Department of Chemistry

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The University of California, Riverside has granted an exclusive license to The Idea Zoo, Inc., to commercialize nanotechnology research developed in the lab of Yadong Yin, an associate professor of chemistry.

The Idea Zoo, a leading developer and licensor of advanced materials and technologies headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., was granted exclusive rights to seven patents that cover various aspects of advanced superparamagnetic colloidal nanocrystals (CNCs).

Specifically, the patents focus on magnetically tunable photonic crystals and the ability to commercialize them.

“UCR’s Office of Technology Commercialization is excited to have The Idea Zoo as the exclusive licensee of the CNC technology,” said Michael Arciero, a senior licensing officer at UCR. “We look forward to working with the company’s experienced management team as they further develop this technology to meet the needs of industry.”

The Idea Zoo will undertake the development and commercialization of CNCs spanning several industries ranging from high-security applications to commercial applications for on-demand color-changing products. The agreement spans the life of the patents. UCR will receive royalties from products developed from these licensed technologies and will receive equity in The Idea Zoo, Inc.

“This is an exciting development that the Office of Technology Commercialization has made possible,” Yin said. “It demonstrates that the research we did on nanostructured materials in the past few years is not only scientifically interesting but also commercially valuable.”

UCR’s Office of Technology Commercialization facilitates the development, protection and commercialization of UCR’s campus research and intellectual property.  It assists in the disclosure, development, and legal protection of campus researchers’ inventions and encourages further technical innovations. The office provides information and counseling for UCR faculty and staff on all aspects of intellectual property arising from their research activities, consulting relationships and industrial collaborators.