Dropping names ...

Schroeppel

Ken Schroeppel, instructor and director of Professional Engagement for Planning at the College of Architectue and Planning at CU Denver, recently gave three one-hour walking tours of the Denver Union Station project. On March 20 and 22, he guided 75 people as a fundraiser for the Denver Architectural Foundation and, specifically, Doors Open Denver (DoD). Schroeppel also was interviewed by Colorado Public Radio station KUVO during their morning First Take news program about urbanism and Denver’s growth and revitalization. … Fernando Feliu-Moggi, associate professor in the Department of Languages and Cultures at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, presented “Roberto Cabrera in Guatemalan Visual Arts” in late March at Casa de Cervantes, the leading cultural center in Guatemala City, Guatemala. He explored the work of one of the leading figures in the development of contemporary art in Guatemala since the 1950s. He also participated in the 22nd International Congress of Central American Literature, March 26-29, where he presented a paper on contemporary Guatemalan poet and filmmaker Julio Serrano. … Three university research groups have been awarded patents.  A research group led by Malik Kahook and Naresh Mandava (School of Medicine, ophthalmology, and University of Colorado Hospital Eye Center) have been awarded a patent for artificial intraocular lenses made from shape-memory polymers. By making use of “smart” polymer materials, these lenses offer a patient-customized, less invasive lens replacement when natural lenses in the eye must be removed due to cataracts or other eye diseases. Along with related intellectual property, this patent is being commercialized by ShapeTech LLC, a CU startup company based in Denver. The CU Technology Transfer Office began prosecuting this patent portfolio on behalf of the university in March 2011. The patent (U.S. 8,685,089, “Shape Memory Polymer Intraocular Lenses”) was issued on April 1, 2014. Other inventors on this patent are CU Denver bioengineering researchers Robin Shandas (bioengineering chair) and Bryan Rech. Two groups of chemical and biological engineering (ChBE) researchers led by John Falconer and Richard Noble have been awarded patents for methods to make improved gas separation membranes, which have great potential in chemical and petrochemical industries for large-scale separations, such as natural gas sweetening and CO2 sequestration. U.S. Patent 8,679,227 (“High flux SAPO-34 membranes for CO2/CH4 separation and template removal method”) was issued on March 25, 2014; TTO filed the initial patent application on behalf of CU in April 2010, and related patents are pending in several key oil-producing countries. In addition to Falconer and Noble, inventors on this patent include ChBE research associate Begum Tokay and former ChBE researcher Yanfeng Zhang (now of the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute). U.S. Patent 8,685,143 (“Method of making a high-performance supported gas separation molecular sieve membrane using a shortened crystallization time”) was issued on April 1, 2014, with an initial filing date of May 2009, and related patents pending in several countries. In addition to Falconer and Noble, inventors on this patent include ChBE researcher Hans Funke, former ChBE researchers Moises Carreon (now of the University of Louisville) and Shiguang Li (now of the Gas Technology Institute), and collaborators from Shell Global Solutions.