Inside:

Digital camera blocker . . . 2 THE Loewy wins Guggenheim . 2

In Brief ...... 3 Campus Events ...... 4 WHISTLE FACULTY/STAFF N EWSPAPER Volume 31, Number 23 • July 17, 2006 T HE G EORGIA I NSTITUTE OF T ECHNOLOGY

Counterfeit anti-malarial drugs Governor takes a tour prompt call for crackdown

Jane Sanders Facundo Fernandez, an assistant pro- Research News fessor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and an author on the worsening epidemic of sophis- paper. ticated anti-malarial drug Malaria is a widespread interna- A counterfeiting in southeast tional problem, primarily in poor and Asia and Africa is increasing the likeli- developing countries in the tropics — hood of drug-resistant parasites, yield- though some cases have been report- ing false-positive results on screening ed in Florida. Transmitted by mosqui- tests and risking the lives of hun- toes, the disease infects 300 million dreds of thousands of malaria to 500 million people a year. Each patients, mostly children, researchers year, about 1.5 million of those — t l

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The situation has prompted an genuine anti-malarial drugs are quite R

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b international group of researchers to effective. One of the most efficacious

o t urge national and international drugs is artesunate, derived from the o h authorities to combat the problem Artemisia annua plant native to p with stringent regulations, law China. Vice Provost Charlie Liotta welcomed Governor Sonny Perdue, who came to enforcement and the provision of According to studies, the percent- campus last week to learn more about some of Georgia Tech’s alternative inexpensive medicines to undercut age of counterfeit tablets containing energy research. Meeting with members of the Strategic Energy Initiative, the counterfeiters. Based on their no artesunate apparently increased Perdue was briefed on the process for converting pine trees into ethanol, a own research and other scientists’ from 38 percent to 53 percent in naturally renewable resource that produces significantly less biohazardous studies, they outline the problem and southeast Asia between 1999 and waste than gasoline. make recommendations for address- 2004. In some countries, the majority ing it in a paper published last month of the available artesunate is fake. in the Public Library of Science jour- Meanwhile, identifying counterfeit nal PLoS Medicine. tablets has become increasingly diffi- “The manufacture and distribution cult as counterfeiters have imple- of counterfeit drugs is a massive mented sophisticated manufacturing Georgia Tech researcher international problem, and few agen- cies are investigating it,” said Drugs continued, page 3 advocates patent reform

Brad Dixon like Blackberry customers from losing College of Management the right to use disputed technologies Important information about the transition until patent-infringement cases have ost people probably don’t been adjudicated. As Congress con- to a new telephone system think much about patent- tinues patent-reform hearings, the M infringement issues. But mil- U.S. Supreme Court is also weighing ne of the major Office of building-by-building basis, there will lions of Blackberry users got a wake- in on patent issues. Recently ruling Information Technology (OIT) essentially be two telephone sys- up call earlier this year when a patent that injunctions against alleged patent Oprojects currently underway tems serving Georgia Tech. lawsuit nearly shut down their wire- infringers don’t have to be mandatory is the installation of a new tele- As a result, effective July 15, five- less communication services. Though and are at the discretion of lower phone system for Georgia Tech. This digit dialing will not work reliably the lawsuit was ultimately settled for courts, the justices will consider a effort, known as Transitioning between the old and new systems. $612 million, patent issues remain in case this fall that could set new stan- Telecommunications @ Tech (T3), Therefore, it will be necessary to the headlines and on the minds of dards for when an invention is too will provide the campus with a sus- dial nine plus the full 10 digits (area many people determined to fix the obvious to patent. tainable, feature-rich voice system code and telephone number) to reli- system. Part of the Patent Reform Act that will meet current and future ably reach another campus user. Stuart Graham, an assistant profes- would make it easier to challenge needs. Upon completion of the transition, sor in the College of Management, granted patents, which many experts The transition from the Georgia the campus will return to five-digit has conducted research for the feel are being awarded too easily for Technology Authority telephone dialing. National Academies of Science that simple concepts such as “one-click” service to the new service began General information about the T3 has helped serve as a catalyst for the online shopping, currently the focus this month and is expected to con- project, including contact informa- patent reform movement now gaining of an infringement suit against eBay. clude by the end of the year. OIT tion for the team and the prelimi- steam. “It’s long been a concern that the will be working with departmental nary schedule, may be obtained by “We’re at the forefront of getting only available mechanism available to telephone coordinators and facility visiting www.oit.gatech.edu/ this policy initiative into the policy challenge patents is the high-cost managers to coordinate the prepara- campus_initiatives or contacting arena,” he said. court system, where you have inex- tion and cutover actions and sched- the project office at 894-0497. Last year, Rep. Lamar Smith (R- pert judges and really inexpert juries ule. Since the campus will be con- Updates to the project and the Texas) introduced the Patent Reform schedule will be posted on this site. verted to the new system on a Act, which could protect end users Reform continued, page 3

