Florida A&M University’s Division of Research Office of Technology Transfer held its Second Annual Innovation Showcase — iShow — last Friday at the FAMU Foundation Headquarters.
Ken Redda, Ph.D., professor and vice president for Research, spoke to the audience informing them about the iShow.
“The first goal is to share with you the great things that are happening at FAMU everyday.” Redda said.
The Tallahassee community came to witness the inventions and products of FAMU’s faculty, staff, and students.
Kendall Strickland, senior agribusiness student, believes that this event will be benefical for the university.
“This event gives the university great exposure and showcases the hard work and research done here at FAMU,” Strickland said.
Amongst the community members, in attendance was FAMU alumnus and Tallahassee Mayor-Elect, Andrew Gillum.
“I’m here to check out what new and innovative things are happening on the campus of FAMU and to see what could potentially become a part of the future economic development of the city,” Gillum said.
People in attendance were able to speak one-on-one with inventors whose inventions have become patented as well as pending patent.
Attendees then were able to vote for their favorite invention or product by placing replica one-hundred dollar bills in each of the inventors respective boxes.
Concluding the showcase, Seth Ablordeppey, Ph.D. was the inventor with the most replica dollars in his box.
Ablordeppey created a patented a drug to treat MRSA and Staph infections that can not attack the bacteria, but kill opportunistic infections as well.
“What we do can lead to getting pharmaceutical companies interested in our products,” Ablordeppey said.
“We want to make sure that inventions, nowadays, come to the market,” Ken Redda, Ph.D. adds. Commercializing these inventions will bring exposure and capital to the inventors and the institution itself.”
“Creating new solutions and ideas are very important to us,” President Mangum said.
For more information on the iShow, contact the FAMU Division of Research at 850-412-5102.