It’s innovation awards time at N.C. State.

NCSU has selected five projects to receive funding, picked its top entrepreneurs, honored 15 startups launched over the last year, and acknowledged 57 patent winners.

The honors and funding were announced at a ceremony this week hosted by the university’s Office of Technology Commercialization and New Ventures.

The Chancellor’s Innovation Fund

The five projects picked for funding in 2017-2018:

  • Allergy Therapies for Companion Animals — Bruce Hammerberg, Thierry Olivry
  • Comfortable Insect Bite- Resistant Clothing — Andre West, Marian McCord, Charles Apperson, Michael Roe
  • Detection of Environmental Toxins Associated With Neurodegenerative Diseases — David Muddiman, Phillip Loziuk
  • Potent Antimicrobial and Anti-Biofilm Agents — Joshua Pierce
  • Virtual Marine Ecosystem: The Ocean, At Your Fingertips — Rouying He

Individual honors

David Hunt of NCSU reported about the winners of the top individual awards.

Fran Ligler received the Innovator of the Year Award for her work in biosensors and fluid control technology. Since joining the faculty in 2013, the Lampe Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering has worked to develop microfluidic devices for use as diagnostic tools.

The John S. Risley Entrepreneur of the Year Award went to both Matthew Breen and Marian McCord. The award is named for an NC State physics professor who founded WebAssign.

Matthew Breen with Chris McGahan, head of the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Breen, professor of genomics and the Oscar J. Fletcher Distinguished Professor of Comparative Oncology Genetics, currently has seven inventions at various stages of commercialization.

Breen is founder of Sentinel Biomedical.

McCord, associate dean for research in the College of Natural Resources, is a pioneer in the field of atmospheric plasma treatment of fibers and polymers. She was a founder and co-director of the College of Textiles Atmospheric Plasma Lab.

McCord has worked to develop novel materials for vector protection for more than a decade. She and her colleagues recently developed a product that is now available under the name “Rynoskin Total” to protect against Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases. The team also launched Vector Textiles to bring vector-protection products to additional markets.

NCSU’s latest startups:

  • Assist Equipment Development Inc.
  • Atomix LLC
  • BreStem Inc.
  • Catalyst Research Alliance
  • Deep Blue Medical Advances Inc.
  • EcoPRT Inc.
  • Karamedica Inc.
  • Lachancea LLC
  • Sanctuary Systems LLC
  • SinnovaTek Inc.
  • SinnoVita Inc.
  • Statera Environmental Inc.
  • The Handsome Microscopist LLC
  • VitalFlo Inc.
  • Zenomics Inc.

NCSU Patent Recipients:

  • Alex Q. Huang — 9,444,275
  • Alex Neubauer — PP27630
  • Behnam Pourdeyhimi — 9,469,920
  • Bradford Mott — 9,552,547
  • Brian Floyd — 9,453,906; 9,654,983
  • Bruce Hammerberg — 9,546,219
  • Charles Apperson — 9,392,788
  • Charles Mainland — PP26899
  • Charley Wilson — 9,654,983
  • Christian C. Melander — 9,439,436
  • Coby Schal — 9,392,788
  • Dennis James Werner — PP27630
  • Detlef Knappe — 9,475,710
  • Dror Baron — 9,607,362
  • Gary Cartwright — 9,615,593
  • Gerard Hayes — 9,437,922
  • Gianluca Lazzi — 9,437,922
  • Gina E. Fernandez — PP27299
  • Gregory S. Sawicki — 9,492,302
  • Henry Lamb — 9,597,667
  • Troy Nagle — 9,662,049
  • Hamid Krim — 9,418,318
  • Hasan Jameel — 9,428,865
  • Hongrae Kim — 9,537,319
  • Injong Rhee – 9,444,688; 9,544,235
  • James Curtis Lester II — 9,552,547
  • James R. Ballington — PP26899; PP27299
  • Jihwan Kim — 9,690,026
  • Jonathan S. Lindsey — 9,417,245
  • Josip Simunovic — 9,615,593
  • Kandiyan Sandeep — 9,615,593
  • Kenneth B. Adler — 9,408,886
  • Kenneth Swartzel — 9,615,593
  • Linyou Cao — 9,527,062
  • Loganathan Ponnusamy — 9,392,788
  • Lucian Lucia — 9,428,865
  • Michael D. Dickey — 9,437,922
  • Michael J. Escuti — 9,442,015; 9,690,026; 8,305,523; 8,339,566; 8,358,400
  • Michael Kudenov — 9,442,015
  • Mo-Yuen Chow — 9,643,511
  • Pablo Coronel — 9,615,593
  • Paul Franzon — 9,613,544
  • Peichun Yang — 9,613,544
  • Peng Ning — 9,483,635
  • Ralph Dewey — 9,560,830; 9,596,822; 9,596,823; 9,596,824; 9,603,335
  • Ramsey S. Lewis — 9,560,830; 9,596,822; 9,596,823; 9,596,824; 9,603,335; 9,596,823
  • Richard Lemaster — 9,400,239
  • Robert M. Kelly — 9,587,256
  • Rongda Qu — 9,580,722
  • Ruben G. Carbonell — 9,678,085
  • Samuel M. Hudson — 9,414,967
  • Steven Shannon — 9,475,710
  • Thomas G. Ranney — PP27109; PP27301; PP27579; PP27712; PP28,094; PP28,095
  • Van Den Truong — 9,615,593
  • William Bland — PP26899
  • Wookhee Min — 9,552,547
  • Yifei Yu — 9,527,062