INNOVATION - Agensi Inovasi Malaysia all out to commercialise good ideas - MALAYISIA

 

By WONG LI ZA
star2@thestar.com.my

Promising: Serotech CEO Sharifah Nur Rahimah Syed Alias with Assoc Prof Dr Ahmed Mahir Mokhtar Mohamed Bakri at a contract farmer’s farm in Selangor. The CiliBangi project has generated good response from investors.

 

Innovation Business Opportunities, an initiative by Agensi Inovasi Malaysia, is all out to commercialise good ideas to generate new wealth.
A GOOD idea remains just that – a mere idea – if it does not take shape.

Throughout history, thousands of brilliant inventions worldwide have gone unnoticed due to lack of buy-in from relevant parties and financial support.

However, these creations could potentially have generated much income or benefited society, or in short, been transformed from being an invention to an innovation.

Bridging the gap between invention and commerce is an initiative facilitated by Agensi Inovasi Malaysia (AIM) called Innovation Business Opportunities (IBO).

AIM is a statutory body set up by the Government via the AIM Act 2010 with the primary purpose of being the driving force behind Malaysia’s push towards establishing an “innovation economy” and the country’s aspiration of achieving high-income nation status.

Launched in April this year, IBO offers intellectual properties owned by universities, and public research and development organisations in Malaysia, to the private sector for them to be taken up and commercialised.

“Innovation Business Opportunities is one of the initiatives undertaken by AIM to ensure ideas are taken through from creation to commercialisation,” said Faizal Hasan, assistant vice-president (IBO) with AIM.

“Under IBO, innovations from public universities and research institutes are documented, analysed and offered to the rakyat for bidding. The idea is to provide these government-funded innovations as opportunities for the rakyat to create new wealth,” he said.

What a harvest! Cilibangi, a top quality chilli, being dried at Rumah Tumbuhan, UKM.
 

He added that in tandem with the positive feedback received, AIM has widened the scope of the innovations to include those from the private sector.

Phase Two of the IBO was launched recently by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who also announced the progress from Phase One.

Of the 42 IBOs offered in Phase One, 33 had the potential to generate revenue totalling RM1.58bil over three years, 15 had been taken up by industry partners for commercialisation, while 18 others were in different stages of negotiations.

These 18 projects have the potential of adding another RM748mil to the nation’s Gross National Income (GNI), while the total revenue potential for the 15 projects is estimated at RM832mil.

Under Phase Two, 50 new technologies and products, which are open for transparent and competitive bidding, have the potential of generating RM560mil after three years of operation.

When this article went to print, at least nine projects had received bidders.
They include, with projected third year revenue in parentheses, the LesTani: Biofungicide for Control of BSR Disease of Oil Palm (RM45.6mil); Production of Bioethanol from Palm Oil Waste (RM17.72mil); MyCOACH Software for Sports Motion Coaching System that analyses human motion on video without using any additional physical marker or special tight fitting clothing (RM360,000); Commercial Sweetener, a project that aims to produce Sorbitol, a natural sweetener used in health foods and sugar-free products, from sawdust (RM6.4mil); the AquaTCS fish tank filter (RM2.7mil); and the Sundait Board Game, a Borneo-based educational and entertaining board game that incorporates Kadazan-Dusun riddles (RM290,400).

Another two projects with high potential revenue are the Wengtonia: Detoxificant for Drug Addiction, a health supplement with antioxidant and anti-microbial properties for detoxification purposes (RM36.7mil), and Natural Colourant for Cosmetics, derived from orchid pigment (RM117mil).

Wengtonia’s main ingredient is derived from a local plant called daun putat (Barringtonia racemosa), traditionally consumed as a salad and found largely in rural areas.

Natural colourants in biomaterials are stabilised in the form of macrobeads through environmentfriendly biotechnological processes.
 

It took researchers Aweng Eh Rak and Dr Lee Seong Wei, senior lecturers at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), three years to develop the supplement.

