Purdue student inventors to be honored at reception

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue student inventors are leading a national trend where undergraduate and graduate students are actively participating in patenting their discoveries. In the 2011-12 fiscal year, 355 student inventors contributed to a Purdue discovery, up from 218 in 2010-11.

About 50 of these students will attend the second annual Purdue Student Innovators Reception to be held from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday (Dec. 5) in the basement of Meredith Residence Hall, Gathering Place, 201 Martin Jischke Drive on the Purdue West Lafayette campus.

Student inventors will be available to speak with journalists about their inventions. Photos and video may be taken.

Examples of Purdue students' patented inventions include:

*A visual perception technology that could help robots see in 3-D like humans.

*A visual analytic toolkit to help law enforcement officials track criminal activities within various areas of a community to better identify areas of need.

*A technology that helps quickly test, commercialize and market mobile applications that are developed with Purdue resources.

*A soybean-based resin that can be used to make computer circuit boards that are biodegradable, ecofriendly and reusable.

The event is sponsored by the Purdue Research Foundation's Office of Technology Commercialization, Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship and the Purdue Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program.