that have contributed to the development of digital television, video telephones, signing services for the deaf, digital movies and photography, and laser-based measurement systems. Israelsen was also a principle architect of a proprietary video compression algorithm, which was incorporated as the mainstream baseline compression algorithm for Apple’s QuickTime rich media environment. Israelsen has served on several standards committees, including the MPEG 4 Committee, where he helped determine methods of defining compression of audio visual data, and the ITU Standards Bodies, which develop international standards for communications, such as telephony/video conferencing. In 2009, Israelsen joined several other professionals to found the Energy Dynamics Laboratory, which was created as a research and development organization and an incubator for the startup of new businesses. In his role at EDL, Israelsen oversees the development of multiple new and innovative technologies including Inductive Power Transfer, a wireless technology that will safely and effectively transfer electricity to electric vehicles from roadbeds and parking stalls.

“This recognition is a tribute to Paul and all he has accomplished in the technology sector, not only for the people of Utah, but for citizens across the Country,” said Jeff Muhs, director of EDL. “Paul’s work in the area of digital file compression has impacted nearly every person who uses audio or video files. His current work as deputy director at EDL will be no less revolutionary, as his technical contributions to the next generation of energy systems are already proving to be integral solutions to America’s most intractable energy and environmental challenges.”

In addition to his leadership role at EDL, Israelsen has been a Research Associate Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Utah State University, teaching courses in very-large-scale integration (VLSI) design and microelectronics. Israelsen is the head of the board of directors for the Center for Active Sensing and Imaging, and is a founding board member of the Institute for Intuitive Buildings.

According to the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development, the Governor’s Medal award program was initiated in 1987 to recognize those who made career achievements and/or provided distinguished service that has benefited the State of Utah in the areas of Science and Technology. Specific criteria were developed to determine the significance of the contributions to the economic development of the state.

Founded in 2009, EDL develops and deploys transformational energy systems, providing considerable improvements to U.S. energy security in the following five areas: Intuitive and Solar Buildings, Vehicle and Roadway Electrification, Environmental and Wind Measurements, Next Generation Fossil Energy, and Algae Energy Systems. EDL focuses on prototyping, demonstrating, deploying and commercializing innovative technologies for renewable and advanced energy systems that will help solve national and international environmental issues. EDL provides customers and partners with innovative, high‐value solutions and services that can rapidly be commercialized through industry friendly practices and efficient technology transfer.

Utah State University’s newest USTAR hire, Randy Lewis, will be featured in a four-part NOVA series starting Wednesday, Jan. 19. The focus of the series “Making Stuff: Stronger,” examines emerging, futuristic-type technologies that are enhancing material properties to literally “make stuff stronger.”

Lewis, who is transitioning from the University of Wyoming, is bringing himself, his laboratory, research assistants and world-renown capabilities.

The thrust of Lewis’ research is based on what he calls “Spider Silk.”

Randy Lewis

“The spider silk does not actually come from the spiders; rather, it comes from proteins generated by certain bacteria, goats and silkworms,” Lewis said. “We then use those materials to create a strong silk-like fiber.”

One might wonder what silk spun from proteins might be used for, and the answer is quite simple, according to Lewis.

“The major efforts are for artificial ligaments, tendons, bone repair materials, parachute materials, car air bags, tire cords and a variety of materials for sports clothing,” he said.

Lewis has attracted the attention of some of the nation’s top funding sources, including NIH, the Air Force, the DOE, NSF and USDA.

“We are currently working with Caisson Labs in Logan on producing the spider silk proteins in cotton seed and expect to work with them on our alfalfa project,” Lewis said.

Regarding his transition to USU, Lewis notes that he is really looking forward his move to USU as it will enable him to expand the work he have started at the University of Wyoming. He is particularly excited about the new USTAR building and facilities, the Center for Integrated Biosystems and the new USU farm facility. 

“However, the real key is the emphasis that USU has in the biological sciences and the USTAR support for developing those areas,” Lewis said. “We believe we are bringing expertise in areas that can be used by a number of faculty in a variety of departments.”

