2020 Commercialization Fellows

Hedan (Lillia) Bai
Mechanical Engineering, Ph.D. '21
Stretchable Lightguides for Multimodal Sensing

A highly stretchable fiber-optic sensor that can simultaneously measure mechanical deformations such as stretching; bending; pressing; detecting location; and magnitude. The lightguides can provide sensing functions for a number of potential applications, including sensing for human tissue, clothes and robotics, and have been implemented as a wireless VR glove. 

Houston Claure
Mechanical Engineering, Ph.D. Candidate
Resource Allocation with Fairness Constraints

An algorithm developed for deployment in team settings where resources – such as time, attention and tools – need to be distributed by an individual or robot. The algorithm assists in making such decisions by learning about each team member’s skill level while taking the notion of fairness into consideration. It has potential applications for teachers and coaches.

Yehou Gnopo
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Ph.D. '20
Mucosally Delivered Vaccine System

A multiantigen vaccine delivery system that induces mucosal immunity by a simple swab of the cheek with a cotton swab. The system consists of bacterial outer membrane vesicles that are engineered to induce a strong immune response at mucosal surfaces such as the mouth, nose and lungs, which are primary sites of pathogen infection.

Meishen Liu
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering, Ph.D. '21
Wastewater Ion Separation Using Carbon Dioxide

A method of capturing carbon dioxide from the air using sodium glycinate, then using the resulting solution to separate valuable elements – such as soluble carbonates of lithium, calcium and magnesium – from industrial wastewater streams, rendering the method cash positive and carbon negative.

Brandon Regensburger
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ph.D. '20
Wireless Charging for Electric Vehicles

A capacitive wireless power transfer system suitable for in-motion charging of electric vehicles. The approach uses electric field coupling between metal plates to transfer energy, allowing the capacitive system to be much smaller, lighter, less expensive and easier to embed in the ground than traditional inductive charging systems.

Jaejeong (Jane) Shin
Mechanical Engineering, Ph.D. '21
Real-time Intelligent Sensor Path Planning

A path-planning algorithm for autonomous air, ground and underwater vehicles that combines computer vision with information theory. The algorithm requires significantly low computational time so the optimal path can be determined in real time as the vehicle is moving and the sensors are obtaining new information about the environment.

Michael Suguitan
Robotics, Ph.D. '21
DIY Social Robot

A social robotics kit that is uniquely “nonrobotic” in that its exterior is made from soft materials and its interior is mechanically compliant. Users are directly involved in its construction and deep learning models are used to generate its behaviors. It is designed as an accessible platform for teaching the technical and creative aspects of robotics engineering to a broad audience.