Black Silicon, a new breakthrough in imaging technology.
From the New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/business/12stream.html Intuition + Money: An Aha Moment By JOHN MARKOFF Published: October 11, 2008 IT started with a Harvard physicist acting on a hunch. It ended up producing a new material, called black silicon, that could have a broad impact on technologies ranging from ultrasensitive sensors to photovoltaic cells. Rick Friedman for The New York Times James Carey, left, and Stephen Saylor of SiOnyx with black silicon wafers. Harvard plans to announce it has licensed patents for black silicon to the company. On Monday, Harvard plans to announce that it has licensed patents for black silicon to SiOnyx, a company in Beverly, Mass., that has raised $11 million in venture financing. This would never have happened if the physicist, Eric Mazur, and his graduate students had stuck to the original purpose of their research. He says their experience offers a lesson in government financing of science