Six ENG Faculty Earn Ignition Awards
The BU Ignition Awards help fast-track the commercialization of promising new research, from a tiny ring that stops chronic pain to soft robotic grippers that can pick up delicate objects
By David Levin
Tiny rings that stop chronic pain. A molecule that targets deadly lung cancer. Robotic hands that can pluck even the most delicate fruit. These are just a few of the innovations under development by Boston University faculty this year—and each of them may be the starting point for new commercial ventures thanks to the BU Ignition Awards.
Each year, BU Technology Development helps to fast-track promising new efforts by providing up to $75,000 to a few select projects. “There are loads of great ideas on campus, but they often need some help to get to a point where they can eventually be adopted and put to use,” says Mike Pratt, managing director of Technology Development. “Having early, promising research doesn’t necessarily mean that you have the tangible proof required to motivate someone to invest their time or money into the development of a new product or service.” The Ignition Award program helps to bridge that gap, he says. In addition to a financial grant, award winners receive coaching and support to bring their products to market.
From a device that uses light to count viruses accurately to a chip that might someday allow hearing aids to drown out background noise, six of the nine winning projects were created by BU College of Engineering faculty: Professor Béla Suki (BME, MSE), Distinguished Professor Selim Ünlü (ECE, MSE, BME), Associate Professor Douglas Holmes (ME, MSE), Associate Professor Chen Yang (ECE, Chem, MSE), Associate Professor Kamal Sen (BME), and Professor Mark Grinstaff (BME, Chem, MSE, MED).
Read the full story on BU’s The Brink.