“We are pleased Randy is coming to Utah State,” said Vice President for Commercialization and Regional Development Robert Behunin. “Randy’s alignment with USU’s newest USTAR BioInnovations Facility, and with the complimentary core of faculty in the colleges of agriculture, science and engineering, will bring significant research, innovation and commercialization opportunities and returns to the university and to the state of Utah.”

A preview of the NOVA series can be seen at the website (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/strong-materials.html).

Unsure about whether you should patent, trademark or copyright? Should you limit to U.S. or international? These and other questions will be the topics of a half-day workshop Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011, sponsored by Key Bank, the Miller Business Innovation Center, USTAR, the SBIR-STTR Assistance Center, and Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione.

The “Beyond the Basics” workshop takes place from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm. Prior to Jan. 15, the cost is $25 per person. After Jan. 15, the price is $50. The registration fee includes continental breakfast, lunch, and a copy of “Intellectual Property Law Handbook,” courtesy of Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione.

To register, visit http://www.mbrcslcc.com/intellectualproperty

Representatives from the law firm will present the sessions, with USTAR executive director Ted McAleer moderating the lunchtime panel discussion.

Where: Salt Lake Community College – Miller Campus, Karen Gail Miller Conference Center, 9750 S 300 W, Sandy, UT

For more information on the SBIR-STTR Assistance Center, visit http://www.innovationutah.com/sbir.html

Utah State University’s Office of Commercialization and Regional Development hired Curt Roberts as associate vice president for commercialization and regional development.

“Curt’s addition to the USU team is a significant step towards creating new opportunities in USU’s ongoing quest to expand and enhance its commercial ventures,” said Vice President for Commercialization and Regional Development Robert Behunin.

Curt Roberts

Since 2007, Roberts served a dual appointment as vice provost for innovation and economic development at Weber State University and as the USTAR (Utah Science, Technology and Research) initiative regional technology outreach director. Roberts’ efforts have resulted in the development of numerous products, patents, licenses and business plans for more than 50 early stage entrepreneurial ventures.

Before relocating to Utah in 2007, Roberts served as a senior executive at NIKE where he led the global strategic planning for five teams after which he led NIKE’s Vision, Timing and Techlab. Under Roberts’s leadership, NIKE realized substantial gains and the generation of new business platforms.

“I’m very excited to be joining a great commercialization team at USU,” Roberts said. “The university has a very strong intellectual property portfolio and some of the best researchers in the world. I’m confident we will be able to establish deep partnerships with industry and increase the university’s economic impact in the state of Utah.”

USU President Stan Albrecht is enthusiastic about the addition of Roberts to the USU commercialization team.

“Curt’s USTAR experience and his private sector experience will lend a new dynamic to USU’s efforts,” Albrecht said. “Paring Curt with Rob Behunin and the others on the commercialization team will bring new opportunities to USU and to the state of Utah.”

Behunin is quick to point out that Roberts is the first to be named in the overall reorganization strategy for USU’s commercialization efforts. Behunin was named vice president for commercialization and regional development in September 2010 and assumed the post Jan. 3 of 2011.

Roberts will transition from his Weber State and USTAR assignments to USU over the next 45 days and will assume his USU post Feb. 16.

On Friday, Jan. 7, USTAR executive director Ted McAleer spoke at the “Nevada 2.0″ conference in Las Vegas. He joined economic development experts from Colorado, Texas and Arizona who spoke to an audience at the University of Nevada – Las Vegas. Here are some media stories on the event:

Associated Press – Nevada seeks input on recovery

Las Vegas Sun – Will Nevada heed its wake-up call?

Reno Gazette-Journal – Business/Education partnership key to diversifying Nevada’s economy

Face it, entrepreneurs. You watched 16 hours of “Lost: Season Six” and got confused. Now you can watch 12 hours of “How to Fundraise” and come away smarter and more savvy when it comes to raising capital for your business idea.