Wengtonia has powerful antioxidant properties which enhance the immune system and encourage anti-microbial activities against various species of pathogens.

“It is suitable for both new drug users and also hardcore addicts, but the latter may have to take higher dosages,” said Lee, adding that UMK has started planting the daun putat.

“Depending on the dosage applied, basically it will take a week before the detoxification effect shows. Theoretically, Wengtonia may also help patients on long-term medications reduce their dependency on their medication due to the high antioxidant content in the plant,” he said, adding that they hope to set up their own company and commercialise the product.

Wengtonia costs US$100 (RM310) for 500 pills.

Aiming to tap into the billion-dollar colour cosmetics market is the natural colourant IBO spearheaded by Prof Dr Lee Pat Moi, former researcher at the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Shah Alam.

Currently founder and CEO of PML ChemBioTech Sdn Bhd based at FRIM-MTDC Technology Centre in Kepong, Selangor, Prof Lee’s project plans to commercialise natural and functional floral colourants for food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products.

“The purpose is to enable the general public to consume colourful, yet safe food products and use appealing and safe cosmetic products,” said Prof Lee.

The spectrum of colourants are violet, blue, green, yellow, orange and red, obtainable from a single species of orchid flowers such as dendrobium or cattleya, red hibiscus and clitoria ternatea. The red, blue and violet colourants possess antioxidant properties and other health benefits as well.

Daun putat (Barringtonia racemosa), the main ingredient in Wengtonia, a health supplement for detoxification purposes.

Prof Lee said that natural red colourants obtained from other natural resources are usually not stable when exposed to air, light and heat.

“We have stabilised our natural red colourants in biomaterials in the form of macro-beads. micro-beads and nano particles through mild and environment-friendly biotechnological processes.

“They are brightly coloured and the biomaterials used for stabilisation also have anti-microbial and antioxidant properties. In addition, they are biodegradable and safe to be consumed,” she emphasised, adding that the natural colourants are more stable than other natural colourants by two- to three-fold at temperatures of less than 45°C.

Prof Lee added that she and her team have also developed formulations for blue and violet lipsticks which contain blue and violet floral extracts respectively.

“When the blue lipstick is applied to lips, the colour changes from blue to red. Similarly, the colour of the lips changes from violet to red upon using the violet lipstick,” she said, adding that the lipsticks also have moisturising effect.

To date, the company has filed seven patents in Malaysia and the natural colourants have also won several international awards, including two Geneva Gold Medal Awards (Switzerland), the Eureka Special Gold Medal Award (Brussel) and Biotech Asia Gold Medal Award.

“Our plan is to further strengthen our research and development to produce natural product-based aesthetic healthcare and therapeutical bioproducts to add aesthetical value as well as contribute to the quality of life,” she shared.

One of the IBOs from Phase One which has generated good response from investors is the CiliBangi project, which has the potential to generate a revenue of RM44.5mil in three years.

CiliBangi is a top quality chilli that is virus-resistant, high yielding and easily harvested. The chilli was first cultivated by the late Professor K.M. Graham in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in 1978. The work was continued by Assoc Prof Dr Ahmed Mahir Mokhtar Mohamed Bakri in 1987.

After 15 generations, Cilibangi-1 and -2 varieties were developed and introduced in 1995. Cilibangi-3 and Cilibangi-4 were cultivated after 20 generations and launched in 1998.

In 2010, another new variety combining the previous traits of Cilibangi was developed and named Crunchious, a trademarked premium hybrid which has a longer life-span.

“Crunchious is the brand given to two varieties of Cilibangi which have two heat levels – hot and mild. This brand is positioned for the international market. An international company has shown interest in planting Cilibangi in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and are negotiating on the licensing agreement which will be signed soon,” revealed Serotech Sdn Bhd CEO Sharifah Nur Rahimah Syed Alias.

Serotech is a subsidiary of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), set up through its commercial arm, UKM Technology Sdn Bhd. It is tasked to handle the production and distribution of Cilibangi to the market.

