Address
3760 HBLL
Provo, UT 84602-6844
United StatesDescription
The BYU Technology Transfer
Office has been established to help faculty, students and staff
commercialize any technology or product developed through their
association with the university. The office provides professional,
business and intellectual property services to relieve BYU
personnel of the burden of being extensively involved in the
business and legal aspects of the commercialization process. The
office, working closely with the General Counsel's office, provides
expertise in business relationships, negotiations, protection of
intellectual property, marketing, license agreements, contracts,
and entrepreneurship.
Mission
While the primary focus of the
BYU faculty is teaching, research, and other scholarly activities,
often the products of scholarship have application as products or
services beyond the gates of the academy. Under most circumstances,
these intellectual properties can only be utilized by society if
they are made into commercial products and sold by a company with a
profit motive. The primary purpose of the Technology Transfer
Office is to facilitate the transfer of university-developed
technologies to the marketplace by protecting the intellectual
property through patents and copyrights and subsequently licensing
the protected intellectual properties to companies outside the
university. Patents and copyrights are required because most of the
technologies developed at a university require substantial
investment by the company for final product and/or market
development before they can be sold to the public. Unless companies
have the protection of exclusive rights to the technology (e.g., a
patent) they will not make the investment necessary to bring a
technology to the marketplace. The Technology Transfer Office will
evaluate the technology, secure intellectual property protection,
find a company to develop and sell the product, and negotiate the
license agreement. The revenues received from the license are
shared between the developer(s) as personal income (45%) and the
university as research support (55%).
Technology Disciplines
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7
Biophysics Great Lab
Security Clearance : Non Security LabSquare Footage: 0
The Biophysics Great Lab is a consortium of investigators focused on biophysics research. Students who work in the lab are first trained in laboratory and instrumentation techniques. Then they work with their mentor to design and carry out their own research project. Generally, it takes one to three years to be trained, identify your project, collect data that results in a novel story worthy of publication, draft and redraft a manuscript, submit the manuscript, receive reviews from outside reviewers selected by the journal, respond to the reviews, and resubmit the paper for publication. Our goal for the most qualified students is to publish a peer-reviewed paper while working in the Biophysics Great Lab. All students who go through the Biophysics Great Lab Training Course and spend time researching will be better prepared to go on in research or professional careers.
BYU Food Quality Assurance Laboratory
The Quality Assurance Lab is located in the Eyring Science Center in the department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science. The Quality Assurance Lab has about 10 undergraduate student employees majoring in Food Science or Food Industry Management. The top priority of the Quality Assurance Lab is testing and releasing samples from the Church of Jesus Christs of Latter-Day Saints Welfare Canneries and Processing Plants in a timely and accurate matter. The average turn around time (in days including weekends) is less than one day. Students work on long term projects as time permits. Goals : The purpose of the BYU Food Quality Assurance Laboratory is to provide technical support and personnel to Welfare Services through the following objectives: Perform quality assurance tests in support of Welfare Services production with test results reported within three working days. Detect and report problems in packaging and product in Welfare Services production within three working days. Maintain staff and equipment for the BYU Food Quality Assurance Laboratory Provide students with hands-on experience in industrial type quality testing of foods for Welfare Services. Provide assistance and instruction in training production personnel, sanitation, and quality control teams. Provide assistance and instruction in training Welfare Services production personnel, sanitation, and quality control personnel. Provide technical assistance regarding state and federal regulatory requirements.
Dr. Austin's Lab â C231 BNSN
Security Clearance : Non Security LabSquare Footage: 0
GC-MS (Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometer) - This machine is a combination of two instruments (GC and MS). It uses gas chromatography to separate samples and then uses mass spectrometry to analyze and identify small and medium-sized molecules. The GC-MS is mostly used to identify organic molecules but can also identify small, volatile inorganics, such as the permanent gases, and small inorganic complexes that are not ionic.
