MPEG LA’s (Columbia) AVC License Will Not Charge Royalties for Internet Video that is Free to End Users through Life of License (8/26/2010)

MPEG LA is a Columbia spinoff that packages patent pools for standards and other technology platforms.

MPEG LA announced today that its AVC Patent Portfolio License will continue not to charge royalties for Internet Video that is free to end users (known as “Internet Broadcast AVC Video”) during the entire life of this License. MPEG LA previously announced it would not charge royalties for such video through December 31, 2015, and today’s announcement makes clear that royalties will continue not to be charged for such video beyond that time. Products and services other than Internet Broadcast AVC Video continue to be royalty-bearing. [read more]

Yakima School District Selects School Improvement Partner Carnegie Learning, Inc. (CMU) (8/26/2010)

Carnegie Learning is a CMU spinoff that publishes math curricula.

Yakima School District in eastern Washington State will implement Carnegie Learning® Math programs to help meet School Improvement objectives in three high schools and four middle schools in need of improvement. Beginning this fall and continuing for three years, Carnegie Learning® Blended Math software and textbooks will serve as the Tier II intervention math strategy supported by significant professional development activity for teachers. [read more]

Gevo (Caltech, UCLA) Co-Founder Peter Meinhold Recognized by MIT Technology Review’s Prestigious TR35 Listing of the World’s Top Young Innovators for 2010 (8/25/2010)

Gevo is a Caltech spinoff focusing in renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels.

Gevo, a privately held renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company today announced that Peter Meinhold has been recognized by Technology Review magazine as one of the world’s top innovators under the age of 35 for developing a process to ferment biomass-derived sugars into isobutanol. Selected from more than 300 nominees by a panel of expert judges and the editorial staff of Technology Review, the TR35 is an elite group of accomplished young innovators who exemplify the spirit of innovation. Their work – spanning medicine, computing, communications, nanotechnology, and more – is changing our world.

Isobutanol is a “drop-in” biofuel with advantages compared to ethanol. It can be blended with gasoline at higher ratios than ethanol and can be burned in automotive and small engines without modification. It has higher energy density than ethanol and can be converted into many hydrocarbon fuels like jet and diesel. Fermentation routes to butanol have been known for decades. The challenge has been to produce it cost effectively. Peter Meinhold and the Gevo team developed a proprietary fermentation and separation system, “Gevo Integrated Fermentation Technology (GIFT™).” Using pathway engineering and synthetic biology, the isobutanol pathway is being optimized in an efficient and robust commercial biocatalyst. The objective is to minimize the production of unwanted by-products, improve isobutanol yield and purity, and thereby reduce operating costs. [read more]

Luminus Devices (MIT) Hires Jim Hunter as Vice President and General Manager, Global Commercial Markets (8/24/2010)

Luminus Devices is an MIT spinoff that develops and manufactures high performance solid-state light sources.

Luminus Devices, Inc., developer and manufacturer of high light output, PhlatLight® LEDs, today announced that Jim Hunter has joined the company as vice president and general manager, Global Commercial Markets. [read more]

Impinj’s (Caltech) Monza Tags and Speedway Readers Part of Raftar’s “Risk-Free” RFID Pilot (8/23/2010)

Impinj is a Caltech spinoff that develops UHF Gen 2 RFID solutions.

Raftar, a provider of radio frequency identification (RFID) and mobile application based logistics and distribution solutions for medical device manufacturers and distributors today announced a “Risk-Free” way for qualified medical device companies to prove RFID will streamline sales and distribution operations for their business.

In the limited time offer, Raftar will deliver pilot participants a full bundle consisting of the Raftar Software Suite—its RFID-based warehouse and mobile, field service automation software—and will manage the entire 90-day pilot process from implementation and training through to successful completion. The RFID solution provided by Raftar will utilize Impinj’s high performance Monza® tags and Speedway® readers. The “Risk-Free RFID” pilot will enable qualified companies to deploy an RFID-based case scheduling and inventory management and tracking solution that extends from a selected warehouse location to the point of consumption at the hospital in the field, with no up-front investment. [read more]

Philippines’ Presidential Inauguration and State of the Nation Address Secured With Firetide (MIT) Wireless Video Surveillance Network (8/18/2010)

Firetide is an MIT spinoff focusing on wireless infrastructure mesh networks.

President Benigno Aquino III’s inauguration, celebration event and first State of the Nation Address (SONA) were successfully secured by a rapidly deployed, real-time Firetide wireless infrastructure mesh network. The temporary video surveillance network was installed to assist the 5,000 police officers who were deployed in the Metro Manila area during the inauguration and SONA festivities. The system was installed by Firetide’s leading partner in the Philippines DTSI (Diversified Technology Systems) and used network cameras from Axis Communications and open-platform video management from Milestone, both Firetide’s technology solution partners. [read more]

Transplace Renews their Commitment to Combating Phishing Attacks with Wombat Security Technologies’ (CMU) Interactive Training (8/18/2010)

Wombat Security Technologies is a CMU spinoff focusing on cyber security training and filtering.

Last summer, after finding out about Wombat Security Technologies and its Phil training game, a highly successful interactive module that teaches people to recognize fraudulent URLs used in phishing attacks, Transplace purchased a one-year license for the product to train its employees. A year into using the Anti-Phishing Phil game, the company could not have been more pleased with the product. Today Transplace has announced that it is renewing its license for Phil and also purchasing a license for Wombat’s twin training game, Anti-Phishing Phyllis, a complementary module that teaches users to recognize a wide range of fraudulent emails. By licensing both products, Transplace is diversifying the training content it offers its employees and further strengthening the readiness of its workforce. [read more]

SOCOM Awards Contract to RemoteReality (Columbia) (8/18/2010)

RemoteReality is a Columbia-based spinoff that designs and manufactures ultra wide-angle computational cameras and video systems.

RemoteReality announced today that it has been awarded a contract from the Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Under this contract RemoteReality will leverage its expertise in wide area high definition video systems to develop new capabilities for the Department of Defense. [read more]

Fulcrum Microsystems (Caltech) outlines next-generation Alta 40Gb architecture (8/18/2010)

Fulcrum Microsystems is a Caltech spinoff focusing on high-performance Ethernet switching silicon.

At Hot Interconnects today, our CTO Uri Cummings outlined the next-generation Alta 40Gb switch chip architecture. Today’s architecture-level discussion gives us the opportunity to focus on key design issues that really make a difference in the performance of networks, but often get lost in the focus on speeds and feeds that occurs when a switch chip is announced. Fully provisioned throughput, low latency, efficient memory architecture and programmability matter as much (or more) than total port bandwidth. [read more]

Luminus (MIT) Licenses its Award-Winning PhlatLight Technology to Epistar; Will Continue to Focus on Big-Chip Products and Applications (8/17/2010)

Luminus Devices is an MIT spinoff that develops and manufactures high performance solid-state light sources.

Luminus Devices, developer and manufacturer of high light output PhlatLight® LEDs, today announced a licensing agreement with Epistar that enables the company to manufacture LEDs on the PhlatLight platform.

This is the third individual licensing agreement for Luminus to other LED companies, demonstrating that LEDs constructed using the PhlatLight technology platform offer unparalleled levels of brightness and reliability. This licensing agreement further validates the strength of Luminus’ patent portfolio which now contains more than 40 issued patents and 100 more applications. [read more]