Inventor Recognition Program
The UC Santa Cruz Office of Research has created the Inventor Recognition Program (IRP) to acknowledge researchers on a quarterly basis for their U.S. patent awards and to showcase the groundbreaking research that is conducted on the UCSC campus every day. Launched in December 2016, the IRP is meant to recognize the hard work of UCSC faculty, students, and staff and to help them realize the value of their inventions by commercializing their inventions and discoveries.
July to September 2023 IRP Award Winners
COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS INVOLVING ENGINEERED p27
Patent Number: US 11,692,179
Current UCSC Inventor:
Seth Rubin, Professor – Chemistry & Biochemistry
Inventor Previously at UCSC:
Keelan Guiley
Cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) are enzymes that play a part in regulating the cell cycle. Cdks bind to cyclins (Cyc), forming complexes that can phosphorylate other proteins. p27 is a protein that can further regulate Cdk-cyclin complexes.
Cdk-cyclin complexes are implicated in the cancer cell-cycle progression. Cdk4 and Cdk6 inhibitors have been developed in the past decade for cancer treatment. These inhibitors have been developed in screens against recombinant Cdk4-CycD dimeric complex. However, it is important to also consider how p27 affects Cdk-cyclin complexes, and screen for inhibitors for cancer treatments in light of p27.
This patent includes a polypeptide for an engineered p27, where the engineered p27 forms a trimeric protein complex with Cdk4/Cdk6 and CycD. The p27-Cdk4/6-CycD complex can be used to screen against new inhibitors that are effective in different cancer types.
VELOCIMETRY-BASED IDENTIFICATION OF SINGLE PROTEINS AND OTHER PARTICLES
Patent Number: US 11,717,828
Current UCSC Inventor:
Holger Schmidt, Distinguished Professor – Electrical and Computer Engineering
The demand for assays on the molecular level has increased. Molecular analysis techniques are used for diagnosis, treatment, and drug development. However, current approaches are limited when there are low copy numbers or very little sample material. There is an unmet need for low abundance detection and detection at single cell protein concentrations without requiring complex, bulky, and expensive devices and systems.
This patent, in collaboration with a researcher at Brigham Young University, describes ways to detect, identify, and manipulate individual molecules based on their velocity as they move through an optically interrogated channel.
The technology described in this patent has been licensed by and is being commercialized by Fluxus in Sunnyvale.
PASSIVE MICROFLUIDIC VALVES
Patent Number: US 11,725,749
Inventors previously at UCSC: Michael Wehner, Keng-Yu Lin, Natalie King
Millimeter scale internal combustion engines can potentially replace batteries in effectively any small portable powered system. These systems would use liquid hydrocarbon fuels, which hold more energy per weight than certain batteries. Instead of charging, such systems would require changing fuel capsules, an instantaneous solution.
However, the polymer combustion engines that have been developed require connection to external controls. Such engines have to be controlled either manually or using active valves that are individually programmed to open and close at predetermined times. These auxiliary systems are far larger and heavier than the micro-engines themselves, diminishing the micro-engines’ usefulness.
This patent describes passive microfluidic valves that allow, modulate, or block flow based on predetermined system parameters such as flow rate or pressure difference. The valves can also be configured to either allow or block flow in the reverse direction. Such valves allow for controlling combustion reactions at small scales.
NOISE REDUCTION IN HIGH FREQUENCY AMPLIFIERS USING TRANSMISSION LINES TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK
Patent Numbers: US 11,736,074
Ken Pedrotti, Professor and Chair – Electrical and Computer Engineering
Inventor Previously at UCSC:
Tianchi Zeng
Receivers are used in wireless systems. They accept and make sense of signals that are transmitted. Low noise amplifiers (LNAs) are used to pick up weak signals and amplify them without also significantly amplifying noise. LNAs can be incorporated in receivers. Reducing LNA noise can increase the transmission range or reduce power consumption, resulting in higher performance or reduced system cost.
This patent includes approaches to reduce the noise in LNAs by using a transmission line feedback path. These LNAs can be implemented in many applications, such as receivers.
