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Chicago Intellectual Property Alliance Attorneys and Law Students Participate for the Seventh Year in Science Fair
Friday, March 19, 2010
Chicago, IL -- For the seventh straight year, the Chicago Intellectual Property Alliance (CIPA) is sponsoring awards for the "Most Inventive" projects at the Chicago Student Science Fair. Today at the Museum of Science and Industry, attorneys and law students will volunteer to judge the projects on behalf of CIPA. Volunteers are drawn from the corporations, law schools, and law firms that are founders or associates of CIPA.
CIPA promotes innovation in Chicago and the Midwest, including intellectual property programs and education. CIPA’s continuing participation in the Chicago Student Science Fair is one of the commitments to this goal. Approximately twenty-five law students and attorneys will attend the Science Fair on behalf of CIPA, where they have the opportunity to meet Chicago high school students and to share insights about innovation and intellectual property.
"It is always a great experience for the lawyers and students who volunteer as judges," says Sarah Kofflin, a partner at McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd. Sarah is co-chair of CIPA’s Science Fair committee and has volunteered as a judge in each of the last six years. "Year after year, I am amazed by these bright high school students and their excellent science projects."
It is always challenging for CIPA to select its winners from the many excellent projects. However the challenge is made easier by the wonderful turnout of volunteer judges. "CIPA matches the technical expertise and interest of law students and attorneys to the categories of the Science Fair. By fielding a large number of judges with an aptitude for science and technology, CIPA is able to look at all of the projects at the Science Fair and find those that best fit our awards criteria," explains Steven G. Parmelee, Science Fair Committee co-chair and intellectual property attorney with Fitch, Even Tabin & Flannery.
In addition to the cash prizes, the first place winner also receives assistance with a patent application for his or her project if it appears to meet the criteria of patentability. CIPA’s 2009 winner, Dekonti Davies of Lane Tech, is applying for a patent with CIPA’s assistance on the nanocrystalline dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) that she developed for her project. These solar cells are made from titanium dioxide and fruit dyes rather than the standard silicon ones. Ms. Davies examined new dyes made from blackberries and mulberries as compared with the previously known dyes made from red berries. She discovered that the nanocrystalline dye-sensitized solar cells utilizing her new dyes were able to produce more power than those previously used.
In making its awards for the "Most Inventive" projects, CIPA looks for projects that demonstrate a new, practical application of technology. CIPA also hopes to provide the high school students with some basic information about intellectual property, by providing an educational bulletin to all the students participating in the science fair. The bulletin provides answers to frequently asked questions about patents and intellectual property and also points the reader to a variety of other resources for those seeking more information. This is in keeping with CIPA’s mission to promote Chicago as a vibrant center for the development and management of intellectual property, serving to link and assist organizations, companies, schools and individuals that share an interest in innovation and intellectual property.
The Chicago Intellectual Property Alliance is a nonprofit corporation of businesses, attorneys, educators and law schools, and individuals that promotes Chicago as a dynamic center for intellectual property business, law, and education.
For more information about CIPA, please contact Michael Harlin, CIPA president and a McAndrews, Held & Malloy shareholder, at 312-775-8202 (mharlin@mcandrews-ip.com), or visit the web site www.chicagoIPalliance.com.
For more information about CIPA participation in the Chicago Student Science Fair, please contact Mr. Steven G. Parmelee at 312-577-7000, or Ms. Sarah Kofflin at 312-775-8213, or visit the web site Science Fair page at www.chicagoIPalliance.com/sciencefair.html.
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