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Aug. 10, 2006 Eleven research teams receive economic development grantsby Mike Krapfl Grants from the state's Grow Iowa Values Fund will support studies of new soy proteins for the food industry, biomass gasifiers for the ethanol industry, corn- and soy-based composites for the plastics industry and other projects with commercial potential. Iowa State has awarded $975,773 of state economic development dollars to 11 research projects. The grants range from $49,380 to $162,717 and must be fully matched by the researchers and their partners. The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, approved the university's plans at its Aug. 8 meeting. This year's grant recipientsThis round attracted 38 researchers hoping for funding. Review committees recommended the grant winners based on their potential to create Iowa businesses, create jobs, increase sales, improve products, license technology, collaborate with Iowa businesses or attract federal research funding. "These 11 projects have clear commercial potential for the state of Iowa," said John Brighton, vice provost for research. "These projects demonstrate Iowa State's commitment to translating discoveries into viable technologies, products and services to strengthen the economy of Iowa." Larry Johnson, the director of the Center for Crop Utilization Research and a professor of food science and human nutrition, and Nicolas Deak, a post doctoral research associate for the center, won a grant of $162,717 to develop their process for separating the two major proteins in soybeans. The food industry currently uses a mix of both proteins because the separation process is expensive. But Johnson said that compromises potential health benefits -- such as reducing heart disease -- associated with one of the proteins. It also compromises the unique food properties -- the gelling characteristics, for example -- of each of the proteins. Deak studied the problem as part of his doctoral thesis and came up with a simple and economical way to separate the proteins, making two new products. A provisional patent has been issued for the technology. There are also negotiations to license the technology with SafeSoy Technologies of Ellsworth. Johnson said the Grow Iowa Values Fund grant will help researchers learn more about the protein products, conduct market research and produce samples of the protein powders for testing by food companies. "We're truly excited," Johnson said. "This idea of commercialization is having a profound impact on what universities do in the area of research. We feel we've always done good science. But we lacked the funding to move it to a commercial level." More grant recipientsThe other winners in this round of the grant competition are:
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BackgroundGrow Iowa Values Fund: The big pictureThe 2005 Iowa Legislature appropriated $5 million per year for 10 years to Iowa's three regent universities to be used to grow Iowa's economy. Iowa State's share is $1.925 million per year. This is the second year Iowa State has awarded competitive grants as part of the Grow Iowa Values Fund program. For the second time, the $1.925 million will be divided as follows:
Quote"This idea of commercialization is having a profound impact on what universities do in the area of research. We feel we've always done good science. But we lacked the funding to move it to a commercial level." Larry Johnson, director of the Center for Crop Utilization Research |