Biosensor expert Woo Jin Chang, associate professor, mechanical engineering, and Ihnjea Choi were awarded a $25,000 UWM Research Foundation Bridge Grant for their startup company, Septillionth Inc. Choi is the company’s CEO.
The grant will support Septillionth’s move from the lab to commercialization.
Chang and Choi are developing a portable lead detector for on-site testing of water in wells, homes and water-treatment facilities. The sensors, Chang says, will be affordable and feature digital read-outs that a user can easily interpret.
Chang has been developing portable sensing systems that instantly detect low levels of contaminants in drinking water, ground water and surface water. These low-cost detectors use a single drop of water to detect one or more heavy metals—including cadmium, mercury, chromium, and copper.
Bridge Grants provide “gap” funding to startups that have progressed past the government-funded basic research stage and are moving toward commercialization. Funding comes from a matching grant to UWM by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.