The Salt Lake Tribune recently published an article about research conducted by USTAR’s Deborah Yurgelun-Todd.

Citicoline, a compound found in several natural products, shows promise for improving mental function, according to research conducted by scientists at the University of Utah’s Brain Institute.

In an industry-funded study, a team led by Deborah Yurgelun-Todd found that middle-aged women demonstrated improved ability to focus after two weeks on a daily regimen of the supplement. Read the rest of the story…

The White House Business Council held a roundtable in Salt Lake City June 14 with a dozen Utah business leaders. USTAR and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development co-sponsored the 90-minute meeting, which was hosted by the Van Cott law firm.

In his State of the Union address, the President stated that we as a country must commit to winning the future: out-innovating, out-building and out-educating the rest of the world.  After his address, the President asked senior Administration officials to get on the road, hosting roundtable discussions with business leaders across the country.  The purpose of these roundtables is to listen to local businesses, obtain feedback on how the Administration can best support their growth, and make sure that local business leaders are taking advantage of the Administration resources and programs designed to help them create jobs and compete. 

White House Business Council members are hosting these “Winning the Future” roundtables in at least 100 communities across the country by year-end.

Esther Vassar meets with BioInnovations Gateway director Suzanne Winters

Owners and executives from a variety of Utah industries – including information technology, finance, and services – shared their concerns about policy and their insights on current trends. Moderating the session was the National Ombudsman of the U.S. Small Business Administration Esther H. Vassar.

“It was a very thoughtful dialogue,” said GOED State Science Advisor Tamara Goetz. “All attendees shared a concern for rising healthcare costs. The life science companies in the room brought up some specific observations about the challenges of working with the Food and Drug Administration when developing new products, and the financial impact of the medical device tax scheduled for 2012.”

“For every concern and criticism, the attendees were careful to make measured and constructive suggestions,” Goetz said. “Overall there was a spirit of collaboration. And they had a great opportunity to ask questions about SBA loan programs.”

One interesting theme was the trend for small businesses to stay small and agile, due to radical changes in internet and telecommunications technologies. The attendees expressed a desire for government to adopt the same agility, which would lower costs of doing business for all.

Following the roundtable, Vassar and her assistant Anne Eaddy toured the BioInnovations Gateway at Granite Technical Institute. “The tour of the BioInnovations Gateway was our chance to show off the unique model of business incubation and workforce development that a group of strategic partners have developed right here in Salt Lake. We think it’s a model that can replicate elsewhere, and we were glad of the chance to bring it to the attention of the White House,” Goetz said.

Technology to be highlighted at June 24 USU Sunrise Session
A ferocious tsunami, spawned by one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded, slammed Japan’s eastern coast March 11, killing hundreds of people as it swept away boats, cars and homes while widespread fires burned out of control. The event left thousands dead, injured or missing, and millions more affected by lack of electricity, water and transportation. Search-and-rescue teams from several countries joined Japanese forces to aid in recovery efforts.

The USTAR Space Weather Center at Utah State University assisted the Japanese disaster relief efforts by providing data maps outlining the best frequencies for radio communication within the islands of Japan. Storms in space, specifically in the ionosphere, can adversely impact communication and complicate the coordination of rescue teams.

The technology will be highlighted at a USU Sunrise Session in Salt Lake City June 24.

What:       “Space Weather Forecasts: Aiding Disaster Recovery Efforts”
Speaker:    W. Kent Tobiska, director USTAR Space Weather Center
When:       Friday, June 24, 7:30-9 a.m.
Where:      Little America Hotel, 500 S. Main, Salt Lake City

The Space Weather Center was able to accurately interpret how space weather impacted high frequency communication used in disaster relief efforts in Japan. Maps of Japan were updated with real-time communication data specifying which frequencies were best to use for high frequency radio communication.

“During times of disaster management, communication connections are important to maintain,” said W. Kent Tobiska, director of the Space Weather Center at Utah State University. “Our goal was to provide information that allowed volunteers assisting with the relief effort to communicate in a timely fashion to best help the people of Japan.”

Maps created by the Space Weather Center can be seen online (https://spaceweather.usu.edu/htm/japan-emergency-response).

