| | | | Welcome to the first edition of the UniQuest newsletter for 2024 - a collaborative initiative of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation) and UniQuest, The University of Queensland's commercialisation company.
We are kicking-off the first quarter with a feature on a solar panel monitoring technology developed by researchers at UQ. The platform has been spun-out into a new company called SolarisAI. You can read all about Associate Professor Rahul Sharma's exciting technology and its potential to shake up the renewables sector below.
Already we have showcased in Europe and the US ground-breaking technology from UQ and UniQuest's small molecule drug discovery and development facility, the Queensland Emory Drug Discovery Initiative (QEDDI), to leverage potential commercialisation opportunities.
And, as in previous years, we will host our ever-popular Research Commercialisation Workshops for UQ researchers and postgraduate students, with the first to be held on 20 and 21 May. You can register your interest here. | | |
Professor Mark Blows
Deputy Vice-Chancellor
(Research & Innovation) | | | Dr Dean Moss
CEO, UniQuest Pty Ltd | | | Newsletter in Brief - SolarisAI: New UQ spinout drives big returns for solar farm operators.
- Spanish conquest: UniQuest attends Barcelona biotech event.
- Future forward: Health and medical opportunities for UQ researchers,
clinicians.
- AUTM: UniQuest talks all things tech transfer in San Diego.
- Welcome: Andrew Morgan joins the UniQuest Board.
- Who Are We: Meet UniQuest's Andrew Miller.
| | | | | |
UQ spinout SolarisAI founder Associate Professor Rahul Sharma, Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr Gayan Lankeshwara, Manager - AI & Data Analytics Ajay Hemanth and COO Derek Stephens. | | |
UQ spinout SolarisAI to drive big returns for solar
farms
Faulty and underperforming solar panels cost Australian solar farms $400 million a year, but the problem panels are hard to detect in a sea of thousands.Associate Professor Rahul Sharma and his team from UQ's School of
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science have developed technology that provides real-time fault detection, location and identification, and could reduce those losses by half.
Spun-out into the company SolarisAI with the help of UniQuest and Uniseed, the system uses machine learning algorithms to predict panel soiling for targeted cleaning and maintenance. | | |
UniQuest promotes UQ biotech offerings in BarcelonaUniQuest's unstoppable Business Development Manager - QEDDI, Laura Kearney, attended the Bio-Europe Spring in Barcelona during February.
Here she showcased UQ programs from the Queensland Emory Drug Discovery Initiative (QEDDI), UniQuest's small molecule drug discovery pipeline, as well as UQ's extensive research capabilities. "One thing that stood out was the global admiration for Australian science," Ms Kearney said. "Our reputation precedes us, speaking volumes about the calibre of research conducted by Australian universities and research institutes."
You can learn more about QEDDI's suite of offerings here. | | |
Translation and Commercialisation Skills Gap (TACSG) seminar series UQ researchers working in the area of human health translation are encouraged to consider joining the following seminar series, which is being delivered by UniQuest's strategic venture capital partner Brandon BioCatalyst, in conjunction with the Queensland Government.
- Tuesday 23 April 2024 Translating research to the clinic: preparing for and completing clinical development activities, including regulatory aspects and designing and conducting clinical trials.
- Tuesday 7 May 2024 Company formation, fundraising and partnering.
| | | Both seminars will be delivered at the Translational Research Institute. Time and room details will be made available upon registering your interest at Biomedical@dsdilgp.qld.gov.au
NHMRC Development Grants
The UniQuest team is able to provide market data and review Commercialisation Business Case drafts for NHMRC Development
Grants (due 12 June 2024).
UQ researchers should contact UniQuest (preferably by 30 April 2024) to discuss their potential application well in advance of UQ's internal deadline.
Any questions please contact Craig Belcher, Head of Life Sciences. | | | | | UniQuest contingent hits AUTM in San DiegoKey staff attended the annual AUTM conference in the US in February to collaborate on all things technology transfer with like-minded research commercialisation groups from across the world.
Attendees included
CEO Dr Dean Moss, Director, Commercialisation - Physical Sciences Dr Peter
Baines, Associate, Commercialisation - Life Sciences Beshara Sheehan, and Senior Manager, Corporate Marketing and Communications Nicole Cowan.
The team look forward to bringing the industry trends and ideas from across the world to their work with University of Queensland researchers and the Australian sector. | | | | | Leading investment advisor joins UniQuest BoardUniQuest appointed experienced
corporate advisor, Andrew Morgan, to its board of directors in December.
Mr Morgan has more than 27 years' experience in investment banking and private equity, gained in various roles in Australia and the UK.
In 2009, Mr Morgan established Catapult Partners, providing corporate advisory services, investor relations and propriety investment. Catapult recently entered an exclusive partnership with BTIG, a global investment bank, to leverage its platform and coverage.
The announcement was published in The Courier-Mail. Read more here.
| | | | Commercialisation and Business Development Manager - Resources Technology and Critical Minerals (RTCM Trailblazer). Andrew has more than 20 years' experience with innovation in project-based engineering and holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Engineering (Innovation Implementation) from the University of
Queensland. He has been a leader of commercial innovation as both an intrapreneur for large corporates, as an entrepreneur in founding and co-founding startups, and as a multi-disciplinary commercialisation facilitator.
Andrew's professional pursuits have sought to combine the science of innovation with entrepreneurism. In 2012-13, he identified and brought about the commercialisation of the robotic technology behind the start-up SmartReo for the Australian and New Zealand construction industries. In 2015, he co-founded lift operations company Verton and laid the foundation for its patented load-orientation technology. Between 2020 and July, 2023, Andrew assisted more than 190 companies through the Australian Government's Accelerating Commercialisation grant program.
Andrew joined UniQuest in November last year, with a focus on commercialising UQ research from the
mining and minerals sector, in linkage with the Federal Government's Tralblazer University Program.
Away from work, Andrew enjoys an active social life and is a firm believer in the rejuvenating benefits of the long weekend to help strike a balance between work and family life.
"I am blessed with an amazing family of four and we love to go camping, fishing and visiting friends who live near the beach," he said.
"I'm very lucky to take a couple of special weekends away with my friends every year - and I credit these annual getaways with keeping me young!"
If you have a question about commercialising your research in the minerals or mining sector, or finding an off-the-beaten-track camping spot, contact Andrew. | | | | | UniQuest acknowledges the Traditional Owners and their custodianship of the lands on which The University of Queensland and UniQuest are situated.
We pay our respects to their Ancestors and their descendants, who continue cultural and spiritual connections to Country. We recognise their valuable contributions to Australian and global society. | | |
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