iShow

The Innovation Showcase displays over 30 patented inventions from Florida A&M University’s faculty and students. These inventions range from a finger flag assembly to a fungi that will prevent the extinction of bees.

“Some of these inventions are lifesaving,” says Ken Redda, Ph.D., vice president of Research. “Many of the faculty, staff and students have created some technology, some inventions, some drugs.”

The iShow was held at the FAMU Foundation building. Each room had three to five inventions, spectators and possible investors were able to walk from room to room and converse with the innovators. “Today is a time set aside to show what inventions we make. And the whole purpose is if we have these inventions we want to commercialize them, we want to take them to the market,” says Dr. Redda.

Brittney Jackson, a senior chemistry student at FAMU, feels that the iShow gives her motivation to remain dedicated to her own studies.

“They are dedicated to their work. Everything seems interesting, they seem like they know exactly what they are doing and going for.”

Jackson is working alongside another professor to observe what the innovators go through.

“It’s very intimidating actually, because all the work they put through, and what I’m doing so far is not even close to what they’re going through,” says Jackson.

The iShow was first presented last year in November by Rose Glee, Ph.D., interim director of the FAMU Office of Technology Transfer, Licensing and Commercialization (OTTLC). The OTTLC began in 2002 and has submitted nearly 60 patent applications, 29 approved and issued and 50 percent of FAMU patents are being developed. Dr. Glee passed in January of this year; however, her vision of the iShow remains helping FAMU’s innovators show their inventions in hope of being commercialized.

“We want to show what FAMU is able to do, FAMU is full of creative faculty staff and students. We want to show the public what FAMU can do,” says Dr. Redda.

President Elmira Magnum, Ph.D., was a special guest at the iShow and stressed the importance of connecting these ideas to the real world.

“See how we can connect them [innovators and inventions] to other things, because it’s that effect of connecting that we also grow new ideas, and reaching to the new areas in translation of our research and our work,” says President Magnum. “Making sure we can translate it to societal use.”

Carol Y. Scarlett, Ph.D., associate professor in department of physics, thinks the iShow is very beneficial.

“Having our own iShow gives us a vehicle through which to advertise stuff that we work on in our lavatories that the university communities may be completely unaware is even going on,” says Dr. Scarlett.

The iShow featured a plethora of inventions. The college of Agriculture and Food Sciences presented their research on grapes. They had grape water, grape jerky, wine, and various skin products, all made from grapes. Innovators, Kinfe Ken Redda, Ph.D., and Madhavi Gangapuram, Ph.D., had a patent on an anti-breast cancer medication with decreased negative side effects. There was also inventions on a possible cure for MRSA, a fungi that could prevent the extinction of bees, and medicines to help diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, skin disease, and a therapeutic treatment to help with HIV/AIDS.

#text