Flintbox Technologies: July

Flintbox Technologies is a snapshot of some of the most recent out-licensing and in-licensing opportunities available on our site. This month highlights some of the best new cleantech postings on Flintbox.

Out-Licensing Opportunities

Innovative Steel-Free Bridge Deck Design

University of Manitoba - July 7, 2008

Traditional bridge deck construction relying on steel-rebar reinforcement leaves the bridge subject to premature structural failure due to rebar corrosion. Polyethylene rebar coatings to overcome corrosion have shown limited potential. This novel approach uses fibre-reinforced polymers and combines it with innovative deck design principles to replace the function of steel rebar. Both the bridge deck and its beam supports employ this patented technology for a completely corrosion-free structure.

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Compounds used in the treatment of Late-Onset Gaucher and Morquio B

The Hospital For Sick Children - June 26, 2008

The invention relates to therapeutic compositions and methods for treatment of late-onset Gaucher, GM1-gangliosidosis, and Morquio B disease.

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NutriSTEP™

University of Guelph - June 20, 2008

NutriSTEP™ is a fast and simple way to assess eating habits and identify nutrition problems early, including growth and overweight issues. It is a parent-administered 17-item questionnaire that covers the nutritional risk constructs for the preschool population: food and nutrient intake, physical growth, developmental and physical capabilities, physical activity, food security and the feeding environment.

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Trapezoidal Shadow Mapping Technique

National University of Singapore - June 30, 2008

This invention is a new shadow map technique termed trapezoidal shadow maps to calculate high quality shadows in real-time applications.

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High Throughput Method to Evaluate Enzymes Related to Lipid Production

University of Alberta - June 24, 2008

A simple, safe, in situ method to detect and quantify the efficacy of enzymes involved in the production of triglycerides (triacylglycerols). The technique is useful in growing oilseed crops with enhanced properties and in developing drugs to treat obesity and related diseases.

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In-Licensing Opportunities

ADC Seeks Fibre Optics and Wireless Technologies

Consulate General of Canada, Minneapolis - June 26, 2008

Minneapolis-based ADC is seeking products and technologies in the optical fibre and wireless radio access nodes (RAN) spaces that Canadian entities might license or co-develop with the company. ADC is very keen to work with Canadian companies and indicated that they have been tracking a small portfolio of Canadian telecom/wireless companies for the past few years. The Consulate General of Canada Minneapolis has engaged with ADC to help identify specific technologies of interest and below is what the CTO has initially shared with us.

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Verizon Wireless Opportunity

July 11, 2008

Verizon Wireless, as a part of its Open Development strategy, is interested in engaging and partnering with firms that have next-generation or disruptive technologies in almost 30 unique areas, including: transportation & monitoring devices, mobile wallets & credit card replacements, health care devices for patient data, cashless vending, smart phones, and more. Deadline to submit is July 21st.

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Want to see more? Go to www.flintbox.com to search all postings. To join the Flintbox network and post your own user Profile and Projects, sign up for a Pro Account. Click here to get a password reminder if you already have an account.

Site Notification: Power outage in Vancouver

The Flintbox site will be down all day today, Monday July 14th, as a result of a power failure in parts of downtown Vancouver. We are working to get everything back up and running, and should be operational by tomorrow morning. Please bear with us, and thank you for your patience.

The Flintbox site is back up and running today, Tuesday July 15th, and we can once again be reached by email and phone. Vancouver is still experiencing a power outage in the downtown core including the Flintbox offices, but the servers running the Flintbox site are back up and we are available if you need assistance.

The power outage has affected businesses well beyond Vancouver, as internet servers (including those hosting the Flintbox email and site) lost power crashing websites worldwide. Learn More

The initial blackout was caused by an electrical fire underground, and much of downtown Vancouver was closed down yesterday. News reports indicate that full power should be restored by tomorrow. If you are interested in learning more, here is some local coverage of the event:

CBC.ca - Power still out for parts of downtown Vancouver

Now Public - Downtown Vancouver without power for second day

The Globe and Mail - Power outage sends Vancouver into ‘chaos’

Increase in Cleantech Venture Investments

As we wrap up our focus on Cleantech, it’s good to see that the industry is still going strong. According to a study recently released by the Cleantech Group, a San Francisco research and strategy firm, investment in the industry continues to grow at a furious pace.

As reported today on Reuters.com,

Venture investments in environmentally focused “cleantech” companies rose to a record $2 billion in the second quarter, led by funding for solar-thermal and new biofuel technologies. That’s up 58 percent from the same period last year and 48 percent from the first quarter.

Solar-thermal technology, which uses the sun’s heat to create steam to power a turbine, attracted $278 million of venture capital during the quarter. That funding went to companies such as: BrightSource Energy, SkyFuel, Infinia and Sopogy, Cleantech Group said.

The excitement around cleantech is clearly growing around the world, as the upcoming conference in Denmark, COPENMIND, announced today that their exhibition spots for universities are full, and new applicants will be placed on a waitlist. COPENMIND provides a forum for institutions to present their cleantech innovations to companies and investors, creating a necessary interface between industry and the global research environment in this field.

