TheIRON_Fall2007

Innovation Park at Penn State Expansion. 2

Penn State ~ Chevron Strategic Alliance for Coal Conversion. 3

Events. 4-5

Dr. Vivek Kapur, Department of Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences. 6

Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics. 7

Licensable Technology. 8

Infectious Disease

I n d u s t r i a l R e s e a r c h O f f i c e N e w s l e t t e r F a l l 2 0 0 7

y o u r w i n d o w t o P e n n S t a t e r e s e a r c h

For more information:Dan Leri | [email protected] | 814.865.5925

The construction of two new buildings is expanding Innovation Park at Penn State by 148,000 additional square feet and is supporting the expansion of current

companies and the region’s economy.

“Innovation Park is reaching a critical mass,” says Dan Leri, director of Innovation Park and the Research Commercial-ization Office. “We are seeing continuing success at helping companies transfer the knowl-edge within the University to the marketplace and fostering economic development. The Park is the place where collab-oration between the University and private sector companies can grow.”

The building at 330 Innovation Boulevard will be completed by November. This 64,000 square-foot, three-story facility already has more than 50 percent of its tenants in place. Con-struction for a second building at 329 Innovation Boulevard, with 84,000 square feet, began in October and is expected to be completed by late next year. “We are pleased that cur-rent tenants continue to flourish at Innovation Park and drive this expansion,” said Jack Norris CEO of CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh. “Innovation Park is a dynamic location providing highly efficient buildings facilitating tenant productivity and growth.”

Affiliates of Innovation Capital Partners are developing the new buildings, with CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh providing development management, property management, and leasing

services. Several of the 330 building lessees are current Park tenants in need of expanded space. These include Gateway Management Company, which provides business advisory, accounting and legal services; Alpha Source Universities, a full-service procurement consulting company that uses a unique business model and proprietary software to host real-time competitive bidding opportunities for goods and servic-es; McNees, Wallace, and Nurick, a law firm headquartered in Harrisburg; Adapco, a global enterprise company provid-ing advanced computationally-based engineering solutions; and Sinoceramics, an advanced ceramics, crystal and optical components manufacturer that is moving from the business incubator.

At Innovation Park, multiple options are available for compa-nies to meet the ever-changing dynamics of business includ-ing: a business incubator for start up companies with “plug and play” space for internet companies; custom-built single-tenant buildings; redundant power and fiber optic links; conference facilities and accommodations for travelers at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel; and an on-site child care facility.

Innovation Park provides tenants with access to Penn State’s scientific, engineering, technology and business resources. Turn ideas into products with support from Penn State’s Tech-nology Transfer Organization including the Industrial Re-search Office, Intellectual Property Office, and the Research Commercialization Office – all located at Innovation Park. Penn State is a leader in working with industry, accumulating $93 million of industry-sponsored research in FY2006.

Iron Hot Topics Innovation Park at Penn State Expansion

Contributions for this article by Carol Sonenklar, [email protected]

Dan Leri, director of Innovation Park and the Research Commercialization Office.

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Forging RelationshipsPenn State~Chevron Strategic Alliance

On October 3, Chevron and Penn State “sealed the deal” to create a strategic five-year research alliance focused on coal conversion technologies to develop

cleaner, alternative energy sources. Chevron, a California-based energy technology company, will provide the Univer-sity with as much as $17.5 million under the new partnership.

“Both institutions have a rich history of working with coal,” says Jeff Hedges, General Manager, Integrated Laboratory Technologies at Chevron. “We plan to draw on the deep ex-pertise of Penn State and Chevron in heavy hydrocarbon and coal-related research to push the front edge of conversion technology.”

Under the agreement, Chevron Energy Technology Company, a Chevron subsidiary, will provide up to $3.5 million annually over the next five years to fund research into coal conversion technologies across many disciplines at Penn State. Some of the areas of exploration will be: coal chemistry, coal handling, carbon resource transformation technology efficiencies and economics, and advanced fuels and combustion.

