Engineering graduate student is finalist in inventors’ competition

By Rachael Pawlowski
VCU Communications and Public Relations

Parthasarathy Madurantakam, 32, a Virginia Commonwealth University biomedical engineering Ph.D. student in the School of Engineering, is a finalist in the Collegiate Inventors Competition for his invention of a bandage that helps stop high-pressure bleeding.

Madurantakam is one of 12 students nationwide to attend the finals.

He crafted a hemostatic mineral bandage — an ultra-light bandage that has the ability to save lives by stopping high-pressure bleeding. Madurantakam says he foresees use of the bandage by a wide range of people including combat soldiers, emergency responders, surgeons and even at-home consumers.

The National Inventors Competition judges will consider his design for its practical applications that meet the pressing needs in our society.

Each finalist is vying for recognition and a $25,000 cash prize that will be granted at an awards ceremony this month in Kansas City, Mo. The competition reviewed entries from more than 2,000 campuses to identify top collegiate inventors.

The competition recognizes and rewards the innovations by college and university students and their advisers for projects leading to inventions that have the potential to receive patent protection. The competition has awarded more than $1 million to nearly 100 students for their innovative work and scientific achievement.

Madurantakam received his undergraduate and graduate degrees at the Tamilnadu Government Dental College and Hospital in Chennai, India. Madurantakam quit his orthodontic practice to pursue research because he believed that he could impact a larger group of people. He is married to Lathika Mohanraj, who is currently working on her Ph.D. in molecular biology at VCU.