ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 26 -- United States Patent no. 12,398,702, issued on Aug. 26, was assigned to THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNI (Oakland, Calif.).

"Method and system using small molecule absorbers to create a photothermal actuator" was invented by Christopher John Bardeen (Riverside, Calif.) and Brandon F. Lui (Riverside, Calif.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A photon-activated substance is disclosed, which includes a phase change material and a photon activated substance. The photon activated substance can be at least one of (2,6,6-Tetramethylpiperidin-1-yl)oxyl (TEMPO), azobenzene (AZOB), 4-Nitro-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene, Lumogen orange 240, and guaiazulene (GAZ)."

The pate...