UMD Invention of the Year Nominees Push Limits in Cybersecurity, Health, Quantum Computing, and More

news story image

2018 was an exciting year for research at the University of Maryland (UMD), with external research funding climbing to more than $545 million and the creation of myriad research partnerships. UMD researchers disclosed more than 180 inventions, adding to the ever-growing UMD IP portfolio, from which in 2018 alone, 28 technologies were licensed, 35 new patents were issued, and over $1.2 million was produced. Researchers pushed the limits in their fields and pioneered new discoveries and innovations with the potential to make a difference in lives at every level, from College Park to communities around the globe.

Each year, UMD honors exceptional inventions that have the potential to influence science, society, and the free market. Nine Invention of the Year award nominees have been named across three categories: Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Information Sciences. One invention from each category will be selected to win the Invention of the Year Award, to be celebrated at the 2019 Innovate Maryland event, UMD’s annual celebration of research and innovation, on April 11, 2019.

The nominees were selected from all inventions disclosed by UMD researchers in 2018.

The nominees in the Physical Sciences category are:

 

A Cryogenic Ion Trapping and Storage System for Quantum Information Processing

The invention team includes researchers from the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences:

  • Christopher Monroe, Distinguished University Professor & Bice Sechi-Zorn Professor, Department of Physics and Joint Quantum Institute (JQI)
  • Guido Pagano, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Department of Physics and JQI
  • Paul Hess, Post-Doctoral Researcher, JQI
  • Harvey Kaplan, Ph.D. Student, Department of Physics and JQI
  • Wen Lin Tan, Ph.D. Student, Department of Physics and JQI
  • Philip Richerme, Assistant Professor, Indiana University Bloomington
     

Strong and Tough Graphite-Paper Composites

The invention team includes researchers from the A. James Clark School of Engineering:

  • Liangbing Hu, Assistant Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Maryland Energy Innovation Institute
  • Yubing Zhou, Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Maryland Nanocenter
  • Chaoji Chen, Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Maryland Nanocenter
  • Teng Li, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Maryland Energy Innovation Institute
  • Robert Foster, Executive Vice President of Development, Trinity Rail Group

Reservoir Computing on an Integrated Circuit Chip

The invention team includes researchers from the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences:

  • Daniel Lathrop, Professor, Department of Physics, Department of Geology, Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics (IREAP) and Institute for Physical Science and Technology (IPST)
  • Itamar Shani, Research Scientist, IREAP
  • Alessandro Restelli, Research Scientist, Department of Physics and JQI
  • Anthony Mautino, Faculty Specialist, IREAP

 

The nominees in the Life Sciences category are:
 

Novel Method of Internal Organ Generation For Therapy and Research in Humans and Animals

The invention team includes researchers from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources:

  • Chi-Hun Park, Faculty Assistant, Department of Animal and Avian Sciences
  • Bhanu Telugu, Associate Professor, Department of Animal and Avian Sciences

 

An Effective Treatment for Citrus Greening Disease in Plants

The invention team includes:

  • Anne Simon, Professor, Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences
  • Jingyuan Liu, Ph.D. Student, Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences
  • Georgios Vidalakis, Professor, University of California Riverside
  • Sun-Jung Kwon, Research Scientist, University of California Riverside
  • Sohrab Bodaghi, Research Scientist, University of California Riverside
     

Confidence-based Robotic Surgery

The invention team includes:

  • Hamed Saeidi, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Department of Mechanical Engineering, A. James Clark School of Engineering
  • Axel Krieger, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Maryland Robotics Center, A. James Clark School of Engineering
  • Simon Leonard, Assistant Research Professor, Johns Hopkins University
  • Justin Opfermann, Research Engineer, Children’s National Medical Center

 

The nominees in the Information Sciences category are:
 

Augmented Reality Enabled Catheter

The invention team includes:

  • Amitabh Varshney, Professor and Dean, College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences
  • Sarah Murthi, M.D., Associate Professor of Surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine; Trauma Surgeon, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center
  • Gary Schwartzbauer, M.D., Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine; Neurosurgeon, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center
  • Xuetong Sun, Doctoral Student, Department of Computer Science

A Hardened Password Security Scheme

The invention team includes:

  • Jonathan Katz, Professor, Department of Computer Science and University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences
  • Xiao Wang, Ph.D. Student, Department of Computer Science, College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences
  • Russell Wai Fu Lai, Research Scientist, Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen-Nürnberg
  • Dominique Schroeder, Professor, Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen-Nürnberg
     

An Anti-Piracy Framework for Deep Neural Networks

The invention team includes researchers from the A. James Clark School of Engineering and College of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences:

  • Min Wu, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Institute for Systems Research (ISR), and UMIACS
  • Mingliang Chen, Ph.D. Student, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and UMIACS

 

For more information about UMD innovations, visit the Office of Technology Commercialization and UM Ventures websites.

Published March 12, 2019