“That’ll probably take us, oh maybe 10 years or so to eat through all of the municipal soild waste and sewage sludge. Then once that’s exhausted, the next logical thing to do is say let’s go after agricultural residues and agricultural wastes.”

Texas A&M Chemical Engineering Professor Mark Holtzapple says the next step would be to start growing crops for the purpose of making bio-fuels.

“So that it means higher agricultural income. You can grow food, you can grow fiber, now you can grow fuel, and so it just creates a greater demand for agricultural products.”

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Blinn College has won a grant from the Texas Comptroller worth almost $300,000 that will be used to create the most realistic simulation experience possible for tomorrow’s health care professionals.

Blinn was awarded $292,177 from the state’s Job Building Fund, which was designed by the Texas Legislature to fund training in high-demand occupations. The College is required to fund 5 percent of the project, totaling $15,390. Toward that end, College Station Medical Center has pledged a $2,500 donation.

Blinn was previously awarded a $350,000 JET grant in 2010. The funding furthered Blinn’s efforts to purchase more sophisticated “high fidelity” simulation mannequins, a significant step up from the College’s older, “medium fidelity” mannequins.

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I attended graduate school at Texas A&M University. I completed a masters of electrical engineering in 1990 under Karan Watson. I later went on and pursued a Ph.D. in computer science at the University of Tennessee. After leaving there, I went to work for a small startup company in Knoxville called CTI-PET Systems, the company responsible for the development of PET imaging. The company grew tremendously and was eventually sold to Siemens Medical. After the sale to Siemens, my wife and I endowed a Presidential Endowed Scholarship here at Texas A&M.

Please explain the lab and equipment you use at TIPS.

We use PET, CT, MRI, X-ray and ultrasound here in the lab. We have some of the finest equipment anywhere in the world. We are also a GLP lab. GLP stands for an FDA regulation called Good Laboratory Practices. The FDA requires that all information used in a FDA submission for a new drug, device or therapy be done according to GLP processes.

What do you use this equipment for?

We are involved in the development and testing of new drugs, therapies and devices for both human and veterinary applications.

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The March index grew by 1.8 percent compared to the same month last year.

The Bryan-College Station index is compiled by Karr Ingham, an Amarillo-based economist for Commerce National Bank and The Eagle.

The index started in January 2000 with a baseline measure of 100.

“Basically, we’ve seen a yearlong trend of a modest uptick,” said Glen Davis, regional president of Commerce National Bank. “We’re still waiting for full recovery, but it sure seems like we’re getting some traction on it.”

Davis said the fact that the index has been on the rise for seven consecutive months and 10 of the last 11 is particularly encouraging.

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It could be that man’s best friend might one day be man’s best healer.

Dogs are among the best animals when it comes to providing models for better medical treatments in humans, and with more than 77 million dogs in the United States alone, it’s another way the human-animal bond has become closer than anyone had ever dreamed. Researchers at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences are looking into ways how dogs – and several other animal types – can provide a variety of medical benefits to people, ranging from bone cancer studies to spinal cord injuries and others.

“Dogs can be ideal models to study,” says Theresa Fossum, director of the Texas A&M Institute for Preclinical Studies. “This is especially true when it comes to certain types of cancer. Cancers in dogs, such as bone cancer, lymphoma and many other types of tumors, are almost identical to those same kinds found in humans and they tend to develop faster and run their course quicker, so it’s an ideal way to see if a certain therapy will work. Dogs also tend to be better predictors of how new cancer drugs and medical devices can work. By studying cancer treatments in dogs, we can come up with better and more improved ways to treat cancer in humans and animals.”

Bone cancer in dogs, Fossum explains, is almost identical to human bone cancer. To get a big picture of just how the disease forms and progresses in dogs, Fossum has helped to create the Texas Veterinary Cancer Registry, a database of treatment information.

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“This event gives us the chance to formally recognize the researchers within the A&M System whose work has significant real-world applications,” said Chancellor John Sharp. “Through commercialization of their inventions, research that began in a lab now has the chance to extend its reach and make a difference in people’s lives.”

During the awards ceremony, Dr. Lloyd W. Rooney from Texas A&M University was presented with the Innovation Award. Rooney is a Regents Professor and Faculty Fellow in the Cereal Quality Lab, in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences. The Innovation Award is given in recognition of an individual whose research exemplifies the spirit of innovation within the A&M System.

Patent Award winners by A&M System institution include:  Read More>>

Natural Composites Inc. engineers natural composite materials using bio-waste from various countries.

“There is a perception that you cannot produce anything that’s green without a price premium,” said company president Blake Mosher. “Our thesis is completely different. By focusing on bio-waste, we can actually create products that have cost equivalence or cost savings, and that increase the overall quality of the products.”

The company, which has nine full-time employees based in College Station, is located in a facility that has about 10,000 square feet at 1313 Research Parkway.

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By Todd E. McDaniel, Research Valley Partnership, President & CEO 

The Research Valley Partnership (RVP) wrapped-up its four-day business mission in Belgium tired, but honored, blessed to have led the charge.  This mission was the first-time in the Research Valley’s history where life science companies, our pioneers in this industry, where provided such an opportunity thanks to the support of the RVP through its public and private partners.

