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Prize winner will use money to help others start careers(Herald-Sun, The (Durham, NC) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jun. 26--CHAPEL HILL -- Joseph DeSimone, a UNC Kenan Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and winner of the 2008 Lemelson-MIT prize, said he plans to use part of his $500,000 award to "invest in ideas." Known as the "Oscar for Inventors," the Lemelson-MIT prize recognizes individuals who have developed world-changing products or processes that could be put to practical use. DeSimone, who will receive the award tonight in Boston, said he hopes to use his winnings to help young innovators start their careers. "I think it would be appropriate. I'm very much interested in entrepreneurship, and some of the early days are the hardest to get things done," he said. DeSimone, the 14th winner of the annual award, did not receive it for one specific accomplishment but rather for his entire body of work, which includes 115 issued patents and 80 more in the works. As a way of spurring future innovations, the Lemelson-MIT prize is awarded only to younger, mid-career inventors. DeSimone, who is in his mid-40s, fits that description. The professor should have years left in his career, although he already has a lengthy list of accomplishments. His research and discoveries cover a broad range of disciplines, and DeSimone said he's developed several major technologies that have gained public attention. "DuPont used our technology for making Teflon in green and environmentally sound ways," he said. "They built a plant in North Carolina, and so far there's been $60 million invested." DeSimone also discovered that a toxic solvent used in dry cleaning can be replaced with liquid carbon dioxide, an environmentally important finding that already has been put into use. The medical world benefited from DeSimone's work when he collaborated with cardiologists to develop an innovative medical device. After balloon-angioplasty, a process to widen blocked blood vessels, a stent is inserted to keep the vessel open. Because conventional stents permanently remain in the body and pose health risks, DeSimone helped create a plastic one that the body could absorb. That's not the only contribution he's made in the health care arena. DeSimone and his colleagues have applied the technology of microelectronics to nano-medicine. His research team discovered a way to fabricate proteins using a method called PRINT, or Particle Replication in Non-Wetting Templates. Unlike previous technologies, that method produces particles of uniform size and shape, and it's a development that could lead to major medical advances. "What we do is mold nano-particles just like you mold cookies or ice," he said. "It's got tremendous promise in oncology, diabetes and multiple sclerosis." Ed Samulski, a Cary C. Boshamer Professor of Chemistry at UNC, said DeSimone's ability to bridge disciplines initially landed him his position at the university. Samulski hired DeSimone in 1990, when he was only 25. At the time, DeSimone had just received his Ph.D. "Typically, a department as well known as ours would not hire somebody who had no post-doctoral experience," Samulski said. "Many of my colleagues on the faculty didn't want to interview Joe because of this hole in his background." Samulski said it took one interview with DeSimone to change his colleagues' minds. "It became apparent immediately to all the faculty that he was an extremely imaginative and creative person. He had completely new ideas," he said. Samulski said that DeSimone's contributions to the world of science are impressive, but he stressed that some of DeSimone's most significant work has taken place outside the lab. "He sees the potential in everybody, and he suffers fools gladly because he's always looking for that nugget of creativity and possibility that virtually everyone has," Samulski said. "By convincing people to be all they can be, he gets the very best out of folks." DeSimone, who is currently focused on applying his nanomedical research directly to clinic needs, said it's "the people side of it" that has made his work possible and worthwhile. "I've been blessed with wonderful students and post-docs and colleagues," DeSimone said. "That's got to be the biggest accomplishment." To see more of The Herald-Sun, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.herald-sun.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Herald-Sun, Durham, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |