Food Forum Outcomes

Image: Russell Rankin (left), Michael Eyles (middle) and Robert Burnside (right)

The UWS Future of Food Forum has garnered significant attention from the food processing industry since it was held on the 30th of November 2010. Read all about the event and its outcomes in the recent UWS news release. UWS hopes to build upon the success of the forum in 2011 and we look forward to collaborating with our industry partners to deliver upon the needs of both the University and industry.

Please contact us for more information on the outcomes of the event.

VC Award for the Innovation Team at UWS

Image: The UWS Innovation Team: (left to right) Robert Burnside, Fiona Cameron, Stephan Golla, Kathryn Sunn (Absent)

The contributions of the UWS Innovation team was recognised last Friday at the UWS Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Awards. The team won its nomination in the “Excellence in Entrepreneurship and Innovation” category for the development and implementation of the Equipment Utilisation Program.

The team recently pursued an entrepreneurial initiative that led to the development of an integrated and novel solution for the provision of scientific equipment access to external researchers and industry. Benefits include increased internal usage, market visibility and accessibility, increased scientific collaboration at all levels and the development of important links between UWS and industry.

We encourage you to check out our webpage for more information on the equipment available for use. Please make sure you visit the site regularly for updates on the range of equipment available and information on subsidies and government programs that may assist SMEs with funds to access equipment.

Food for thought

Image: Stuart Quigley, Group Manager - External Research Partnerships, Fonterra Co-operative Ltd (left) and Stephan Golla, Tech Commercialisation Manager, UWS I&C (right)

The inaugural Future of Food Forum hosted by UWS Innovation & Consulting was held on Tuesday, 30th of November 2010 at Yarramundi House, Hawkesbury Campus. Academics from UWS had the opportunity to meet and discuss issues with high profile members of the food industry, industry bodies and government in an event that was the first of its kind for the university. After an official welcome from Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof John Ingleson and an address from Head of School, Prof John Bartlett, attendees were involved in workshops and open debate about how the university and industry can more effectively collaborate.

The establishment and building of relationships with the food industry is integral to the development of new and innovative education programs and also in providing direction for applied research.

The outcomes of the forum will be made available to attendees and we encourage other interested industry and government members to contact us for further developments.

UWS IP commercialisation pathways expand

UWS and Intellectual Ventures (IV) have entered into an agreement that will provide UWS with an additional avenue for the commercialisation of intellectual property (IP). UWS I&C’s current strategies for the commercialisation of IP may involve licensing, spin-outs or joint ventures. These avenues are the normal routes for university IP to reach the market and provide community benefit. They are resource intensive but essential for the University to have the greatest chance of reaping maximum return from its research efforts.

IV invests in early stage ideas and inventions that, in isolation, may appear to have limited value. Through its large network of innovative contributors and technological expertise, IV is able to bundle inventions into portfolios so that their value may be realised by a worldwide network that is seeking solutions to identified problems.

All invention disclosures from within UWS are initially screened by the Innovation team at UWS I&C and assessed via a rigorous evaluation process. The IV model provides an alternative path to market which enables the University to potentially harvest IP income and take a larger number of inventions to the world from inventive, pre-patent ideas than we might have otherwise.

The IV model includes engagement with chosen research groups in the University to alert them to identified areas of industry need and training in new ways of generating ideas. An inventor’s early stage idea has an opportunity to flourish, with the possibility of immediate cash return and potential growing returns to both the inventor and UWS over time.

This platform is an additional avenue for academic inventiveness to reach a successful commercialisation outcome for UWS research, inventions, and ideas.

Alzheimer's Research

Associate Professor Gerald Muench from the School of Medicine, together with EcoBiotics Limited, has been awarded a UWS Research Partnership grant to identify compounds from Australian native tropical rainforest plants for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other neuro-inflammatory diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s are severely debilitating, and their impact is becoming ever more prominent as our population continues to age. Ecobiotics is the first first company to be given approval to collect native material from Queensland's rainforests under Queensland's Biodiscovery Act (2004), and UWS researchers are excited to be involved in a project of such great importance.

