invention

�鶹��Ƶ students ran with the big dogs at defense hackathon

Jennifer Pocock — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 16:22:00 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ students ran with the big dogs at defense hackathon Jennifer Pocock Thu, 09/11/2025 - 12:22

When the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) convened the first round of its high-tech competition at Fuse at �鶹��Ƶ Square, they should have known it would end with a strong George �鶹��Ƶ showing.

From left to right: Ricardo Vega, Chris Martin, Noah Kabiri, Van Tran, Phuoc Nguyen, and NDIA judge. Photo provided.

The NDIA Hackathon is an internationally renowned competition that welcomes teams from every sector—not just colleges. That means that some of the country’s greatest minds in professional national defense industries and the military line up against ambitious young students to see who has the best vision for securing our future.

In this case, that project came from a team of George �鶹��Ƶ students led by Noah Kabiri, a newly minted sophomore in computer science, with an idea for context-based visualization. How the team came together was kismet.

Kabiri met Chris Martin, a senior in cybersecurity engineering, when looking for someone to join him. The two happened to be working at the same table as Ricardo Vega, a George �鶹��Ƶ PhD student in electrical engineering, who had teamed up with Major Phuoc Nguyen from the Department of Defense (DoD) and Van Tran, CEO of Advanced Cambridge Technologies.

“Halfway through the competition we realized that we were all doing similar things and using similar platforms. We decided that we would be a more competitive team if we combined,” Karbiri said. “We got together and swept the competition.”

Each team in the hackathon had to come up with a product that would be marketable and meet some need for the DoD. They then had to market, present, and sell the product to a panel of non-technical judges from the industry and military. Kabiri’s team, SpecDOps Force, addressed a need in the ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) category.

Their product was an SaaS (software as a service) that takes footage and video feeds from anywhere—drone surveillance video, infrared, geospatial satellite images, security cameras, body cams, and more—and analyzes the environment.

“We had machine learning detection models pick up objects like vehicles, weapons, and faces,” Kabiri said. Their software is important because it can determine threat levels based on environmental contexts. “For example, if you were deploying it on a mission in the desert, detecting firearms would be normal because everyone has firearms in war. If you put it in an airport, however, seeing firearms would be bad.”

Out of the 683 registered participants, the George �鶹��Ƶ-led team took third place. They were separated from second place by hundredths of a point—it was extremely close. This is gratifying, considering that first place went to a well-established corporate team from a major tech company and second place went to a mix of government contractors. Compared to that, an ad-hoc team headed by George �鶹��Ƶ undergrads is nothing short of incredible.

Kabiri hopes that there is a future for their innovation. While the competition only looks for proof of concept over the 72-hour project period, he thinks that he can take it forward. “I don’t see any other products out there that are context-driven. It’s also really adaptable,” he said. “Right now I’m researching how to add walking gaits onto it, where you can determine who someone is based on how they move.”

Though Kabiri is still deciding exactly where to specialize his studies or whether he should pick up a second major in math (it’s only the beginning of his second year, after all), he seems to be headed in a productive direction.

Topics

Hackathon

competitions

U.S. Department of Defense

Military

Artificial Intelligence

invention

CEC students

Students

Eight George �鶹��Ƶ Inventions You Need to Know �鶹��Ƶ

Katarina Benson — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 18:16:29 +0000

Eight George �鶹��Ƶ Inventions You Need to Know �鶹��Ƶ Katarina Benson Wed, 12/11/2024 - 13:16

American inventor Thomas Edison is credited with saying “genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration,” and many innovators can attest to this. The inventive process requires a lot of grit and determination. It can often take years to bring an innovation from idea to market.

Each year, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issues patents to George �鶹��Ƶ that cover the creation of new or improved products, processes, or machines. George �鶹��Ƶ’s innovation is recognized by its recently reaffirmed status as an Research 1 institution by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation, a ranking achieved by institutions that annually spend at least $50 million on research and development, and award at least 70 research doctorates. George �鶹��Ƶ was first named an R1 in 2016.