Dr. Dearden's Lab â C354 BNSN
Security Clearance : Non Security LabSquare Footage: 0
4.7 Tesla FTICR/MS (Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometer) - Until recently, this instrument had the highest mass resolving power in the Intermountain West (see above why it is no longer #1). Fourier transform mass spectrometers serve as electromagnetic "test tubes" in which charged molecules can be trapped and broken apart, revealing their structure, or reacted with neutral gases to reveal their chemistry in unprecedented detail. This instrument's data acquisition system was upgraded 3 years ago to state-of-the-art capabilities. It is currently being used to study supramolecular systems (complexes of two or more molecules held together by weak, non-covalent interactions to build larger structures) in the gas phase using experimental and computational methods synergistically, and in developing new techniques specialized for their characterization. The characterization methods being developed as part of this work will not only impact supramolecular mass spectrometry directly, but they will enable applications of supramolecular chemistry that may impact manufacturing, computing, and medicine in the long term. New experiments use this instrument in conjunction with BYU's National Science Foundation- funded tunable laser facility to probe how molecules trapped and characterized in the FTICR absorb infrared radiation, yielding snapshots revealing how the molecules are folded. This kind of shape information is vital for understanding how molecule-sized machines might function. The techniques we are developing will also be immediately useful to biomolecular studies. Graduate students will gain valuable training in advanced techniques for high performance mass spectrometry that are vital for the biotechnology industry and the emerging field of proteomics and giving them breadth beyond biochemistry.
Human Performance Research Center
Security Clearance : Non Security LabSquare Footage: 0
Biochemistry: Improvements in energy metabolism, muscular strength and endurance capacity have a basis in biochemical and molecular adaptations within the human body. The primary function of the exercise biochemistry laboratory staff is to increase our understanding of how cellular adaptations influence whole body function and performance so as to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of physical activity. The laboratory contains the necessary equipment to analyze metabolic and protein characteristics in human tissue. Additionally molecular biology techniques are employed to examine the response of specific genes following acute and chronic changes in physical activity. The goal is to increase our understanding of the specific responses that occur within the human body. The laboratory houses a spectrophotometer, fluorometer, vertical slab gel electrophoresis equipment, agarose gel systems and UV illuminator, thermal cycler for analysis of real time polymerase chain reactions, heating blocks, a cryostat microtome for tissue histochemical analyses, dissecting microscopes and a video microscopy system for single muscle fiber analyses, tissue freeze dryer, as well as standard centrifuges, refrigeration/freezing capabilities, and other supporting equipment. Biomechanics: Biomechanics is the analysis of human movement to enhance performance, improve training, accelerate rehabilitation, and reduce injury risk. This is done by integrating various mechanical aspects of human movement during static and dynamic activities. The major measurements are: Forces generated by various segments of the body and exerted externally to the body. Muscle activation through electromyography. Motion analysis--Using video to create three-dimensional reconstructions in order to measure body positions, velocities, and accelerations. Body Composition: The Body Composition Laboratory is used by faculty and students involved in lifestyle, fitness, and wellness research. It houses state-of-the-art research equipment enabling extremely precise measurement of human body composition, including lean body mass, fat mass, and bone mineral content. Both a dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) machine and Bod Pod are located in this laboratory. The DEXA uses two mild x-ray beams to differentiate between muscle, body fat, and bone. Most experts consider DEXA to be the "gold standard" in body composition measurement. DEXA is also the method of choice for the detection of osteoporosis and related bone mineral density problems. Only licensed x-ray radiology technicians can operate the DEXA system. The Bod Pod system is similar to the old hydrostatic weighing method, except air rather than water displacement is used to measure body volume. The Bod Pod does not require a license to operate, and the system produces results that are highly correlated with DEXA findings. Exercise Physiology: Staff of the Exercise Physiology Lab assess a variety of human physiological functions at rest and during aerobic and anaerobic exercise. These include resting metabolic rate; oxygen cost of exercise; cardiovascular, pulmonary, and metabolic responses to exercise; maximal exercise capacity; and muscular strength and flexibility. The exercise physiology lab is a 1500 square foot facility containing treadmills, bicycle ergometers, muscle ergometers, expired gas analysis systems, and food preparation facilities (microwave, electric range, oven and two full size refrigerators). Ongoing endeavors of lab personnel include validating field fitness tests, electrical impedance and near-infrared body composition systems; and evaluating physical activity levels and fitness of children, adolescents, and adults; and assessing fluid and nutritional supplements. Therapeutic Modalities: The Therapeutic Modality Laboratory was established to facilitate the research of athletic training and physical medicine and rehabilitation faculty and students. The major theme of this laboratory is quantifying physiological responses such as temperature and sensation changes resulting from applications of therapeutic modalities, such as ultrasound, diathermy, and cryotherapy.