The research team will test a variety of compounds isolated from Australian tropical rainforest plants, particularly from Northern Queensland, for their anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective potential. A number of these plant extracts have already demonstrated these activities in non-Alzheimer related studies, and will now be tested (and further purified) in cell culture models mimicking the inflammatory scenario of Alzheimer's disease.

This important research is representative of a growing capacity at UWS to engage in commercially oriented research. The Innovation team is excited at the bright future for UWS’s new School of Medicine, and we encourage you to watch this space for news on their commercially significant discoveries.

Please click here for the full Research Directions article published by the Office of Research Services at UWS.

IP Evaluation Panel

The University of Western Sydney's (UWS) growing innovation capability was on show again at this year’s third Intellectual Property (IP) Evaluation Panel, which took place last week, October 8th at Frogmore House, Werrington North Campus.

The panel consisted of a number of prominent people from within the engineering and science innovation industries, as well as some of UWS’s most prominent academic minds. Mr Paul Brennan, Managing Director of ASP plastics, was a valuable contributor to the discussion. With his expertise in product development and manufacturing, he was able to provide valuable insight into the commercialisation potential of a new invention from Prof Andrew Beattie from our Centre for Plants and the Environment on the Hawkesbury campus that will hopefully help to reduce the impact of an important agricultural pest.

Paul is seen here back right, along with Matt Lohmeyer , back middle, an expert in Biotechnology commercialisation (company affiliations) and Rob Burnside of the Innovation & Consulting team, back left, along with other UWS participants Dr Fiona Cameron front left (I&C) and Prof Oscar Hauptman, the new Professor at the Centre for Innovation Studies UWS.

Prof Janice Aldrich-Wright from the School of Biomedical Sciences on the Campbelltown campus presented her research on new medically related compounds, and we were very pleased to recommend the implementation of additional steps in order to help protect this potentially valuable technology.

While not traditionally associated with the development of new technologies, it was also very encouraging for the University to see the College of Arts making its first appearance at the panel. Imbedded within the College of Arts, MARCS auditory laboratories conducts pure and applied research on auditory perception and cognition. Watch this space for more information on exciting new developments on their class leading research.

UWS Engineering Innovation

Christian Burden from UWS Development has a long standing relationship with Ian, and is seen here during the factory tour with Ian on his left.

UWS Innovation & Consulting had the pleasure of recently visiting the Managing Director of Advance Metal Products, Mr Ian Stone at Ingleburn, Sydney. A major contributor to the annual design student’s Widevision forum over several years, Mr Stone has a long standing relationship with UWS and has been very supportive of undergraduates in the design area.

Innovation & Consulting are active in supporting the growth of effective Greater Western Sydney industry relationships with our university. It was terrific to hear that the company has hired many UWS graduates and is keen to continue a close relationship with the university.

Advance Metal Products is Australasia’s leading sheet metal manufacturer with some of the most high tech manufacturing facilities in the country, and utilises their relationship with UWS to access important engineering services. We are currently exploring further access to cutting edge engineering technology in our NATA accredited engineering laboratories for testing facilities for the company.

The UWS School of Engineering, lead by Professor Brian Uy, houses an array of testing equipment, now accessible by industry and this provides an open door for industry to talk through UWS I&C with the innovative UWS School of Engineering .

WASP

Urban irrigation constitutes a significant proportion of urban water demand. With growing pressure
on our water resources and climate change predictions of more frequent droughts, water use efficiency
in urban irrigation is critical for sustaining and maintaining urban green spaces that provide us
valuable environmental and community benefits.

A UWS researcher in the CRC Irrigation Futures has developed a web based tool to manage irrigation. This new tool will allow users to define water quantities based on location and vegetation. The UWS tool is the result of years of research and utilises a 100-year data set.