“Cilibangi’s synchronised flowering and fruiting makes it easy for farmers to plan large-scale staggered planting to produce a continuous supply of chilli throughout the year. This unique characteristic of Cilibangi has attracted investors,” explained Sharifah.

Since April 2012, over 10,000 seedlings have been sold to contract farmers, both directly and via outsourcing.

“We are evaluating a buy-back programme from them. At the moment, we are helping them find the market for the chillies. So far, it is going very well,” said Sharifah.

“Farmers have shown a lot of interest in planting Cilibangi. However, we have to ensure only quality farmers and entrepreneurs are selected to ensure the success of our Cilibangi Planting Programme,” she said.

Currently, the company’s target market for the fresh chillies is end-product industries like chilli sauce and sambal-related producers, which constitute the largest percentage (40%) of the Malaysian chilli market segment.

“We are planning to enter the hypermarkets once we’ve started our large-scale planting programme. Other than fresh chillies, we’re also planning to produce our own Cilibangi powder and paste.
“We’re confident of achieving our target revenue. We expect next year to be a very productive year with many big projects coming in,” added Sharifah.

■ For more info, visit innovation.my or cilibangi.com or facebook.com/Cilibangi

- Five quick tricks to revamp your look - UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

 

Wouldn’t it be great if we had a magic wand? Then, with a quick twinkle and flick of our wrist we could transform our drab, dull looks and become popping, vivid versions of ourselves. Since we don’t have one, we’ve instead decided to show you five quick tricks that will help you revamp your look in a flash.

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• To give yourself a quick and almost instant revamp you should change your brows. The right brows can frame your favourite features and change your appearance

 

Quick trick to revamp your look: Stand up Although we risk sounding like your mother, if you want to revamp your look stand up straight. Your posture is hugely important to the way you look. Even the world’s prettiest woman would look unattractive if she stooped and slouched through life. Not only will maintaining a good posture make you appear more confident you will also look slimmer. Patrice Winter, a spokeswoman for the American Physical Therapy Association, says that standing tall can make you look 5kgs slimmer. So ladies, shoulders back and stand tall.
Instructions: Having good posture doesn’t mean standing polka straight. You need to stand naturally, allowing your spine to curve in an S shape. Make sure when you are standing that your hips and ears are aligned. Also if you sit at a desk, make sure you use your legs to distribute your weight and help relieve some of the pressure off of your tailbone.

Quick trick to revamp your look: Dye When you think of having a makeover or revamping your look it can be easy to think you have to clear out the bank balance and take out a second mortgage on your home. Changing your look doesn’t have to be expensive though and it can be as cheap as you want it to be. If you feel like your wardrobe needs updating, take a look at what you already own. If you have a pair of trousers or skirt that fits well but is looking a little old, pop it into the washing machine and add in some fabric dye (see below for instructions). To create an entire outfit, you could also pop a few accessories into the washing machine too, such as a fabric brooch or fabric bag. Then you have an instantly colour coordinated outfit.
Instructions: Fabric dye is a simple way to revamp your wardrobe. Make sure you check the dye you use for instructions, but generally you will simply need to put in the dye from the box into your washing machine and add salt. Then turn on your machine and wash the clothes in a hot wash until the cycle is complete.

Quick trick to revamp your look: Eyes and lips Your eyes and lips are your chance to have fun and, if you want to give yourself a makeover using makeup, start with these areas. First, take a look at the colour of your eyes and try to find an eyeliner pen or pencil that matches your natural eye colour. Then play around with designs. You could add flicks to the corners of your eyes to make them appear bigger, or add dashes on your lower lash line. Have fun and find out what works for you. If you have bright eyes, choose a neutral lip shade and vice versa. For bright lips that pop why not try using two shades of lipstick to your lips. If you use a lighter shade around the outer edge of your lips your lips will appear plumper.
Instructions: When applying your eyeliner make sure you keep checking what your liner looks like when your eyes are open so that you get the finished look you were after. Also, to keep your lipstick on for longer first apply a lip liner and use a lip brush to apply your lipstick. This will also give you more control during application.

