Princeton IP Accelerator funding awarded to support promising new technologies

Written by
Office of Engineering Communications
April 18, 2024

Princeton University has announced support for a series of scientific investigations to boost crop yields, expand pharmaceutical shelf-life, and increase the accuracy of AI medical diagnostics through the University’s Intellectual Property (IP) Accelerator Fund.

This story was adapted from the full announcement published by the Office of the Dean for Research.

Each grant, of up to $100,000, is designed to help promising discoveries advance to the point where they can make a meaningful societal impact. “Through these grants, Princeton University helps ensure that these discoveries can become the basis of tomorrow’s life-changing technologies and services,” said John Ritter, executive director of Princeton’s Office of Technology Licensing.

The Fund is one of several seed funding programs administered by the Office of the Dean for Research.

Seven projects were awarded in 2024, with three coming from Princeton Materials Institute associated faculty. The three projects are:

Shelf-stable biomedical therapeutics

Maksim Mezhericher, research scholar in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Howard Stone, Donald R. Dixon ’69 and Elizabeth W. Dixon Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and associated faculty in the Princeton Materials Institute; 

A system for dehydrating liquid biological medicines and vaccines to make shelf-stable pharmaceuticals that could eliminate the need for expensive refrigeration during transportation and storage of vital drugs.

Laser-based system to track emissions of planet-warming gas from farm fields

Mark Zondlo, professor of civil and environmental engineering and associated faculty in the Princeton Materials Institute; 

An affordable and user-friendly sensor that detects the planet-warming gas nitrous oxide to help farmers reduce agricultural contributions to climate change.

Laser-engraved tiles for evaporative cooling of building facades

Reza Moini, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and associated faculty in the Princeton Materials Institute; Forrest Meggers, associate professor of architecture and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, and Lara Tomholt, distinguished postdoctoral fellow, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment

Tiny channels etched with lasers into building surfaces to draw moisture into thin layers for evaporation. The technique cuts energy costs by allowing buildings to shed heat in a mechanism similar to the human body sweating.