At N.C. A&T, commercialization and collaboration have become common: research leads to new technology and new partners.

• Position: NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL & TECHNICAL STATE UNIVERSITY

University researchers are accustomed to complex concepts, but they've had to get used to some new and not necessarily comfortable ones in recent years. Concepts such as "interdisciplinary," "collaboration" and the completely alien "commercialization" are defining characteristics of university research today. And at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, they're keys to producing technology ready to make an impact on the marketplace.

Because it is an intrinsic element of education at the university, research also is instrumental in producing a diverse new generation of engineers and scientists with hands-on research experience and who are ready to contribute to North Carolina's economic future. Here are a few of the technologies that Aggie researchers have brought to the market or are moving through the pipeline.

Biomedical research

In 2008, N.C. A&T proposed to lead a team of top research universities in the development of bioresorbable metals, a revolutionary new technology for medical implants. The hypothesis: An advanced magnesium alloy could be developed to make plates, screws and other implantable devices that would hold broken or surgically repaired bones in place for healing and then dissolve and pass out of the body when they're no longer needed. The technology could eliminate the need in many cases for either surgical removal--costly and never without risk--or for patients to carry metal parts in their bones for their lifetime, also not without risk. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the project involves three academic partners--University of Pittsburgh, University of Cincinnati and Hannover Medical School in Germany--and more than 25 companies.

Today, A&T's biggest-ever research initiative is on track to deliver its radical new technology. The Engineering Research Center for Revolutionizing Metallic Biomaterials has taken the first step toward commercializing its work in collaboration with InCube Labs of San Jose, Calif., a life-sciences research firm with an outstanding history of commercializing medical breakthroughs.

Nano-biomanufacturing

Nanotechnology promises amazing new capabilities and profound new questions. A particularly intriguing question: How do you manufacture materials and products at the nano scale? Dr. Salil Desai, associate professor of industrial and systems engineering, established A&T's Integrated Nano and Bio Manufacturing Laboratory to address that question. His fundamental...