 

Quick trick to revamp your look: Eyebrows We all know that your eyebrows can dramatically change your face. To give yourself a quick and almost instant revamp you should change your brows. The right brows can frame your favourite features and change your appearance. If you have a long face and would like to make it look shorter choose a flat brow shape. If you have a round face then choose a brow shape with a high arch. Finally, if you have a heart shaped face, choose brows that balance your face by creating a soft curved arch. Remember, some people benefit from darkening their brows. You could get an eyebrow tint or use an eyebrow pencil to achieve this look.
Instructions: Although a DIY job can work wonders, sometimes getting some professional guidance goes a long way. If you want to change your entire brow shape book an appointment at a brow bar or with a beauty therapist. Then once you’ve had them re-shaped you could maintain your look at home with tweezers.

Quick trick to revamp your look: One statement piece Sometimes a total revamp or makeover isn’t necessary. All you need is one statement piece that ties together your outfit. To find that magical piece of clothing, scour the shops and the internet. Try on lots of different items and explore new styles, cuts and colours. Ideally, your statement piece will have a wow factor so that it can turn an ordinary outfit into one that will turn heads. The key to getting this wow factor is to look for bold, unusual colours. Don’t choose a multi-coloured item though, unless lots of your other clothes are plain. This is because you want to be able to wear your statement piece with a lot of outfits, so choose items in bold, block colours.
Instructions: Your statement piece should be a little out-there and should definitely reflect you and your personality. Take time to find this special item and you’ll soon reap the rewards.

BUENA VIDA - De la naturaleza, "remedios para melancólicos" - ARGENTINA

 

El exceso de azúcares y harinas dificulta la absorción de una sustancia natural, el triptófano, que fabrica serotonina y equilibra el ánimo. Las flores de Bach, variedades definidas por el médico inglés Edward Bach, pueden ayudar a superar el problema. Cuáles son las específicas en estos casos.

Gorse, para los que ven todo negro

 

Allá por los tiempos de la Antigua Grecia, la llamaban melancolía y le echaban la culpa de su aparición a uno de los humores del cuerpo, la bilis negra, que provocaba tristeza y hasta locura. A partir de 1725, a esta afección del humor comenzamos a llamarla depresión.

La falta de ganas de vivir, de encontrarle sentido a simplemente levantarse por la mañana es considerada hoy una enfermedad psiquiátrica que se trata con antidepresivos, según la medicina convencional.

En la dietoterapia natural, la depresión se vincula con nuestros hábitos alimenticios, ya que los azúcares y las harinas refinadas consumidos en exceso dificultan que absorbamos una sustancia natural, el triptófano, de los alimentos.

Y resulta que, sin triptófano, no podemos fabricar serotonina, una neurohormona que produce sensación de bienestar, buen humor y distensión.

Pero, sin duda, y homenajeando a Ray Bradbury, los mejores “remedios para melancólicos” que pueden aportar las terapias complementarias por su eficacia, su suavidad y la ausencia de efectos secundarios son las Flores de Bach.

Sus nombres y efectos
Las Flores de Bach, un sistema de esencias a base de flores silvestres elaborado por el médico inglés Edward Bach hace 80 años, que no contiene drogas ya que pertenece a los llamados preparados energéticos, es de especial ayuda en trastornos del ánimo.

Se la llama “ la psicoterapia líquida”, porque son esencias diluídas en agua que se toman en gotas, varias veces al día. Según su creador, estas gotas aportan la cualidad energética necesaria para que una emoción desequilibrada vuelva a la salud.

Hoy, las utilizan y recomiendan numerosos psiquiatras y psicólogos en todo el mundo. También en Argentina hay terapeutas florales calificados y existen escuelas donde se estudia el uso de estas flores y es muy sencillo acceder a una consulta.

