The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a number of technological innovations beyond vaccines and treatments and some of these new inventions came from the…

The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a number of technological innovations beyond vaccines and treatments and some of them came from the Capital Region.

New ultraviolet lamps to kill coronavirus, low-cost ventilators, locally made disinfectants and phone apps to help people avoid crowds were some of the innovations coming from Capital Region businesses and universities.

And some are still in use.

Its still active. Its still going on, Kristin Bennett said of the Study Safe app that her students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute developed two years ago.

Bennett is a math and computer science professor at the Troy university, and she worked with her students to develop the app, which identifies the least crowded spots on campus.

Those are presumably the safest locations for studying during a pandemic.While it hasnt been commercialized, Bennett said students still use it. And more importantly, it provided a hands-on lesson about building smartphone applications.We learned a lot about dealing with real-time data, she said.

That experience was doubly helpful since it was done remotely. While challenging, the exercise filled in what might have otherwise been a gap when in-person work was suspended due to the pandemic.

RPI students have since built apps and databases in other areas.

One group is building a system for tracking the amount of energy produced at a new solar farm in the nearby city of Cohoes.

Other areas include data systems to match genetic makeup with the best foods for individuals. Another is for tracking the way loans, including mortgages, are collateralized with cryptocurrency.

While the worst of the pandemic seems like a distant memory, Albany distiller Matthew Jager still has supplies of the hand sanitizer he made starting two years ago.

Its not something that Ive had to make in a while, said Jager, who operates the Capital Region's Yankee Distillers, a top-shelf line of whiskey.

I have a lot of regular retail customers who come in to buy it, Jager said of his Yankee Distillers Hand Sanitizer.

Those customers include private customers and businesses such as restaurants.

Some of the restaurateurs, he added, have also received the state-issued disinfectant that was made in prisons two years ago. But they have complained about the medicinal smell, compared to the scented Yankee Distillers line which is created by denaturing the alcohol.

They are still working through the prison stuff, Jager said of restaurants that had stocked up on state disinfectant.

These days, Jager said he donates the sanitizer to hospitals and medical facilities and sells it to others.At the current rate of sales and donations, he figures he has enough to run through the end of the year.

And while he could turn the sanitizer spout back on if he had to, he hopes that he doesnt need to do that.

Its something that Im very proud of to have been able to help people, he said. And its something that I wish to never have to make again for the rest of my life.

rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU

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The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a number of technological innovations beyond vaccines and treatments and some of these new inventions came from the...