COEUR d'ALENE - Taxes, regulations, legal jargon and a tough economy make it difficult to translate even the best business ideas into cash.

But recently, the University of Idaho celebrated the successes of one of its own - John Shovic, chief technology officer of Coeur d'Alene-based InstiComm, LLC.

Shovic was honored with the Outstanding Alumni Innovator Award for more than 26 years of business success that relied on moving innovative ideas from academia to the market.

His most recent effort gives health-care workers the ability to use their smartphones to record and send patient data through a HIPAA-compliant, secure network.

Along with his fellow innovators recognized by the university this week, Shovic said the university's Office of Technology Transfer played an instrumental role in his success.

"I've worked with a number of universities and companies over the years licensing technology," he said. "The most flexible, professional and business-like group I worked with was the OTT at the University of Idaho. They understood both sides of the agreement, and the negotiation was concluded quickly and fairly. I would be pleased to work with them again on my next company."

Aberdeen-based research faculty member Stephen Love utilized the OTT to acquire an exclusive license to market a set of plant varieties native to Idaho.

"OTT helped set up a partnership agreement with a company named Conservation Seeding and Restoration to market native plant products coming out of our research," Love said. "Without the work of OTT, this partnership would never have been feasible."

The Kimberly, Idaho-based company is dedicated to the science of establishing and restoring ecologically healthy habitats with native plants.

The economic impact of innovations like these runs into the millions and are a key part of the University of Idaho's land-grant mission to impact Idahoans across the state.

To learn how the Office of Technology Transfer can help you license your invention, call (208) 885-4550, or ott@uidaho.edu

This year's Innovation Awards Dinner

recognized the following

Patents Issued:

Gregory Moller - "Water treatment method"

Dev S. Shrestha - "Method and apparatus for soil sampling"

Jeff Stark - "Highland Russet Potato Variety," "Yukon Gem Potato Variety" and "Premier Russet Potato Variety"

Robert Zemetra - "Wheat Bruneau Variety"

Technologies Licensed:

Kenneth Cain - Aquatic Life Sciences, Inc.

Steve Love - Conservation Seeding and Restoration, Inc.

Gregory Moller - Blue Water Technologies, Inc.

Chad Orbe - ICs, LLC

Leslie Thompson - Clocktower Media, Inc.

Patrick Hrdlicka - animal reproduction company (licensee wishes to remain anonymous until product launch)