The alliance grew out of a desire to create more substantial relationships between large corporations and the University, sought by both the Office of Corporate and Foundation Rela-tions and the Industrial Research Office (IRO) in Innovation Park. Chevron was on the short list, says Tanna Pugh, the Director of the IRO.

“Penn State has a host of scientists across many disciplines conducting research on different aspects of coal conversion,” she says. “The partnership will not only fund new research but will take advantage of ongoing research.”

The first overtures to Chevron were made through Penn State alum Pat Woertz, who helped to bring Chevron CTO Don Paul to campus for discussions. Several subsequent visits and dis-cussions between University researchers and administrators and Chevron representatives advanced the alliance concept.

“The timing was perfect,” says Pugh. “Chevron was look-ing at different universities with which they had an interest in partnering, and we were looking for companies whose needs overlapped our competencies.”

In addition to developing new technologies, Pugh says the alliance has another goal. “When technologies change, the workforce must change,” she points out. “We want to be in the forefront of this change by helping to lay the groundwork, to create the pipeline for the engineers and scientists who will operate the refinery of the future.” Hedges agrees. “Another unique aspect of the alliance is that Penn State and Chevron will work together to integrate research with educational and career opportunities,” he says. “This will benefit both under-graduates and graduate students specializing in coal conver-sion and energy technologies.”

The alliance is one of the concrete developments to emerge from a study commissioned by Eva Pell, Senior Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School. “A Strategic Energy Initiative for Penn State: Report of the 2006 Energy Task Force,” grew out of an urgent need to provide a coherent and integrated set of recommendations for future investments in energy research, technology development, policy studies, education and outreach. The Task Force was comprised of faculty members from the colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Earth and Mineral Sciences, Engineering, the Liberal Arts, and the Eberly College of Science.

Pell said that as the University prepared to implement the rec-ommendations, it invited a number of companies for input. Among them was Chevron, which has already provided more than $6 million in gifts and grants and $1.68 million in re-search contracts to Penn State. Over 200 of the company’s 56,000 employees are Penn State alumni.

For more information:Tanna Pugh | [email protected] | 814.865.9519

by Carol Sonenklar, [email protected]

Penn State President Graham Spanier (left) with Donald Paul, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Chevron, and Eva Pell, Penn State Senior Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School.

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World Energy Engineering CongressAtlanta, GA | August 15-16, 2007

The Industrial Re-search Office and

Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Envi-ronment exhibited at the World Energy Engineer-ing Congress (WEEC) in August. One specific area of interest at the IRO exhibit was a one-gallon jug of biodiesel surrounded by a bushel

Follow the IROA Look at Recent Trade Shows & Penn State Events

CrossOver 2007 at Penn StateBioenergy: From Fields to Wheels

CrossOver 2007, held at Penn State in Sep-

tember and sponsored by the College of Agricultural Sciences, brought together some of the best minds in-volved in the development of “green energy.”

The event featured re-searchers from Penn State and other universities,

key government officials, and industry partners involved in developing sustainable and renewable alternative energy sources, supplies and programs.

Visitors at the CrossOver 2007 poster ses-sion, held in the Life Sciences Building at Penn State.

John Siggins (right) of the Industrial Research Office discusses Penn State’s “green” research at the World Energy Engineering Congress in Atlanta.

The Industrial Research Office promoted Penn State’s “green” energy research at several recent events. In August, the IRO traveled to Atlanta to exhibit at one

of the nation’s largest expositions for energy products and services, the World Energy Engineering Congress. In Sep-tember, the IRO was an integral member of the committee that organized Penn State’s annual event CrossOver, and later in the month staff members traveled to Pittsburgh for the Energy from Biomass and Waste conference.

of soybeans. This display promoted the testing of 100% biodiesel in agricultural trac-tors at Penn State. The Col-lege of Agricultural Sciences’ biofuel demonstration project is attracting worldwide atten-tion and appears to have rami-fications for the makers and users of all types of diesel-powered equipment. They are currently using straight biod-iesel, B100, to power three New Holland tractors. Tractors are being studied to deter-mine the long-term effects of 100% biodiesel by analyzing the engine crankcase oil, by observing the tractor power and performance, and finally by dismantling the engines and measuring internal effects. The goal is to discover what owners of diesel engines can expect when they choose to be independent of petroleum fuels.