Member Spotlight: C4 is a Cleantech Star

Our Member Spotlight this month features C4 Consortium, a Flintbox Channel Partner in Ontario. We are especially proud to promote C4 in our member spotlight this month, as they have posted more than half of the clean technologies during our Flintbox cleantech push, with C4 members University of Western Ontario and University of Guelph posting 7 and 6 technologies respectively.

C4 is unique in that they share resources, including staff members. C4 e-commerce coordinator Heather Bennett manages postings on Flintbox and acts as a resource for their members. Heather is not only a great resource for the C4, but for Flintbox as well.

What is C4 Consortium?
C4 fosters innovation in Southwest Ontario by promoting technology transfer and commercialization. Comprised of ten universities and research institutions, C4 members coordinate their resources, cooperate with governmental and industrial bodies, collaborate in multi-disciplinary research to solve real world problems, and commercialize the results of their research.

C4 members include:
McMaster University
University of Western Ontario
University of Guelph
University of Waterloo
Wilfrid Laurier University
University of Windsor
Brock University
Robarts Research Institute
Lawson Health Research Institute
Hamilton Health Sciences
St. Joseph’s Healthcare

Learn more about C4, and view all C4 postings on Flintbox.

West Coast Licensing Partnership Launches

We are very pleased to announce the launch of The West Coast Licensing Partnership (WCLP) on Flintbox.

What is The West Coast Licensing Partnership?
WCLP consists of seven West Coast North American research institutions. The WCLP recognized certain technologies developed within each institution might be of limited value for licensees on their own. As a result, the partnering institutions have begun working together to present “bundles” of compatible life science technologies that together provide a value-added package.

Each bundle agreement grants non-exclusive rights to a large group of technologies and tools under a single license. The bundles are promoted online through Flintbox.

How it started:
Initiated by Caroline Bruce, former Associate Director at The University of British Columbia’s University-Industry Liaison Office, the WCLP was formed at a satellite meeting of BIO Partnering North America in Vancouver in 2006.

Participating organizations:
The partnership brings together seven like-minded research institutions willing to bundle a subset of their technology opportunities for marketing and licensing:

The University of British Columbia
The British Columbia Cancer Agency
The University of Washington
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute
Oregon Health & Science University
The Scripps Research Institute
Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Benefits:

• Simple one-stop licensing of technologies from multiple institutions
• An added value from the bundle of related technologies over individual tools and technologies
• Standardized inter-institutional agreements are executed for each bundle prior to marketing
• Increasing global access to research tools by promoting and enhancing non-exclusive licensing
• Strengthening inter-institutional relationships between member partners

The West Coast Licensing Partnership launched this week on Flintbox, just in time for the 2008 BIO International Convention. Keep an eye on the Flintbox blog for more news about the WCLP and view their current bundles on the Flintbox site.

Flintbox Technologies: June

Flintbox Technologies is a snapshot of some of the most recent out-licensing and in-licensing opportunities available on our site. This month highlights some of the best new cleantech postings on Flintbox.

Out-Licensing Opportunities

A Greener Technetium Generator

McMaster University - June 3, 2008

McMaster researchers have invented a more efficient and environmentally friendly method of producing Technetium, an important medical radioisotope.

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Encapsulated Fish Cells for Toxicity Testing

Wilfrid Laurier University - June 3, 2008

A biomonitoring tool based on the fish cell line test that can perform toxicity tests on-site. This tool is in the form of a macroencapsulated device filled with fish cell lines. It is inexpensive and easy to use and do not have the problems associated with other kinds of fish tests.

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Polymer Nanocomposites Via a One-Step Synthesis Method

University of Western Ontario - June 2, 2008

Western inventors have created some unique polymer nanocomposites which can be formed in one step! Specifically, they have synthesized polyethylene matrices containing silica or titania particles, using supercritical CO2 and acetic acid as the condensation agent.

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Electrochemical Remediation Gas Industry Sour Brines

University of Guelph - May 12, 2008

University of Guelph researchers have developed an electrochemical oxidation process to remove toxic waste from geothermal and oil refinery waste streams.

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Nano Polysaccharide: A Green Nanotechnology Platform

University of Guelph - May 9, 2008

A novel and green technology based on polysaccharide nanoparticles (nanoPS) that can be used in a wide variety of applications is currently being developed at the University of Guelph, with initial funding from the Strategic Transition and Application of Research (STAR) program of the Advanced Foods and Materials Network.

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DFAIT Profiles

Science and Technology commissioners from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada are now actively using Flintbox. Contact the commissioners directly if you have opportunities related to their profiles.

The Consulate General of Canada, New York

The Canadian Consulate General in New York City is one of ten Canadian Consulates General in the United States. The Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. is responsible for our overall bilateral relationship with the United States. Each Consulate is responsible to cover specific areas in the U.S. The New York City office covers the eastern part of New York State, the states of Connecticut and New Jersey and Bermuda.

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Consulate of Canada in Houston

The Consulate based in Houston covers the five state region of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana and Arkansas. It promotes trade, investment and technology partnerships between Canadian and territorial entities such as corporations, universities and research organizations. Our primary areas of interest are in energy, environment, ocean technology and life sciences-pharmaceuticals.

Learn More

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Want to see more? Go to www.flintbox.com to search all postings. To join the Flintbox network and post your own user Profile and Projects, sign up for a Pro Account. Click here to get a password reminder if you already have an account.