Boise State University

Buck Watia to Lead Commercialization of Proprietary DNA Data Storage Technology that Promises to Transform How Customers Manage, Secure and Store Data SAN DIEGO, July 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Iridia™ Inc., a pioneer in the field of DNA-based data storage, is excited to welcome Buck Watia as the Vice President of Corporate Development. This newly established role is a strategic addition to the leadership team as Iridia looks to solve critical challenges for partners and customers with its innovative DNA data storage technology. Buck brings deep expertise in collaborating with customers to address their mission-critical, unmet needs while working closely with product teams and partners to conceive and deliver solutions that drive growth. With a demonstrated history of accelerating tech startups to success and launching impactful ventures within leading software, infrastructure, and Cloud companies, Buck is poised to drive significant transformation at Iridia. “We have been laser focused on developing our DNA data storage platform and have made significant advances in our proprietary technology over the past year. The company is now ready to commercialize those advances and pursue strategic alliances,” said Murali K. Prahalad, Ph.D., President and CEO of Iridia. “I am excited to welcome Buck to our team at this significant juncture. His deep expertise in transformative product development, team building, and strategic partnerships will enable us to capitalize on our progress and deliver commercially viable solutions to address the rapidly expanding, critical data storage problem.” Iridia’s unique and patented method of data storage integrates semiconductor and nanofluidic technology with a disruptive enzyme-based chemistry to add DNA-based bits representing “0s” and “1s” in a programmable fashion. This offers the potential to add orders of magnitude more storage capacity compared to current archival technologies such as magnetic tape and hard drives paving the way for commercially viable DNA based data storage solutions. "As the need for secure and sustainable data storage intensifies, the approach adopted by Iridia shifts from simply being attractive to being fundamentally necessary. We're at a pivotal stage where next-gen strategies have become key in harnessing the boundless potential of data, both now and in the future. Humanity’s current methods aren't sustainable economically, technically, or environmentally. Data preservation isn't just a tech challenge; it's potentially a requisite step to achieve the full potential of new technologies such as AI," said Buck Watia. "I am excited to join the dynamic team at Iridia. We're focused on developing applications to meet customer needs, catalyzing opportunities for our partners and collectively redefining the data storage industry." Buck has focused his career on building the perspective, experiences and relationships needed to bring new ideas to market and scale them for exponential growth. He has developed teams, processes, strategy, and culture to help several startups transform their respective industries. With a versatile background leading teams in sales, marketing, business development, product, and partnerships, Buck has consistently demonstrated his ability to help start-ups become market leaders. Before joining Iridia, Buck held a key role as the Head of Strategy & Growth at Microsoft, within the Security, Cloud & AI business. He led the business and corporate development functions at CyberX, guiding it towards a strategic acquisition by Microsoft in 2020. At Rapid7, Buck's efforts significantly influenced the company's growth trajectory, propelling it through an expansion phase and towards a successful IPO. In earlier roles, Buck developed his go-to-market expertise at ArcSight and iDEFENSE, acquired by HP and VeriSign, respectively. Buck received his Bachelor of Business Administration at Boise State University and completed Executive Programs at both Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan School of Management. About Iridia, Inc. Headquartered in Carlsbad, CA, Iridia™ Inc. strategically combines proprietary enzymology and semiconductor technology to revolutionize long-term data storage. By leveraging DNA, nature’s perfected data storage system, the company is developing a durable, decodable, and ultra-high-density mode of data storage, that significantly reduces the infrastructure requirements and environmental impact compared to current approaches. Iridia’s proprietary technology platform is the world’s first affordable, integrated data storage solution that integrates molecular biology, biochemistry and semiconductor technology to write, store, and read data in the form of DNA. For more information, please visit . Media Contact Joleen Schultz 760-271-8150 joleen@joleenschultzassociates.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at Buck Watia, VP, Corporate Development Buck Watia to Lead Commercialization of Proprietary DNA Data Storage Technology that Promises to Transform How Customers Manage, Secure and Store Data