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“QUOTE- Don’t shoot: new device blocks digital cameras Rick Robinson Research News

UNQUOTE” esearchers at Georgia Tech have completed a prototype R device that can block digital- “The people in the Homebrew camera function in a given area. Computing Club didn’t all aim to be Commercial versions of the technolo- Bill Gates. Nobody knew what was gy could be used to stymie unwanted going to happen. There was an use of video or still cameras. The prototype device, produced by interest in the technology as it first a team in the Interactive and became accessible to people who Intelligent Computing division of the didn’t work in big corporations.” Georgia Tech College of Computing, —Eugene Thacker, a professor in uses off-the-shelf equipment — cam- the School of Literature, Culture and era-mounted sensors, lighting equip- Communication, who is a member ment, a projector and a computer — of the Biotech Hobbyist collective, to scan for, find and neutralize digital which, like the famed 1970s com- cameras. puter club, is a forum for amateurs The system works by looking for to familiarize themselves with the the reflectivity and shape of the image-producing sensors used in digi- issues surrounding biotechnology. A Georgia Tech camera-neutralizing prototype could soon be used to stop movie piracy tal cameras. Gregory Abowd, an asso- (Wired News) and other forms of unwanted digital-camera photography. Shown here with the device ciate professor leading the project, are doctoral student Jay Summet and research technician James Clawson. says the new camera-neutralizing technology shows commercial prom- ise in two principal fields — protect- Retroreflections would probably make Camera neutralization’s potential ing limited areas against clandestine it relatively easy to detect and identi- has helped bring it under the wing of photography or stopping video copy- fy video cameras in a darkened the- VentureLab, a Georgia Tech group ing in larger areas such as theaters. ater. that assists fledgling companies “We’re at a point right now where The current prototype uses visible through the critical feasibility and the prototype we have developed light and two cameras to find CCDs, first-funding phases. Operating under could lead to products for markets but a future commercial system the name DominINC, Abowd’s com- that have a small, critical area to pro- might use invisible infrared lasers pany has already received a grant tect,” he said. “Then we’re also look- and photo-detecting transistors to from the Georgia Research Alliance. ing to do additional research that scan for contraband cameras. Once Abowd said that funding availabili- could increase the protected area for such a system found a suspicious ty will likely decide which technology one of our more interesting clients, spot, it would feed information on — small- or large-area — will be the motion picture industry.” the reflection’s properties to a com- developed first. James Clawson, a research techni- puter for a determination. There are some caveats, according cian on Abowd’s prototype team, said Once a scanning laser and pho- to Summet. Current camera-neutraliz- preventing movie copying could be a todetector located a video camera, ing technology may never work major application for camera-blocking the system would flash a thin beam against single-lens-reflex cameras, technology. of visible white light directly at the which use a folding-mirror viewing “Movie piracy is a $3 billion-a-year CCD. This beam — possibly a laser in system that effectively masks its CCD problem,” Clawson said. “If someone a commercial version — would over- except when a photo is actually being videotapes a movie in a theater and whelm the target camera with light, taken. Moreover, anti-digital tech- THE then puts it up on the Web, the rendering recorded video unusable. niques don’t work on conventional WHISTLE movie industry has lost revenue.” Researchers say that energy levels film cameras because they have no Moreover, movie theaters are likely used to neutralize cameras would be image sensor. to be a good setting for camera- low enough to preclude any health Good computer analysis will be Editor: Michael Hageart y blocking technology, said Jay risks to the operator. the heart of effective camera block- Summet, a research assistant who is Still camera neutralization in small ing, Summet believes. Published by Institute areas also shows near-term commer- “Most of the major work that we Communications and Public Affairs. also working on the prototype. A camera’s image sensor — called a cial promise, Abowd said. Despite have left involves algorithmic devel- Publication is weekly throughout CCD — is “retroreflective,” which ambient light levels far higher than in opment,” he said. “False positives will the academic year and biweekly means it sends light back directly to a theater, still cameras at a trade be eliminated by making a system throughout the summer. its origin rather than scattering it. show or mall are easy to detect. with fast, efficient computing.”