Other Penn State institutes and centers featured at the WEEC include the Applied Research Lab, the Center for Sustain-ability, and the Facilities Engineering Institute. To review brochures and research featured at the event in Atlanta, visit our online exhibit.

For more information:IRO Event Page: www.iro.psu.edu/weec

Greg Roth (left), professor of agronomy, and Glen Cauffman, manager of farms and facilities in the College of Agricultural Sciences, stand with a New Holland tractor running on 100% biodeisel at CrossOver 2007.

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THE IRON 5

Energy from Biomass and Waste Pittsburgh, PA | September 24-25, 2007

The Penn State Biomass Energy

Center and Industrial Research Office were proud sponsors of the Energy from Biomass and Waste conference held in Pittsburgh.

Penn State had sev-eral presenters at the event. Bruce Logan, director of the Hydro-gen Energy Center,

discussed bioelectricity or biohydrogen production from biomass using microbial fuel cell technologies. Greg Roth, professor of agronomy, discussed the potential for north-

eastern crops as biofu-els. André Boehman, professor of fuel science and engineering, talked about advancing engines for renewable fuels, and Glen Cauffman, man-ager of farm operations and services spoke about his project of converting Penn State’s fleet of trac-tors to biodiesel.

The Industrial Research office exhibited at the event, promoting the biomass research done across the University. In addition to the featured pre-senters, our booth carried information on the production of dimethyl ether (DME) from coal and black liquor waste. A waste product of paper-making, black liquor is a combina-tion of wood lignin, paper-making chemicals, and water. According to André Boehman, this waste is routinely burned in a recovery boiler but has more energy value as a synthesis gas used to create fuels.

For more information:IRO Event Page: www.iro.psu.edu/ebw

Upcoming EventsNOVEMBER 11-13 Commercialization of NanoMaterials Pittsburgh, PA www.iro.psu.edu/cnm

JANUARY 22-24 SPIE Photonics West San Jose, CA www.iro.psu.edu/photonicswest

APRIL 14-15 Materials Day at Penn State Penn State University Park www.iro.psu.edu/materialsday

www.iro.psu.edu/events

Penn State is organizing its bioenergy research around a concept dubbed “Fields to Wheels.” By conducting in-tegrated research into every stage of the biofuels process – from plant transformation to production, harvest, and stor-age, and from biomass pre-treatment to fuel formulation and engine testing – the goal is to optimize whole-system performance while minimiz-ing environmental impact and reducing fuel costs. Field

and pilot-scale scale-up capabilities provide a bridge to com-mercialize innovative technologies from both academic and industrial research, and facilitate collaboration and synergy among scientists and engineers from business, government, and universities. To partner in this effort, contact Tom Rich-ard by email at [email protected].

Visit our website for more information on CrossOver 2007, and to view the research posters presented at the event.

For more information:IRO Event Page: www.iro.psu.edu/crossover

Don Mothersbaugh (right) of the IRO discusses the latest magazine of the Penn State College of Engi-neering.

Dr. Bruce Logan presents his microbial fuel cell technologies at the Energy from Biomass and Waste conference.

Dr. Tom Richard (left), Director of the Penn State Biomass Energy Center, dis-cusses his proposed Bioenergy Center of Excellence.

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Faculty SpotlightDr. Vivek Kapur, Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences

Contact Information:Dr. Vivek Kapur | [email protected] | 814.865.7696

A pioneer in DNA sequencing of animal and human pathogens, the leader of an international consortium for the study of a major animal disease, the author of

more than 100 original papers, recipient of countless prizes and six U.S. patents, Dr. Vivek Kapur, a veterinarian and a molecular microbiologist, brings all this and more to Penn State in his new position as head of the Department of Veteri-nary and Biomedical Sciences.