“I would like to thank the Research Valley Partnership for its coordination and assistance on the trade mission to Belgium.  The partnership formed between RVP and its Belgian counterpart, AWEX, is very strong and, as a result, we were able to make many good connections with businesses in Belgium.  There are a number of very strong business opportunities for Kalon that we are now pursuing and anticipate that we will be able to make some big announcements in the near future,” stated Andrew Strong, President, Kalon Biotherapeutics.

During the mission, our companies met collectively with over 56 companies, research institutes, and potential investors as they consider the launch or expansion of their business operations in Europe and joint venture opportunities based in the Research Valley.  Based upon what I heard directly from our companies, many of their business-to-business meetings will no doubt result in business success.

 The RVP team and its Texas A&M partners also met with 32 companies and organizations interested in expanding their operations to the Research Valley as a gateway to the United States market place during match-making sessions arranged at the Biomedica Life Science Summit and direct business meetings arranged by AWEX.   In addition, we also met with representatives from several of the Wallonia region’s leading universities and science and technology business incubators and continue to build the necessary relationships and infrastructure to support our transatlantic “innovation to industry” partnership.  As a result of these efforts, Jim Lewis, Chair-Elect executed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding with Wallonia Space Logistics (WSL) – the region’s leading engineering and sciences business incubator/accelerator – (www.wsl.be) – to provide “incubator to incubator international gateway services” to our respective clients.

Today, companies like Lisam NA and AMOS are growing in the Research Valley because of our efforts.  Our AWEX partners have brought over 50 companies from Wallonia to the Research Valley over the past three years.  Tomorrow, more companies founded in the wonderful region of Belgium known as Wallonia and in Aggieland will be doing business globally due to the hard work of both Texas A&M and the RVP.  These companies will provide jobs to our citizens and will make investments that will help us continue to maintain the incredible quality of life we enjoy in our respective regions, globally connected.

Thank you for your support! 

Todd E. McDaniel, President & CEO

Bryan-College Station, TX – The Research Valley Partnership, Inc. (“RVP”) proudly welcomes Natural Composites, Inc. (“NCI”) to the Research Valley.  Natural Composites has located their corporate headquarters (office, sales and research/development space) in the Texas A&M University Research Park.

The mission of NCI is to transform lives through engineering solutions created from natural resources and turn everyday bio-waste into everyday products. The company engineers natural composite materials using bio-waste from countries all over the world, stimulating local economies by using naturally occurring agricultural waste.  Natural Composites, Inc. facilitates more efficient use of our planet’s resources by replacing synthetic petroleum based materials with natural alternatives.  Whether it is partnering with a plastics manufacturer in the U.S. or Germany, or a coconut farm in Indonesia, NCI creates a more efficient world one bio-waste stream at a time.

Darrell Campbell, CEO of Natural Composites, noted, “As a company dedicated to the development of green products that actually work better, cost less and are sustainable, partnering with the Research Valley and Texas A&M will provide us the means to pursue several strategic business goals.”

“We are very pleased to have Natural Composites as part of the Research Valley,” stated Todd E. McDaniel, CEO of the Research Valley Partnership. “Natural Composites’ location underscores our commitment to bring leading-edge biotech companies to the Research Valley, in turn creating jobs and driving economic growth for our community.” 

Natural Composites, Inc. was a finalist for the 2011 Automotive Innovation Awards for their loadfloor design utilized by Ford Motor Company.  The material is made from coconut fiber agricultural waste.  The product provides income to farmers, is environmentally friendly, and reuses a material that would otherwise have no market usefulness.

“We appreciate the opportunity to support Ford in this application.  Ford continues their strong history of thought leadership and product innovations by implementing this coconut fiber based composite material,” said Blake Mosher, President of Natural Composites.

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ABOUT NATURAL COMPOSITES, INC.

Natural Composites, Inc. has a mission to transform lives through engineering solutions created from natural resources.  The company facilitates a more efficient use of our planet’s resources by using agricultural waste products to make functional fillers for plastics and natural fiber composites.  These innovations provide natural alternatives to petroleum based synthetic materials.  In addition, the location of their international production facilities provides economic stimulus to disadvantaged farmers and workers. For more information, please visit www.naturalcompositesinc.com.

ABOUT THE RESEARCH VALLEY PARTNERSHIP

The Research Valley Partnership serves as the catalyst of economic development in the region, connecting community, university and industry, and building upon the foundation of  Texas A&M’s global expertise in engineering, energy and biosciences.  The Research Valley Partnership helps grow, expand, and attract business to the Research Valley through our planning, services, and support.  For more information, please visit www.researchvalley.org.

Media Contacts:

Todd E. McDaniel, CEcD

President/CEO

The Research  Valley Partnership, Inc.

(979) 260.1755

tmcdaniel@researchvalley.org

Darrell Campbell

CEO

Natural Composites, Inc.

(979) 268-4030

darrell.campbell@naturalcompositesinc.com