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Home > Featured Stories > Community of Scholars > July 2008 > Chemical Engineering Professor Wins $500,000Chemical Engineering Professor Wins $500,000 Prize
I've always been interested in industrial processes and for as far back as I can remember, I wanted to do things that would make a real impact on people.
NC State professor, inventor and entrepreneur Joe DeSimone
2008 Lemelson-MIT prizewinner Joe DeSimone
By Dave Pond, Web Communication
On Thursday evening, an NC State professor became half a million dollars richer when he was awarded the prestigious Lemelson-MIT Prize, commonly referred to as the "Oscar for inventors."
Dr. Joe DeSimone, William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering at NC State, accepted his award and presented his accomplishments to the public during EurekaFest, an annual inventors forum held last week at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
A holder of more than 115 issued patents and more than 70 new patent applications pending, DeSimone was selected for his entrepreneurial passion and his groundbreaking work in nanotechnology, engineering and green manufacturing processes. MIT chemical engineering professor Robert S. Langer, a previous Lemelson award winner whose patents have been licensed or sublicensed to more than 200 companies, nominated him.
We chatted with Dr. DeSimone as EurekaFest wound down, hoping to get the chemist/chemical engineer and polymer expert's thoughts on his inventions, how he's been able to effect change in and out of the classroom and just what exactly he plans to do with his newfound riches.
How does one become an inventor? What was the driving factor behind your early success?
I've always been interested in industrial processes and for as far back as I can remember, I wanted to do things that would make a real impact on people. Working on problems that are applied was probably a key aspect of it as well.
Could you talk a little bit about being nominated for such a prestigious award?
It's a great honor when someone of Bob's caliber does something like that for you. He is a prolific inventor and entrepreneur, as well as a world-class scientist and person. We're in the same polymer-science circle and I have known him professionally for a long time.
The nomination process takes an incredible amount of work and time – I think it was a 20-page nomination package, in addition to raising support and letters of reference – so it was truly satisfying. To be nominated, you need to have at least two issued patents, and we have more than 115 issued. In giving me the award, they pointed to three different technologies: our green-manufacturing process that DuPont has licensed for making Teflon in supercritical carbon dioxide. They pointed to a medical device collaboration that I was part of, led by a Duke Professor named Dr. Richard Stack. I was on a team that developed a fully bio-absorbable coronary heart stent. We're now in the world's first international clinical trial for the technology, and there are 30 people that have our stent.
Finally, they pointed to our new work – which I think is our most exciting – which bridges the microelectronic techniques used to make transistors and applying it to nanomedicine. The technique, called PRINT [Particle Replication in Non-wetting Templates] was highlighted extensively as an especially exciting breakthrough, and led to the formation of our new company in Research Triangle Park, called Liquidia Technologies.
Talk about how your lifelong goals align with NC State's philosophy of actions over thought, and putting great ideas into practice.
Learning by doing is an unbelievable experience for students and faculty alike – that's what translational research is all about. When you put your ideas work, it's not an instant in time that stands still nor a simple transition where you do it and you're done – it's a feedback loop, it's a two-way street. I think that some universities feel that when research results leave the university and are transferred to a company, that the university is done with it. In our case at NC State, there is an immense amount of collaboration that continues beyond the initial tech transfer. For example, I've collaborated with DuPont since 1992, and we get funds from them every year as part of a licensing agreement. Liquidia is putting tens of thousands of dollars into our lab each month – not only in monetary resources, but in technology as well. Where my students used to spend most of their time making molds, now we get molds from the Liquidia so that the students can focus on engineered particles, where you can really make a difference. It's a wonderful two-way street.
Tell me about the awards ceremony?
That night was so special. I had family, friends, entrepreneurial mentors, members of my research group – in total, we had about 45 people from North Carolina up here – and we had a wonderful time. I met the president of MIT and her husband, and they were so gracious, and the Lemelson-MIT staff did such a nice job in making this event very special. Some of my students were here with me at the ceremony, and they walked away very inspired.
$500,000 - that should certainly be enough to fill your gas tank for the next month or so. How do you plan on spending the prize money?
Well, it's not earmarked for research or any specific items – it is simply a prize. But in talking with my wife and family, our intention is to use it to help nurture new ideas. One of the most difficult challenges in entrepreneurship is developing the early seed capital to foster the initial experiments. Investing in new technology is a smart thing to do – it's a "win-win-win" situation for the inventor, the investor as well as the public.
Of all your inventions and patents, are there one or two that have brought you great pride or satisfaction?
It's like choosing one of your children over another – it's hard to do that! But when you see a full-blown, four-story DuPont chemical plant rise up based on something you've worked on, or knowing that people are walking around with your stents inside of them – it's very rewarding. They've all been exhilarating, and it's been a great ride.
Why do you think you've had so much success transferring your ideas and visions into tangible inventions?
I've been fortunate to work with great students and great people, and I understand the importance of relationships and communication. I've had the chance to interface with great engineering colleagues like Ruben Carbonell, George Roberts, Greg Parsons, Christine Grant, Carol Hall, Saad Kahn and Rick Spontak – it's really a high-caliber group of faculty we have at NC State. They bring a lot to the table in different areas and have been very supportive and collaborative of my work.
NC State offers a wonderful environment to work in.
What kinds of things are you working on now?
Among other things, we're very interested in continuing to develop our PRINT platform technology in nanoparticles. We're also looking at manufacturing particles that have the same properties, size and shape as red blood cells, trying to load them up with hemoglobin to see if we can make truly synthetic blood.
There are some big opportunities in front of us, and if we can continue to make the progress we are making to really scale our manufacturing process, new opportunities will emerge. It all builds on itself.
