23 UAH innovators recognized with patent plaques

Twenty-two inventors received commemorative plaques for patents awarded.

Michael Mercier | UAH

During University Awards for Excellence ceremonies on April 21, plaques commemorating 20 patents were awarded to 23 innovators from two colleges and four research centers at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of the University of Alabama System.

“UAH researchers, both faculty and staff, are always working to expand the boundaries of human knowledge in ways that can benefit our society, and the university presents these commemorative plaques to recognize the splendid achievement of these innovators,” says Dr. John Christy, interim vice president for research and economic development.

“The products of these researchers are significant and unique, which qualifies them for patents awarded by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. We congratulate each of them,” Dr. Christy says.

The increase in commercialization activities has a direct correlation to UAH's robust research infrastructure, says Kannan Grant, director of UAH’s Office for Technology Commercialization (OTC).

“We are seeing the results,” Grant says. “Taxpayers, within the State of Alabama and the nation, are seeing returns in two forms. First is the development of a highly educated workforce. Secondly, innovations are being brought about as a result of research being conducted at UAH, which are then made available for the public.”

OTC spends considerable time and effort in educating the university’s innovators about the value of research beyond publications, Grant says.

“We talk to them many times about how the findings they plan on publishing can also be protected and eventually translated into commercial products and services,” he says.

Revenue generated by patents and copyrights that make their way to the marketplace is shared by UAH with the innovators.

“The fact that OTC and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development are willing to allocate resources to filing and obtaining intellectual property protection for our innovators, including patents and copyrights, is an indication of the confidence UAH shows in the capabilities of our faculty, staff, and yes, sometimes students,” Grant says. “This in turn motivates them and we are seeing very positive results.”

Patent numbers, titles, the inventor or inventors, and the involved center or college are:

• 10,260,171, “Carbonization of Rayon Fibers for a Heat Shield,” William Kaukler (Rotorcraft Systems Engineering and Simulation Center)
• 10,353,124, “Omni-Directional Ultra-Thin Reflection Optical Filters and Methods of Fabrication,” Junpeng Guo (Engineering)
• 10,682,622, "Micro-Fluidic Reactor with In-Plane Micro-Lenses,” John Williams (Center for Applied Optics), Randy Gaillard (Center for Applied Optics)
• 10,816,383, “Apparatus and Method for Determination of Liquid Mass,” James Blackmon (Propulsion Research Center)
• 10,900,822, “Apparatus and Method for Determination of Liquid Mass,” James Blackmon (Propulsion Research Center)
• 10,908,303, “Neutron Spectrometer,” Evgeny Kuznetsov (Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research), James Watts (Center for Space Plasma & Aeronomic Research)
• 10,953,999, “Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Docking System,” John Alcorn (Engineering), Mark Bales (Engineering), Stewart King (Engineering), Brian Landrum (Engineering)
• 10,982,738, “Coupling System for Reducing Fatigue and Dynamic Amplification of Loads in Objects,” James Blackmon (Propulsion Research Center), Frederick Gant
• 11,063,961, “Moving Target Defense Systems and Methods,” Vahid Heydari (Engineering)
• 11,101,009, “Methods to Convert Flash Memory Into One-Time Programmable Memory,” Biswajit Ray (Engineering)
• 11,106,063, “Electrically-Tunable Optical Filters and Methods,” Don Gregory (Science), Seyed Mirshafieyan (Science)
• 11,114,179, “Systems and Methods for Detecting Counterfeit Memory,” Tauhidur Rahman (Engineering), Biswajit Ray (Engineering)
• 11,125,915, “Weather Forecasting Systems and Methods Tracking Cumulus Clouds Over Terrain,” John Mecikalski (Science)
• 11,139,043, “Systems and Methods for Identifying Counterfeit Memory,” Tauhidur Rahman (Engineering), Bashir Talukder (Engineering)
• 11,164,642, “Systems and Methods for Hardening Flash Memory to Radiation,” Biswajit Ray (Engineering), Preeti Kumari (Engineering)
• 11,177,003, “Systems and Methods for Runtime Analog Sanitation of Memory,” Biswajit Ray (Engineering)
• 11,181,665, “Systems and Methods for Forecasting Weather,” John Mecikalski (Science)
• 11,230,508, “Green Oxidizer Compositions and Methods,” Yu Lei (Engineering), James Smith (Engineering), Chen Zhang (Engineering)
• 11,238,943, “Systems and Methods for Sensing Radiation Using Flash Memory,” Biswajit Ray (Engineering)
• 11,249,221, “Weather Forecasting Systems and Methods,” John Mecikalski (Science)