THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 14, 1996 TAG: 9605140391
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES SCHULTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
How exactly he came up with the idea that could make him a millionaire eludes Channing Blackwell.
Was it in class? Maybe on the job? On those long weekend commutes to Northern Virginia?
No matter. Because the 32-year-old, newly minted Old Dominion University engineering graduate has a received a patent that could save billions in construction costs and protect the environment.
``I knew the problem existed,'' Blackwell said. ``Then I read about it in a textbook. I was taking other classes. . . . I just don't know.''
Blackwell's brainchild is a thin plastic coating that, when applied to water and sewage pipes, allows them to be directly placed in clay and similar soils. When wet, such soils can latch onto a pipe's surface and literally pull it from connective joints, allowing toxin-laden liquid to seep into the surrounding earth.
Blackwell's innovation would place plastic in such a way as to allow clayey soil to slip easily over pipe surfaces, safeguarding against damage to underground aquifers. And builders would be spared the expense of trucking damaged soil from construction sites,
Blackwell says that because his system simplifies construction, the cost of pipe placement could be reduced by more than two thirds, amounting to $60,000 per linear mile. The invention would have widespread application across the country, particularly in parts of the South, Midwest and West.
``Wrap it. Tape it. Keep on going. No training needed,'' he said.
Blackwell has an agreement with a Northern Virginia engineering firm that will license the advance for one year to test it in the field. The company declined to be identified or interviewed for this story.
``Environmental protection tends to add costs,'' Blackwell said. ``The ability to cut costs is really nice. That's a great feeling.''
The Clifton, Va., native eschewed the traditional approach to a college degree by spending the past seven years working part-time for his father's Northern Virginia engineering firm, and part-time at the Naval Facilities Engineering Command in Norfolk.
The ODU teacher whom Blackwell credits with part of his inspiration - the class she taught dealt with wastewater engineering - remembers Blackwell because of his relentless curiosity and his willingness to ask questions. Not that he was an exceptional student, she says; Blackwell received a B for her 1994 course.
``Channing said: `I've got this idea. And then I'm going to apply for a patent,' '' said Mujde Erten-Unal, Old Dominion assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. ``And I said `Sure.' I never thought he'd really do it.''
Blackwell did it on his own, without the assistance of a lawyer, spending $2,000 to apply for a patent in a laborious procedure that began in November 1994. Despite setbacks, class work, the occasional snowstorm and a worldwide patent search that turned up 10 possible competitors, Blackwell succeeded where many do not.
``Generally speaking, we don't get very many patent applications filed by individuals,'' said Dave Arola, a patent examiner in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Crystal City, a Washington suburb. ``Everyone that files a patent application doesn't get one, even with a patent attorney.''
Despite the patent, licensing agreements may take a while to materialize. That's because those who work with water take particular care before they apply any apparent breakthrough.
``Wastewater utilities aren't prone to use new technology,'' said Arun Deb, vice president of Roy F. Weston Inc., an architecture and engineering firm in Philadelphia. ``They have to make sure it works, that it is proven. There can be a lot of hidden costs.''
Blackwell plans no gala patent award celebration. He and his wife may uncork a bottle of champagne. And there's a trip later this summer to Walt Disney World in Florida.
The royalties may one day flood in, but for now Blackwell will be out looking for a job.
``In the real world you have to take theory and mesh it with practicality,'' Blackwell said. ``Ultimately, it's about perseverance. Understand what you want. And let no one or nothing stand in your way.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
LAWRENCE JACKSON
The Virginian-Pilot
Old Dominion University graduate Channing Blackwell has received a
patent on a plastic coating that, when applied to water and sewer
pipes, allows them to be directly placed in clay and similar soils.
by CNB