The Space Weather Center was created by the USTAR initiative at Utah State University in 2009. The Space Weather Center develops innovative applications for mitigating space weather in technical systems and is committed to providing operational, real-time products that will help mitigate adverse space weather effects on global communication and navigation systems. Learn more about the Space Weather Center online (http://spaceweather.usu.edu/htm/aboutus).

USU’s Sunrise Sessions is a breakfast lecture series held quarterly and is designed to highlight timely and cutting-edge research conducted at Utah State University. The lecture is sponsored by Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah and is free and open to the public.

To RSVP to the Sunrise Session, call 801-961-1340 or respond online (http://research.usu.edu/htm/sunrise-session).

Key Bank, sponsor of the Biznet Connect Entrepreneur Series, is sponsoring free admission to the 4th Annual “Financing Your Business” conference to be held June 15 at Salt Lake Community College – Miller Campus.

The event runs from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm at the Karen Gail Miller Conference Center, 9750 South 300 West, Sandy, UT 84070.

The keynote speaker is Sheila M. Camarella is Senior Vice President and Sales Leader over Business Banking at Key Bank. 

For more information or to register, please call 801-957-5200 or visit http://mbrcslcc.com/financing

Students find the best solution to a startup company’s product development problem

For a chemistry student, time spent in the lab can be as educational as time spent in the classroom. One local company offered an opportunity for some serious lab time that a group of four Utah Valley University chemistry students could really sink their teeth into. This kind of collaboration is about as good as it gets when it comes to technology commercialization – especially when it leads toward less pain and trauma during dental visits.

WaterJet International has a tool for doing just that – it’s called the WaterJet. The drill provides an engineered stream of water that’s 1/7 the thickness of a normal dental drill, enabling dentists to be incredibly precise when removing tooth decay. Burning enamel smell not required; the drill also eliminates drilling sounds and vibrations for the patient, as well as decreasing recovery time and the need for anesthesia.

During the prototyping of the drill, Timothy Nelson, CEO of Spanish Fork-based WaterJet, ran into a hurdle regarding the chemistry of the water solution, or slurry, used by the drill. He turned to a local higher education source for brainpower: Utah Valley University. Nelson presented his dilemma to University faculty and found chemistry professor Daren Heaton, who in turn recruited a team of undergraduate chemistry students to work on the problem.

Students Nick Corbett, Scott Voorhees, Anna Metcalf, and Amberlee Neibaur gained experience solving a real-world problem for a real company. Neibaur said, “Most jobs for chemists are industrial, but you don’t find many projects in school that give you experience in that kind of setting. This project was a great opportunity for us to gain industry experience.”

A slurry is best illustrated by imagining the wave-propelled sand lapping at your feet when you wade into the ocean. The slurry used by the Neptune Water Drill is a simple solution with only three ingredients: water, abrasive, and a suspending agent. Without a suspending agent, the abrasive sinks to the bottom and will not work for the drill. But the wrong type or amount of suspending agent causes problems with flow and buildup on the drill.

The student team meticulously tested many different agents and concentrations before landing on their winner: Solution 971. Solution 971 held the abrasive in place, did the job with no buildup on the drill, and could be re-suspended after sitting in storage.

Waterjet has utilized opportunities from federal and local grants to help speed up the process of prototyping and commercializing the WaterJet. In 2009, it received a USTAR Technology Commercialization Grant, which started the work on the prototype.  This year, it applied for and received a Grant for Engaged Learning through UVU, which helped fund the students’ work on Solution 971. With the drill engineering and the solution chemistry complete, WaterJet is much closer to getting their product out into the market than they would have been without the support of UVU and USTAR.

“This kind of collaboration between higher education, the private sector, and government is invaluable to startup companies,” said Nelson.

In return, startups such as Waterjet provide jobs, stimulate the economy, and make the world a better place – one dental visit at a time.

Utah State University, The Leonardo and USTAR staged a lively and fascinating “Leonardo After Hours” event on Tuesday evening with 50+ attendees touring the new USTAR building, Solar BioInnovations, and Space Dynamics Laboratories.

You can read a fun blog post from the Leonardo here:

http://bit.ly/mFHz2F

and see some more photos at USTAR’s Facebook page here:

http://tinyurl.com/3dpbyct

Forrest Fackrell explains STORM sensing technology for improved weather forecasting.