Hay 38 flores, con nombres en inglés. Con ellas se equilibran rasgos ya crónicos de personalidad y también estados transitorios. Las Flores para distintos grados de depresión que más se utilizan son:

Mustard, para la depresión endógena de la psiquiatría clásica, que no tiene causa conocida ni se debe a un evento externo como una pérdida, por ejemplo. También, para la depresión que aparece en momentos específicos del ciclo menstrual femenino, o la depresión invernal.

Larch, indicada para aquellos que piensan que lo bueno de la vida no es para ellos, porque no confían en sus valores y anticipan el fracaso.

Gorse, para los que piensan que ya nada puede mejorar sus vidas y se muestran demacrados, vencidos, en un estado más allá de las lágrimas.

Gentian, cuando la depresión se debe a una causa externa como una mudanza, una pérdida de trabajo, un divorcio.

Wild Rose, cuando hay resignación, falta de interés por lo placentero y pérdida de la libido.

Hornbeam, indicada para quienes no tienen fuerzas para encarar las tareas cotidianas, se sienten aburridos y faltos de entusiasmo.

Sweet Chesnut, para los estados de desesperación extrema.

Elm, para los que siempre han sido luchadores y valientes, pero de pronto caen en un estado de abrumamiento, de abatimiento; sienten que no estarán a la altura de los desafíos que antes encaraban.

Las Flores de Bach, como otras medicinas, complementarias, no pretenden reemplazar al médico en ningún caso, sino que son acompañantes de cualquier tratamiento.

Edward Bach escribió el libro Cúrate a ti mismo, donde explica su uso y allí dice: “La vida es un día de colegio”. Para él, aprender a ser felices era clave para la salud del cuerpo, de las emociones y del alma.

Marisa Cortéz es periodista especializada en medicinas integrativas y terapeuta holística. marisafloresygemas@hotmail.com

 

                                  

 

SOCIEDAD - Soderos que van puerta por puerta y hacen de psicólogos de los clientes - ARGENTINA

 

Comen asado, escuchan confidencias y hasta saben de las infidelidades de sus clientes. Dicen que cuando les tienen confianza, no los cambian ni aunque otros les bajen los precios. A mejores vínculos, más ventas, afirman.

 

Expertos. De izquierda a derecha, Ariel Aibar y Claudio Fiori, ambos de más de 15 años de profesión como repartidores de agua y soda./JUAN JOSE TRAVERSO

Expertos. De izquierda a derecha, Ariel Aibar y Claudio Fiori, ambos de más de 15 años de profesión como repartidores de agua y soda./JUAN JOSE TRAVERSO

04/11/12

Fue hace poco, un mediodía. César Darritchon regresaba a la fábrica cuando cruzó a uno de sus repartidores: era el de la zona de Versalles. Estaba en la puerta de un súper chino, sentado en una silla de plástico. El chino Juan le servía unas tiras de asado en una mesa improvisada en la vereda, pegada a la parrillita. El camión y los sifones descansaban en la calle. Cuando terminó el reparto, Ariel Aibar se acercó a la oficina. “Me pidió disculpas por lo del chino. Le dije que me encantaba que mis repartidores tuvieran esa relación con el cliente. Más que un producto, vendemos un servicio”, recuerda Darritchon, gerente general de El Jumillano. Cuando el chino tiene ganas de hacer asado lo llama a Ariel, le pregunta en qué parte del barrio está, y lo invita.

Se estima que quedan 4.000 soderos . Soderos significa fábricas formales y emprendimientos personales.

Hay que sumar a los repartidores que tiene cada una y a las relaciones que se generaron, como la de Ariel y el chino Juan. Una buena fábrica puede tener un promedio de 1.250 clientes para cada repartidor por semana.

Es el único servicio que se vende puerta a puerta.

A pesar de la inseguridad, la tecnología y las nuevas costumbres.

