UNH plant breeder and seed licenser J. Brent Loy (left) presents his namesake Innovator of the Year Award to research associate professor of ocean engineering Brian Calder, who's developed software innovations for ocean mapping. (Photo: Raya Al-Hashmi)
Brian Calder, research associate professor in ocean engineering and the associate director of UNH’s Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping (CCOM), was named Innovator of the Year at UNHInnovation’s annual Innovators’ Dinner last week. Calder was lauded for research that’s led to the development of several software innovations, including CUBE and CHRT, that process hydrographic data to make nautical charts more objective and faster.
In announcing Calder’s award, named after prolific UNH plant breeder and seed licenser J. Brent Loy, UNHI’s associate director Maria Emanuel celebrated the collaborative process that led to the success of CUBE and CHRT. “Brian develops relationships with a user community, learns first-hand about limitations and needs, and creates targeted, vetted solutions that can be adapted for various end-users around the globe,” she said.
The event, which celebrates UNH’s innovation ecosystem by recognizing innovators from across the university, was the largest since its inception in 2011. Marc Sedam, UNHI managing director and associate vice provost of innovation and new ventures, recognized the UNH community for its hard work, which resulted in 167 licenses, six patent applications and a record $844,000 in commercialization revenue in FY17.
Sedam also announced that UNH was recently awarded the designation as an Innovation and Economic Prosperity (IEP) University by the Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities (APLU), and he discussed the university’s plans to propose the creation of a research park on the edge of campus.
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Written By:
Beth Potier | UNH Marketing | beth.potier@unh.edu | 2-1566
