The SRI International Digest #4, Summer 2002

HIV VACCINES MOVE TO CLINICAL TRIALS WITH SRI IN KEY ROLE
Researchers at a major U.S. university, with funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have developed an HIV-1 vaccine that in animal models does not prevent HIV infection but seems to help the body control the AIDS virus. SRI scientists recently completed preclinical safety testing on the vaccine, completing all the steps required to move it into Phase I clinical trials in humans. SRI prepared the IND application for submission to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by NIAID, sponsor of the IND. The FDA has recently given approval to start the Phase I human clinical trial. SRI also recently performed the preclinical safety work for an emerging biopharmaceutical company's HIV vaccine, another vaccine product supported by NIAID funding. The biopharmaceutical company has received clearance from FDA to start a Phase I/II clinical trial of the vaccine. SRI is one of several organizations receiving NIAID contract support for preclinical evaluation and development of anti-HIV drugs and vaccines. SRI has received several contracts in support of vaccine development and drug development. More info on SRI's pharmaceutical safety and toxicology studies: http://www.sri.com/biosciences/bdd/toxic/safety.html
 
SCIENTIST WINS AWARD FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WORK
Mark Stickel, Ph.D., a principal scientist in SRI's Artificial Intelligence Center, has been named the winner of the 2002 Herbrand Award, the most prestigious award in the field of automated reasoning and deduction. The award was presented in July at the 18th International Conference on Automated Deduction, held in Copenhagen during the 2002 Federated Logic Conference.
 
More info on SRI's Artificial Intelligence Center:
http://www.ai.sri.com
 
CAN ESTABLISHED DRUGS HELP CHILDREN WITH A-T, A DEGENERATIVE DISORDER?
SRI scientists are studying a series of commercially available or established experimental drugs to determine if they can enhance the survival of human ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) cells exposed to ionizing radiation. A-T is a progressive, degenerative disease that affects many tissues and systems in the body. A-T cells are hypersensitive to radiation, limiting the use of radiotherapy for the treatment of A-T patients. The drugs in the study include apoptosis (cell death) inhibitors, antioxidants, and protein kinase inhibitors.
 
More info on SRI's Immunology and Cancer Biology programs:
http://www.sri.com/pddd/infect/basic.html
http://www.sri.com/pddd/cancer/basic.html

 
GOV'T AGENCIES: IS SUMMER YOUR MOST DEMANDING SEASON?
For government agencies, summer can be a demanding time. As the fiscal year ends, SRI clients tell us they are faced with:

SRI R&D staff and contract professionals look forward to working with you to help you take advantage of opportunities and meet your challenges. Contact us to get your projects underway quickly with SRI's streamlined business processes and multiple procurement choices. Let us apply our 55 years of experience serving the federal government to reduce the burdens you face.
 
Defense and Intelligence Programs: Contact William Mohr, 703-247-8498 or william.mohr@sri.com.
 
Civilian Government Agencies: Contact Christine Peterson, 703-247-8459 or christine.peterson@sri.com.
 
SRI SPIN-OFF POLYFUEL RECEIVES $15.6M INVESTMENT
PolyFuel, Inc. develops direct methanol fuel cells through patented, proprietary technology. These innovative micro power systems dramatically extend the run-times of handheld, wireless and portable devices. PolyFuel is working with partners and customers to bring these fuel cells to market in 2004.
 
In late July 2002, PolyFuel announced it has secured $15.6 million in its second round of financing. The financing round, led by Vancouver-based Ventures West, included Chrysalix Energy LP, Intel Capital, Mayfield, and Technology Partners.
 
More info: http://www.polyfuel.com/
 
NEW LOCATION FOR WASHINGTON, D.C. OFFICE
SRI has had offices in the Washington, D.C. area for 50 years. In early July, we moved into a larger location in the Twin Towers (formerly the Gannett/USA Today building) in Rosslyn. The new address: 100 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 2800, Arlington, VA 22209. Phone and fax numbers remain the same: tel: 703-524-2053, fax: 703-247-8569.
 
More info and driving directions: http://www.sri.com/contact/wdc.html.
 
SMITHSONIAN ADDS "PHRASELATOR" TO ARCHIVES
The Smithsonian Institution has recently added a Phraselator to their archives. As mentioned in the Spring 2002 edition of the SRI Digest, the Phraselator is a handheld, wireless computer used to translate more than 1,000 spoken English phrases into languages such as Arabic and Pashto. Peacekeeping troops used the device recently in Afghanistan. The Phraselator, built by Applied Data Systems, incorporates SRI's Dynaspeak(tm) speech recognition software.
 
This is the second SRI-related item at the Smithsonian. They also have a replica of the first computer mouse, which was invented by Doug Engelbart and a team at SRI in the late 1960s. The mouse was later licensed to Xerox PARC and Apple Computer for commercial use.
 
More info about SRI's Dynaspeak:
http://www.dynaspeak.com
More info on the Phraselator:
http://www.phraselator.com
 
SMALL TECH MEETS BIG PRODUCT DESIGN NEEDS
Did you know that SRI offers end-to-end MEMS and microsystem design, prototyping, and packaging solutions? From novel devices to fully integrated small tech products, SRI has developed dozens of successful products for the commercial marketplace. Our microsystems engineers and scientists work with the automotive, environmental, biomedical, consumer electronics, and other industries to design such diverse products as "smart" sensors and integrated sensing systems, microfluidics, flat-panel displays, printers, and lithography tools. SRI brings in-depth know-how and a cross-functional approach to microsystems-based product design and development. Call 650-859-4584 or email microsys@sri.com to discuss your product design needs.
 
More info: www.sri.com/microsys/
 
POLYMER PATENTS, NASA AWARD, PHARMACEUTICAL FORMULATIONS DIRECTOR, AND MORE NEWS

MEET SRI STAFF AT UPCOMING EVENTS
SRI staff members will be exhibiting at these upcoming conferences:

ABOUT SRI INTERNATIONAL
SRI is celebrating more than 55 years as the "soul of Silicon Valley". SRI introduced the computer mouse and the foundations of personal computing in 1968, demonstrated the first mobile wireless Internet transmission in 1977, developed life-saving cardiovascular drugs in the 1980s, and designed revolutionary speech recognition systems in the 1990s. SRI International, a nonprofit corporation, was founded as Stanford Research Institute in 1946, and has been independent since 1970. Visit our website at www.sri.com.

CONTACT US:
For more information on SRI's innovations and how we can help you, contact bizdev@sri.com.
 
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