Claudio Fiori lleva 15 años en el rubro. Su zona es Villa del Parque. Por este trabajo donó sangre para un cliente, otro le ofreció su casa en Brasil para las vacaciones, y otra se le puso a llorar durante media hora porque su pareja había suspendido el casamiento por mensaje de texto. “Te encontrás con gente que quiere hablar; a veces llegás y el cliente está mal. Muchos nos ven más a nosotros que a sus familiares. Somos psicólogos”, dice.

Los soderos saben todo del barrio y de las casas a las que entran.

Consciente, o inconscientemente. Les pasó de llegar y encontrarse con que la señora de la casa estaba con un amante. O con maridos que le cuentan que engañan a sus mujeres. Mujeres que los repartidores también conocen. Ellos sostienen que “ los soderos no tienen memoria” ; dejan la soda y se olvidan de lo que vieron o escucharon.

“Es muy importante la ‘charla’ que se da con el cliente más allá de la compra; eso estrecha la relación y la confianza ”, dice Darritchon. “No lo vemos como una pérdida de tiempo. Son dos minutos en los que se recuerda algo que ocurrió en la última visita. Los vendedores más exitosos son lo que desarrollan este vínculo y hacen muy difícil que los clientes los cambien”.

Cuentan que en el centro de San Justo los jubilados compiten para tener en sus casas almorzando al sodero de la zona.

En algunos barrios de Capital, son los únicos que tienen la entrada permitida cuando no están los dueños. Los hacen pasar los porteros. Si hay un robo se sospecha de cualquiera pero nunca de ellos. “Hasta ahora ninguno de nosotros se mandó alguna macana. Pero creo que uno no podría ensuciar al resto. La gente nos conoce hace años y confía”, dice Ariel Aibar, el amigo del chino. Lleva 16 años de sodero. Es el único tipo del mundo que se da el gusto de comer asados cocinados y pagados por un chino. Y es de Independiente. Un lunes, tras el clásico de Avellaneda, un cliente lo esperó envuelto en una sábana que decía que era “el fantasma de la B”. “Llegué a estar hasta media hora hablando con un cliente. Alguno me dijo ‘te quiero como a un hijo’, y me regaló $ 100 de propina. Es muy loco. Otros les ofrecen pruebas gratis y mejor precio, pero mis clientes me siguen eligiendo. Cuando me voy de vacaciones me compran por esas tres semanas”, asegura. Diciembre es el mes preferido de los soderos. Temporada, las ventas aumentan y buena parte de sus sueldos es por lo recaudado. Y además, la época de los regalos: sidras, pan dulce, turrones...

Siete y media de un viernes en Ciudadela. Claudio y Ariel descargaron sus camiones y hablan con Clarín . Sus colegas los cargan. Los soderos tienen caras parecidas. Hace más de diez horas que trabajan. Afuera está la calle. Así define Aibar su profesión: “No es para cualquiera; tenés que amar la calle. Podés tener una cartera de clientes, una responsabilidad, pero el horario lo manejás vos. Los soderos somos libres”.

ENVIRONMENT - Scientists search for better ways to clean up oil - INDIA

LONDON: With oil becoming scarcer and more expensive, the economics of the industry may finally tip in favor of one of the most neglected areas of its business - the technology for cleaning up oil spills.

Despite efforts by scientists to find new and more effective ways to deal with spilt oil, there has been little fundamental change in the technology in the two decades since the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster that spilled 750,000 barrels of oil into Prince William Sound in Alaska.

But as oil companies push into the environmentally pristine Arctic and deeper waters elsewhere, the pressure on them to demonstrate they can quickly mop up spilt oil will increase.

Big spills like BP PLC's 2010 disaster in the Gulf of Mexico usually trigger a flurry of research, much like the acceleration in weapons technology in wartime, but history shows that industry and government enthusiasm quickly fades.

That loss of momentum could prove expensive. BP has already spent $14 billion on clean-up operations, paid out over $8 billion in claims and is offering a further $7.8 billion in settlement to those affected by the disaster.

Enter the scientists

A pair of materials researchers from Pennsylvania State University have come up with a novel gel that can absorb 40 times its own weight in oil and forms a soft solid that is strong enough to be scooped up and fed straight into a refinery to recover the oil.

