A N N U A L R E P O R T

RESEARCHACTIVITYF Y • 2 0 0 2

“Discovery consists of seeing

what everybody has seen

and thinking what nobody

has thought.”

—Albert Szent-Gyorgyi,Nobel laureate in medicine

Eva J. PellVice President for ResearchDean of the Graduate School304 Old MainUniversity Park, PA 16802

814-863-9580 (phone)814-863-9659 (fax)ejp@psu.eduwww.research.psu.edu

I nterdisciplinary” is a popular word at universities today. We’re a far cry

from the era when it was frowned upon to consider studies outside one’s own

narrowly circumscribed field. In recent years, in fact, fields of study formed at

the boundaries between traditional areas have become disciplines in their own right.

Biochemistry is a prime example.

At Penn State, the benefits of an interdisciplinary approach to research are

nowhere more apparent than in the 25-year project that has resulted in the Penn State

artificial heart. To solve the problems of fluid dynamics inherent in developing an

artificial heart required engineers trained in understanding ship propellers and tor-

pedoes to team with cardiologists to design valves that would minimize the powerful

forces of cavitation and turbulence, be reliable enough to open and close 70 times a

minute year after year after year, and mesh smoothly inside the human body.

In a project much more recently begun, faculty in kinesiology and computer

science have designed a system that uses “virtual reality” to provide non-crawling

babies with the visual perception that they are crawling. Using this technology,

psychologists can now uncouple the motor skills of crawling from the perceptual ones,

so they can determine the relationship between visual and motor development.

We have engineers who are working with pediatricians to adapt thin-film hydro-

gen sensors developed for use in monitoring air quality in petroleum refineries for use

in hospital incubators, as a non-invasive, inexpensive means for early detection of

necrotizing enterocolitis, a life-threatening problem for premature infants.

And molecular biologists and ecologists are working together on the engineering of

plants to enhance responses to microbes and associated toxins, while electrical engineers

develop electro-optic chips that could detect those responses in the field. In concert, these

two strategies might provide early warning against airborne agents of bioterrorism.

These projects and the others highlighted in this report are only the tip of the

iceberg. In each of the six major research initiatives described here, faculty and students

from various colleges are continually finding new and creative ways to collaborate.

There is no inherently right or wrong approach to doing research. Great research

can be disciplinary or interdisciplinary in nature. However, it grows increasingly clear

that during the century now beginning many of society’s most pressing problems will be

solved at the junctions between traditional fields.

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This publication is available in alternative media on request.The Pennsylvania State University is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to pro-grams, facilities, admission, and employment without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability,perfor-mance, or qualifications as determined by University policy or by state or federal authorities. ThePennsylvania State University does not discriminate against any person because of age, ancestry, color, disa-bility or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status. Direct allinquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policy to the Affirmative Action Director, The Pennsylvania StateUniversity, 201 Willard Building, University Park, PA 16802-2801; tel. (814) 863-0471; TDD (814) 865-3175.U.Ed. RES02-26

On the cover: A scanning electron microscope image of a nanostructure createdusing a new “molecular ruler” technique. Sequential deposition and removal oforganic molecules and metal ions (in this case, gold) allow formation of isolatednanosized surface features. The organic molecules, removed via a dissolutionstep, serve as molecular rulers for scaling down larger parent structures that aredefined using more conventional lithographic techniques. The resulting gold “dot”shown here in the center is 30 nm — about 150 atoms — in diameter.

(Cover image: Anat Hatzor, Brent Mantooth, and Paul Weiss.)

Total Research ExpendituresFY 1988-2002

Research Expenditures by Source of Funds$507,443,000

The FY2002 data show a greater than 7% increase in totalresearch expenditures for the fourth year in a row. Expendi-tures on grants and contracts from federal funding sourcesincreased 15%, with significant increases from several majorfederal sources:

• Army funding nearly doubled to $6 million, with total Depart-ment of Defense research increasing 9% to $106 million.

• Department of Transportation research increased 54% to$6 million.

• National Science Foundation support increased 23% to$35 million.

• Department of Health & Human Services funding increased20% to $82 million.

Grant and contract research conducted for Commonwealth ofPennsylvania agencies such as PennDOT, the Department ofEnvironmental Research, the Department of Health, the Depart-ment of Education, the Department of Agriculture, and the De-partment of Community and Economic Development, increased19%. New research projects sponsored directly by companiesgrew 22%, while overall funding from all private sources includ-ing foundations and not-for-profit organizations remained con-stant. [Note: Sub-awards of federal funds from other universitiesare credited to the federal sponsor.]

