Researchers & UT Community
PROOF OF CONCEPT AWARDS
Technology Development
The Texas Proof of Concept Awards provide competitive funding for faculty membersor permanent researchers with principal investigator (PI) status to demonstrate the feasibility of their innovations to accelerate the process towards commercialization. We invite you to learn more about the past awardees and consider applying.
Award recipients
Christopher Rylander
Therapeutic System for Brain Cancer
Synopsis:
Standard treatments for aggressive brain cancers are often ineffective and non-curative due to many challenges with treating tumors within the brain. UT engineers are developing a multifaceted catheter system that can deliver therapeutic agents and heat directly into desired positions in the brain tumor in order to maximize treatment potential.
UT Austin Startup:
Details
Website
Andrew Ellington
Low-cost Rapid Diagnostic Enzyme Complex
Synopsis:
There is a global need for point-of-care diagnostic tests for infections but the key enzyme components of these tests can be expensive or hard to obtain. UT researchers have invented an extremely low-cost preparation method for key enzymes used in diagnostic tests that can enable rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases such as COVID-19.
UT Austin Startup:
Details
Website
Manish Kumar
Advanced Water Filtration Material
Synopsis:
Water is a critical resource for many different industries and it must be treated to specific standards, often involving chemicals or energy-intensive operations. Innovators at UT have developed sustainable, low-cost plant-based filters that remove high amounts of viruses, bacteria, and oil from water.
UT Austin Startup:
Details
Website
Delia Milliron
Flexible and Smart Window Film for Energy Efficiency
Synopsis:
Roughly half of the energy consumption in the United States for buildings is for thermal control and lighting. New smart windows can control heat and light from the sun to improve energy performance in buildings but nearly all installed windows lack these capabilities and it is extremely expensive to replace windows in commercial buildings. UT researchers are developing an innovative, low-cost, film that can be applied to existing windows to dynamically control the amount of heat and light that goes through windows.
UT Austin Startup:
Details
Website
Tom Yankeelov
Predicting and Optimizing Cancer Treatment
Synopsis:
When treating cancer, some treatments are more or less effective for different patients and physicians often lack tools that predict how patients will respond. UT researchers have developed a mathematical model that uses patient-specific imaging data to make accurate, patient-specific predictions of eventual response early in the course of therapy. They are currently focused on advanced brain, breast, and prostate cancer and are collaborating with UT MD Anderson Cancer Center.
UT Austin Startup:
Details
Website
