UC Riverside professor Yushan Yan is making fuel cells cheaper and more reliable.

By Donna Hemmila

When technology entrepreneur Andrew Behar met chemical engineer Yushan Yan it was the start of something big – so big, in fact, that Behar believes he's now on the verge of revolutionizing the clean energy industry.

Yan, a professor of chemical and environmental engineering at UC Riverside, and his student, Zhongwei Chen, have invented a new class of fuel cell catalysts based on platinum nanotubes. Their development reduces the cost of manufacturing fuel cells by two-thirds and makes them 10 times more durable.

In short, they've overcome the two biggest drawbacks to mass marketing hydrogen fuel cells.

"The potential for this could spark a revolution," said Behar. "This is the missing link that could jump-start the hydrogen economy."

The role UC Riverside is playing in the start up of this new company is one that is duplicated over and over through UC technology transfer programs at the campuses and labs. As of June 30, 2008, the University of California had 3,546 active U.S. patents and has the distinction for the last 14 years of having more patents granted than any research university in the country. The systemwide portfolio of inventions, which includes discoveries not yet patented, now totals 8,953, an increase of 8.2 percent over the prior year.

Behar and partner Howdy Kabrins, who introduced him to Yan, have founded a company called Full Cycle Energy Inc. After licensing Yan's technology from the university, the two are raising venture capital to fund the next phase of their startup, which is currently based in Ojai, Calif., where both men live. They plan to open a small plant where they will make the catalysts to sell to fuel cell manufacturers. Those fuel cells could potentially power automobiles, generators and other devices.

"We see this as being a major jump-start to the economy as well and something that could reinvigorate the American automobile industry," said Behar, who is CEO and president of Full Cycle Energy.

'We see this as being a major jump-start to the economy as well and something that could reinvigorate the American automobile industry.' Andrew Behar, CEO Full Cycle Energy

One of the main goals of UC's technology transfer programs is to get cutting-edge discoveries into the marketplace. UC researchers look to industry partners to commercialize their inventions, making the benefits available to the public. These industry partnerships enable the researchers to continue their work and to train the students who will become the inventors of the future.

"UC has one of the highest royalty incomes among U.S. research universities. We realize about $120 million a year in income," said William Tucker, executive director of UC Research Administration and Technology Transfer.

A portion of the royalty income, 35 percent, is divided among the researchers responsible for the discovery, and 15 percent supports further research at the campus or lab. The other 50 percent is divided between UC's general fund and the chancellors to support research and education on their campuses.

"But money is not the reason we do it," said Tucker.

From its earliest beginnings, UC has played a crucial role in bolstering the state's economy, creating jobs and enhancing the health and quality of life of all Californians.

The state's booming agriculture industry thrives on UC innovations in plant genetics, produce processing and packaging and pest control. UC discoveries are credited with helping to launch the computer and biotech industries. In California alone, 1,100 biotech and R&D companies have benefited from UC discoveries.

Today, UC researchers throughout the system are fueling the development of the new green tech industry with innovations in sustainability, alternative energy, solar and wind power and transportation fuels.

At UC Berkeley, for example, eight of the 14 startup companies that the campus licensed technology to in the 2008 fiscal year are considered green tech companies.

At the same time UC is inspiring these new industries, its researchers continue to offer innovations in health care, telecommunications, Internet technology, construction and transportation.

Here are just a few examples of recent technology transfers that are improving the work of existing companies or founding new ones.


Pond power. Algae, the green scummy stuff that grows in water, is considered one of the most promising feedstocks for manufacturing second-generation biodiesel fuels. With a high oil content, algae grows quickly in salt and fresh water and does not compete with food crop production. Alameda-based Aurora BioFuels Inc. is licensing technology that UC Berkeley microbial biologist Anastasios Melis and colleagues developed for cost-efficient, production of biofuels from genetically modified microalgae. In the world of biofuel research, experts have recently come to appreciate the significance of the two guiding principles that Melis has been pursing: biofuel generation directly from the photosynthesis of microorganisms and spontaneous product separation from the biomass. Ecoprene and International Energy Corp. have options to commercialize other biofuel technologies the Melis lab has developed.

Let there be light. The California Lighting Technology Center, directed by Michael Siminovitch at UC Davis, has licensed inventions that cut the cost and increase the reliability of so-called daylight harvesting systems. These systems adjust indoor lighting to match available daylight in a home or commercial building. WattStopper/Legrand of Santa Clara and Axis Technologies Inc. of Lincoln, Neb., are commercializing the inventions. The researchers developed a tool that allows the light harvesting system to automatically calibrate itself continuously. Their technology uses two light sensors rather than one to get more reliable light measurements, and the photo sensors can read light from an angle not just head-on.

High-speed infection detection. Infectious disease researcher Philip Felgner, from UC Irvine's School of Medicine, has developed a rapid method for analysis of immune response to disease antigens. The technology is used for vaccine and diagnostic test development. Antigen Discovery Inc. in Irvine, which Felgner founded, created a microarray that was recently used to identify a possible alternative smallpox vaccine that is safer than the one currently in use.