These figures include grants, contracts, and cooperative agree-ments from federal, state, industry, and other private sources;research appropriations from the federal government and theCommonwealth of Pennsylvania; and University research andinfrastructure support. The totals include funds transferred fromUniversity institutes, consortia, and general research funds tothe appropriate home colleges of participating investigators.Contact: Bob Killoren, Assistant Vice President for Research (814-865-3396;

rak9@psu.edu; grants.psu.edu)

Industryand Other

$74,621,000

Federal$283,964,000

University$80,567,000

Commonwealthof Pennsylvania

$68,291,000

Research Expenditures From Federal Agencies$283,964,000

Research Expenditures by Performing Unit

AppliedResearch

Laboratory$107,547,000

Eberly Collegeof Science

$70,339,000

Medicine$53,850,000

LiberalArts

$17,364,000

Engineering$78,273,000

Earth & MineralSciences

$45,127,000

Health & HumanDevelopment$32,622,000

Arts & Arch $1,077,000Communications $92,000

Education $5,824,000 Business $6,502,000

IST $2,130,000Law $270,000

Total: $15,895,000

Abington $241,000Altoona $297,000

Behrend $2,600,000Berks Lehigh $172,000

Capital $2,653,000Commonwealth $1,302,000

Penn College $665,000International $320,000

Total: $8,232,000

AgriculturalSciences

$78,194,000

Department ofHealth & Human

Services$82,139,000

NSF$34,951,000

Departmentof Defense

$106,243,000Other

$28,999,000

USDA$11,564,000

NASA$20,068,000

The past decade has produced very significant research activity world-wide in thin film-based nano-structures and devices. Stephen Fonash,holder of the Bayard D. Kunkle chair in engineering, has been very activein this area and has developed manufacturable approaches to produc-ing these materials and structures. One of these approaches is a uniquehigh-density plasma technique that produces nano-structured semicon-ductor thin films at temperatures as low as 100 degrees C. Such materi-als have been shown to emit visible light at room temperature, to haveexcellent gas and vapor sensitivity, to be highly bio-compatible, and tobe easily used in micro-machining processes. An extensive portfolio ofinvention disclosures and patents for thin film materials and devices,manufacturing methods and a variety of applications was licensed inMarch 2002 to NanoHorizons, Inc., a start-up company founded inState College, PA. The Penn State Research Foundation received equityin NanoHorizons. This new start-up company is focused on the devel-opment and production of products utilizing this state-of-the-art tech-nology for the biomedical, sensing, and electronics fields. Thus far,Nano-Horizons has developed substrates for matrix-less laser desorp-tion/ionization mass spectrometry, thereby enabling high throughputscreening of potential drug combinatorial chemistry products andgeneral small-molecule identification. Near-term plans call for the com-pany to continue to explore the utility of these substrates with strategicpartners in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Research atthe University and at NanoHorizons will continue to explore furtherapplications for the substrates including process control, drug-meta-bolite screening, environmental sensing, and proteomics.

NANOHORIZONS

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CHAPPLIED RESEARCH

LABORATORYWith annual research expenditures inexcess of $100 million, the ARL is oneof the U.S. Navy’s four University Affi-liated Research Centers. The Navyrecently reaffirmed its longstandingstrategic partnership with ARL byawarding an unprecedented 10-year,$813.7 million contract. ARL offers abroad base of technical expertise inthe areas of acoustics, guidance andcontrol, thermal energy systems, hy-drodynamics, hydroacoustics, propul-sor design, materials and manufactur-ing, navigation, electro-optics, andcommunications and information sys-tems, and also places high priority ongraduate education as the means fordeveloping the workforce of tomorrow.

CHILDREN, YOUTH &FAMILIES CONSORTIUMThe CYFC encourages and supportsinterdisciplinary research on impor-tant social issues that impact childrenand families, such as health, develop-ment, education, family change, andrural issues. During FY 2002, the CYFCfacilitated a number of large-scale re-search projects. Highlights include astudy aimed at developing communitypartnerships to strengthen familiesand help young people avoid substanceabuse and behavioral problems (Na-tional Institute on Drug Abuse, $10million), and a study of rural child-ren living in poverty (National Insti-tute for Child Health and HumanDevelopment, $8 million).

