The six teams of Harvard researchers receiving the 2024 Harvard Grid Accelerator awards are:

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Methane Emissions Analytics

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Problem: There is growing demand from climate policy stakeholders to use satellite observations of greenhouse gases to quantify emissions.

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Proposed Solution: A research team led by Daniel Jacob, Vasco McCoy Family Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Environmental Engineering and leader of the Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling Group at SEAS, is developing an Integrated Methane Inversion (IMI) cloud-based, open-source software tool. This tool leverages inverse methods to infer methane emissions from satellite data, enabling stakeholders to estimate emissions with high resolution for their domains and periods of interest, including continuous monitoring. The project will focus on the development of a Software as a Service (SaaS), automated reports and alerts, and the development of support and training materials.

 

Advanced Drug Delivery and Encapsulation

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Problem: Current strategies to encapsulate drugs do not allow for the encapsulation of proteins and can lack tunability and cause low cellular uptake.

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Proposed Solution: A research team led by David A. Weitz, Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at SEAS, proposes to engineer asymmetric polysaccharide-coated lipid vesicles to broaden the parameter space for engineering the mechanical and biochemical properties of lipid vesicles. If able to encapsulate and deliver any nucleic acid, protein, or small molecule into drug delivery vehicles, new treatment methods for gene and cancer therapy are possible. The team will use an inverted emulsion technique to form lipid vesicles with distinct leaflets, where each leaflet can be individually configured and modified. Additionally, they will functionalize the lipid vesicles with polysaccharides to enable cell-specific targeting. This will reduce the cost and side effects compared to current drug delivery vehicles and might lead to a completely new generation of vaccine technology and disease treatment.

 

AI-Driven Flexible Bioelectronics

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Problem: The mismatch between traditional rigid electronics and the soft, dynamic nature of the human body limits the seamless integration of high-performance sensors, stimulators, and computational units with the human body.

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Proposed Solution: A research team led by Jia Liu, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at SEAS, is developing technology that converges flexible nanoelectronics, advanced surgical techniques, and sophisticated AI agents to create bioelectronic interfaces that can be precisely deployed for tissue modulation across various organs. These interfaces are designed for long-term stability and high-resolution recording and control, targeting specific tissue regions with minimized cross-stimulation for the treatment of conditions such as neurological disorders, cancers, and diabetes.

 

Wearable Spasticity Management and Mitigation

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Problem: Spasticity causes involuntary muscle stiffness and contractions in over 12 million individuals worldwide, and is accompanied by a debilitating hindrance to movement, lack of independence, and chronic pain.

 

Proposed Solution: A research team led by Shriya Srinivasan, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at SEAS, is developing a wearable stimulation system incorporating critical parameter optimization and user connectivity components necessary for large-scale clinical trials in patients with spasticity. Current approaches are invasive and bulky with modest to low efficacy. The research team aims to develop the Wearable Adaptive Vibrotactile Bracelet (WAVelet), a cost-effective and low-risk alternative.

 

Navigation Aid for the Visually Impaired

 

Problem: Existing navigation solutions for the more than 400 million people around the world who have impaired vision ranging from moderate impairment to blindness only partially address the navigation challenges identified by users.

 

Proposed Solution: A research team led by Patrick Slade, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering and leader of the Harvard Ability Lab at SEAS, developed a navigation system that combines novel computer vision techniques, sensor fusion, and personalized feedback to the user, requiring only a smartphone. The technology will provide the functionality of guide dogs at approximately 20 times lower cost, within the price range specified by the surveyed users, creating the potential to dramatically increase the number of people who can benefit from navigation assistance. Additionally, the technology adds essential independent navigation capabilities to help people travel to new destinations and provide environmental scene understanding.

 

Non-Motorized Levitating Devices for Upper Atmosphere Sensing and Communication

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Problem: The mesosphere is an inaccessible region of the atmosphere (50-100 km altitudes) that is too high for conventional aircraft to generate lift, yet too low for satellites to maintain orbit. Flight in this near-space region would unlock a trove of climate data, communications pathways, and defense capabilities that no current hardware can achieve.

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Proposed Solution: A research team led by Joost Vlassak, Abbott and James Lawrence Professor of Materials Engineering at SEAS, is developing an entirely new propulsion mechanism to enable mesospheric flight. The technology uses sunlight-induced thermal gradients to generate photophoretic forces, which propels lightweight devices upward without onboard power or fuel. The team previously modeled that a photophoretic force, thermal transpiration, could lift 100 mg-scale payloads onboard a 10 cm-wide device at an altitude of 70 km. They now aim to demonstrate that the devices can hold a variety of payloads and communicate while flying.