Battery breakthrough. Researchers Nitash Balsara, Hany Eitouni, Enrique Gomez and Mohit Singh from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory developed nanostructured polymer electrolyte, a material designed to use in rechargeable lithium batteries. Berkeley-based Seeo Inc. licensed the technology and is developing batteries that could be used in cell phones, laptops, medical devices and electric and hybrid vehicles. NPE-based batteries are inherently safe because they lack the reactive and flammable organic liquid electrolytes of conventional lithium ion batteries. That characteristic makes them less likely to short out or explode, and they last longer than the traditional lithium battery.

Homeland security. Portable systems developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory can detect the presence of nuclear material as small as a grain of sand being transported on highways, ships and through airports. Willmington, Mass.-based Textron Defense Systems Corp. licensed the technology from the lab to develop a fleet of anti-terrorism SUVs for the state of New Jersey. The RadTrucks are part of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security's highway monitoring system.

Martin Roberts (left) and David B.N. Lee have developed a revolutionary portable dialysis device.

Dialysis to go. Kidney disease patients undergoing dialysis face a life imprisoned by their treatment. Several times a week, they must travel to a hospital or clinic where they are hooked up to a machine that extracts their blood, cleanses it of toxins and pumps it back – a process that typically takes four hours. Martin Roberts and David B.N. Lee of UCLA and the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System invented a portable dialysis device that promises freedom and independence to kidney disease sufferers. A Singapore-based company licensed the technology to manufacture a unit contained in a 6-pound vest. The device continuously cleanses the blood, mimicking the way a normal kidney works. Instead of drawing blood from the body, the device uses the patient's abdomen as the dialysis membrane. A modified saline solution flows into the cavity through a surgically implanted catheter. The solution removes waste normally excreted in urine from the blood vessels. The solution returns to the wearable unit for cleansing and reuse. The patient can place the vest on a nearby table at night, and it will continue its work. The vest is expected to be available by 2011.

Harnessing the sun. Solar energy pioneer and UC Merced physicist Roland Winston has focused on improving the efficiency of solar collectors by using mirrors and nonimaging optics to concentrate more sunlight onto the solar cells. Mountain View-based SolFocus Inc. uses technology Winston developed to produce solar systems for commercial use. The company's solar collectors help power the transmission towers of KGO Radio in San Francisco, and it recently signed a deal with a solar power company in Spain to install its concentrator photovoltaic systems at multiple locations.

UC San Diego biologist Charles Zuker develops flavor enhancers.

How sweet - and savory - it is. Senomyx Inc., a company UC San Diego biologist Charles Zuker and Nobel laureate chemist Roger Tsien founded, licenses flavor enhancers the two professors developed. The San Diego-based company develops novel flavor ingredients using proprietary taste receptor technologies. Global food and beverage companies use the flavor enhancers in their products. The Nestle food company was the first to use the Senomyx savory flavor enhancer to reduce MSG in its products. Other Senomyx customers include Coca-Cola Co. and Campbell Soup Co.

Global health solutions. Napo Pharmaceuticals Inc. develops drugs for markets in both industrialized and developing nations. The South San Francisco-based company is licensing technology related to the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator protein inhibitor that Dr. Alan Verkman, professor of medicine and physiology at UC San Francisco, developed. Verkman is an authority on CFTR, which is associated with diseases such as cystic fibrosis, polycystic kidney disease and secretory diarrhea. Inhibiting CFTR could provide treatment for these diseases as well as diarrhea associated with HIV/AIDS.

On the battlefield. An award-winning invention from UC Santa Barbara chemistry professor Galen Stucky is saving the lives of U.S. combat troops. At the request of the Office of Naval Research, Stucky worked with Connecticut-based Z-Medica Corp. to perfect its QuikClot product. The most common cause of death in a combat injury is the loss of blood. QuikClot, with a zeolite-based substance, promoted instant clotting and sealing of the wound until the injured could be transported to medical facilities. The original product, while effective, could cause second- and third-degree burns around the wound. Stucky discovered an alternative substance that eliminates the heat, enhances the blood-clotting process and fights infections. The latest version of the product is a medical gauze. Z-Medica also markets a civilian version for emergency first-aid uses. The Department of Defense awarded Stucky its Combat Casualty Care Award this year for his discovery.

Personalizing medicine. Biochemists Mark Akeson and David Deamer, co-directors of the Nanopore Laboratory at UC Santa Cruz, pioneered the science of using protein nanopores, tiny holes in a cell membrane, to analyze DNA molecules. U.K.-based Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd. has licensed technology developed at UC Santa Cruz and Harvard University to further develop applications for this technology in basic scientific research, disease diagnosis and personalized medicine – creating diagnostic and treatment protocols individualized to a patient's genetic makeup. Cheaper and faster genome sequencing will allow physicians to prescribe medications and treatments tailored to an individual, effectively boosting the success of treatment and reducing harmful side effects.

Visit the University of California Technology Transfer Web site for more information about how UC research reaches the public.

Donna Hemmila is editor of Our University.