Written by Alex St. Urbain

When you think of solar technology, you think of a large, rigid solar panel on the roof of a building. That is a thing of the past as MC10 Inc. is a company that is leading the way in using flexible photovoltaic cells as a new way to capture good clean energy.  This new technology is a way to create solar panels using transparent and incredibly thin silicon micro-cells that can be placed on virtually any surface.

MC10 is based on the research between George M. Whitesides, a world renowned chemist and professor at Harvard University, and Dr. John Rogers of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.  Years ago Dr. Rogers began researching an alternative to using the rigid silicon solar panels that have dominated the technology. His determination to find a more flexible alternative has led to recent advances in the process of silicon fabrication. One such example is the ability of the cells to be transparent which will allow them to be placed in all kinds of windows.

This solar technology can be placed on backpacks, clothing, cars, and even pens. The new lightweight photovoltaic cells can also lead to large cost savings in shipping and installation. Depending on the way the cells are arranged, the panel is able to work with high and low voltage devices. If this technology succeeds, the cells could be printed on rolls that could be used for many different purposes and solve many of the current energy problems.

MC10 has also submitted a few solar concepts to GE’s Ecomagination Competition, a $200 million dollar innovation experiment where students, businesses and innovators share ideas to create a new and more intelligent power grid. The goal is to have the new grid use more renewable sources of energy in order to meet growing needs. In an effort to make this technology available, MC 10 has recently licensed this technology to Semprius, a semiconductor company based in North Carolina.  This company was selected for a $3 million dollar subcontract with the US department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).  With the help of this contract, the solar technology company plans to commercialize within the next few years.

Written by Colin Athens

As described by its name, Corning’s Gorilla Glass is two to three times stronger than regular glass. The material is also lightweight, thin, highly scratch resistant, and manufactured from environmentally friendly materials. Recently, Gorilla Glass has been used on the latest smart phones, such as the iPhone 4G by Apple, which utilizes the material on both sides of the phone. 

Corning’s Gorilla Glass is an alkali-aluminosilicate thin sheet glass, which is thinner and lighter-weight than any other protective glass. It comes as thin as 0.5mm, and is produced by a proprietary fusion-draw process, then given a chemical strengthening process. Gorilla glass is two to three times stronger than chemically strengthened versions of regular soda-lime glass, which are twice as thick. It opposes scratching and dings, and therefore represses damage zones that would lead to breakage and failure of other glass types. Its ultra-thin capacity allows Corning to save on weight and shipping costs.

Originally developed in the 1960’s as part of Corning’s research project, “Project Muscle”, the result was a glass named Chemcor. Chemcor was developed in hope of replacing ordinary glass in windshields. However, a cheaper manufacturing process soon displaced Chemcor. Instead, Chemcor was utilized in the pharmaceutical industry until the 1990’s. In 2006, Corning realized the market potential for glass screens for mobile devices. Shortly thereafter, Corning renamed Chemcor to Gorilla Glass. Two innovative and crucial compositional developments were implemented in the product’s design before the new glass was ready for mass marketing. A few years later in 2009, Corning began to market Gorilla Glass to the brands, such as LG, Samsung, Motion Computing, and Dell.

Corning acquired its first customer in 2008, and has very quickly become a $170 million-a-year business. The company has reported a 23% increase in sales during the past eight months. In response to this huge increase, Corning has ramped up production of Gorilla glass at its plant in Harrodsburg, Kentucky by approving $180 million in capital expenditures to expand the plant. With growing demand for the product, the company plans to invest around $800 million to construct a new LCD glass substrate facility in China. The company is also retooling an LCD plant in Shizuoka, Japan, to add Gorilla glass production in Asia.

Gorilla Glass has been manufactured in the screens of 40 million-plus cell phones and other mobile devices. According to the official Corning website, Gorilla Glass is used in over 100 devices and is carried by 19 major brands. Corning’s president, James P. Clappin, says that Corning is “on track to reach sales in excess of $250 million this year, and sales could approach the $1 billion mark in 2011." The company is also looking to tackle the tablet market in addition to the HDTV market in the late stages of 2010.

Professor Mark W. Grinstaff wins inaugural honors Boston University

Professor Mark W. Grinstaff has won the inaugural Innovator-of-the-Year Award from BU’s Office of Technology Development, recognizing a faculty member who translates research into innovations that benefit humankind.  It was awarded at OTD’s first annual networking event, Tech, Drugs, & Rock ‘n Roll, the unofficial kickoff of a university-wide commitment to establish Boston University as the new hub of entrepreneurship in Boston.

A professor of biomedical engineering in the College of Engineering and of chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences, Grinstaff co-founded three companies now commercializing his research ideas:  Hyperbranch Medical Technology, Flex Biomedical, and recent start-up Acuity Bio, which is commercializing a new drug delivery device for the prevention of tumor recurrence after surgical resection – a significant unmet clinical need. His current work includes research into new macromolecule and amphiphile syntheses, self-assembly chemistry, tissue engineering, and drug delivery.

“Professor Grinstaff is an entrepreneurial scientist, whose practical approach to science has led to the formation of three companies producing beneficial products,” said BU President Robert Brown, who presented the award.  “His accomplishments in the past year include 15 peer-reviewed papers published, two invention disclosures, a patent filing, and more than $1 million invested in Flex Biomedical.” 

Grinstaff received a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois and was an NIH postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology.  His honors include the ACS Nobel Laureate Signature Award, NSF Career Award, Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences, Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar, and Edward M. Kennedy Award for Health Care Innovation. 

About the Boston University Innovator-of-the-Year Award

The Boston University Innovator-of-the-Year Award seeks to highlight translational research at the School by recognizing an entrepreneurial faculty member and the potential for commercialization and/or wider adoption of their inventions.  It also encourages faculty to become entrepreneurial while promoting role models who can inspire graduate students to pursue entrepreneurial careers.  

Media Contact
Adriane Dean
Marketing & Communications Manager
Boston University School of Management
617-358-0234

Written by Sam Bendziewicz

Smule Inc., a privately funded software developer has been making waves in the iPhone and iPad app world since being founded in 2008. Based out of Palo Alto, California, founders Jeff Smith and Dr. Ge Wang have led a company that has developed hit musical based apps for the iPhone and iPad such as “Magic Piano”, “I Am T-Pain”, “Ocarina”, and most recently “Glee”.

Smule co-founder Dr. Ge Wang says he founded Smule to put the ability to make music in the hands of everyone. “Ocarina”, Smule’s number one app that allows users to blow into the microphone on their iPhone was recently named one of the Top 20 Downloads of All Time by Apple. The “I Am T-Pain” app allows users to sing along to their favorite T-Pain song, or any other song in their iTunes library mimicking the effects of Auto-Tune software that T-Pain popularized.

Within the past year, Smule has received an extra 8 million in funding from Shasta Ventures, a VC firm with interests in innovative technologies that enrich the customer experience. With the recent release of the Apple iPad, Smule has been able to expand the capability of their technology with the increased number of touch points available on the iPad.  One of the most interesting distinctions about Smule is the network they have created for people to share their musical creations with anyone all over the world. With all the extra funding they’re received, be on the lookout for new and innovative musical technologies.