University of California centers are designed to sustain California's economic growth and its competitiveness in the global marketplace

Through a range of new technological developments, the California Institutes of Science and Innovation are already providing significant returns on public and private investments, according to University of California officials reporting on the seven-year-old Institutes at today’s (May 17) Board of Regents meeting.

Officials noted that the four multi-campus institutes, created in 2000 as part of a unique public and private partnership, are meeting the goal of growing the state’s economy and delivering the benefits of innovation more quickly into the lives of Californians.

Among the key innovations already making their way into commercial markets:

New devices that monitor energy use and lower it when prices or demand are high. This new technology is saving as much as $5 billion in California's energy costs and removing four million metric tons of carbon from our air each year.
Innovative wireless technologies that are supporting local, state and federal first responders coping with major urban crises and disasters . One warning alert system, already being tested by the City of Ontario, can send customized messages to the public within seconds after a crisis occurs.
The development of a new drug delivery system or “smart pill” that promises to reduce the cost of medical treatments and make drugs safer and more effective.

“The California Institutes for Science and Innovation are already paying off for California,” said UC provost and executive vice president Wyatt R. (Rory) Hume. “This unique multidisciplinary effort is quickly opening the doors to new understanding, new applications and new products through essential research in biomedicine, bioengineering, nanosystems, telecommunications and information technology.”

This year, Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed $20 million in general funds to continue the institute’s operations as part of his $95 million Research and Innovation Initiative designed to help keep California on the leading edge of global competitiveness.

“State funding is crucial to the continued success of the California Institutes,” said President Robert C. Dynes. “After seven years, we have demonstrated the success of this unprecedented three-way partnership between the state, California industry and the University of California. It is a collaboration that is speeding the time between scientific discovery and delivery of public benefits through new products, technologies, services, and jobs.”

Hume introduced the Regents’ presentation, which featured California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research (QB3) director Regis B. Kelly describing its work in applying the quantitative sciences - mathematics, physics, chemistry and engineering - to biomedical research. QB3 is a partnership between UC San Francisco, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz and private industry based at UCSF’s Mission Bay campus.

Kelly highlighted a number of QB3 breakthroughs, in addition to the “smart pill” drug delivery system. The innovations include the development of a reliable and affordable synthetic blood substitute that would not need to be matched to patients, nor require screening for pathogens or even need refrigeration.Scientists believe the substitute can be engineered cheaply and in large quantities, providing opportunities for the creation of an entirely new California-based industry.

Another QB3 breakthrough includes the “Biosensor” – a miniaturization technology that allows sensitive and rapid identification of trace amounts of chemicals, toxins, live pathogens, DNA samples or blood metabolites in the emergency room, on the farm, at a crime scene or at airports.

While QB3 was the focus of the Regents’ presentation, Hume noted the other three institutes are similarly on pace with breakthroughs that are strengthening California’s economy and improving the quality of life in communities across the state.

The California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), in addition to its breakthrough work to bring wireless technologies to community first responders, is helping to alleviate traffic congestion through a free wireless service that allows motorists to call in for customized traffic information on their cell phones based on commute routes they specify in the system through an easy-to-use web interface. The UC San Diego and UC Irvine partnership has also established a testbed for studying regional traffic patterns and traffic management in emergency response situations.

The Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) is a research consortium between private industry and UC’s Berkeley, Davis, Merced and Santa Cruz campuses focused on information technology solutions for many of society’s most pressing social, environmental and healthcare problems. Its work has already spawned an entirely new California-based industry in the manufacture and use of micro-miniature wireless sensors and wireless-sensor-networks (WSNs) that are used to increase port and border security, monitor and reduce toxic waste, and provide greater energy efficiency, more effective health care and improved water resource management. CITRIS’ cybersecurity research has already developed solutions against identity theft, phishing, spyware and botnets that are being incorporated into eBay, Google, Earthlink and other major e-commerce sites.

The California Nanosystems Institute (CNSI) at UCLA and UC Santa Barbara is focused on the rapid commercialization of discoveries in nanosystems. Among its accomplishments is the development, in partnership with HP Laboratories, of a molecular computer with kilobits of memory packed into the size of a white blood cell and a nanotech desalination membrane that promises to cut the cost of seawater desalination and wastewater reclamation by doubling productivity and consuming 50% less energy;

“These breakthroughs each represent unique opportunities for fueling California’s future economy and improving the quality of our lives,” said Hume.

For more information about the California Institutes for Science and Innovation:
www.ucop.edu/california-institutes

For more information about UC’s contributions to California’s economy:
www.universityofcalifornia.edu/economy

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