HOBOKEN, N.J. – Creative minds will be rewarded next month when the Stevens Institute of Technology hosts the 2009 Award winners of the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame.

The annual black tie banquet provides a wonderful opportunity to speak to and exchange ideas with inventors, entrepreneurs and researchers whose ideas and creativity have led to significant breakthroughs in all areas of life from rocket propulsion to HIV/AIDS research.

Awards will be presented by the NJIHoF Board of Trustees, the event will be held on October 22, 2009 in the Bissinger Room of the 13-story Howe Center offering a spectacular view of the Hudson River and the Manhattan skyline. The awards honor contributions from both the corporate world and from the halls of academia, along with private inventors.

Among those being honored this year include several from Stevens Institute of Technology.   Christos Christodoulatos, Ph.D., George P. Korfiatis, Ph.D. & Xiaoguang Meng, Ph.D. of Stevens will receive the Inventor of the Year Award, for their invention “Methods of Preparing a Surface-Activated Titanium Oxide Product for use in Water Treatment” which led to the formation of start-up company HydroGlobe.   This invention was in response to the compelling need to remove heavy metals from drinking water.

Also being recognized, Dipshikha Biswas, Ph.D. for her work with Advisor A.K. Ganguly, from the Department of Chemistry, Chemical Biology and Biomedical Engineering for “HIV Protease Inhibitors for Treatment of AIDS”.

This invention relates to the design and synthesis of a novel class of HIV protease inhibitor.  The intended use of these compounds will be for the treatment of AIDS, which has enormous implications around the world.

U.S. State Representative Rush Holt, Ph.D.  will be awarded the 2009 Trustees Award. Rep. Holt (D-NJ) is a former physics professor who for nearly a decade served as Assistant Director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and spent much of his career on inventive and innovative activities and programs.

The reception begins at 6:00 p.m. followed by a black tie dinner and awards ceremony that will commence at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets are $150 per person and may be reserved by contacting Sandra Furnbach of the Office of Academic Entrepreneurship at (201) 216 – 8186 or sfurnbac@stevens.edu. R.S.V.P. by October 14.

The New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame honors inventors, organizations, and others who have contributed to innovation in the Invention State.  The New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame promotes the role of invention in the state’s development and the role of inventors in improving society and changing our lives.

For more information, please contact:

Ms. Sandra Furnbach
Coordinator
Edwin A. Stevens Hall
Room 212
Phone: 201.216.8186
Fax: 201.216.8185
sfurnbac@stevens.edu