In August, STC issued its ninth call for proposals for FY2020 gap funding. The goal of gap funding is to further develop an early-stage, unlicensed UNM technology, previously disclosed to STC, so that it has a greater chance of successfully being licensed by industry or becoming the basis of a new start-up company. To apply for this funding, which is limited to amounts up to $25,000 for a one-year project, faculty members prepared proposals based on UNM technologies that had been disclosed in invention or copyright disclosure forms. On October 17, 20 proposals of early-stage technologies submitted by UNM faculty were reviewed for funding by the Gap Fund @ UNM Committee. The committee is comprised of UNM, STC, and business community members who evaluate proposals for the merit and uniqueness of the technology as well as for their potential for commercialization.
STC CEO Lisa Kuuttila stated: “Although there were many excellent proposals, STC’s gap fund had limited funding available this year, limiting the selection of only two proposals. In fact, 2014 was the last year the committee has been able to fund proposals. We anticipate issuing another RFP next year and are continuing to seek additional sources of funding for this important work.”
The two proposals chosen for funding this year are listed below.
Proposals Awarded 2020 Gap Funding
| Principal Investigator(s) | Proposal | Department | Funding Amount |
| Nathan Jackson, PhD Assistant Professor |
“Mechanical Vibrating Mesh Atomizer” A method for manufacturing microfabricated vibrating mesh atomizers for the aerosol generation market. |
Mechanical Engineering/ CHTM |
$24,857 |
| Jason McConville, PhD Associate Professor Katherine Zychowski, PhD Research Assistant Professor (Co-PIs) |
“Lipase Inhibitors to Prevent Rancidity in Expressed Human Milk During Storage” Development of inhibitory additives to prevent rancidity and improve the storage of expressed human milk. |
Pharmaceutical Sciences | $25,000 |
To find out more about STC’s gap fund program, go to https://stc.unm.edu/inventors/gap-funding/.