In 2010, the Utah Fund of Funds (UFOF), with its partners the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), and the Salt Lake Community College Miller Business Innovation Center (MBIC), held a six-part intensive training session for entrepreneurs.

The goal of the training is to arm entrepreneurs with knowledge about the private equity fund-raising process and strategies to deploy when seeking capital. Several USTAR-supported clients took part in the sessions. Now other interested entrepreneurs can benefit from this same coursework via webcast.

UFOF has made all six sessions available online at http://www.bizvision.com/producer/128. Interested entrepreneurs may sign up to view all six for $75 total, or individual sessions for $25 each.

“These six sessions were produced by business leaders who have ‘done it’ with their own successful businesses. Any entrepreneur who is trying to build a business will benefit from the months of planning that went into these video training sessions,” said Gary Harter, managing director, GOED. “They distill the key elements in the fundraising process and will assist Utah entrepreneurs in being more successful.”

The sessions (each about two hours in length) include supporting documents and cover the following:

Session 1 – Are You Building a VC or Investor Ready Company? Venture Economics
Supporting document: Dilution Effects spreadsheet
Topics include: Why do I have to give up so much equity? How do VCs make and get money? What role does the UFOF play in all of this?

Session 2 – Designing the Perfect Investor
Supporting document: Slide presentation
Topics include: Hard-won experiences, and concepts and exercises on how to narrow your search to find the perfect investors

Session 3 – Raising Money: From Institutional and Non-Institutional Investors
Supporting document: Slide presentation
Topics include: SBIR information and more

Session 4 – Marketing Online
Supporting document: Marketing Online slide presentation
Topics include: Marketing, public relations, creating a web trail (SEO and more)

Session 5 – Start-up Therapy
Supporting document: Slide presentation
Topics include: Team building internally and externally

Session 6 – Legal Clinic: Deal Docs
Supporting documents: Investor closing conditions document and slide presentation
Topics include: What to expect when you close a round of funding

“Many entrepreneurs jump right in and seek funding without adequate preparation. I strongly recommend that our clients take advantage of this resource,” said Rex Falkenrath, Director, Miller Business Innovation Center. “The videos provide a great framework and a lot of useful detail.”

About UFOF:
The Utah Fund of Funds is a $300 million State of Utah economic development program aimed at providing access of alternative or non-traditional capital to Utah entrepreneurs. The Utah Fund of Funds does not invest money into any company or individual but rather invests in venture capital and private equity funds that commit to establishing a working relationship with the Utah Fund of Funds, Utah’s start-up and business community and commit to making investments in qualifying companies. The Utah Fund of Funds will invest in venture capital and private equity funds located both in Utah and outside Utah. http://utahfundoffunds.com/

About GOED:
The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) charter is based on Governor Gary Herbert’s commitment to economic development statewide. The mandate for this office is to provide rich business resources for the creation, growth and recruitment of companies to Utah and to increase tourism and film production in the state. GOED accomplishes this mission through the administration of programs that are based around targeted industries or “economic clusters” that demonstrate the best potential for development. GOED utilizes state resources and private sector contracts to fulfill its mission.  For more information please contact:  Michael Sullivan, 801-538-8811 or mgsullivan@utah.gov. Web: http://www.business.utah.gov

About MBIC:
Salt Lake Community College’s Miller Business Resource Center is home to the Miller Business Innovation Center (MBIC), the largest publicly-funded business incubator in Utah.  The MBIC currently hosts fourteen small businesses serving multiple industries.  Collocated with the Salt Lake Regional Small Business Development Center, the MBIC opened its doors in 2003 as a mixed use incubator espousing the entrepreneurial philosophy of Larry H. Miller, Miller Campus’ largest benefactor.  Since 2003 it has multiplied in size and has attracted publishing, franchiser, software development and medical device entrepreneurs responding to business needs in cross industry sectors.  In total, the companies employ over 70 full-time people and generate combined revenues near 20 million annually. Web: http://www.mbrcslcc.com/mbic