Emily Riley, a research assistant at CNSE and student at UAlbany's School of Business, acted as business lead and Haralabos (Harry) Efstathiadis, an instructor at CNSE served as technical lead on the CNSE team.

A team of instructors and students from the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering ("CNSE") of the University at Albany who used nanotechnology to develop a new power source for implantable biomedical devices, such as pacemakers, was one of three finalists in a prestigious international competition designed to promote the commercialization of technology.

The Entrepreneurship Challenge is an annual competition conducted by the Materials Research Society that is designed to help develop the entrepreneurial skills that "get ideas out of the lab and directly into the marketplace." Scientists and business students formed "virtual teams" to develop a 12-slide Power Point presentation that presented a start-up technology to a panel of venture capitalist judges. 

The CNSE team was selected for its business plan that focused on the use of thermoelectric generators, created through the development of multi-layered nanostructures, to power implantable biomedical devices, such as pacemakers. The presentation, entitled "Thermoelectric Generators: Powering Implantable Biomedical Devices," was spearheaded by Haralabos (Harry) Efstathiadis, an instructor at CNSE who served as the technical lead, and Emily Riley, a research assistant at CNSE and student at UAlbany's School of Business, who acted as the business lead.

The CNSE team traveled to the 2006 MRS Spring Meeting in San Francisco, CA to present their entry in the final round of competition, competing against teams from MIT and the University of Michigan for a $3,000 grand prize. In all, 26 teams from colleges and universities that also included Rice University, Duke University, the University of California-Davis and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, among many others, entered the competition.

Dr. Kermit Hall, President of the University at Albany, said: "Our College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering continues to keep pace with the nation's most prestigious universities in developing innovative educational programs. Its success is a great reminder that exceptionally prepared students and highly motivated faculty contribute mightily to the region's growing scientific stature and economic well being."

"I congratulate Harry and Emily and the entire CNSE team for their selection as finalists in this prestigious competition that involved some of the leading colleges and universities in the world," said Dr. Alain E. Kaloyeros, vice president and chief administrative officer of CNSE. "This recognition demonstrates the world-class nature of the educational programs and initiatives at UAlbany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. At the same time, it proves CNSE's ability to translate innovative research in the laboratory into marketable technologies that will have a positive impact on society."

The BioGenerator uses multi-layered technology, each approximately 10 nanometers, that utilize slight temperature differences to provide enough energy to power a pacemaker. With its small size and absence of moving parts that require maintenance, the product is four times more efficient than the current technology, at half the cost. While still in the prototype development stage, the technology's proof of feasibility has been demonstrated and a patent is pending.

In its business plan, the CNSE team identifies annual growth of nearly 9 percent in the demand for implantable cardiac medical devices, with the market growing to $15.6 billion by 2009.

Some of the initial technical work was funded by a grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Serving as project mentor was Dr. Pradeep Haldar, professor of nanoengineering and head of the Nanoengineering Constellation at CNSE. Project consultants included Dr. Edward Cupoli, professor of nanoeconomics and head of the Nanoeconomics Constellation at CNSE; Dr. Bai Xu, assistant professor of nanoengineering at CNSE; and, Dr. Randy Simon, project director at CNSE.

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