HUCK INSTITUTE FORLIFE SCIENCES

The Dorothy Foehr and J. Lloyd HuckInstitute for Life Sciences has recruit-ed 44 co-funded faculty in disciplinescrossing seven Penn State colleges. Inless than five years, these faculty havebeen very successful in obtaining re-search funding from various agencies,particularly the National Institutes ofHealth and the National Science Foun-

Research Expenditures byStrategic Research Area FY 2002

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Contact: Robert McGrath, Associate Vice President for Research(814-863-9580; mcgrath@psu.edu; www.research.psu.edu/ir)

These figures include only external restricted funds for research, aswell as consortium, institute, and research support funds allocable tothese initiatives. The figures do not include college general funds orgovernment appropriations.

The population explosion along the coasts of the United States has putenormous pressure on estuarine ecosystems and their supporting watersheds.In response, Penn State researchers are leading a major effort to conductan integrated assessment of the watersheds and estuaries across the Atlan-tic Slope from the Appalachian mountains to the coastal beaches of theMid-Atlantic states. Natural scientists and social scientists from Penn State,the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Virginia Institute ofMarine Sciences, East Carolina University, Environmental Law Institute,and FTN Associates have joined forces with environmental managers fromthe region to develop, test, and apply a set of biological, chemical, physical,and socioeconomic indicators to measure the health of wetlands, streams,rivers, and estuaries. The Atlantic Slope Consortium, one of four programsfunded nationally by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s STARGrants Program, has garnered $6 million over four years to conduct thework. Using geographic information systems, the researchers will “stack”a set of indicators to assess the overall condition of the aquatic ecosystemsfor a given area. The selected indicators will link stressors, sources, andsolutions between upstream watersheds and downstream estuaries. Anadditional EPA grant of $973,000 is supporting the application of a wetlandclassification system developed for central Pennsylvania for use in theAdirondack and Catskill mountains of New York, and in the ShenandoahNational Park.

ATLANTIC SLOPE esearch expenditures within Penn State’s Strategic

and Interdisciplinary Initiatives, comprised of environ-

mental sciences, life sciences, material sciences, social

sciences, and defense programs, totaled $380 million in FY 2002,

nearly three-quarters of the University’s total research expenditures.

Our interdisciplinary consortia and institutes continue to success-

fully stimulate research partnerships and innovations at the

boundaries of traditional disciplines and among research faculty

from all colleges. A few of the many exciting ongoing programs are

highlighted in this report.

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dation, which totals ~$32 million. Over-all research expenditures in life scienc-es are now over $115 million. A recenthighlight is a $6 million grant award-ed to researchers at the College ofMedicine by the Juvenile DiabetesResearch Foundation, for the study ofdiabetic retinopathy. Faculty in bioen-gineering, chemistry, and medicinerecently received a four- year, ($719,00grant NSF-NIH) for establishment ofa summer institute for undergraduatesin bioengineering and bioinformatics.

INSTITUTE FOR THEARTS & HUMANITIES

The IAH fosters excellence in the artsand humanities by stimulating andsupporting innovative, interdisciplinarywork across the boundaries of depart-ments, schools, and colleges. In FY2002, a highly competitive faculty pro-gram funded fourteen research andcreative projects ranging from workon the intersection of art and medicalhistory, to a new edition of Swift’sGulliver’s Travels, to a study of Renais-sance influences on modern architec-ture. In addition, under a new initia-tive, summer residencies were awardedto four advanced graduate studentsfrom the departments of Art History,English, French, and Landscape Archi-tecture, and one-semester residencieswere awarded to four faculty members.Major public events co-sponsored bythe IAH included “Celebrations ofAfrican American Spirituals” and “FreeJazz and its Legacies: A Symposiumon Black Music and American Culture.”

MARINE CORPSRESEARCH UNIVERSITYDesignated as The MCRU since 1999,Penn State is supporting the education-al, research, and technical-assessmentrequirements of the U.S. Marine Corpsand the other armed services. In thepast year, the MCRU was awarded over$10 million in Department of Defensecontracts. These contracts involved theactivities of over thirty different facul-

C H I L D R E Nty members and two dozen graduatestudents across five colleges and theApplied Research Laboratory. The sup-port was for projects in the areas oflogistics education, electro-optics re-search, recruiting, deployment optimi-zation, information technology re-search, non-lethal weapons and anti-terrorism/force protection research.

