A seminar designed to help new investigators negotiate the steps involved in commercializing their research will be held from 3:30-5:30 p.m. May 16 in the Student Union Theatre, North Campus.

Following the seminar, UB inventors will be honored at the annual Inventors Reception presented by the Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing (TTL).

The seminar and reception are part of the Research Festival sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research, in association with the associate deans for research.

There is a "tremendous push in academia" for researchers to publish their work, but there are circumstances under which publishing could compromise the researcher's rights to their intellectual property, said Jerry McGuire, director of the TTL.

The Inventing and Patenting Seminar will detail the ways in which investigators can protect their intellectual property, yet still be able to freely distribute that information "as they need to do in a university setting," McGuire said, calling the process a way of "allowing investigators and researchers to have their cake and eat it, too."

During the Inventors Reception, to follow the seminar at 5:30 p.m. in 210 Student Union, inventors named on patents issued to the SUNY Research Foundation in 2000 will be recognized. They are:

• David Pendergast and John Zaharkin, Physiology and Biophysics; Michael Zaharkin, formerly associated with the department, and Budd Termin, Athletics, who invented a system and method for improving the biomechanics, distance-per-stroke and aerobic metabolism of a swimmer

• Deborah D.L. Chung, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, who invented a new sensor configuration in which compression of the sensor can be correlated to strain or stress

• Stella Batalama and Dimitris Pados, Electrical Engineering, who invented a new circuitry and method for demodulating Code Division Multiple Access signals

• George Lee and Zhong Liang, Civil Engineering, who developed a seismic accelerometer to measure and record low frequencies and large dynamic measurement ranges

• Abir Mullick, Architecture, who invented a modular bathing unit that can be configured to the needs and preferences of its users

• Huw Davies, Chemistry, and collaborators Norman King and Steven Childers, who invented biologically active derivatives of the tropane ring system that selectively bind either to the 5-HT or DA reuptake site, leading to compounds that can be used to treat clinical depression, attention deficit disorder, obesity and cocaine addiction

• Claes Lundgren and Ingvald Tyssebotn, Physiology and Biophysics, and the Center for Research in Special Environments, and former UB collaborators Hugh Van Liew and Mark Burkard, who invented a method of treating right-to-left circulatory shunts by introducing a therapeutically effective amount of stabilized micro-bubbles

• Donald Hickey, Physiology and Biophysics, who invented a two-balloon esophageal catheter and monitoring system. Hickey has received funding to develop the operating software and hardware prototype.

• Darrell Doyle and Paul Gollnick, Biological Sciences, and collaborators Marian Kruzel and Tomasz Kurecki, who invented a method of using genetically engineered bacteria to produce human lactoferrin in large quantities. The patent is issued to FerroDynamics Inc.

• Brydon Grant and Ali El-Sohl, Medicine, who developed a type of software programming, called an artificial neural network, that generates a predicted respiratory disturbance index that can assist clinicians in further diagnosing respiratory conditions

• Timothy Murphy and Kyungcheol Yi, Medicine and Infectious Diseases, who invented a vaccine-delivery system that is applicable to an extensive range of vaccine candidates

• Frank Bright and Luis Colon, Chemistry, and former colleagues Jeffrey Jordan and Richard Dunbar, who invented a method of forming sol-gel derived thin films and their applications

• Paul Kostyniak and Joseph Syracuse, Toxicology Research Center; Ross Giese, Geology, and former colleague Patricia Costanzo, who developed a method of conducting a cation exchange that imparts antimicrobial properties to colloid particles as clays. The resulting antimicrobial composition has a number of potential applications, including as an additive to plastics, paints or a variety of household products.

• Robert Genco and Richard Evans, Oral Biology; Robert Coburn, Medicinal Chemistry, and collaborator Joseph Dunn, who invented a method of treating chronic inflammation using the subject compounds. A group of patents for the compounds is licensed to Therex Technologies, which is directed by Dunn.