Denville, N.J., September 29, 2000 — Honoring the most critical Research &
Development advancements of 2000, the Research and Development (R&D) Council of NJ
announced the winners of the prestigious Thomas Alva Edison Patent Awards.
According to R&D Council Chairman Alan Main, "The 2000 Thomas Alva Edison Patent winners
made bold strides in diverse and significant fields, illustrating the outstanding R&D
capacities within New Jersey's corporate and academic institutions. 2000 proved to be a
seminal year in R&D advancements."
Patent winners in the categories, Industrial/Defense, Medical/Health, Emerging Technology and
Consumer, exemplify how Research and Development is integral in creating commercially
successful and socially beneficial products.
The winner for the Industrial/Defense category was Envirogen, Inc. for "Biodegradation of the
Gasoline Oxygenates," invented by Robert J. Steffan, Charles Condee, Joseph Quinnan, Matthew
Walsh, Steward M. Abrams and Jonathan Flanders. This patent describes the first reliable,
versatile and economically feasible approach for treating groundwater, soils or plants
contaminated with gasoline oxygenates. By identifying naturally occurring bacteria that
destroys oxygenates and discovering ways to stimulate these organisms in contaminated
environments, Envirogen has developed a safe and simple method for remediating contaminated
environments.
The Emerging Technology winner was Princeton University for "Magnetic Resonance Imaging Using
Hyperpolarized Noble Gases," invented by Mitchell S. Albert, Dilip Balamore, Gordon D. Cates
Jr., Bastiaan Driehuys, William Happer, Brian Saam and Arnold Wishnia. This invention relates
to a new imaging modality for human lungs resulting in high-resolution images useful for the
diagnosis of pulmonary-related diseases.
In the Consumer category, the winner was Rutgers University for "Method and Device for
Enhancing the Recognition of Speech Among Speech Impaired Individuals," invented by Paula
Anne Tallal, Mathias Merzenich, William Michael Jenkins, Steven Lamont Miller and Christopher
E. Schreiner. The Fast ForWord family of products, which are based on the invention, uses
computer-controlled, repetitive training exercises that automatically adapt to each user's
performance to modify the manner in which the brain processes language.
The Medical/Health winner was Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation for "Alpha-heterocycle
Substituted Tolunitriles," invented by Robert M. Bowman, Ronald E. Steele and Leslie J. Brown.
Compounds derived from this patent are effective in treating mammary and endometrial tumors,
endometriosis, gynecomastia, premature labor and advanced breast cancer.
The Research and Development Council is a non-profit organization that works to cultivate an
environment that supports the advancement of research and development activity throughout New
Jersey.
The R&D Council has about 90 member companies.