George �鶹��Ƶ received its first patent in 1996 for research professor Jenefir Isbister’s invention of a test for microbial contamination. Since then, George �鶹��Ƶ has been awarded 296 U.S. and international patents, a quantifiable testament to the university’s bold approach to problem-solving and perseverance in creating solutions.

Alumni often share inventorship of patents with their faculty mentors for work they contributed during their time at George �鶹��Ƶ.

In 2023, the Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact recognized University Professor Lance Liotta, cofounder and codirector of the Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine (CAPMM), with a George �鶹��Ƶ Lifetime Disclosure Award. During his career at George �鶹��Ƶ, Liotta has filed more than 120 patent disclosures.

Disclosures to the university’s Office of Technology Transfer are the first step toward a patent for an invention or discovery. Liotta has 100 inventions to date and the prototype of one of these inventions—laser capture microdissection, a method to procure subpopulations of tissue cells under direct microscopic visualization—is in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History collection.

The Office of Technology Transfer at George �鶹��Ƶ is the bridge between university researchers and industry visionaries bringing cutting-edge technology to life. Not only are they charged with protecting the university’s and researchers’ intellectual property, but they also negotiate licensing agreements to launch these technologies in the marketplace.

In this feature, we take a look at some of the George �鶹��Ƶ patents that are available for licensing.

1. Regulating substance craving in real time

George �鶹��Ƶ professors Padmanabhan Seshaiyer of the Department of Mathematical Sciences and Holly Matto of the Department of Social Work share a patent for REMind-h, an innovative tool that helps individuals in substance abuse recovery regulate their responses to drug craving cues. Their invention monitors the biobehavioral state of the user and strategically delivers, in real time, personalized recovery cues to prevent the person from relapsing. It is the first patent for the Department of Social Work.

2. Giving rehab a leg up

Liotta and CAPMM research professor Marissa Howard, BS Bioengineering ’17, PhD Biosciences ’22, hold the patent on a wearable device that measures, tracks, and monitors a wearer's physiological conditions during a rehabilitation period. The device collects metrics, such as temperature, patellar shifting, limb circumference, and acceleration, and communicates data through a networked communication system so medical personnel and patients can stay updated with the patient’s rehabilitation progress and make adjustments. Howard and Liotta share the patent with Rachel Naidich, Matthew Luu Trang, Ish Sethi, Rebecca Woodhouse, and Kshamata Neupane, who worked on the device as high school students in George �鶹��Ƶ’s Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program.

3. Keeping the lights on

George �鶹��Ƶ alum Eniye Tebekaemi, PhD Information Technology ’18, and College of Engineering and Computing professor Duminda Wijesekera have a patent for a secure overlay communication model for decentralized autonomous power grids. The model is a logic-based system deployed onto computing devices in power grid stations and substations. In response to detecting various power grid faults, such as line failures and overcurrent states, the system can automatically rearrange power line configurations.

4. Putting an end to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Researcher Yuntao Wu, a professor in George �鶹��Ƶ’s School of Systems Biology and the Center for Infectious Disease Research, has devoted his career to finding a cure for HIV. He’s received several patents for his work in this area, including “Targeting the Cofilin Pathway” and “Method and System for Inactivating Virus Infectivity for Producing Live-Attenuated Vaccines.” In 2013, he founded the biotech company Virongy after licensing an HIV drug-screening technology that was developed in his Science and Technology Campus lab.

5. Making aircraft safer

Professor Lance Sherry, director of George �鶹��Ƶ’s Center for Air Transportation Systems Research, and PhD student Oleksandra Snisarevska share a patent for “Systems and Methods for Improved Airline Safety,” a machine learning model that can be trained using historical flight data to generate alerts. When sent to a computing device onboard an aircraft, these alerts can provide information to the flight crew regarding the status of automated aircraft functions.

6. On-demand protection from flood waters

This invention—patented by Professor Emeritus George Donohue and alumni Adel Youssef, BS Systems Engineering ’20; Lucciana Remy, BS Systems Engineering ’20; Faris Masri, BS Systems Engineering ’20; and Murat Gokturk, BS Systems Engineering ’20—provides systems and methods for making dynamic, low-visibility, portable pneumatic cofferdams that can be readily deployed in flood susceptible areas. Created as a senior design project, this inflatable, pneumatic cofferdam system is permanently anchored around a location’s perimeter. It creates a barrier of flood protection that can be deployed instantly in the event of a flood threat. When not deployed, it acts as a functional boardwalk.