What’s the “more?” Dr. Kapur is as much at ease working with biotech companies large and small as he is with academia. He has played a role in a myriad of successful projects with fortune 500 companies, start-up companies, and has advised companies on both business development and scientific mat-ters. He has also chaired a National Institutes of Health SBIR program review group for the past four years.

“There are remarkable opportunities for growth in the Penn State Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences giv-en the extraordinarily high caliber and productivity of the fac-ulty, the incredible diversity in their programmatic interests, and the strong commitment to excellence by the leadership at the College and Institutional level,” says Kapur. In addition, “Learning how the IPO and Tech Transfer Organization at Penn State was committed to promoting translational research and willing to think expansively about the technology transfer and commercialization process was a strong motivating factor in the decision to relocate our research programs to Happy Valley.”

A professor of microbiology, Kapur’s research focuses on un-derstanding the molecular and evolutionary mechanisms of why certain bacterial species are restricted to causing disease only in particular host species, as well as understanding the

process of how they cross over to a different host – for ex-ample, from an animal to a human being.

“Of the emerging pathogens that have been newly found to cause disease in humans, about 75% had an origin in a differ-ent animal host,” says Kapur. “So one of the key questions that my research focuses on is what dictates the preference of bacteria for one animal species over another.”

Kapur studies how that shift from one host species to another might occur at the molecular level—including how the patho-gen may mutate or otherwise adapt—and the commonalities in this process across many different kinds of bacteria. “We are hoping that in the next 10 to 20 years we can understand the details of the common processes that occur when these various classes of agents make transitions to other hosts,” says Kapur. One of the research projects that Kapur is associated with was recently funded by the NIH to establish a Center for Excellence in Influenza research and involves monitoring strains of influenza viruses, including bird flu, as they emerge in different parts of the world.

Before joining Penn State, Kapur, who has a degree in vet-erinary medicine and a doctorate in veterinary science, served on the faculty at the University of Minnesota, where he was the founding Director of the University’s Advanced Genetic Analysis Center and the Director of the Biomedical Genomics Center. One of his most important contributions has been the complete sequencing of the genomes of some major human and animal pathogens, including Pasteurella, Mycobacterium, Staphylococcus, and Cryptosporidium. Kapur also leads an international consortium of scientists in the study of Johne’s disease, a chronic inflammatory intesti-nal disease that threatens wild and domesticated cattle, sheep, goats, deer, and antelope around the world. It is estimated that 7.8% of beef herds and 22% of dairy herds in the United States have Johne’s disease. This is the largest such consortium and among the largest grants ever funded by the US Department of Agriculture.

Both Kapur and his wife, Dr. Sagarika Kanjilal, a cancer biolo-gist who will also be joining the Penn State faculty as an Asso-ciate Professor with dual appointments at University Park and the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center campuses, earned their doctoral degrees here at Penn State, a fact that also played into their decision to relocate.

by Carol Sonenklar, [email protected]

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Research SpotlightCenter for Infectious Disease Dynamics

Contact Information:www.cidd.psu.edu

The Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics (CIDD) is a “virtual” center that brings together a wide variety of disciplines to partner and innovate in the area of

infectious disease research. Drawn from faculty in three Penn State colleges and seven departments, CIDD scientists take a variety of approaches toward infectious disease dynamics.

“And dynamics is key here,” says Mary Poss, director of the Center and Professor in Biology and in Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences. “I might understand how a virus modulates the immune response, for example, which provides me with a therapeutic target. But that doesn’t give me a concept of the dynamics of the infection within the host or within the population it’s affecting.”