A new soft robotic glove is lending a 'hand' and providing hope to piano players who have suffered a disabling stroke or other neurotrauma. Combining flexible tactile sensors, soft actuators and AI, this robotic glove is the first to 'feel' the difference between correct and incorrect versions of the same song and to combine these features into a single hand exoskeleton. Unlike prior exoskeletons, this new technology provides precise force and guidance in recovering the fine finger movements required for piano playing and other complex tasks. For people who have suffered neurotrauma such as a stroke, everyday tasks can be extremely challenging because of decreased coordination and strength in one or both upper limbs. These problems have spurred the development of robotic devices to help enhance their abilities. However, the rigid nature of these assistive devices can be problematic, especially for more complex tasks like playing a musical instrument. A first-of-its-kind robotic glove is lending a "hand" and providing hope to piano players who have suffered a disabling stroke. Developed by researchers from Florida Atlantic University's College of Engineering and Computer Science, the soft robotic hand exoskeleton uses artificial intelligence to improve hand dexterity. Combining flexible tactile sensors, soft actuators and AI, this robotic glove is the first to "feel" the difference between correct and incorrect versions of the same song and to combine these features into a single hand exoskeleton. "Playing the piano requires complex and highly skilled movements, and relearning tasks involves the restoration and retraining of specific movements or skills," said Erik Engeberg, Ph.D., senior author, a professor in FAU's Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering within the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and a member of the FAU Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences and the FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute. "Our robotic glove is composed of soft, flexible materials and sensors that provide gentle support and assistance to individuals to relearn and regain their motor abilities." Researchers integrated special sensor arrays into each fingertip of the robotic glove. Unlike prior exoskeletons, this new technology provides precise force and guidance in recovering the fine finger movements required for piano playing. By monitoring and responding to users' movements, the robotic glove offers real-time feedback and adjustments, making it easier for them to grasp the correct movement techniques. To demonstrate the robotic glove's capabilities, researchers programmed it to feel the difference between correct and incorrect versions of the well-known tune, "Mary Had a Little Lamb," played on the piano. To introduce variations in the performance, they created a pool of 12 different types of errors that could occur at the beginning or end of a note, or due to timing errors that were either premature or delayed, and that persisted for 0.1, 0.2 or 0.3 seconds. Ten different song variations consisted of three groups of three variations each, plus the correct song played with no errors. To classify the song variations, Random Forest (RF), K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) algorithms were trained with data from the tactile sensors in the fingertips. Feeling the differences between correct and incorrect versions of the song was done with the robotic glove independently and while worn by a person. The accuracy of these algorithms was compared to classify the correct and incorrect song variations with and without the human subject. Results of the study, published in the journal Frontiers in Robotics and AI, demonstrated that the ANN algorithm had the highest classification accuracy of 97.13 percent with the human subject and 94.60 percent without the human subject. The algorithm successfully determined the percentage error of a certain song as well as identified key presses that were out of time. These findings highlight the potential of the smart robotic glove to aid individuals who are disabled to relearn dexterous tasks like playing musical instruments. Researchers designed the robotic glove using 3D printed polyvinyl acid stents and hydrogel casting to integrate five actuators into a single wearable device that conforms to the user's hand. The fabrication process is new, and the form factor could be customized to the unique anatomy of individual patients with the use of 3D scanning technology or CT scans. "Our design is significantly simpler than most designs as all the actuators and sensors are combined into a single molding process," said Engeberg. "Importantly, although this study's application was for playing a song, the approach could be applied to myriad tasks of daily life and the device could facilitate intricate rehabilitation programs customized for each patient." Clinicians could use the data to develop personalized action plans to pinpoint patient weaknesses, which may present themselves as sections of the song that are consistently played erroneously and can be used to determine which motor functions require improvement. As patients progress, more challenging songs could be prescribed by the rehabilitation team in a game-like progression to provide a customizable path to improvement. "The technology developed by professor Engeberg and the research team is truly a gamechanger for individuals with neuromuscular disorders and reduced limb functionality," said Stella Batalama, Ph.D., dean of the FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science. "Although other soft robotic actuators have been used to play the piano; our robotic glove is the only one that has demonstrated the capability to 'feel' the difference between correct and incorrect versions of the same song." Study co-authors are Maohua Lin, first author and a Ph.D. student; Rudy Paul, a graduate student; and Moaed Abd, Ph.D., a recent graduate; all from the FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science; James Jones, Boise State University; Darryl Dieujuste, a graduate research assistant, FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science; and Harvey Chim, M.D., a professor in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Florida. This research was supported by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute of Aging of the NIH and the National Science Foundation. This research was supported in part by a seed grant from the FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science and the FAU Institute for Sensing and Embedded Network Systems Engineering (I-SENSE).

