News Release

HydroGlobe patent wins Thomas Alva Edison Award

Metsorb™ reduces arsenic, heavy metals from ground and surface water

Grant and Award Announcement

Stevens Institute of Technology

HOBOKEN, N.J. -- A patent from HydroGlobe, a Technogenesis® environmental technology company incubated at Stevens Institute of Technology, has won the Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award for Technology Transfer from the Research and Development Council of New Jersey. The original patent is owned by Stevens, which has given to HydroGlobe the rights of exclusive use of the technology. HydroGlobe, which produces patented products for the removal of heavy metals – including lead and arsenic – from water, was acquired by Graver Technologies, a leading manufacturer of filtration and separation products, in 2004. HydroGlobe was founded in 2000 by three Stevens professors based on research conducted at the Center for Environmental Systems (CES), directed by Dr. Christos Christodoulatos. In addition to Christodoulatos, the HydroGlobe founders include Dr. George P. Korfiatis (CES founding director and also Dean of Stevens' Schaefer School of Engineering) and Dr. Xiaoguang Meng, Director of Technical and Academic Development at CES. The technologies are included in a series of patents obtained by the founders of the company. The merged business is run out of Graver Technologies' facility in Glasgow, Del. "The partnership with, and help from many areas within Stevens, including technical, marketing and finance, was instrumental in moving HydroGlobe heavy-metal removal technology to a commercial level. Equally, the experience interacting with the commercial world should help those involved from Stevens in future technology startup enterprises," said John H. Schroeder, former CEO of HydroGlobe.

The award-winning patent, titled "Methods of Preparing a Surface-Activated Titanium Oxide Product and of Using Same in Water Treatment Process" is known as MetsorbTM, a highly effective, low-cost absorbent for reduction of arsenic and a wide variety of heavy metals from ground and surface water. The invention details a method for producing a surface-activated crystalline titanium oxide product having a high adsorptive capacity and high rate of adsorption with respect to dissolved contaminants. The invention further includes steps of preparing a titanium oxide precipitate from a mixture comprising a hydrolysable titanium compound.

"This award is an affirmation of the Technogenesis process of laboratory research leading to real-world applications of technology, meeting critical needs on a national and global scale," said Dr. Helena S. Wisniewski, Stevens' Vice-President for Research and Enterprise Development. "Dean Korfiatis and Drs. Meng and Christodoulatos are exemplars in their field in developing environmental solutions that have the potential to improve the lives of people across the globe. This is a true illustration of a Technogenesis outcome."

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About Stevens Institute of Technology

Established in 1870, Stevens offers baccalaureate, masters and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science, management and technology management, as well as a baccalaureate in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. Located directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan, the university has enrollments of approximately 1,780 undergraduates and 2,700 graduate students, and a current enrollment of 2,250 online-learning students worldwide. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.Stevens.edu. For the latest news about Stevens, please visit www.StevensNewsService.com.


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