(Blacksburg, Va., April 11, 2003) -- Virginia Tech faculty members, students, and staff who received 26 patents during 2002 will be honored by the university and Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc. (VTIP, www.vtip.org) at a reception at the German Club on April 29. "The creativity, contributions to knowledge, and technology transfer that patents signify are an important form of scholarship," says university president Charles Steger.

Mike Martin, VTIP executive vice president, observes that "the patents awarded to Virginia Tech faculty members, students, and staff represent a significant resource for economic development."

Patents were awarded for power electronic improvements, including switches for hybrid fuel cell/electric vehicles, power converters, and power unit packaging; new materials and sensors, including a sensor for surface friction in aircraft and a process for creating nanomaterials with precise structure control; an improved method for dewatering fine coal during processing; plant varieties, including wheat, a new raspberry, and a new peanut; a livestock supplement that improves the immune system; and human health-related inventions, including a correction for retinal detachment, a treatment for hemophilia, a vaccine against brucellosis, and a therapy garment for children with sensory integration dysfunction.

Five patents for improved electronics, including power-saving devices and switches for use in fuel cells, were awarded to researchers in the Center for Power Electronic Systems (CPES), an NSF engineering research center.

Yong Li, a recent Ph.D. graduate in electrical and computer engineering now with International Rectifier, and CPES director Fred C. Lee received a patent for "Three-phase zero-current-transition (ZCT) inverters and rectifiers with three auxiliary sw
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Contact: Mike Martin
mike@vtip.org
540-951-9376
Virginia Tech
11-Apr-2003