Technology Entrepreneur Center News http://www.tec.uiuc.edu/ Technology Entrepreneur Center at the University of Illinois TEC Director selected as one of the “nation’s brightest young engineers” By Bridget Maiellaro, ECE Illinois July 22, 2008 ECE Professor and Donald Biggar Willett Scholar Andrew Singer was selected to participate in the National Academy of Engineering’s 14th annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium. He was one of 82 rising engineers chosen from more than 230 applicants. “It's indeed an honor to have been selected to participate, and I am grateful that I am one of three members representing the University of Illinois' College of Engineering in the Symposium,” Singer said. “It seems to be a great opportunity to facilitate collaboration across engineering disciplines and across the country, while focusing on a number of key engineering areas at the symposium. These include emerging nanoelectronic devices, cognitive engineering, drug delivery systems, and understanding and countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.” The U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium, hosted by Sandia National Laboratories, will be held September 18 through September 20 at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. In addition to Singer, University of Illinois attendees will include Chemical Engineering professors Paul Kenis and Daniel Pack. Pack, who first participated in the 2002 U.S. Frontiers symposium, will deliver a speech on Polymer Technologies for Gene Therapy. Singer is not the first ECE professor to be recognized by the National Academy of Engineering for his outstanding research and technical work. Previous ECE faculty members asked to participate in the Frontiers symposiums include Rashid Bashir (2003 U.S., 2007 Japan), Jennifer Bernhard (2007 U.S.), Thomas Overbye (1999 U.S., 2002 speaker in Japan, 2003 committee member in Japan), and Venugopal Veeravalli (2000 U.S., 2002 U.S. committee member). Singer hopes to follow in his colleagues’ footsteps by participating in additional symposiums in the future. “It sounds like a great opportunity to stay connected with a strong program and to continue to represent Illinois and the COE in the meetings,” said Singer. The National Academy of Engineering, an independent, nonprofit organization aimed to advise government and the public on issues of engineering and technology, holds four Frontiers of Engineering meetings each year. The U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, the German-American Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, the Japan-America Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, and the Indo-U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium each cover four topics that vary year to year. The symposiums, designed for engineers between 30 and 45 years old, allow young engineers from around the world to meet and collaborate on new ideas. Sponsors for the 2008 U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium include the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, Corning Inc., Cummins Inc., The Grainger Foundation, Intel Corp., Microsoft Research, Sandia National Laboratories, and a number of individual donors. Singer earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1990, 1992, and 1996, respectively. Upon earning his PhD, he worked for Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Company in Manchester, New Hampshire, until he joined the ECE faculty in 1998. Singer is currently an ECE Professor, a research professor in the Coordinated Science Laboratory, and the director of the Technology Entrepreneur Center (TEC) in the College of Engineering. His research projects involve underwater acoustic communications, signal processing algorithms and architectures for enabling processing in deep submicron ICs, and financial modeling. “While these areas seem rather diverse, the core of the work centers on learning methods for robust signal processing algorithms,” Singer said. In 2000, Singer and ECE Professor Naresh Shanbhag co-founded Intersymbol, a fabless semiconductor startup based in Champaign that has become a world-leader in designing signal-processing-enhanced mixed-signal integrated circuits for ultra long-haul and metro fiber links. The company was acquired by Kodeos Communications, Inc., in March 2006 and again by Finisar Corporation, Inc., in March 2007. Over the years, Singer has received a variety of awards and recognitions, including the Harold L. Hazen Memorial Award for excellence in teaching in 1991, the National Science foundation CAREER Award in 2000, and the Xerox Faculty Research Award in 2001. Singer, a Hughes Aircraft Masters Fellow, serves as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing. He is also a member of the MIT Educational Council, Eta Kappa Nu, and Tau Beta Pi. Editor’s note: media inquiries should be directed to Tom Moone, communications coordinator, at moone@uiuc.edu or (217) 244-9893. http://www.tec.uiuc.edu/news/display_tecnews.php?id=46 Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 CDT On March 6, the Eight Annual V. Dale Cozad Plan Competition was held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Coming in at first place for the Social/Green Venture Division was CanSil, who won $7,000. SA Microsystems came in first place in the Commercial Venture Division and took home a $10,000 prize. Paulius Elvikis, a team member of CanSil, explained CanSil’s product as, “The CancerPinch detection system.” The CancerPinch diagnoses metastatic cancer cells within in-vitro tissue samples. CanSil leverages nano-fabrication techniques to make micro devices that detect cancer. These devices exploit the difference in mechanical properties between cancerous and healthy cells to make diagnoses faster and more reliably than existing techniques. Other team members of CanSil include Jingyan Dong and Deep Kishore Mukhopadhyay. The team’s presentation of their product at the competition proved it to be a truly innovative solution to an existing or emerging problem. U of I Mechanical Science and Engineering graduate students Adam Sawyer and Kurt Adair are the brains behind SA Microsystems, which bases its business idea on microfluids. SA Microsystems goal is to provide universities and research laboratories with easy-to-use workstations for analyzing microfluidic devices. Sawyer and Adair predict that their device will be used primarily by individuals developing new microfluid projects related to blood testing and DNA analysis. Shortly after winning the competition, Sawyer stated, “Both myself and Kurt are very excited to start up the business. We plan on using the money and resources from the center to get the business up and running, buy some equipment, and put our product out there.” Sawyer and Adair both enjoyed the competition and expressed their thanks to the Technology Entrepreneur Center. “They helped us out on how we needed to structure our business plan and they gave us the resources to do so,” said Adair. “We are both engineers and did not have the experience with the business side of things so it was nice to have people with