There are some tools already available for the farmer to plan irrigation strategies but WASP software is different in that it allows an urban irrigator to estimate the amount of irrigation required. The bio-physical requirements of the landscape are met by utilising information about its soil, macro climate, micro climate, planting and functional characteristics.

This innovative software development is very timely, with the NSW government having recently announced its Metropolitan Water Plan that aims to “water proof” Sydney until 2015. Currently being tested by four councils in Sydney as the software is developed, WASP will be well placed to contribute to the government’s ambitious strategy that involves investment in dams, recycling, desalination and water efficiency.

Interested parties are invited to test the Beta Version. Please feel free to contact us at ip@uws.edu.au

Innovation Today

The recent programming of YouTube Instant by a student in the US and posted on Twitter was an instant hit with the boss of YouTube. While it took years and presumably a significant amount of resources for Google to develop Google Instant, Ferross Aboukhadijeh developed a similar version of the software for YouTube in a few hours. Shortly after Ferross posted the link to his work on Twitter, the Head of YouTube rang and offered him a job.

Examples of this kind show that there are many people out there with undiscovered ideas and capabilities and lots of opportunities to help to fill the innovation pipelines of large multinationals. With the spread of the internet to over one billion people, the huge potential for companies to uncover the “next Google” is obvious. Unsurprisingly, this opportunity is now being exploited by companies through “open innovation” drives, where invention submissions are rewarded with cash prizes or partnership opportunities. Notable companies engaging in such initiatives include Procter & Gamble, General Electric, PepsiCo, and Dell.

While these initiatives can be great for both the inventor and company, the inventor must still be mindful of their intellectual property position and ensure they are not taken advantage of by “selling the farm”. It’s always wise to talk to a commercialisation or intellectual property expert before proceeding with any such disclosure.

Successful Innovation Workshop

Five lucky UWS students from Honours and PhD programs in the College of Health Science were able to attend ATP Innovation’s 8th annual Successful Innovation Workshop. Students explored ways to commercialise their research through practical case studies, workshops, and networking.

PhD student Anwen Krause-Heuer had this to say about the workshop: "The workshop was a real eye-opener about the hard work and effort that goes into commercialising a concept, with a particular emphasis on start-up companies. It was a great opportunity to mix with postgraduate students from other universities and discuss their research areas. There was a good mix of presentations, activities and discussions that promoted interactions between the group.”

The Innovation team is very pleased that UWS students were able to experience the workshop as we believe that practical commercialisation knowledge is essential for any researcher to best survive in the real world.

UWS Cancer Research

UWS’s cancer research continues to garner worldwide attention with Dr. Anya Salih’s recent discovery of potentially novel fluorescent proteins from coral around the coast of Lord Howe Island, 600km east of Port Macquarie off the east coast of Australia. The gene producing the particular pigment — red, green, blue or yellow — may be used as fluorescent markers in cells and would enable scientists to track cell growth and change using a special fluorescence-sensitive laser microscope. Salih is working with scientists from the University of California to further this research. While the research is currently focused on its potential for anti-cancer research applications, these markers may be used in wider gene expression research.

UWS’s growing cancer research capability is further highlighted with Associate Professor Janice Aldrich-Wright’s research, which is investigating the efficacy of metal based therapeutic compounds that are potentially more effective and less toxic than current chemotherapeutic methods for treating cancer. We are particularly excited about Janice’s research as it approaches its commercialisation potential and we encourage you to watch this space for more information.

SIMS Upgrade to Digital

UWS’s Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (SIMS) is the only instrument of its kind on the east coast of Australia, and we are excited to see that the university’s substantial investment in upgrading this cutting edge equipment is progressing as planned.

