FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Two University of Arkansas researchers and their nanotechnology companies will be presented with Recognition of Excellence in Innovation certificates by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology Robert Cresanti on Aug. 7 at the Bailey Alumni Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Xiaogong Peng

Ajay Malshe

The certificates will be awarded at a luncheon before a roundtable discussion on “Overcoming Barriers to Nanotechnology Commercialization,” hosted by Cresanti, in conjunction with U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), the University of Arkansas System and the University of Illinois-Springfield.

Xiaogong Peng, who holds the Charles E. and Clydene Scharlau Endowed Professorship in Chemistry, and his company, Nanomaterials and Nanofabrication Laboratories (NN-Labs), will be recognized for pioneering the manufacturing and application of high-quality, nanocrystals in solution that can used in solid-state lighting, light-emitting diodes, solar cells, and biomedical detection. NN-Labs and the University of Arkansas received a joint U.S. patent in 2006 for their specialized manufacturing process.

Ajay Malshe, a professor of mechanical engineering and the Twenty-First Century Professor of Materials, Manufacturing and Integrated Systems, and his company, NanoMech, will be recognized for developing nanoparticle-based coatings and coating deposition systems that have unique properties such as extreme wear resistance, corrosion resistance, bio-compatibility and other attributes important for military and industrial products and for medical implants.

NN-Labs and NanoMech are both spin-off companies based on technology developed at the University of Arkansas. The companies are housed in the Genesis Technology Incubator.

The certificate recognizes local and regional innovators who, within the last 12 months, have introduced a new product or service into the market, utilized a new manufacturing process, or received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The roundtable, the second of three meetings nationwide, will feature founders of nanotechnology companies that have emerged from university research, as well as venture capitalists, state and local economic development agencies, and other experts who will share their insights and experiences in overcoming barriers to nanotechnology commercialization.   

Other confirmed participants from the University of Arkansas include Greg Salamo, who holds the Joe N. Basore Professorship in Nanotechnology and Innovation; Vijay Varadan, who holds the Graduate Research Faculty Endowed Chair in Microelectronics and High Density Electronics; and Ashok Saxena, who holds the Graduate Research Chair in Materials Science and Engineering and is dean of the College of Engineering.