MADISON, Wis. – University of Wisconsin System and the WiSys Technology Foundation announced today that six research and development projects with budgets totaling approximately $500,000 have been approved for funding through the Wisconsin Small Company Advancement Program (WiSCAP).
WiSCAP projects are intended to connect the research and development needs of small companies in the state with the technical expertise of UW’s comprehensive campus faculty, staff, and students. The program is expected to lead to the development of marketable products, new job creation, joint intellectual property, and long-term revenue for the campuses.
“Academic research is increasingly a high-growth industry in its own right. As we put forth in our Research to Jobs Initiative, the University of Wisconsin is committed to expanding the educational and economic benefits of this research to a broader cross-section of faculty, staff, and students within the UW System,” said UW System President Kevin P. Reilly. “These WiSCAP projects have tremendous potential to benefit both the University and the state.”
Legislation authorizing the funding for WiSCAP was approved in May 2010, under the C.O.R.E. Jobs Act. The Board of Regents approved the initiative in August.
About $2 million in state funding has been provided as seed funding for the WiSCAP program in 2010. Matching funds or in-kind support will be sought in order to fully implement the projects. The program is managed by WiSys.
“WiSCAP represents an important step forward in engaging innovative UW faculty and students to develop technical solutions to the challenge facing Wisconsin’s small companies. The potential for this program to expand and create job opportunities and business growth is significant,” said Maliyakal John, general manager of the WiSys Technology Foundation.
Each approved research project involves at least one UW campus and at least one private company. The six approved projects include:
- UW-Stout, UW-River Falls, Mensa Systems, LLC (Menomonie) – Development of an implantable biosensor and computer network to continuously monitor the health status of cattle to reduce animal loss due to heat stress.
- UW-Oshkosh, Oshkosh Nanotechnology, LLC – Development of a nanotechnology-based supercapacitor for energy storage and management in automobiles, hand tools, etc.
- UW-Whitewater, Creative Culinary Solutions, Inc. (Hartland) – Extraction method for mercury from fish tissue for human and animal consumption.
- UW-Oshkosh, Semba Biosciences, Inc. (Madison), Botanic Oil Innovations, LLC (Spooner) – Identification of antiviral compounds and extraction of nutraceuticals from cranberries.
- UW-Stevens Point, Abba Makolin Waldron & Associates, LLC (Freedom) – Development of a method to maintain quality while reducing cost of papers by an optimal mix of virgin and recycled paper pulp.
- UW-Stevens Point, American Science and Technology, Biomass Conversion Division (Wausau) – Optimization of paper mill sludge as feedstock for production of isoprene, which is feedstock for many industrial products including automobile tires.
The new WiSCAP projects align with UW System’s Growth Agenda for Wisconsin and efforts to leverage academic research to grow more well-paying jobs in Wisconsin.
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Media Contacts:
David Giroux
UW System
608-262-4464
David Williams
UW-Oshkosh
920-424-2067
Blake Fry
UW-River Falls
715-425-3711
Stephen Ward
UW-Stevens Point
715-346-3046
Doug Mell
UW-Stout
715-232-1198
Sara Kuhl
UW-Whitewater
262-472-1194
Maliyakal John
WiSys Technology Foundation
Maliyakal@wisys.org
608-265-2135