NEWS
& EVENTS

April 07, 2009

Contact: Amy Hewes
College of Engineering
805-756-6402
ahewes@calpoly.edu

Cal Poly Engineering Inventions Receive Patents

Two inventions from the College of Engineering (CENG) received patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The separate projects, Field Water Purification System and the RFID Tagging of Reusable Plastic Containers, were each led by a CENG professor and team of students.

Tryg Lundquist, Civil and Environmental Engineering professor, invented the technology for the water purification system. It was designed for disaster relief zones when water accessibility and safety is critical. Three stages of the purification process are improved; transport, treatment and safe storage of water. One bag can treat enough water to supply a family of five for up to 10 days.

In fall 2008 Cal Poly graduate student Tricia Compas won a Clinton Global Initiative award for her work testing the effectiveness of the purification system. The award included a $14,500 grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation.

The Field Water Purification System is an efficient alternative to current bulky, heavy containers. "The advantage of this is it's compact and inexpensive so relief agencies can afford millions of these a year," says Lundquist. The bag will be useful for United States government agencies such as FEMA and the National Guard, as well as international relief organizations, Red Cross, UNICEF, USAID and CARE.

The other patent went to a project from CENG's Poly GAIT lab, where professors and students work to advance global automated identification technology. Tali Freed, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (IME) professor, invented the technology for the RFID Tagging of Reusable Plastic Containers. It identifies and tracks reusable plastic containers and their contents. It can trace food from grower, to distribution center, to the retail store. If food is contaminated, this technology makes it easy to find the source.

"Right now we have a problem of tracking vegetables. If it's picked in the field and there's a problem with it, they have to go back and destroy millions of acres or tons of vegetables because don't know where it came from," explains Larry Rinzel, IME lecturer. RFID tags will progress operations in the agriculture industry and improve food safety and quality for the consumer.

The Field Water Purification System and the RFID Tagging of Reusable Plastic Containers are the latest additions to Cal Poly's current portfolio of 11 patents.