Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Lemelson-MIT prize awarded to drug delivery inventor DeSimone

By Mass High Tech Staff

MIT has awarded its prestigious Lemelson-MIT $500,000 prize to Joseph DeSimone for his research developments in drug delivery, medical devices and green manufacturing.

DeSimone is a chemistry professor at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as co-founder of nanoparticles technology firm Liquidia Technologies.

His work includes development of plastic stents, now in clinical trials; plastics development technology using carbon dioxide instead of potentially toxic industrial acid; and nanoparticle development, through Liquidia, for drug delivery use, as well as flat-panel display applications.

Called the “Oscar for Inventors,” the Lemelson-MIT Prize recognizes the individuals behind inventions with global impact, according to MIT officials.

The inventor Jerome Lemelson and his wife, Dorothy, founded the Lemelson-MIT program in 1994. It is funded by the philanthropic Lemelson Foundation.