The discoveries – each of them unrelated – will be presented at the 2015 TechConnect World Innovation Conference in Washington, D.C., from June 14-17. The annual event is designed to accelerate the commercialization of innovations out of the lab and into industry, and draws some of the brightest and most innovative researchers, funding agencies, national labs, international research organizations, universities, investors and corporate partners.

The ����ֱ�� discoveries are among the top 20 percent of submittals selected to receive TechConnect Innovation Awards. The technologies include:

Another member of the UCF faculty, Jayan Thomas, will speak at the conference. Thomas, an assistant professor with the NanoScience Technology Center, the College of Optics and Photonics and the , was a finalist for a prestigious 2014 World Technology Network Award for his research on cables that can store and transmit energy.

UCF researchers at the began work on the breakthrough technology, a color-changing tape to visually detect hydrogen leaks, under a grant from NASA’s Glenn Research Center. Use of hydrogen as industrial feedstock in the chemical industry and fuel for space exploration carries the risk of a destructive accident if a hydrogen leak — able to burn at more than 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit when ignited with as little as a static spark — isn’t pinpointed and fixed quickly.

Potentially dangerous leaks in environments like a shuttle launch pad are hard to detect because hydrogen is odorless and colorless. By wrapping leak-susceptible areas with the new tape, leaks can be “seen” with a color change in the presence of hydrogen.

The color-changing concept for a visual cue was conceived by UCF’s Ali Raissi, Ph.D., who developed a chemochromic pigment (a type of pigment that changes color in the presence of a particular chemical) with a team of scientists including Nahid Mohajeri, Ph.D., who would later bring the invention to market.

The UCF team sent its original tape and pigment to NASA engineers who tested it for use on the launch pad, and incorporated the pigment into other materials including textiles used to make space suits.

The invention’s novelty is backed by four issued patents and five pending patent applications, including international applications. The university’s Office of Technology Transfer protects innovations developed by faculty and students by filing for patents that are ‘transferred’ to companies through licenses, thus bringing new products to market and attracting more funding to UCF.

UCF and NASA filed patents separately on aspects of the technology and signed an agreement to bundle and jointly commercialize the technology. This is a significant step toward making it available to the gamut of industries where hydrogen leaks pose a threat, including aerospace, power generation, and energy storage.

Searching for a partner to commercialize the technology, UCF found a match with Mohajeri, a member of the original research team, who founded HySense Technology and introduced the award-winning hydrogen detection tape to the market. On November 7, UCF, NASA Kennedy, and HySense will be recognized internationally at the R&D 100 banquet and award presentation held at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

HySense Technology, founded by UCF Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) researcher Nahid Mohajeri, produces and markets an intelligent tape that changes color in the presence of hydrogen and other gases.

“This is real validation, just the fact that people, the judges, believe in us,” Mohajeri said.

Mohajeri worked with the research team led by Ali Raissi at FSEC that developed the technology to detect hydrogen leaks wherever hydrogen is stored, transported, or transferred as part of a $20 million grant from NASA’s Glenn Research Center. Her company later licensed the technology from UCF.

HySense is marketing a specialty beige tape that turns black when hydrogen is detected. It can be wrapped around or attached to surfaces where gas might leak. Mohajeri has five customers so far, and is aiming for $90,000 total revenue this year.

“To have an awards program like this in Central Florida is huge,” Mohajeri added. “As scientists, we are very much aware that low wages are an issue in the region. But these awards can bring more high-paying jobs here. When people see that we have this level of support that makes a difference.”

The CAT5 competition is hosted by Space Florida and UCF. It showcases tech companies in the Southeast and attracts venture funding for entrepreneurs.

“The CAT5 awards support the idea that technology businesses are a key component to the enhancement of Florida’s future innovation and economic growth.” said Tom O’Neal, associate vice president of research & commercialization at UCF. “HySense is a clear example of such as success story.”

Visit for more information.