Harvard Office of Technology Development (OTD)

Paving the Way for Safer Consumer Products with Nature-Inspired Innovation ???? The urgency of eliminating toxic chemicals like PFAS from consumer products has never been more evident, especially following the eye-opening 2024 Retailer Report Card from Toxic-Free Future. This report revealed that many major retailers fail to protect customers from these hazardous substances, earning an average grade of D+. PFAS, often used in everyday items for their non-stick and water-repellent qualities, are known as "forever chemicals" due to their persistence in the environment and in our bodies. They pose long-term health and environmental risks. A research team from Joanna Aizenberg’s lab is drawing inspiration from nature to create a safer solution. They have developed an innovative coating technology that enhances textiles with remarkable water repellency by modifying fabric surfaces at the microscopic level with nanoparticles. This new approach maintains the fabric's original qualities, such as softness, flexibility, and breathability, and lasts through 65 washes. This technique is versatile and applicable across a wide range of materials. https://lnkd.in/ersbMFva #TranslationalResearch #PFASAlternatives #Sustainability #HarvardEmergingTechnologies Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Wyss Institute at Harvard University Caroline Dignes

Harvard Grid's recent panel discussion "Inclusion by Design: Women in Sports" explored the lack of female representation in athletic product design. “‘Shrink it and pink it,’ it goes down a continuum from insulting to deadly,” Karen Korellis Reuther said in her introductory remarks. “Along the way, it’s expensive, uncomfortable and dangerous.” The discussion highlighted the importance of female representation in product design and the research behind it.

NEW: Four Harvard University research teams win Salata Institute and Harvard Office of Technology Development (OTD) funding to advance climate change tech: ?? From the labs of Pam Silver, Elliot T. and Onie H. Adams Professor of Biochemistry and Systems Biology, and Michael Springer, Professor of Systems Biology, a research team led by Neil Dalvie, a Fellow in Systems Biology, is developing a technology that uses engineered bacterial strains to accelerate mineral weathering. The technology may provide a natural, scalable solution to accelerate CO2 sequestration for long-term storage. ?? Making hydrogen peroxide, a key industrial chemical used widely in manufacturing products, currently requires fossil fuels and expensive catalysts, and contributes to climate change.?A research team led by Michael Aziz, Gene and Tracy Sykes Professor of Materials and Energy Technologies, has developed a novel approach to produce ‘green’ hydrogen peroxide. ?? A research team led by Daniel Nocera, Patterson Rockwood Professor of Energy,?is developing a biofuel alternative to fossil-based jet fuel. The hybrid inorganic-biological system only requires sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide from the air to produce hydrocarbons. ?? Creating plastics requires fossil fuels, contributing to climate change. Thanks to dyes and additives, many of the plastics in use today are un-recyclable. A research team led byed by Vinothan N. Manoharan, Wagner Family Professor of Chemical Engineering and Physics, and Audrey von Raesfeld, a PhD student in Applied Physics, has demonstrated a new way to produce recyclable plastic that retains the protective properties currently achieved by dyes. #ClimateChange #Sustainability #Climatech Read more about the projects here: https://bit.ly/4hkU3JU

We are thrilled to announce that four Harvard University research teams have been awarded translational funding and business development support to propel their climate change technologies toward real-world impact. The Climate and Sustainability Translational Fund, launched by #OTD and The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University, aims to advance innovations that are both visionary and practical in addressing the urgent challenges of climate change. This support underscores Harvard's commitment to turning innovations in the lab into tangible solutions for a greener, more sustainable future. From revolutionizing carbon capture to advancing renewable energy technologies, congratulations to the research teams leading these vital initiatives. https://lnkd.in/eFkYNeXr #HarvardInnovation #ClimateChangeTech #Sustainability #TranslationalResearch

Nine HMS faculty members have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine in recognition of their major contributions to medicine, health care, and public health.

Congratulations to HyperLight on its recent funding raise and continued development of photonic products for high-performance computing and communication! HyperLight is a #HarvardStartup launched out of Prof. Marko Loncar's lab at Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The research received support from the Harvard Grid Accelerator to advance it to the startup stage.

Congratulations, Professor Samir Mitragotri, for this well-deserved recognition and for receiving the Distinguished Scientist Award! Professor Mitragotri's translational research is advancing research to improve global health.

At the forefront of robotic design and engineering is Patrick Slade and his team at SEAS. They're championing "human-in-the-loop optimization" (HILO) to address the critical challenges of human-robot interaction. By integrating individual patient data with machine learning algorithms, HILO paves the way for personalized robotic solutions, especially in the medical realm. Imagine doubling the performance of devices like ankle exoskeletons or insulin pumps, just by optimizing how they interact with us. This approach is akin to getting a tailored glasses prescription - systematically fine-tune to deliver superior results. “One challenge in the field of robotics is that people often get treated as robots,” Slade said. “I’m hopeful that this perspective will encourage researchers to think about humans as complex, challenging systems to design for. HILO can be a tool to maximize the effectiveness of devices that interact with people.” https://bit.ly/3BGoHgs

"As we look at the field [of tissue engineering and organ manufacturing] in general, I don’t believe it’s a question of?if?anymore. It’s a question of?when?we’re going to see this in the clinic," says Paul Stankey in a recent interview about co-SWIFT, a technology developed in Jennifer Lewis' lab. Read more from BioTechniques to learn how they developed this novel printing method that creates branching vessels in heart tissue that replicates the structure of human vasculature, the associated challenges, and what this work means for the future. https://bit.ly/4eZZ5JJ

Congratulations to Prof. Jennifer Lewis and collaborators at MIT Lincoln Laboratory for winning a 2024 R&D 100 Award from R&D - Research & Development World. The awards recognize the 100 most significant technologies transitioned to use or introduced into the marketplace in the past year. Prof. Lewis and the team developed a nanocomposite ink system for 3D printing radio-frequency (RF) devices and radiation shielding.