MATERIALS RESEARCHINSTITUTE

The MRI serves as a focal point for in-terdisciplinary materials research sci-ence and engineering at Penn State.In FY 2002, this community was award-ed in excess of $65 million in newfederal, state, and industrial researchcontracts and grants. New initiativesincluded expansion of our NationalScience Foundation-supported Mate-rials Research Science and Engineer-ing Centers into the Center for Nano-scale Science, establishment of a multi-investigator program on “Materials forOptical Technologies,” and the acqui-sition of major pieces of characteriza-tion and processing equipment. An emer-ging focus on nanomanufacturing andprocessing builds on the broad rangeof research activities in nanoscienceand technology with the specific aimof defining an engineering approachfor nanomanufacturing.

PENN STATEINSTITUTES OF THE

ENVIRONMENTThe PSIE is an emerging network offaculty who focus on problems of de-graded air quality; loss of ecologicaldiversity; global environmental change;environmental impacts on human, ani-mal, and plant health; green engineer-ing and industrial ecology; and man-agement of water resources. Withgrants totaling $2.8 million from theNational Institutes of Health, PSIEresearchers are studying the long-term human health effects of persis-tent exposure to industrial pollution.The U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency recently awarded $973,000 toaugment an existing $6 million awardto conduct an ecological and socio-economic assessment of wetland health.The PSIE is funding faculty from threecolleges to begin a new initiative aimedat developing the scientific knowledgeneeded to move the U.S. to a hydro-gen-based fuel economy. PSIE facultyhave been awarded a total of $1.65million by the U.S. Department ofEnergy for a five-year study employingbioremediation for the in situ immobi-lization of metals and radionuclidescontaminating soils at nuclear weaponproduction sites.

SOCIAL SCIENCERESEARCH INSTITUTE

The SSRI promotes research encom-passing the wide range of technicalskills and disciplinary perspectivesneeded to solve complex social prob-lems. The Institute provides a sharedresearch infrastructure offering servi-ces in survey research methods, geo-graphic information systems, advancedcomputing, statistical programmingand data base management, and infor-mation dissemination services. In thepast year these resources have support-ed major studies on the effects of welfarereform on families and children (Na-tional Institute of Child Health andHuman Development, $4.9 million),and on how surviving cancer affectsemotional and physical health andemployment (National Cancer Insti-tute, $2.1 million).

Promoting School-Community-University Partnerships to Enhance Resi-liency (PROSPER), an interdisciplinary project between Penn State andIowa State University, was recently funded by the National Institute onDrug Abuse for $23 million, approximately $10 million of which is ear-marked for Penn State. PROSPER is innovative and cutting-edge becauseit creates and tests a model for the diffusion of preventive interventions,evaluates the impact of that model on schools and communities, andinvestigates the general effectiveness of, and the impact of communityvariation on, the diffusion model. The program is designed to improvechild competencies, family functioning, and school involvement as a wayto reduce substance abuse and problem behavior.

Rural Children Living in Poverty is an interdisciplinary project betweenPenn State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill fundedby $19 million from the National Institute of Child Health and HumanDevelopment. Approximately half of that amount is earmarked for PennState. This research project will follow a cohort of babies born in ruralPennsylvania and North Carolina for three years to understand key ele-ments such as child development, language development, preschool readi-ness, quality of family relationships, parental employment, and commu-nity dynamics. Over the longer term, these researchers hope to under-stand what factors predict the successful transition to school of childrenfrom low-income, rural families.

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or faculty and students at Penn State, the opportunity

to do relevant and commercially useful research is an

important component of the educational experience, and

fulfills a central mission of the University to serve the people of the

Commonwealth. Through the integrated efforts of the seven Tech-

nology Transfer units, federal, state and industrial funds are

transformed into benefits for all. These seven units cover every

aspect of the commercialization process, from linking industrial

research sponsors with faculty; to patenting and licensing; to

assisting start-ups with incubation and advice; to providing

financing, counseling, and free technical assistance for small

companies and convenient physical facilities for companies of

all sizes at the expanding Innovation Park.

New technologies researched and licensed in FY 2002 spanned

the breadth of Penn State’s expertise, including environmentally-

safe washes to extend mushroom shelf life, bioinformatics software

for pharmaceutical screening, monoclonal antibodies on yeasts,

pharmaceutical peptide libraries, antibiotics for anti-bioterrorism

agents, nanoscale chemical sensors and analytical tools,

microbially- produced pesticides, and piezoelectric polymers.

