Amy Ruth
William & Mary News

The efforts of applied science faculty and graduate students, an alumna and a corporate partner have resulted in the College's filing two patent applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, D.C. Since 1989, this agency has awarded more than two dozen patents for inventions or new technology developed by William and Mary faculty and students.

"Our students and faculty are very interested in commercially relevant technology," said Dennis Manos, co-chair of the applied science department. "Our department prides itself on finding interesting and important science in problems identified within existing products and in the design of new products."

With funding from DuPont to build an intense ultraviolet light source, doctoral candidate Jessie Diggs and Joseph Ametepe (Ph.D. '99) discovered two methods of making high-powered, efficient short-wavelength ultraviolet lamps that are cost-effective and free of toxic and corrosive gases.

Directed onto materials such as metals or resins, ultraviolet light from these lamps can create chemical reactions on metals to produce protective layers, to pattern them or to make them stronger. When used on plastic and resins, these lamps can enhance color retention or produce surfaces that are permanently anti-microbial.

"Such surfaces are valuable for producing all sorts of consumer products-from carpets to shower curtains to cutting boards-and for high-tech medical applications like surgical gowns and dressings," said Michael Kelley, co-chair of the department.

"They also are useful for applications such as treating drinking water, drying coatings and curing paints and inks," added Ametepe, who is now an assistant professor of physics at Hollins College in Roanoke.

Great advantages of the lamps are their low maintenance and long life. Existing ultraviolet light sources have life spans as short as 20 hours and can't be used in the many manufacturing processes that require long exposure times.

"Commercially manufactured intense ultraviolet lamps are available, but the cost of processing is too high," said Diggs, who expects to finish his doctorate by next May. "Manufacturers who are looking for an environmentally benign and novel means of processing the surface are going to be excited by what we have to offer."

Working with Manos and Kelley, Diggs and Ametepe constructed the equipment, designed experimental methods and created advanced computational models to better understand the fundamental physics at play in the creation of light from these lamps. In August, the students filed applications for their two patents.

"The hardest part about preparing our applications was carefully describing the inventions in terms that people can easily understand, while showing their novelty," said Diggs. "Our patent agent, Joy Bryant, provided invaluable guidance; we could not have done this without her."

Patent agents have science and engineering backgrounds and must pass a rigorous examination before beginning their practice. The agent prepares the application with inventors and conducts a search to determine an invention's novelty and to ensure that the invention does not infringe on existing patents.

Once the invention passes these tests, the patent agent files the application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for review.

"When we did our literature search with Joy and did not find any previous disclosures of this technology, we felt confident about our invention," said Diggs.

Bryant, who started a company called the Patent Agency Inc. in 1995, was the first graduate of the College's Applied Science Patent Practice program, receiving a master's degree in 1994. She now prepares patent applications for a variety of clients, including the College. Bryant also founded a national association for patent practitioners and is the author of the book Protecting Your Ideas.

"I become involved early in the patent application process," said Bryant. "I actually have debates with my clients about each invention. They have to prove to me that their inventions are patentable before I'll agree to file the application. If they can't convince me, they probably won't convince the Patent and Trademark Office. This approach saves time and money."

The application review process is complex and lengthy, often taking as long as two years, but Bryant will keep tabs on Diggs and Ametepe's ultraviolet lamp patent applications, freeing the scientists to focus on the next phase of their careers.

"The interaction between great scientists like Michael, Jessie and Joseph and talented business, legal and paralegal personnel like Joy is what makes university research commercially useful," said Manos. With support from the Center for Plasma and Photon Processing, work on the lamps continues at the Applied Research Center in Newport News. For more information about the lamps, call Dennis Manos at 269-5754.

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Updated July 3, 2003