SIMS bombards a beam of ions at test materials which in turn dislodge other (secondary) ions from the material’s surface. These secondary ions provide a very accurate reading of chemical composition at and near the surface of the test material. SIMS has been used for research applications as diverse as studying toxic trace elements contained in coal and ash samples from power stations to understanding photo-catalytic semiconductor materials capable of solar-powered production of hydrogen fuels from seawater.

The SIMS is now in what looks like thousands of parts while it undergoes a major digital upgrade to make it a core component of the University’s National Environment and Energy Research Facilities.

The SIMS manufacturer, Cameca, has sent their guys from France to transform the analogue SIMS into its Digital future. ReMarthias, the fair-haired guy, is the engineer undertaking the upgrade works and sorting out the new electronics whereas Pierre, the dark-haired guy, is here specifically to dismantle and clean and reassemble the primary ion column.

The UWS SIMS operator, or the red-haired guy (!) David is seen looking useful with a screw driver.

We will keep you posted on progress as the renewal comes together over the next month or so.

TechVouchers

Image: Mass Spectrometry equipment available at UWS.

In terms of fostering local innovation, the New South Wales (NSW) government’s TechVouchers scheme goes a long way in assisting business to be able to access high tech public sector research equipment. The University of Western Sydney has an ever expanding resource base of high tech research equipment and local SME’s will be able to benefit hugely from this scheme. With the significant growth that the Greater Western Sydney region is experiencing, we hope that a parallel increase in innovative capacity may also be experienced with the aid of some of our world class research equipment.

Companies or research partners interested in taking advantage of the TechVouchers scheme to support access to UWS scientific equipment can find more information at the NSW government's website.

IP Evaluation Panel

IP Panel student representative Patrick O’Doherty (right) explains some of his panel comments to a patent attorney and UWS Innovation & Consulting in more detail.
Pictured: Robert Burnside (UWS I&C), William Hird (Patent Attorney, Davies Collison Cave), Patrick O-Doherty (PhD Student)

The University of Western Sydney's (UWS) growing innovation capability was on show again at this year’s second Intellectual Property (IP) Evaluation Panel, which took place in July at Frogmore House, Werrington North Campus.

The UWS IP Evaluation Panel assists staff and students with progression of intellectual property which may require protection and/or investment. UWS staff and students have the opportunity through UWS Innovation & Consulting to present their innovations to the panel for assessment of patentability and commercial potential.

Patrick O’Doherty, a UWS PhD student in the School of Biomedical Science, sat on this recent panel as a non-voting member, and was a very active contributor to the discussions. Patrick joined an eminent panel of UWS academics, industry experts and a patent attorney, who were able to provide advice on the cutting edge research, the IP potential and interest levels from the pharmaceutical industry.

During the day, Dr. Antonio Lauto from the School of Biomedical Sciences presented his idea for a novel medical device to the panel and Dr Adriyan Milev and Dr Kamali Kannangara presented their research on a new carbon nanotube production technique. Both of these inventions received support for initial IP investment from UWS.

Presentations by Adj. A/ Prof. Minh Nguyen re-affirmed Innovation & Consulting’s decision to invest in his potentially ground breaking juice and dairy concentration technology, with the panel providing valuable input on its current status and potential.

The latest panel stimulated very robust discussion of the exciting technologies. Our thanks to the dynamic panel members of the day; William Hird (Patent Attorney, Davies Collison Cave), Assoc.Prof. Terry Sloan (CoB), Patrick O’Doherty (HDR Student, Biomed), Dr. Gary Dennis (CHS), Gar Jones (Director, ORS), Dr. Phil Kearney (Merck Sharp & Dohme (Australia) Pty. Limited), Assoc.Prof. Hart Cohen (CoA), Dr Cathy Foley (CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering), Dr Fiona Cameron (UWS I&C, Chair). This blog will keep you up to date with progress of the inventions as they move along the exciting path to commercialisation.

The remaining IP Evaluation Panel dates for 2010 are:

»» Friday, 8 October 2010

»» Friday, 5 November 2010