Tag Archives: Geoffrey Ozin

Commercializing nanotechnology talk at Simon Fraser University in downtown Vancouver (Canada)

Leave a reply

Professor Geoffrey Ozin will be giving a free talk titled, Commercializing Nanotechnology: An Evening with Geoffrey Ozin from Opalux, at Simon Fraser University’s Segal Graduate School of Business, 500 Granville Street, Vancouver (Room 2800) from 5-6 pm PST on Monday, Oct. 22, 2012. From the event page,

You are cordially invited to hear Professor Geoffrey Ozin, co-founder of Opalux – a global leader in photonic colour technology research and development, speak about his experiences in advancing and commercializing nanomaterials and Opalux’s strategy in overcoming challenges to commercialize their photonic colour technology platform.

…

Professor Ozin, a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair and Distinguished University Professor at the University of Toronto, is considered to be the father of Nanochemistry. His career’s work, which include pioneering studies of new classes of nanomaterials, mesoporous materials, photonic crystals and most recently nanomachines, epitomizes how leading-edge research in Nanochemistry can be most effectively directed towards solving contemporary challenges in Nanotechnology and how these contributions have brought true benefit and well being to mankind.

… Professor Ozin co-founded Opalux Inc in 2006 to commercialize his inventions of photonic ink and elastic ink, two new and exciting photonic crystal technologies.

Opalux has been developing a platform of technologies using active polymer-based materials that can respond to an array of stimuli such as pressure, stretching, heat, humidity, and electrical current/voltage. By exploiting the many advantages of photonic color, Opalux has invented a new color display technology that stands apart with its unique combination of brightness, energy efficiency, form factor, customizability, and economy.

Opalux was mentioned here in my Jan. 31, 2011 posting. Given the current low rate of commercializing nanotechnology in Vancouver and BC, I imagine Ozin’s talk is causing some excitement. His company’s (Opalux) website is here.

ETA Oct. 18, 2012 10 am PST: I sent Dr. Ozin a few questions about himself and his talk. Here are the questions and answers (which arrived via Blackberry and less than 20 mins. after I sent the email):

  • What brings you to Vancouver? Were you specially invited by the Segal business school to talk about commercializing nanotechnology?

  Yes

  • Could you describe your business experience? (Is this the first time you’ve commercialized a technology?)

 Yes

  •  Can you offer a preview of what you’ll be talking about on Monday, Oct. 22, 2012?

Idea to Innovation
Lab to Market
Material to Manufacturing

Thank you Dr. Ozin for taking the time to answer and replying in such a speedy fashion.

Opalux, Inc., another Canadian company with an anti-counterfeiting strategy

8 Replies

On the heels (more or less) of my Jan. 17, 2011 posting about the Simon Fraser University-related start-up company, Nanotech Security, and its anti-counterfeiting technology based on the Morpho butterfly, I came across an article about a University of Toronto-related company, Oplaux, and its anti-counterfeiting technology which is based on opals and, again, the Morpho butterfly.  The Canada Foundation for Innovation article provides some details in the Fall/Winter 2009 issue of its Innovation Canada online magazine,

Inspired by the iridescent colours found in nature, such as butterfly wings, researchers at Opalux, a University of Toronto spin-off company, are recreating nature’s colours using nanotechnology. The “photonic colour” product that results can be switched on and off, offering applications in currency dyes and perishable food packaging. (p. 3)

The company is focused on more than anti-counterfeiting measures (as opposed to Nanotech Security) and food packaging, there’s also work being done on,

… a rechargeable battery whose changing surface colour indicates how much charge the battery currently holds and how much rechargeable life remains? (p. 3)

Opalux, derives its name and inspiration from opals (as well as, the Morpho butterfly mentioned previously). André Arsenault, one of Opalux’s co-founders and Chief Technology Officer, synthesized work from two researchers (Geoffrey Ozin and Ian Manners) at the University of Toronto to develop the notion of a ‘tunable and opal-like crystal’,

Ozin’s research involved the creation of synthetic nanostructures that, when exposed to light, mimic the visual qualities of an opal, the mineral renowned for its ability to appear as all colours of the rainbow. Manners was looking into producing artificial materials, particularly an iron-based polymer that could carry an electrical charge. For his thesis, Arsenault combined the two concepts to create a “tunable” opal-like crystal — a material in which you could control extremely rapid colour changes.

If you are interested in Opalux, the website is here. By contrast here’s a description of the work done by the researchers and nascent entrpreneurs at Simon Fraser University (SFU), from the Jan. 17, 2011 news release,

Imagine a hole so small that air can’t go through it, or a hole so small it can trap a single wavelength of light. Nanotech Security Corp., with the help of Simon Fraser University researchers, is using this type of nano-technology – 1,500 times thinner than a human hair and first of its kind in the world – to create unique anti-counterfeiting security features.

…

Landrock and Kaminska [Chris Landrock and Bozena Kaminska, SFU researchers) both continue their work as part of Nanotech’s scientific team. The company’s Nano-Optic Technology for Enhanced Security (NOtES) product stems from an idea originating in the purest form of nature – insects using colorful markings to identify themselves.

How this works is microscopic gratings composed of nanostructures interact with light to produce the shimmering iridescence seen on the Costa Rican morpho butterfly. The nanostructures act to reflect and refract light waves to produce the morpho’s signature blue wings and absorb other unwanted light.

There you have it, two different approaches to anti-counterfeiting and the beginnings of a possible case study about innovation in Canada.