Mass Spectrometry Lab â E130 BNSN
Security Clearance : Non Security LabSquare Footage: 0
LTQ OrbiTrap-XL +ETD - This instrument excels at high-throughput proteomic, lipidomic and metabolomic analysis. Up front, state-of-the-art chromatographic sample separation is performed on an Eksigent nanoLC-Ultra2D splitless low-flow UPLC that allows for the use of ultra high pressures across capillary columns packed with micro particles (1.5-1.7um). Two 10-port valves can be plumbed for multiple 2-dimensional chromatographic separation strategies. Bridging the chromatography and the mass spectrometer is a sensitive nano-electrospray source (10um ID tip). The instrument itself can be thought of as three mass spectrometers working in concert. The linear ion trap (LTQ) ushers packets of ions into the orbitrap and performs collision induced dissociation (CID) on a near infinite series of ion fragments (MSn) besides serving as a high speed mass analyzer when needed. Using flouranthene free-radical-ions generated in the backend GC-MS, the LTQ can also perform electron transfer dissociation (ETD) which can be used to 1) fragment larger, higher charge state ions and 2) to gently fragment peptides with post-translational modifications (PTMs) in order to determine exact PTM location. The orbitrap is the first fundamentally new mass analyzer in 30 years and yields near FTICR mass accuracy (0.5-2 ppm) and resolution but without the need for a superconducting magnet. Within a fairly broad range, its mass accuracy is sufficient to identify an analyte's atomic composition from its precursor mass alone. A high collision cell near the orbitrap gives the instrument a total of three different strategies for fragmenting ions to ensure confident identification. Altogether, (with less than 1% error in peptide identifications) over 2300 proteins from a HEK293 cell lysate can be identified in 2.5 hours of analysis- nearly 1000 proteins/hour. 9.4 Tesla FTICR /MS (Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometer) - This instrument, which was installed in 2010, is the new champion in the Intermountain West. It has twice the mass resolving power, twice the quadrupolar axialization efficiency, twice the data acquisition speed, and twice the upper mass limit of the 4.7 Tesla instrument. It also has 4 times better maximum ion kinetic energy, ion trapping capacity, ion trapping duration, and signal-to-noise. This mass spectrometer is equipped with two data acquistion systems, a "stock" console from the manufacturer, Bruker Daltonics, and a custom-built, state-of-the-art system designed at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University. It is used for research and teaching purposes within the department. The primary research applications on this instrument involve characterization of supramolecular structures as described above for the 4.7 Tesla system, but the experiments can be done more quickly and more accurately with this instrument's larger superconducting magnet. The 9.4 Tesla instrument is particularly valuable for applications that require ultra-high mass resolving power, such as the complex mixtures of compounds typical of biological samples. Resolving powers in excess of one million are routinely achieved, along with mass measuring accuracy of better than one part per million; at this level of accuracy, simply measuring the mass is often sufficient to determine molecular formulas. BYU undergraduate students have access to this state-of-the-art instrument in physical chemistry and instrumental analysis lab courses, while graduate students use it to further their research projects.
The Udall Lab
Address:
701 E. University Parkway
Provo
Region:
Security Clearance : Non Security LabSquare Footage: 0 The Udall lab is interested in genome evolution and cotton genomics. The cotton genus ( Gossypium ) is an extraordinarily diverse group with approximately 50 species with a range of morphological, reproductive and vegetative characteristics. Approximately 1-2 MYA an African/Asian A-genome and an American D-genome species hybridized and from this single polyploidization event, six polyploid species independently evolved in the americas. Two of these species have been domesticated, one of which ( G. hirsutum )constitutes more than 95% of the worlds current cotton production. There is still much to be discovered on how genomes change during events like polyploidization and domestication. Not only does ourresearch increase our understanding of genome evolution, but can help us uncover the genetic causes and system-wide effects that underlie phenotypic change. This can be useful in cotton crop production and since many of our domesticated crops are polyploid (e.g., wheat and canola) other species too.