Economic development efforts supported non-university com-

panies in every county in the Commonwealth in diverse industries

including auto salvage, retail sales, lumber, technical writing,

construction, shoe design, food processing, ceramic-tilemaking,

machine reconditioning, and toolmaking.

A N A M A X

Contact: Gary W. Weber, Associate Vice President for Research (814-863-9580;gweber@psu.edu; www.techtransfer.psu.edu).

In recent years, bacterial resistance to antibiotics has become a seriousproblem. For some drug-resistant bacteria only a few antibiotics are ef-fective; for others, there are no effective antibiotics. There is a well-recognized need for the discovery and development of novel antibiotics.Stephen Benkovic, Evan Pugh Professor and holder of the Eberly Chairin Chemistry at Penn State, Professor Lucy Shapiro of Stanford Univer-sity, and their research groups have identified, isolated. and sequenced anovel class of DNA modification enzymes, the adenine DNA methyltrans-ferases, which are essential for bacterial-cell growth. Recognizing theseenzymes as potential targets for new antimicrobial agents, Benkovic andShapiro designed and synthesized compounds that fit within the activesite of the enzymes and mimic a reaction intermediate. This “rationaldesign” approach has led to the synthesis of analogs of the intermediatethat inhibit adenine DNA methyltransferases, and thus have antibacte-rial properties. Much of the basic research was funded by the DefenseAdvanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which has an interest indeveloping new treatments for biowarfare agents such as the bacteriaresponsible for anthrax and tularemia. AnaMax, Inc., a start-up com-pany, has licensed these technologies from Penn State and StanfordUniversity and is continuing the discovery and development of novelantimicrobials for the treatment of bacterial and fungal infections.

INTELLECTUALPROPERTY OFFICE

The IPO manages and commercial-izes the intellectual property (IP) de-veloped at Penn State. It evaluates in-ventions for patentability and developsstrategies to market them to industry.

The licensing of IP has changedsignificantly, with marked increases inthe number of equity positions taken.In the University’s history through1999, three equity-based licenses werecompleted; in 2000 there were four,and in 2001 there were eight. Theincreased use of equity makes possi-ble arrangements with small, faculty-

based start-up companies that wereimpossible previously, and providesan approach for commercializing newtechnology that is not yet ready foradoption by larger companies. Withthis approach, technology that wouldhave been lost is made useful for thecitizens of the Commonwealth andthe world.

To further engage the Universitycommunity in the process, a commit-tee comprised of the research deansof the major research colleges, at-large faculty, an external entrepreneur,and IP administrators now screens allunlicensed IP and determines whereUniversity resources should best beapplied to optimize the commerciali-zation of the technology. This approachhas increased the percentage of IPpatenting fees recovered by 35 percentalong with improving participationand buy-in. Additionally, the licensingofficers have been focused into disci-plines aligning with the research

FY 2001 FY 2002

Invention Disclosures ............ 220 ............. 176

U. S. Patent Applications ...... 268 ............. 204

Issued Patents ......................... 59 ............... 55

Revenues ............................ $1.8M ......... $2.7M

Cumulative Equity Held ........... 12 ............... 18

NOTE: Not included in revenue is the equity PennState holds in start-up and established companies.

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colleges to improve coupling with facul-ty and college administrators and conti-nuity of knowledge and expertise.

SMALL BUSINESSDEVELOPMENT CENTERThe Penn State SBDC is part of a na-tional network of more than 950 cen-ters, 16 of which are based at collegesand universities in the Commonwealth.

The Penn State SBDC covers two coun-ties, Centre and Mifflin. The Environ-mental Management Assistance Program(EMAP) is one of six lead centers inthe state. The Environmental Special-ist based at Penn State covers 19 coun-ties and three other SBDCs. Duringthe past year, MBA candidates workingas part-time SBDC consultants and un-dergraduate students conducting envi-ronmental research, designing web sites,and developing other marketing materialscontributed more than 2600 hours ofassistance to SBDC or EMAP clients.

