News

Ultraviolet (UV) curing is the process by which ultraviolet light is used to initiate a photochemical reaction that generates a crosslinked network of polymers, such as synthetic organic materials used as plastics and resins. These plastics or resins can be used to create protective coatings with varying useful properties to cover materials ranging from medical equipment to automotive parts. Some UV cured coatings can be antibacterial for example.  

Currently, coating, bonding, and printing are the most prominent applications in which UV curing technologies are used. The healthcare, printing and automotive sectors use these technologies the most but the solar industry, with its explosive growth is also looking at using UV curing systems. UV-curing has already been adopted by major companies like 3M, Bayer, and Dupont for its energy efficient, clean, and cheap processing capabilities.  

A team of researchers led Paul Ragogna, a Chemistry Professor at Western’s Faculty of Science has developed a new method for coating any surface in a quick, easy, and cheap way with polymerizable phosphonium salt chemistry. Conventional UV curing methods use solvents and large heating ovens, which consume a lot of energy and floor space, while taking longer to produce product. Ragonga’s method is solvent-free and operates with much less floor space making it highly scalable. This technique is excellent for the deposition of thin layers of any desired anion on a surface, on large scale. The organic solar cell industry, which is expected to double in size over the next decade could benefit from this technology as they scale up their industrial processes to meet demand. 

The technology holds several patents in Canada and the United States. It was recently licensed to a startup company, Common Knowledge Ltd., based in Israel that will explore the methods use on an industrial scale. The startup was founded by Ryan Guterman, PhD’15, and is a co-inventor of the technology. 

Dear clients, colleagues and supporters of WORLDiscoveries®, 

The past year has seen many changes for our team, when the pandemic began, WORLDiscoveries, like much of the world transitioned to working remotely and worked diligently to provide quality service to researchers and innovators.  

Our department has now transitioned back to campus and has appointed new leadership. We are evaluating and improving our programming to align with Western’s new strategic plan, Towards Western at 150 and are encouraged by a new sense of energy and excitement as we explore what the future might bring. 

This brings me to the theme of our 2021 annual report, where we highlight how our team may have gone through challenging transitions, but our vision of achieving a mutually beneficial market-focused partnership for every innovation in the WORLDiscoveries portfolio remains the same. 

Despite the demands brought on and uncertainties we face due to the ongoing pandemic and our ever-changing world, WORLDiscoveries saw another record-breaking year in terms of revenue and licenses managed.  

A twenty per cent rise in revenue to $7.61 million paved the way for $5.37 million to be distributed to our dedicated and hardworking researchers. Our number of license agreements signed last year was 35, adding to the total number of active licenses managed by our office to 215. 

At the Annual Vanguard Awards, we celebrated the accomplishments of over 33 individuals by recognizing various market-readiness milestones. The Proteus Innovation Competition partnered with five Southwestern Ontario institutions and saw nearly 200 individuals create viable commercialization strategies for innovations developed by our partners. 

The Graduate Student Innovation Scholars program has supported over 100 students and gave them hands-on training in entrepreneurship, knowledge mobilization and commercialization. The Western Medical Innovation Fellows saw a number of wins by participating in pitch competitions and launched their own startup, Tenomix, based on their work in the fellowship and were undeterred by the transition from a hands-on curriculum to a hybrid one. 

Thank you for taking time to learn about our accomplishments, we look forward to seeing you as we transition our work back to campus.