The polymer developed by Mike Chung and Xuepei Yuan only interacted with oil in tests and the swelled gel contained no water, which solves the sticky problem of separating spilt crude from the water it pollutes.

Chung says existing absorbers like straw, and even corn cobs, can only hold about five times their own weight. They also pick up water along with the oil and become waste that has to be buried in special landfills or burned.

The Penn State scientists estimate their polymer gel could be produced on a large scale for $2 a pound, which is enough to recover more than five gallons of spilled oil worth roughly $12 based on a barrel price of $80.

"Had this material been applied to the top of the leaking well head in the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 spill, this... could have effectively transformed the gushing brown oil into a floating gel for easy collection and minimized the pollution consequences," the scientists said in their research paper on the new material.

Rival teams have applied nanotechnology to the problem to produce ultra-lightweight sponges that are oleophilic and hydrophobic - they love oil but repel water.

Daniel Hashim and colleagues at Rice University in Houston have found a way to turn carbon nanotubes - atom-thick sheets of carbon rolled into cylinders - into a sponge material that sucks up oil and can either be squeezed or burned to remove it. In either case the fire-resistant sponge can be re-used.

Hashim told Reuters he has some seed capital from companies and individual investors to develop the technology but there are plenty of hurdles ahead.

Aside from the need to develop a system to deploy the sponge material into an oil spill, "the most significant barrier is equipment cost associated with the scale-up process," he said.

If those hurdles can be overcome, the material could be useful in the Arctic because it retains its sponginess even in extreme cold.

Even celebrities are getting in on the act. In June this year, a US jury ruled in favor of actor Kevin Costner in a lawsuit in which fellow actor Stephen Baldwin accused him of cheating in a multimillion dollar deal to sell oil clean-up devices to BP after the Gulf of Mexico spill.

 

Flash in the pan

Some industry insiders are candid about the problem. Writing in the Journal of Petroleum Technology in September, Michael Cortez, BP's manager of oil spill response technology, and his deputy Hunter Rowe warned the research push since the Gulf disaster could be short-lived.

The industry has ramped up funding to improve response technology after other major spills, they said.

"In all instances, however, after a few years of progress, conditions changed in the industry because of oil price volatility and other economic events, and spill response technology development and funding returned to previous levels."

More than twenty years after Exxon Valdez, when BP's Macondo well spewed out an estimated 5 million barrels into the sea, the flotilla attacking the slick was still using floating booms to contain it, specially adapted ships that pick it up by skimming the surface of the water, and controversial chemical dispersants.

There have been advances, not least in the gadgetry for tracking and imaging spills and deploying the ships. The booms are better designed, the skimmers are more efficient and the dispersants less toxic. Some in the industry think this is enough.

"We believe the current technology we have more than meets the need," said Simon Henry, finance director of Royal Dutch Shell, when asked by Reuters whether the company was increasing research spending as it pushes exploration into the Arctic.

Shell, which is Europe's top oil company, was forced to suspend the hunt for oil in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska this year after a giant metal box designed to help contain the oil in the event of a well blowout, was damaged during tests.

"We put most of our effort into ensuring there isn't a spill in the first place," said Henry, adding that a series of barriers, including the blowout preventer that sits on the sea floor at the well-head, are there to guard against "a very, very unlikely event".

Sense of urgency

Cortez and Rowe from BP argue that exploration in harsher and more remote environments calls for more cutting-edge spill response technology.

"The key to closing technology gaps and enhancing current technologies is to prevent the sense of urgency from being diminished," they said in their journal article.

Scientists are busy coming up with answers but in the end it will be the will of the oil industry and pressure from governments that determines how far and how fast these new technologies are taken up.

As for the novel oil-absorbing gel, Mike Chung is still waiting for the industry to call.

"There is a lot of interest in Petrogel technology for oil spill cleanup and recovery, but not from major oil companies," he said.