Stevens to host 2009 N.J. Inventors Hall of Fame Dinner

Creative minds will be rewarded next month when Stevens Institute of Technology hosts the 2009 winners of the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame awards.

The annual black-tie banquet provides a wonderful opportunity to speak to and exchange ideas with inventors, entrepreneurs and researchers whose innovativeness and creativity have led to significant breakthroughs in all areas of technology, from rocket propulsion to HIV/AIDS research.

Sponsored by the NJIHoF Board of Trustees, the event will be held on October 22, 2009, in the Bissinger Room of the 14-story Howe Center, offering a spectacular view of the Hudson River and the Manhattan skyline.

The awards honor contributions from both the corporate world and from the halls of academia, along with private inventors.

Among those being honored this year are several researchers and faculty from Stevens Institute of Technology.

Associate Provost Christos Christodoulatos, Ph.D., Provost George P. Korfiatis, Ph.D. and Professor Xiaoguang Meng, Ph.D. of Stevens will receive the Inventor of the Year Award, for their invention, "Methods of Preparing a Surface-Activated Titanium Oxide Product for use in Water Treatment," which led to the formation of the Technogenesis® start-up company HydroGlobe. This invention was a response to the compelling need to remove heavy metals from drinking water, especially in Third-World nations dependent on deep-well drilling.

Also being recognized, Dipshikha Biswas, Ph.D., for her work with advisor Dr. A.K. Ganguly, from the Stevens Department of Chemistry, Chemical Biology and Biomedical Engineering, for "HIV Protease Inhibitors for Treatment of AIDS."

This invention relates to the design and synthesis of a novel class of HIV protease inhibitor. The intended use of these compounds will be for the treatment of effects of the AIDS virus, which has potentially enormous implications for healthcare around the world.

U.S. State Representative Rush Holt, Ph.D. will be awarded the 2009 Trustees Award. Rep. Holt (D-NJ) is a former physics professor who for nearly a decade served as Assistant Director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and spent much of his career on inventive and innovative activities and programs.

Source: Stevens Institute of Technology