PHOTO: University of Utah physicists John Lupton and Christoph Boehme

The Future of Coal in a Carbon-Constrained World

Headlines abound that challenge countries, companies and even individuals to reduce their carbon footprint – while at the same time, ever more electricity-hungry equipment, gadgets and appliances are touted to make life easier and more efficient.

Survey Ranks the U Second only to MIT in Starting Companies

The University of Utah (the U) was recently ranked second best in the nation at starting technology companies based on its research. This is according to the latest survey of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) which ranks public and private research institutions throughout the country. The ranking is based on the University’s accomplishment of starting 20 new companies in 2006 developed on technologies from its diverse and varied research.

Kennecott’s West Bench Development to Change the Face of West Side

Kennecott Land’s West Bench development will have a major beneficial impact on Salt Lake County and the state of Utah according to a new study of the project by the University of Utah’s Bureau of Economic Business Research (BEBR.) The study, done at the request of Kennecott Land, shows the long-term projected economic and demographic impacts (including multiplier effects) of the project.

MOLECULAR CONDOM MAY BE COMMERCIALIZED UNDER UTAH-INDIA DEAL

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman’s ongoing trade delegation to India will initiate a long-term international collaboration with that country and the University of Utah. During the trade mission, Jack Brittain, vice president of technology venture development at the University of Utah will sign four memorandums of understanding between the University of Utah and four reputable Indian companies: Globerian, Global Health Private Ltd. MediCity, Manipal AcuNova Ltd., and Pregna International. Gov. Huntsman will witness each of the signings to take place in Mumbai and New Delhi, India.

NANOBUBBLES DELIVER TARGETED CANCER DRUGS USING ULTRASOUND

A new targeted drug delivery method uses ultrasound to image tumors, while also releasing the drug from “nanobubbles” into the tumor. Cancer drugs can be targeted to tumors by delivering them in packets of nanoparticles, then releasing them with ultrasound. But this approach can be difficult because it requires a way to image the tumor prior to treatment.

Utah’s First Laser Based Cornea Transplant Performed at Moran Eye Center

Cornea disease and refractive surgery specialist, Majid Moshirfar, M.D., F.A.C.S., of the John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah performed the first ever laser-based cornea transplant in Utah on April 20, 2007.

In Katrina’s Wake

“The way you live your life is inherently a political act,” quotes honors student Katie Trieu, referring to a statement posed at the beginning of a unique semester-long course that took her and 18 other students to the heart of Hurricane Katrina’s destruction in New Orleans. The honors service-learning course opened their eyes to the economic, political, social, and health issues related to the disaster. The trip to New Orleans brought the issues home.

UNP Named as 2007 MLK Drum Major Award Recipient

University Neighborhood Partners (UNP) will receive the Utah Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Commission’s 2007 Drum Major Award for community organization of the year for their commitment to empowering communities through education. UNP Director Dr. Rosemarie Hunter will accept the award at the luncheon on Jan. 12, 2007 in the Utah Cultural Celebration Center.

A Medical Micropump

Using material similar to bathtub caulk, University of Utah engineers invented a tiny, inexpensive “micropump” that could be used to move chemicals, blood or other samples through a card-sized medical laboratory known as a lab-on-a-chip.