The worldwide Association of University Technology Managers selected UCF’s Technology Transfer Office for the inaugural Better World Project Award for its role in bringing a new water cleaning technology to the world market.
Researchers at UCF’s Stormwater Management Academy invented Bold & Gold, a water-filtration media that removes pollutants from stormwater, wastewater and agricultural applications. Made from natural and recycled materials including sand, clay, tire chips and compost, the product is an eco-friendly biosorption technology that is effective and affordable. Studies show the material is effective at removing up to 75 percent of nitrogen, 95 percent of phosphorus and other pollutants found in septic water, which helps reduce algae blooms, keep ground water clean and prolong the life of septic systems.
Technology Transfer Office’s mission is to bring discoveries to the marketplace through intellectual property protection, marketing and licensing processes and connecting UCF researchers with companies and entrepreneurs to transform innovative ideas into successful products. The office worked with inventors to patent and trademark the filtration media.
The award recognizes the efforts made by those who “support a better world through the commercialization of academic research.” UCF’s submission was selected from a field of 40 entries from around the world.
Technology Transfer director Svetlana Shtrom says the success of this project is attributed to the collaboration between the university inventors, Martin Wanielista and Ni-Bin Chang, and Environmental Conservation Solutions, a Central Florida startup company that manufactures the product. ECS found a variety of applications for the filtration media, including green roofs, site septic systems, stormwater retention or detention ponds, silviculture, agriculture, geothermal discharge and aquaculture.
“We recognize that technology transfer plays a small but critical role in making our world a better place now and for generations to come,” Shtrom says. “I’m so proud of the work my team does and how we can all work together to make an impact.”
