A history of my career in science (part four)

(Part one of the series starts here)

Funded primarily through institutional grants and bolstered by collaborations with external entities like VISX and SERI, the project overcame initial skepticism through pivotal factors including supportive leadership from Professor Mark Blumenkranz, funding diversification, and scientific breakthroughs.

Central to our success was the discovery of a double network hydrogel by Dr. Yin Hu, underpinning our artificial cornea innovation and yielding patentable advancements. Collaboration with promising talents like David Myung, whose journey from history major to PhD candidate exemplified academic and entrepreneurial synergy, further enriched our research trajectory. David’s subsequent entrepreneurial success with Hyalex underscored the project’s impact beyond academia.

With a small group of scientists and engineers we submitted a dozen patents for new inspection technology.