Archived issues of The Whistle can be accessed electronically through the Georgia Tech Web page, or directly at www.whistle.gatech.edu. Robert Loewy awarded Guggenheim Medal Calendar submissions e-mailed to [email protected], Megan McRainey names in aerospace: Jerome or faxed to 404-894-7214 must be Institute Communications Hunsaker, Donald Douglas, Charles sent at least 10 day s prior to desired publication date. Classified submis- and Public Affairs Lindbergh, , Glen Martin sions are on a first come, first serve and William Boeing. basis. For more information, call 404- obert Loewy, the William R. T. Loewy has served as chair of the 894-8324. Oakes professor and chair of School of Aerospace Engineering Loewy has led the R the School of Aerospace since 1993. Prior to that, he was a School of Aerospace Institute Communications Engineering, has received one of the professor and director of the Engineering since and Public Affairs most prestigious awards in aeronau- Rotorcraft Technology Center at 1993. Wardlaw Center tics — the Daniel Guggenheim Medal. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 177 North Avenue The Daniel Guggenheim Medal was His current research interests Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 established in 1929 for the purpose include structural dynam- The Guggenheim Medal is jointly sponsored by the American Institute Georgia Tech is a unit of the of honoring persons who make ics and ; turbine engine University System of Georgia. notable achievements in the advance- aeroelasticity and dynamics; compos- of and Astronautics ments of aeronautics. Its first recipi- ite structures for aircraft and space- (AIAA), American Society of ent was aviation pioneer Orville craft; structural dynamics of large Mechanical Engineering (ASME), Wright. Over the years, recipients satellites; unsteady aerodynamics; American Helicopter Society (AHS) have included some of the greatest and smart materials and structures. and Society of Automotive Engineers.

