Silver-based inks are the heart of the printed electronics industry, but they are difficult and expensive to manufacture.
“Reactive silver inks have many applications. Their main application is printing techniques to replace more costly sputter coated or evaporated metals while maintaining the same performance level,” Walker said.
Introduced by the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1990, the Collegiate Inventors Competition has awarded over $1 million to individuals or teams for their innovative work and scientific achievement. Entries from collegiate inventors are judged on the originality of the new idea, process or technology, as well as potential value and usefulness to society.
The fourteen finalists in the 2012 Collegiate Inventors Competition will travel to Washington, D.C. to present their inventions to an esteemed panel of judges, which includes several Inductees to the National Inventors Hall of Fame, on November 12. The winners will be announced on November 13 at an event taking place at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.
Sponsors for this year’s competition include the Abbott Fund, the philanthropic foundation of the global health care company Abbott, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Walker plans to finish his PhD degree in the spring 2013 and is weighing his options for the future. “I’m currently looking at starting a company based on these (reactive silver) inks or working for a government lab,” he said. _____________________
Writer/Contact:Cynthia Brya, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 217/333-8312.
If you have any questions about the College of Engineering, or other story ideas, contact Rick Kubetz, editor, Engineering Communications Office, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 217/244-7716.