7. Wearable device monitors muscle function

While there are wearable sensors for heart rate, skin temperature, and even electrolytes, no commercially available sensors monitor for muscle function. George �鶹��Ƶ bioengineering professor Siddhartha Sikdar, director of the Center for Advancing Systems Science and Bioengineering Innovation, and Professor Parag Chitnis have developed a wireless wearable device that uses ultrasound sensors to monitor for muscle injury, function, and fatigue and can assess muscle recovery. The monitoring technology is ideal for sports medicine, personal fitness, and rehabilitation applications.

8. Promoting wound healing and closure

Inspired by a peptide that was first discovered in Komodo dragons, DRGN-1 is an antimicrobial peptide developed by College of Science researchers Barney Bishop, Monique Van Hoek, and Myung Chung. The peptide has been modified into a cost-effective antimicrobial and anti-biofilm treatment that can be used as an alternative to antibiotics in the treatment of infected wounds. The potential uses of DRGN-1 include antimicrobial sprays, wound dressings, topical gels, and as a coating for catheters.

Discover more technologies with the Office of Technology Transfer

Five Things to Know about George �鶹��Ƶ’s Mobile CoffeeBots

Colleen Rich — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 16:36:06 +0000

Five Things to Know about George �鶹��Ƶ’s Mobile CoffeeBots Colleen Rich Mon, 09/30/2024 - 12:36

Sometimes the most elegant solutions are the simplest, like using one waste product to eliminate another, such as used coffee grounds, called CoffeeBots, engineered in a �鶹��Ƶ laboratory.

From left to right: Jeff Moran, Amit Kumar Singh, and Tarini Basireddy pose with CoffeeBot samples.

Photo by Teresa Donnellan.

CoffeeBots can remove pollutants from seawater. By combining spent coffee grounds with iron oxide (rust), George �鶹��Ƶ engineers have created CoffeeBots in the laboratory of College of Engineering and Computing professor Jeff Moran using the remains of Moran’s morning brew. Moran’s lab focuses on developing self-propelled microparticles for medical and environmental applications.
A CoffeeBot can move through water by using a magnet. Coffee grounds have an irregular, porous surface to which pollutants can bind, even with the much smaller iron oxide nanoparticles attached. Since iron oxide is magnetic, a simple handheld magnet can drive CoffeeBots through polluted water and remove them.
CoffeeBots are reusable. While using coffee grounds to clean up oil spills is not entirely new, this team is the first to show that mobile CoffeeBots outperform stationary ones since moving particles encounter more pollutant molecules. Making the coffee grounds magnetic has another benefit: Once the CoffeeBots are recovered, they can be reused several times before losing their efficacy.
Students discovered the use of coffee grounds. Postdoctoral research fellow Amit Kumar Singh in Moran’s lab originally proposed the project as a way for then-Thomas Jefferson High School student Tarini Basireddy to gain hands-on experience in the laboratory without having to interact with dangerous chemicals.
CoffeeBots can be used against three types of seawater pollutants: methylene blue, oil, and microplastics. The team found that the particles can be an effective solution for cleaning methylene blue, a carcinogenic dye commonly used in textile production, especially when they are first loaded with ascorbic acid, which helps break down the dye and render it nontoxic. And microplastics, like oil, cling to coffee grounds because they are hydrophobic.

Learn more about CoffeeBots

Topics

Research

invention

College of Engineering and Computing

Five Things

Retro �鶹��Ƶ: Hussam wins Grainger Challenge Prize 2007

Colleen Rich — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 17:10:05 +0000

Retro �鶹��Ƶ: Hussam wins Grainger Challenge Prize 2007 Colleen Rich Wed, 08/03/2022 - 13:10

�鶹��Ƶ chemistry professor Abul Hussam won the $1 million Grainger Challenge Prize for Sustainability Gold Award from the National Academy of Engineering for his inexpensive water filtration system designed to remove arsenic from drinking water in his native Bangladesh.