RESEARCH COMMER-CIALIZATION OFFICE

The RCO helps Penn State facultyand staff create new companies basedon University research and technolo-gies. It works closely with Penn State’sIntellectual Property Office. The RCOcan identify and secure sources ofearly-stage capital, such as seed fund-ing programs, angel investors, venturecapital funds, etc., as well as mentorsand potential management-team mem-bers. Space for start-up companies isavailable in the Innovation Park atPenn State and in the Penn State Zeta-

FY 01 FY 02

Student Hours .................... 911 ................... 2635

Total Consultant Hours .... 3165 ................... 5074

Investments Tracked ........ 1.9M ................... 2.6M

Attendees ........................... 342 ..................... 422

Training Hrs ...................... 1118 ................... 1215

Clients Assisted ................. 240 ..................... 272

Industry R&D (Direct Involvement) .......... $4.9 MIndustry R&D (Facilitated) ........................ $1.1 M

FY02Cases of Technical Assistance ........................ 480Clients’ Cost Savings ................................. $2.8 MClients’ Increased Sales ............................. $4.0 MClients’ Capital Investments ...................... $1.5 MJobs Created/Retained .............................. 50/305Client Satisfaction ......................................... 98%

1985-2002 DataJobs Created ............................................. 6,388Jobs Retained ........................................... 4,540New Products .............................................. 364Processes Improved .................................... 223

INDUSTRIAL RESEARCHOFFICE

Penn State ranks fourth nationally inindustrially-sponsored research fund-ing. The IRO focuses on industries ofsignificant importance to the Common-

wealth, such as materials, agribusiness,information technology, environmen-tal, and life sciences. Responding torequests for assistance, it identifies Uni-versity faculty expertise, technical capa-bilities, and research centers, givingcompanies specific and personal at-tention in order to determine whereUniversity resources might provebeneficial.

BEN FRANKLINTECHNOLOGY CENTER

OF CENTRAL ANDNORTHERN

PENNSYLVANIAThe BFTC of Central and NorthernPennsylvania provides financial support,technology and management experi-ence, and ways to link public, private,and educational resources to strength-

en the high-technology componentsof the state’s economy. It is one of fourregional centers of the Commonwealth’sBen Franklin Technology DevelopmentAuthority. At the beginning of FY 2002,22 research projects were funded withover $2.3 million in Ben Franklin fundsand $7.6 million in private-sector cashand in-kind funds.

FY02

FY02

chron Center for Science and Techno-logy Business Development, a gift ofDr. and Mrs. Wally Snipes and family.

Through a collaboration with theChamber of Business and Industry ofCentre County, five start-up companieswere being incubated at ZetachronCenter in FY 2002; each is based onresearch from University laboratoriesor is directed by a Penn State alumnus.They are: Mitotyping Technologies(Terry Melton); EIEICO–Templar(Doug Greger); Chiral Quest (TimHurley); Thermolose Technologies(Dean Bunnell); and Water’s EdgeTechnology LLC (Denice Heller Wardrop).Five companies have graduated fromthe Zetachron Center: Center Ingre-dient Technologies (MohammadFarbood); Keystone Food Science(Fenjin He); Salimetrics (Doug Grangerand Eve Schwartz); Advanced InterfaceTechnologies (Rejeev Sharma); andPenn Bio Organics (Ravi Reddy).

PENNSYLVANIATECHNICAL

ASSISTANCE PROGRAMPENNTAP helps Pennsylvania busines-ses improve their competitiveness byproviding free technical assistance andinformation to help resolve specific

technical questions or needs that canbe addressed within a limited amountof time. PENNTAP serves every countyin Pennsylvania with a network of tech-nical specialists who have specific areasof technical expertise.

Large wounds are most often closed with skin grafts taken from a pa-tient’s own body. In many instances, however, skin grafts taken fromtissue donors and prepared in skin banks are used as temporary covers.Current skin-bank storage technology is expensive and requires refri-geration, which can be a problem in many parts of the world. Thereis also the possibility of bacterial or viral infection from improperlystored or contaminated skin, including HIV infection. To address theneed for a better alternative, surgeon Ernie Manders and his team atthe Penn State College of Medicine developed GammaGraft™, a skinallograft that has been found to lower infection rates, provide fasterrepigmentation and cause less scarring than most other wound thera-pies. In addition to reducing risk of bacterial contamination and viraltrans-mission, GammaGraft™ is storable at room temperature, andneeds no washing, thawing, or rehydration before application. Theseattributes make skin grafts available to a wide range of patients whowould not otherwise have access to donor skin, especially in developingcountries where the majority of burns occur worldwide. PrometheanLife Sciences, Inc., a start-up company, has licensed this technologyfrom Penn State.