EXTRA-COMPACT KEY WITH REUSABLE COMMON KEY FOR ENCRYPTION
Patent Numbers: US 11,741,268
Current UCSC Inventor:
Hamid Sadjadpour, Professor – Electrical and Computer Engineering
Cryptography has been used for centuries to transmit messages such that only the intended recipient, and not any eavesdroppers, can read them. Encryption scrambles the data being transferred. Only sender and the recipient have the keys to make sense of the scrambled data.
Aspects of this patent involve techniques for compact key encoding of data for public storage, such as cloud storage, with either higher levels or security, smaller keys, or both. Perfect secrecy can be accomplished with a much smaller key size than file size and with less complexity than previously introduced. The encrypted or encoded data takes no more space than the plaintext, because a random bit is not inserted at any position, as in previous works.
Furthermore, the new approaches assume no limitations on the eavesdropper storage size or computational capability and are perfectly secure with probability one. In these techniques, both the user and the eavesdropper are assumed to have unlimited storage and computational complexity capabilities.
TECHNIQUES FOR LOOP-FREE DYNAMIC ON-DEMAND AND PROACTIVE ROUTING IN COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
Patent Numbers: US 11,765,078
Current UCSC Inventor:
JJ Garcia-Luna-Aceves, Distinguished Professor Emeritus – Computer Science and Engineering
Inventor Previously at UCSC:
Ehsan Hemmati
In networks, such as computer networks, routing loops can occur when there is a mistake about the path that data should take to be transmitted to its destination. Routing loops can cause data to bounce back and forth between the same nodes in a network, thus negatively affecting the network.
This patent includes ways to establish loop-free routes in communications networks by utilizing a reference distance field.
TECHNIQUES FOR VIRTUAL TIME SLOTTING OF COMMUNICATIONS PACKETS
Patent Number: US 11,770,462
Current UCSC Inventor:
JJ Garcia-Luna-Aceves, Distinguished Professor Emeritus – Computer Science and Engineering
When nodes in a data communications network compete for access to a shared channel, collisions can occur. Carrier-sense multiple access (CSMA) is a method used to avoid collisions. The transmitting node senses whether the shared channel is already active. However, there are circumstances where carrier sensing is neither possible nor easy.
This patent includes techniques for reducing collisions when sharing common radio channels in ad hoc networks at nodes with reduced radio capacity by virtual time slotting (VTS) of communications packets or sharing of information on channel congestion or some combination.
PLATINUM OXIDE NANOPARTICLES FOR ELECTROCHEMICAL HYDROGEN EVOLUTION AND METHODS FOR MAKING ND USING THE SAME
Patent Number: US 11,767,602
Current UCSC Inventor:
Shaowei Chen, Professor – Chemistry & Biochemistry
Inventor Previously at UCSC:
Forrest Nichols
Electrochemical hydrogen generation provides potential use for future renewable energy storage and conversion. Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) generally refers to a method of generating hydrogen gas from water, and is an important process in electrochemical energy conversion and storage. Platinum (Pt) is a leading catalyst for HER. However, Pt is high in cost and low in supply, so there is a need to optimize its use.
This patent includes platinum oxide nanoparticles deposited on graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets. These catalyst compositions can be used in HER more efficiently.
Honorable Mentions
Patent(s) Issued as Continuation of Patent Previously Recognized
NANOPORE DEVICE FOR REVERSIBLE ION AND MOLECULE SENSING OR MIGRATION
Patent Number: US 11,709,148
UCSC Inventor: Nader Pourmand
Inventors previously at UCSC: Boaz Vilozny, Paolo Actis, R. Adam Seger
DUAL-CAPACITOR RESONANT CIRCUIT FOR USE WITH QUASI-RESONANT ZERO-CURRENT-SWITCHING DC-DC CONVERTERS
Patent Number: US 11,764,693
Current UCSC Inventor: Leila Parsa
Inventor previously at UCSC: Ian Colinas
See all IRP award winners
The IRP is managed by Jeff Jackson, Director of Innovation Transfer in the office of Industry Alliances and Technology Commercialization (IATC).
For more information about the IRP, the honorees, their patents, other campus inventions and discoveries, or IP portfolio management services, please contact the IATC.
Would you like to be an IRP award winner?
Check out the list of technologies available from the University of California.
University of California, Santa CruzIndustry Alliances & Technology Commercialization
Kerr Hall — Room 413
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
Tel: 831.459.5415
hub@ucsc.edu
