Invention Awards

  New York has been on a cleantech blitz. The latest news in that regard is that the state has reached 6 gigawatts (GW) of installed solar power capacity. Even better, it achieved that milestone a year earlier than it had targeted, as enshrined in its Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. In general, this amount of solar power in New York produces enough electricity for one million homes. Here’s another giant stat: the 6 GW of solar installed in New York have pulled in $9.2 billion in private investment. Additionally, 14,000 jobs have been created from all of this. The solar project that tipped the state over the finish line is owned by Generate Capital and was developed by New Leaf Energy. It is a 5.7-kWh solar power system that is expected to produce enough electricity each year for one thousand homes. “The project participates in the Solar for All pilot program with utility partner National Grid where the energy harnessed by this project benefits low-income household...

Traditional computers struggle with NP-complete problems, which grow exponentially in complexity. According to a study published in Advanced Photonics, a group of researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University has made progress in this field by creating a reconfigurable three-dimensional integrated photonic processor specifically intended to address the subset sum problem (SSP), a well-known NP-complete issue. Light propagates in a three-dimensional photonic circuit to solve the subset sum problem. The image of the reconfigurable photonic processor is based on the research presented. As technology develops, the limitations of traditional electronic computers become more noticeable, particularly when dealing with challenging computing problems. Some of the hardest problems in computer science are NP-complete issues. These problems have important ramifications for industries such as manufacturing, transportation, and biomedicine. Researchers are looking for alternatives to conventional...

  Representation of the chiral, helical arrangement of atoms in a material (yellow spiral), combined with multiple monopoles in the form of a ‘spiky hedgehog monopole,’ showing the isotropic orbital angular momentum radiating uniformly in all directions New research has identified orbital angular momentum monopoles in chiral materials, offering a leap forward in developing energy-efficient electronic devices. This could lead to significant advances in orbitronics, a new kind of electronics based on electron orbits rather than spins. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics , along with international collaborators, have observed orbital angular momentum (OAM) monopoles in chiral materials for the first time. This discovery, published in Nature Physics, could be a significant breakthrough for next-generation electronic devices, especially in the emerging field of chiral electronics. Revolutionizing Information Transfer: The Rise of Orbitronics In traditional e...

An "out-of-this-world" project has the potential to transform the future of tissue engineering and liver transplantation through innovative research conducted aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Led by Tammy T. Chang, MD, PhD, FACS, a professor of surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, the Chang Laboratory for Liver Tissue Engineering is pioneering the self-assembly of human liver tissues in low Earth orbit (LEO) -; the area of space below an altitude of 1,200 miles. This process could significantly enhance the development of complex tissues for medical use on Earth. Strategies to transport these tissues back to Earth and relevant experimental results will be presented at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2024 in San Francisco, California. This method leverages the unique environment of microgravity to address the limitations of current tissue engineering techniques on Earth. For example, the use of artificial matrices that p...

Recent efforts in China to integrate technological innovation with service consumption are influencing how consumers engage with everyday products, especially home appliances and smart home improvements. These changes are fueled by targeted government policies and subsidies designed to make upgrades more affordable, stimulating both the purchase of innovative products and economic growth. In Shanghai, a resident surnamed Zou recently signed a home renovation contract for 140,000 yuan (around $19,713), saving over 20,000 yuan through a combination of government and seasonal discounts. Many home improvement markets now offer 15 to 20 percent subsidies on items such as home appliances and renovation materials, including cabinets and bathtubs. The home appliance trade-in service is another example of service innovation powered by government policy. In communities such as Songjiang District in Shanghai, residents benefit from one-stop trade-in services for outdated home appliances, ensuri...

  University of Mississippi astrochemist Ryan Fortenberry’s recent research indicates that glyceric acid, a building block of life, can form in space. Researchers unlock the building blocks of life on Earth by recreating complex molecules. Of all the questions asked about the cosmos over the last few thousand years, one researcher’s recent publication stands out: “Is space sweet or sour?” Astrochemist Ryan Fortenberry, University of Mississippi associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, collaborated with Ralf Kaiser, of the University of Hawaii at Mānoa , to study the creation of a simple sugar acid in space-like conditions. This molecule, glyceric acid, is considered a “building block” of life. The journal Physics News recently published their research. “This is a fundamental question about where life originates,” Fortenberry said. “Where did we come from?” “The discovery of this molecule (…) tells us how we can go from the creation of atoms in the core of stars to comple...

More AI patents are being allowed due to revised guidelines introduced this year that set out specific criteria, says Hengwei Zhou of CCPIT Patent and Trademark Law Office. With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the world is undergoing unprecedented transformations. When innovators in AI technology seek to protect their intellectual achievements through patents, a primary challenge arises—the definition of patentable subject matter . As stated in Article 2.2 of China’s Patent Law, patentable subject matter excludes non-technical solutions. There was a lack of clear criteria in China’s patent practice for determining whether an AI invention constitutes a technical solution, given the abstract, complex, and unobservable nature of AI algorithms. This situation has changed with the revised Guidelines for Patent Examination coming into effect on January 20, 2024, which introduced three specific criteria for evaluating the patentability of an AI invention. Thi...

The development of quantum computers will make everything "happen better", a researcher at a top university has said. A team from Oxford University’s department of physics are among researchers from across the world racing to develop quantum computers, which are more advanced than current computers. Dr Christopher Ballance, from the department, said the new technology had the potential to improve many aspects of our lives, from weather apps to drug development. "The best advance tech is indistinguishable from magic, and that's how quantum computing is going to be," he said. Researchers across the world are developing quantum computers, which could solve equations that are too hard for current computers Quantum physic s is, according to the university's professor of quantum technologies Simon Benjamin, the "weird, interesting bit of physics". "It's the bit where things get spooky and really strange stuff happens that defies every day intu...