NanoCenter Member takes ‘Invention of the Year’ Runner-Up Prize

Invention of the Year

A new way to make nanotubes assemble themselves won a runner-up prize in the Life Sciences category of the 26th University of Maryland Invention of the Year Awards reception on April 16. The awards are sponsored by the University of Maryland’s Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC).

James Culver of the Department of Plant Sciences and Landscape Architecture and a member of the Maryland NanoCenter, and his team developed very long, thin nanoscale rods and tubes by engineering a virus that attacks the tobacco plant. They showed that the tubes could be coated with metal or have a chemical receptor attached that would detect specific antibodies.

Winners were selected by an independent panel of judges consisting of representatives from on and off campus, who voted for the Invention of the Year in three different categories: Information, Life, and Physical Sciences.

UMD’s innovations help to stimulate the local economy, provide valuable products for public use, and help fuel research and entrepreneurial initiatives through inter- and intra-university collaborations. The event was part of the University of Maryland's 30 Days of EnTERPreneurship, a month-long celebration and exhibition of innovation and entrepreneurship on the College Park campus.

Published April 30, 2013