UMBC professor earns grant to continue work

A professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, was among the eight recipients of grants from the Maryland Technology Development Corporation last month.

Liang Zhu, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, was awarded $50,000 to develop a cooling device to minimize brain injury due to loss of oxygen from an inadequate blood supply during open heart and neck surgical procedures.

The development corporation's "continued support of our research and development allows our state universities to remain at the forefront of national technology advancements," said Stephen Auvil, director of the Office of Technology development for UMBC.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the University of Maryland, College Park, also received grants from the development corporation's University Technology Development Fund.

The fund "has allowed researchers all over Maryland to move forward with commercializing their innovations," Auvil said.

Since the program's inception in 2001, 86 research projects have been funded with development fund.

The development corporation "is committed to supporting promising technology advancements being discovered by university-based researchers, as these innovations are important to Maryland's technology-based economic development," said Renee Winsky, president and executive director of the development corporation.

"We are confident that these new projects will lead to products and services that will be valuable to future consumers," Winsky said.

Among the other seven recipients of the grants were:

* Jennifer Elisseeff, a Johns Hopkins professor working on an ocular biosynthetic adhesive to reduce the risk of serious complications in cataract and corneal reconstruction procedures.

* Dr. Nabile Safdar, a University of Maryland, Baltimore, professor researching a computer-aided detection application to aid in the diagnosis of cartilage injuries.

* Marcus Dagenais, a University of Maryland, College Park, professor working to optimize an inexpensive laser to improve optical fiber in home Internet connections.

The Maryland Technology Development Corporation was established by the General Assembly in 1998 to facilitate the creation of businesses and foster their growth by providing seed capital and entrepreneurial business assistance for the development, transfer and commercialization of technology. It connects emerging technology companies with federal laboratories, research universities, business incubators and specialized technical assistance.

The program was recognized as the most active early stage investor in the nation for four years in a row by Entrepreneur Magazine.

For information, go to www.marylandtedco.org.

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