In some developing areas, village water wells often contain the poisonous element arsenic. In Bangladesh alone, more than 18 million people daily drink arsenic-contaminated water. For Hussam, this threat hit close to home. After years of research and testing, Hussam and his brothers developed the Sono filter, which costs only $35 and lasts at least five years. More than 250,000 of these filters can be found in homes, schools, and businesses in Bangladesh, Nepal, and India.

His invention also garnered him the Bangladesh American Society for Humanity Award and led Time magazine to name Hussam one of the 2007 Global Heroes of the Environment.

Hussam, pictured here (left) in 2007 with graduate student Kirubel Assegid and the Sono filter, is director of the Center for Clean Water and Sustainable Technologies in the College of Science.

Photo credit: Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

Topics

�鶹��Ƶ professor Mahesh P. Joshi aims to license his business strategy game

Colleen Rich — Tue, 03 Mar 2020 10:00:34 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ professor Mahesh P. Joshi aims to license his business strategy game Colleen Rich Tue, 03/03/2020 - 05:00

In This Story

Maheshkumar P. (Mahesh) Joshi

School of Business professor Mahesh P. Joshi created BiggieBills after searching for years for an interactive strategy game to use in his classes. Photo by Lathan Goumas/Office of Communications and Marketing.

The idea came to him in the middle of the night during a cruise with family and friends. He spent the next day in the cabin, writing out the rules for a novel business strategy board game.

Despite being on vacation, Mahesh P. Joshi, associate professor of global strategy and entrepreneurship at �鶹��Ƶ’s School of Business, recruited his family and friends to test out the card game. In the middle of playing, Raj S. Davé, a family friend and patent lawyer, suddenly said, “We need everyone to sign confidentiality agreements before we continue playing.”

And that’s how Joshi knew he had invented something different. In December 2019, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office agreed and granted a patent for BiggieBills, a complex interactive strategy game designed for executive training, company retreats and business classes. BiggieBills will be available for licensing agreements in May, once the game is digitalized.

“The idea that I should create a game to help people better understand complex business strategy had been festering in my brain for a while,” said Joshi. “But the details of what that game would be came together at once, and I had to rush to get it down.”

BiggieBills is a business strategy game that is played in teams. Photo by Lathan Goumas/Office of Communications and Marketing.

Joshi was the founding director of �鶹��Ƶ’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and recently served as its director of research and practice. In addition to teaching �鶹��Ƶ students and research, Joshi advises and provides consulting to the public-sector, private-sector and not-for-profit organizations about corporate entrepreneurship and strategic and cross-cultural business management.

Joshi is introducing BiggieBills in the classes he teaches, including executive training sessions for companies and government agencies. In addition, he’s marketing the game to other business schools and executive training programs.

BiggieBills is a “team game that is fast paced, has an explicit goal and evolves in a dynamic competitive context,” said Roy W. Hinton, former associate dean of executive education at the School of Business who encouraged Joshi to develop BiggieBills. “It generates great team discussions about appropriate moves, and players quickly see the impact of their decisions.”

BiggieBills is played in teams, and can be adapted to include as many as 50 players. Each team takes on the role of an established business trying to gain the top position in a chosen industry. The standard game lasts about three hours, and a crucial point in the learning process occurs when the game facilitator debriefs at the end.

The game is focused on business strategy, but can be modified to include other topics, such as entrepreneurship, new product development and sales management. The two main ways to win are to be the first team to earn a billion dollars or to be the last remaining team standing after all others have declared bankruptcy.

Davé, president of the Davé Law Group in Alexandria, Virginia, said that the game is a teaching tool that is fun to play.

“Why is it fun? It’s influenced by luck and strategy, just like life. You can win or lose, just like in life,” said Davé, who helped Joshi obtain the patent on his game.

Joshi said he created BiggieBills after searching for years for an interactive strategy game to use in his class, but not liking what he found.

“There’s no game like this around,” said Joshi. “If there had been, I would have used it in my classes, and wouldn’t have had to invent it.”