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Drugs, cont’d from page 1 IN BRIEF: and packaging strategies — including low, but ineffective, levels of the proper active ingredients Assistant Professor and applying counterfeit holograms to packaging — to deceive investigators and consumers. Facundo Fernandez Crew team wins Fernandez and his collaborators found that some and his collaborators are developing novel national championship counterfeit anti-malarial drugs contain up to 10 The Georgia Tech men’s varsity lightweight analytical chemistry milligrams of the active ingredient — compared to eight-plus crew have won a national champi- the 50 milligrams contained in genuine tablets. techniques to detect onship and the men’s heavyweight varsity four- Also, many fake artesunate tablets contain and quantify the con- plus finished second at the Dad Vail Regatta, other drugs, possibly because the counterfeiters tents of counterfeit collegiate rowing’s biggest event. are trying to further deceive patients and doctors anti-malarial drugs The lightweight eight-plus win punctuated a by producing a placebo effect, Fernandez said. and other fake phar- dominating season marred by only a narrow “For example, some of the counterfeit tablets we maceuticals. defeat to St. Joseph’s University in April. The analyzed contained acetaminophen that would Yellow Jackets trounced that same boat by near- reduce a fever, or the antibiotic erythromycin, or ly three seconds to win the championship — the even early-generation anti-malarials that are no “At this point, we believe there are probably first Tech eight to ever win gold at Dad Vail. longer effective.” multiple sources, but they may be using the same “I can’t really say we were shocked, we were “We make no apology for the use of the term distribution network,” Fernandez added. ecstatic,” said head coach Rob Canavan. “Last ‘manslaughter’ to describe this criminal lethal Since 2001, artemisinin derivative-based com- fall, we beat most of the Ivy League colleges trade,” the authors write. “Indeed, some might bination therapy (ACT) has increasingly become and won the silver medal at the Head of the call it murder. Somewhere people are directing a the first-line malaria treatment in Africa. Charles race in Boston so I knew we had some- highly technical and sophisticated criminal trade Authorities estimate that 130 million courses of thing special.” … in the full knowledge that their ineffective ACT will be used in Africa in 2006. The heavyweight varsity four-plus team ‘product’ may kill people who would otherwise “The high cost and shortage of ACT provide a swapped the lead several times over the 2,000- survive malaria infection.” favorable situation for the spread of fake meter course and lost by inches to the Serious implications exist for the relatively new artemisinins that could put the lives of thousands University of California. practice of incorporating ineffective levels of of African children at risk,” the authors write. “It More about the club is available at active ingredients in artesunate tablets, the will be an avoidable tragedy if a lack of political www.gtcrew.com. authors note. Exposure of malaria parasites to will and action allows fake artesunate to compro- low concentrations of artesunate in patients tak- mise the hope that artemisinin derivative-based ing counterfeit products will greatly increase the combination therapy offers for malaria control in risk for the selection and spread of malaria para- Africa and Asia and results in the emergence and Missing piece of Tech legacy sites that are resistant to artemisinin derivatives. spread of resistance to the artemisinin drugs, That could lead to a loss of effectiveness for shortening the useful life of these vital medi- donated to Alumni Association these essential medicines and an avoidable fail- cines.” A six-foot slide rule that was missing for more ure of malaria control. In related research, several of the authors, led than 35 years is the newest addition to the The researchers’ analyses determined there by Fernandez, are studying new, high-throughput Alumni House collection of Georgia Tech memo- are now at least 12 different types of fake arte- screening techniques to detect and quantify the rabilia that includes a replica of the original sunate, and evidence suggests that production is contents of counterfeit anti-malarial drugs and campus steam whistle, sheet music for on an industrial scale. other fake pharmaceuticals. “Ramblin’ Wreck” and Dean of Students George Griffin’s hat. “This particular slide rule was an actual teaching tool here at Tech from the late 1940s until calculators made their way to classrooms,” said Marilyn Somers, director of Tech’s Living History program. “It was ‘liberated’ from a class- room or storage area in the mid-1960s.” Reform, cont’d from page 1 According to Somers, shortly after the libera- tion, the slide rule came into the possession of deciding technical issues,” Graham said. alumnus Murray Schine. Many questionable patents are never chal- Assistant Professor Stuart Schine, past president of the LaGrange lenged, he said, because obtaining a license or Graham says abuse of the Georgia Tech Club, presented the rule to Somers at the Club’s March meeting. Another finding a way to work around the patent is consid- patent system limits innovation alumnus agreed to repair a broken part of the ered the path of least resistance. “Our research and new product develop- slide section and hang it from the ceiling on the suggests that there are too few challenges now, ment. His research suggests mezzanine level of the Alumni House. resulting in patents that give monopoly rights to several options for improve- people who ought not to have them, creating ment. roadblocks in the innovation system.” According to Graham, a better way than the courts to test the validity of patents would be to planning on extorting settlements from other Influential academician dies establish a post-grant review process like that companies through patent-infringement lawsuits. Vladimir Slamecka, who became the first direc- employed by the European Union, in which panels Graham has studied how patent applicants often tor of Georgia Tech’s School of Information and of expert technical examiners review challenged game the U.S. patent system through repeated Computer Science in 1964 and was a pioneer patents. Post-grant reviews average about use of the continuation procedure, allowing them of the Information Age, died on June 17 of $19,000 per side — far less than the $4 million to postpone the issue of a patent and keep their complications from cancer. spent in the typical patent lawsuit in the United application secret. These “submarine” patents “The search for a body of knowledge belong- States, where many individuals and small firms finally resurface once their technology has been ing to such a discipline became an integral don’t have the resources to mount a challenge. widely adopted by others who had no idea a component of the School’s mission,” Slamecka In addition to instituting post-grant reviews in patent was pending. told the alumni newspaper Tech Topics in a the United States, legislative reformers want to Though part of the American Inventors 1985 interview. He served as director of the change the U.S. process for granting patents. “The Protection Act of 1999 was supposed to solve School until 1978. current system lowers the incentive to bring abuse of the continuation procedure by requiring Slamecka said he began with one room in inventions to the patent office and disclose them publication of patent applications after 18 the electrical engineering building, 1.5 faculty to the public, so that we can all learn from them,” months, many applicants continue to exploit a and five students in a new master’s program. Graham said. “It rewards people to stick things on loophole in the legislation: they don’t have to dis- Under his direction, the school grew into one of a shelf and collect dust. They’re not worried close their pending patent as long as they claim the largest in the Institute. It became the because they know if somebody else comes along they’re not seeking protection outside the United College of Computing in 1990. for a similar patent, then they can drag out their States. A 1998 interview with Slamecka discussing dusty invention. That doesn’t do anybody any “The practice has been and continues to be the future of technology is available under the good.” used extensively in several important technology “Innovators” section at Some people obtain patents without the intent sectors in the economy, notably pharmaceuticals www.library.gatech.edu/alumni. of ever commercializing their inventions, instead and semiconductors,” he said.

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