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RKFour building projects have been approved for construction

at Innovation Park at Penn State during FY 2002. The

projects include expansions of the Technology Center and the

Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, and construction of the Inno-

vation Outreach Building and a multi-tenant building for techno-

logy companies. The projects are slated for construction beginning

in late 2002 and early 2003, and will add 320,000 square feet to

Innovation Park’s existing facilities.

The 22,000-square-foot addition to the Technology Center is an

expansion of the Centre for Business and Industry of Centre County

business incubator space. It will provide space for start-up companies

and transitional space for incubator graduates who will locate at

Innovation Park. An expansion to The Penn Stater Conference

Center Hotel will provide 150 additional guest rooms for conference

attendees and visitors to the region. Construction will begin in May

2003 with completion in early summer.

The Innovation Outreach Building will be the new home of

Penn State Public Broadcasting and the World Campus. The

98,000-square-foot facility will include a state-of-the-art broadcast

studio and staff offices. WPSX-TV serves one of the largest geogra-

phic coverage areas in the nation, reaching over one million house-

holds in central Pennsylvania. The World Campus, a web-based

distance-education program, provides global access to a Penn State

education.

A100,000-square-foot multi-tenant building will be constructed

at 328 Innovation Boulevard, the first facility in Phase 3 of the In-

novation Park. The project is being developed by Innovation Capital

Partners, LLC, and will provide space for a number of technology

companies, providing opportunities for collaboration with Penn State

faculty and access to laboratory facilities and students.

BlueSwarf.com, one of the first tenantsin the new facility, is a value-addedwholesale distributor, application ser-vice provider and business-to-businessexchange in the machine tool industry.As Dave Barton, president and co-founder, stated, the company is moving“from Silicon Valley to Happy Valley”to take advantage of the opportunitieswithin Penn State, the favorable busi-ness climate, and the quality of life heand his employees will be able to enjoyin central Pennsylvania. Through theefforts of the Research and TechnologyTransfer Organization’s Ben FranklinCenter and the Industrial ResearchOffice, BlueSwarf.com has been succes-sful in securing funding and formingpartnerships with Penn State’s Indus-trial Engineering department that willcontribute to the company’s success.

Total Tenants ................................................... 39PSU Related ................................................... 15Incubator ......................................................... 11Other ................................................................. 3Total Employees .......................................... 1082

PSU Links During FY 2002

Used PSU Interns........................................................... 18 tenants.......................................................... 115 interns

Used PSU Grad Students........................................................... 10 tenants................................................. 86 grad students

Hired PSU Graduates........................................................... 11 tenants............................................................... 27 hires

Consulted with PSU Faculty ................ 8 tenants

Sponsored Research Projects............................................................... 1 tenant............................................................. $100,000

Licensed PSU Intellectual Property ..... 2 tenants

NANOSCIENCEWith a $9-million grant from the National Science Foundation andmatching funds from the University and the state of Pennsylvania, aCenter for Nanoscale Science has been established at Penn State. Thenew interdisciplinary center will absorb and expand on the Center forCollective Phenomena in Restrictive Geometries, formed two years agoas one of 28 NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Centersnationwide. “It’s a big addition to our programs, and a testament to thecooperation among faculty members and researchers at Penn State,”said Moses Chan, Evan Pugh professor of physics and the Center’s direc-tor. The latest award comes in response to a proposal submitted by ateam of scientists led by Paul Weiss, professor of chemistry, and will allowseveral new research thrusts in addition to continuing work in estab-lished areas. One new area of focus will be molecular motors, tiny bio-logical engines that could one day be harnessed in nanoscale deviceswith possible applications in medicine, computing, and many otherfields. “All kinds of molecular motors exist in nature, driving materialsand processes in living organisms,” Weiss said. “By gaining a better un-derstanding of those processes, we hope to learn to move materials atthe molecular scale in synthetic systems.” In addition to funding re-search, the NSF grant supports educational opportunities for under-graduate students, K-12 teachers and students, and the general public.

At right, time-lapse images of a 50 x 50nanometer area of a self-assembledmonolayer, with red “hills” depicting indi-vidual “switched-on” molecules. Undercertain conditions these molecules canbe made to spontaneously change theirelectrical conductance. Such switchesmay one day allow for electronic devicesconsisting of individual molecules.

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