Jan 7 2010
Molecular Imprints, Inc., the technology leader for high-resolution, low cost-of-ownership nanopatterning systems and solutions in the hard disk drive (HDD) and semiconductor industries, and The University of Texas at Austin today announced that Dr. S.V. Sreenivasan (co-founder and chief technology officer of Molecular Imprints, and professor and Thornton Centennial Faculty Fellow in mechanical engineering at the university) is the recipient of the 2010 Edith and Peter O'Donnell Award in Technology Innovation.
The O'Donnell Award in Technology Innovation recognizes outstanding achievements by a Texas-based researcher whose work meets the highest standards of professional performance, creativity and resourcefulness. With the goal of positioning Texas as a national research leader, the Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST) selects O'Donnell Award winners in four categories: technology innovation, engineering, science and medicine. Recognized in the category of technology innovation for his work in developing imprint lithography as both a Texas university researcher and high-tech entrepreneur, Dr. Sreenivasan is an invited speaker at the 2010 annual TAMEST conference attended by many of the state's leading thinkers and researchers. The TAMEST conference is being held on January 7-8, 2010 in Austin.
"Dr. Sreenivasan is a deserving winner of the O'Donnell Award in Technology Innovation, as his work not only gave birth to an innovative technology that will enable the affordable manufacturing of incredibly small feature designs on leading-edge applications, but serves as an exemplary model for how Texas research institutions and the private sector can partner together," said Mark Melliar-Smith, CEO of Molecular Imprints. "Molecular Imprints, which is now a rapidly growing company, is a stellar example of commercial development based on university research."
Gregory L. Fenves, dean of the Cockrell School of Engineering, added, "We are delighted that Professor Sreenivasan has been recognized with this prestigious award. His pioneering work with Professor Grant Willson and their students at The University of Texas at Austin, coupled with venture capitalists and seasoned professionals from the private sector, have commercialized a new and innovative nanotechnology. The end result is that an idea, which began in a Texas university, has now become a growing company serving customers around the world."
Today, Molecular Imprints, located in Austin, employs over 145 people and is delivering pilot-production systems to leading manufacturers seeking to take advantage of its resolution and cost-of-ownership advantages for the future volume production of high-density memory devices. At Molecular Imprints, Dr. Sreenivasan has led interdisciplinary projects to create tools, masks, materials and processes to deploy imprint lithography for the semiconductor and hard disk drive industries, while also developing market opportunities in emerging biomedical and clean energy applications. In addition to his corporate leadership roles, Dr. Sreenivasan remains a professor of mechanical engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, where he is also a Thornton Centennial Faculty Fellow in Engineering. One of Texas' prominent technologists, he was named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2005, holds over 60 U.S. patents and is the recipient of several awards, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Leonardo da Vinci Machine Design Award.