College Football Mental Health Week kicks off October 1 week of education & action NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hilinski's Hope Foundation (H3H), founded by Mark and Kym Hilinski to honor the legacy of their son Tyler, today announced that 115+ schools around the country will be participating in the third annual College Football Mental Health Week. The week will focus on a series of mental health initiatives, beginning October 1, which will honor Tyler, those lost, and those suffering, and will culminate on October 8. Continue Reading Hilinski's Hope College Football Mental Health Week 2022 "We are incredibly honored that over 115 schools nationwide will be participating in this year's mental health week to fight stigma and increase resources on campuses," said Kym Hilinski, co-founder of Hilinski's Hope. "While conversations around mental illness can be tough and at times uncomfortable, it is absolutely critical for the well-being of our student athletes. We have spoken on dozens of campuses to help encourage these conversations and share Tyler's story. We miss Tyler every day, but we are grateful to know that what we are doing is making a difference and that he would be proud of us." Coaches and players nationwide have come together to eliminate the stigma and increase mental health resources at their universities and colleges. This week they'll participate in breaking down stigma, offering quality resources, and letting student athletes know that they care. "The health and wellbeing of our players has always been one of our top priorities at The University of Alabama," Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban said. "We are proud to partner with Hilinski's Hope as they strive to provide practical tools to student-athletes across the country. Together, our goal is to positively affect the way mental health is viewed and treated in college athletics. Our hope is that every institution will join us in working to provide the best mental care for all student-athletes." "Talking about your mental health takes guts," said Ryan Hilinski, QB of Northwestern University and Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team member. "It shows strength to be vulnerable, but that is what is needed to be real with your teammates, coaches, and family. I'm proud of my family for creating College Football Mental Health Week to help all student athletes to know that they are not alone." Participating schools have committed to at least one of the following during the week: showcasing a lime green ribbon on all players helmets with a "3" in the middle to honor Tyler Hilinski and remember those lost and those suffering in silence; encouraging students, parents, alumni, and fans to participate in showing solidarity, eliminating stigma around mental health by holding three fingers in the sky during the first play of the third quarter; playing a Hilinski's Hope PSA at the CMHW games; participating in Hilinski's Hope's: Online Mental Health Course to help reduce the stigma of seeking help for mental health concerns, and provides a new way of thinking about mental health; participating in a social media campaign; participating in an internal assessment to evaluate how universities are following best practices in terms of mental health programs and include talks and trainings on campus for players, coaches, and staff. Hilinski's Hope would like to say a special thank you to our lead sponsor Amwell® and additional supporters Christie Campus Health, Lombardi Wines, Beacon Health, and Stockham Construction for helping us make College Football Mental Health Week possible. To learn more and/or get involved with Hilinski's Hope Foundation please visit . To date schools from around the country are participating including: Arizona State University Auburn University Baylor University Bemidji State University Benedict College Berry College Boise State University Boston College Brigham Young University Brookdale Community College California Baptist University (WAC) California State University, Bakersfield (WAC) Carroll College Central College Chicago State University (WAC) Claremont Mudd Scripps Colleges Clemson University Concordia University Chicago Cornell University Davidson College Drake University Duquesne University Eastern Washington University Florida Atlantic University Florida State University Gardner-Webb University George Fox University George Mason University Georgetown University Georgia Southern University Grand Canyon University (WAC) Henderson State University Idaho State University Illinois State University Indiana University James Madison University Kansas State University Lamar University Lehigh University Liberty University Louisiana State University Louisiana Tech University Marist College Mercyhurst University Middlebury College Mississippi College Mississippi State University Missouri State University Mt San Antonio College New Mexico State University (WAC) North Carolina State University North Dakota State University North Greenville University Northern Arizona University Northwestern University Oklahoma State University Oregon State University Pacific Lutheran University Pomona-Pitzer Colleges Sacramento State University Saint Xavier University Seattle University (WAC) Southern Methodist University Southern University and A&M College Stanford University Stetson University Stevenson University Stony Brook University Tarleton State University Texas A&M University Texas Tech University Thiel College Tufts University Football University at Buffalo University of Akron University of Alabama University of Arizona University of Arkansas University of California, Berkeley University of California, Santa Barbara University of Colorado, Boulder University of Dayton University of Delaware University of Detroit, Mercy University of Georgia University of Hawaii University of Kansas University of Massachusetts - Amherst University of Miami University of Mississippi University of Missouri University of Missouri-Kansas City (WAC) University of Montana Western University of Nevada, Las Vegas University of Nevada, Reno University of North Carolina, Greensboro University of North Texas University of Redlands University of Richmond University of San Diego University of South Carolina University of South Carolina, Beaufort University of South Dakota University of South Florida University of Southern California University of Tennessee Knoxville University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (WAC) University of Tulsa University of Utah University of Washington University of Wyoming Utah State University Utah Valley University (WAC) Vanderbilt University Washington State University West Virginia University Western Carolina University Whitworth University William Penn University About Hilinski's Hope: H3H helps colleges and universities save lives, eliminate stigma, and scale mental wellness programs for student athletes. H3H does this by sharing Tyler's story, connecting students with mental health resources, and assisting universities to institutionalize best practices. To learn more about H3H please visit SOURCE Hilinski's Hope Foundation