At the CIDD, there are scientists working on viruses from the sub-cellular level to the epidemic level, and everything in between. Research is conducted in a range of scientific areas including immunology, virology, bioinformatics, comparative genomics and evolutionary genetics, molecular epidemiology, population biology, ecology, biological networks, statistics, and systems architecture and sustainability.

“The strength of the CIDD is that there is no one approach that can help you understand these processes because they’re extraordinarily complex,” says Poss. “It takes a combination of excellence in empirical work and understanding the biology of natural systems involved.”

How a disease chooses its host species, how it replicates, how it spreads to other populations, what helps to propagate it in

the environment, and how and why it jumps to other species are some of the topics.

“The mechanisms by which a pathogen can move from a host where it’s quite content into a new host is something that has vast implications for animals and humans,” says Poss.

Infections that have jumped the species barrier, known as emerging diseases, can be particularly deadly. Many strains of avian flu, for example, are harmless to wild birds but deadly to captive birds such as chickens – and to humans. HIV, Lyme Disease, Ebola, and hantavirus are all examples of emerging diseases.

CIDD research falls into five broad categories or themes: 1) evolution and virulence, including co-evolution with host and other organisms; 2) heterogeneities, which is how disease dynamics are affected by variation (as in geographical space or between hosts); 3) immunodynamics, or interactions between pathogens and the immune system; 4) interactions between parasites and how these affect dynamics and evolution of disease agents and hosts; and 5) phylodynamics, which is how pathogen genetic variation is modulated by host immunity, transmission constraints, epidemic dynamics and other variables to determine pathogen phylogenies extending from within the host to metapopulation.

Within these themes, CIDD scientists conduct study systems which look, for example, at directly transmitted parasites among animals and humans; vector-borne diseases such as salmonella in rodents; influenza strains in horses and chickens; gut bacteria in groundhogs; parasites of amphibians; tick-borne encephalitis in rodents; and host networks such as human societies, among many other projects.

Emerging diseases have a tremendous impact not only on human health, agriculture, and conservation, but also in areas such as bio- and agro-terrorism and epidemic control strategies. Poss says the only way to contain or eradicate these types of disease is to understand them at the simplest level and work upward in terms of complexity—which means a multidisciplinary effort.

“I feel that the only way to tackle these central questions is through a variety of different approaches,” she says. “The beauty of this Center is how well we work together to try to accomplish some very big goals.”

by Carol Sonenklar, [email protected]

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Send comments or suggestions for The IRON to:Gregory Angle, [email protected] Coordinator, Industrial Research OfficePhoto credits: Public Health Image Library - cover/page 7 (no. 4408) page 6 (no. 8038), page 7 (no. 7989); Greg Grieco - page 6.

This publication is available in alternative media on request. Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce. U.Ed. RES 08-29.

Penn State Licensable TechnologyBelow is a list of inventions that resulted from Penn State’s infectious disease research. These inventions are available for licensing through the Penn State Intellectual Property Office. For more information on the these and other technologies, read The IRON online at www.iro.psu.edu/theiron.

Sequence of a Bovine Lymphocyte-Derived Antibacterial •Protein

Dot-ELISAfortheDetectionofAvianInfluenzaVirus•

Parvovirus Methods and Compositions for Killing •Neoplastic Cells

UseofanAvirulentMutantasaLiveVaccineVector•

Synthetic Mimics of Small Mammalian Cell Surface •Receptors

IdentificationofaNovelClassofAnti-MalarialAgents•

PoxProtector:ADevicetoPreventSpreadofVaccineVirus•fromSmallpoxVaccinationSites

ParainfluenzaVirus5•

UniversalStrategyforVirusAttenuation•

InhibitionofHepatitisBVirusReverseTranscriptaseby•Porphyrin-based Compounds

InVitroTestforAnti-PapillomavirusDrugs•

LiveVaccinethatProtectsAgainstAvianEscherichiacoli•Infections

IdentificationofaLymphocyte-derivedAntimicrobial•Protein

more online at www.iro.psu.edu/theiron

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