more expertise in that area to tell us what we were doing right from wrong.” According to Social/Green Division Judge Brian Frizzell, a Principal at CRA International, “The field of competition was very steep this year. The different teams came up with some innovative solutions and products resulting in the potential for compelling business ideas.” As for determining who the winner of the competition would be, Frizzell had his personal thoughts before the presentations, but was surprised at how effectively the contestants addressed perceived weaknesses during their presentation, thereby making his decision a little more challenging. The V. Dale Cozad Business Plan Competition had a total of eight finalists this year. First runner-up in the Social Green Venture Division was iStart. iStart’s product, which won $5,000, is a vehicle safety device that prevents drivers from falling asleep. Second runner-up and winner of $2,000 went to The Clean Home Company which proposed an enticing hand-washing process primarily for children. In the Commercial Venture Division, first runner-up CentriOpt received $4,500 for the “Deduster,” a filter-less air cleaning system that removes over 90% of contaminants from the air without clogging or requiring maintenance. In addition, CentriOpt won best “elevator pitch” and received a $500 prize. When asked what his overall thoughts on the competition were, Doug Barker of CentriOpt, immediately responded, “Really good. I learned a lot about how to write a business plan and pitch an idea. The competition was beneficial for CentriOpt, especially learning how to form a business idea out of our technology and commercialize it.” As for what to do with the money won, Barker plans on forming the company, “We first need to get an attorney and figure out what form of company is best and then we will negotiate with the University to license the Deduster.” Other contestants who received an honorable mention and a $500 prize include: Zienon, for the idea of providing mobile device users with high-speed text input using conventional typing techniques and keyboard layouts; Commodity Cycles, which offered the software and services to create a virtual, Internet-scale datacenter from idle PCs around the world, and ezBarg, an online forum for buying and selling products via instant messaging. The V. Dale Cozad Business Plan Competition (CBPC) is a program of the Technology Entrepreneur Center and is designed to encourage students, researchers, and community members to create new sustainable businesses in the Champaign-Urbana area. Founded by Peter B. and Kim Fox and named for V. Dale Cozad, the business plan competition (CBPC) is designed to encourage students, researchers, and community members to create new sustainable businesses in the Champaign-Urbana area. The competition encourages the development of the entrepreneurial spirit through teamwork and competition. Teams are invited to create a business plan around a topic of their choice. Assistance is available in the form of mentors, workshops, and courses to guide teams through the phases of business plan creation. http://www.tec.uiuc.edu/news/display_tecnews.php?id=45 Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 CDT Please visit the following link: http://www.wandtv.com/global/story.asp?s=7945572 http://www.tec.uiuc.edu/news/display_tecnews.php?id=42 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:00:00 CST Please visit the following link to see the interview: http://illinoishomepage.net/media_player.php?media_id=7810. http://www.tec.uiuc.edu/news/display_tecnews.php?id=43 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:00:00 CST The Rise of Microlution By Dean Hopkins In March 2005, Andrew Honegger and Andy Phillip won the Technology Entrepreneur Center’s annual V. Dale Cozad Business Plan Competition (CBPC). The CBPC is designed to encourage students, researchers, and community members to create new sustainable businesses in the Champaign-Urbana area. In order to compete, entrepreneurial teams must create a business plan on a topic of their choice. This idea must be centered on one of three divisions: commercial venture division, social venture division, or green venture division. Honegger and Phillip entered their Microlution Inc. business plan in the commercial venture division. According to Honegger, this idea was sparked while he and Phillip completed their graduate research at Illinois. They wanted to develop small, high precision machine tools that can be used for making very small parts. Honegger and Phillip also found numerous benefits by entering the competition. The experience they gained helped the team prepare to pitch the business plan to future investors. “Putting together a business plan is a process that requires a team to answer many of the important unknowns about a new business venture,” Honegger said. “The Cozad Competition not only forced us to generate answers to these questions, but also defend our answers and assumptions to judges and ultimately potential investors.” After winning the competition, Honegger and Phillip took several steps to jumpstart their business, Microlution. They used the $20,000 that they won to purchase several expensive pieces of equipment needed for their company. In addition to the monetary prize, legal services were also donated to the team in an effort to aid in the formation of their company. These services proved to be valuable as they allowed Honegger and Phillip to file a patent application and perform other legal reviews for Microlution. Following the CBPC, the team refined its business plan and pitch, as well as their marketable product. They also entered a number of other business competitions on both the regional and national level. These competitions include the Rice University Business Plan Competition and the Southern Angels Business Plan Contest at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC). The Microlution team placed tenth at Rice University and third at SIUC. Honegger and Phillip also worked with several advisors at Illinois including College of Engineering professors, Brian Lilly, Richard Devor and Shiv Kapoor. These experts provided real world expertise about the business world. When asked how this mentoring helped, Honegger stated, “They all helped us out in different ways, from preparing the actual business plan to evaluating the technical feasibility of the idea. New entrepreneurs typically lack experience in nearly every aspect of starting a business, so it is important to build a strong network of advisors.” Almost three years later, Honegger and Phillip are still working together and continuing to expand Microlution. Phillip is the president of Microlution and Honegger serves as the vice president. Microlution is a “cutting edge company committed toward delivering an improved micro-machining solution across a wide array of industries.” The company’s most recent development includes the Microlution 310-S. This product features high-precision components used to produce prototypes and low volume machine parts. Honegger and Phillip continue to work hard, implementing the business plan that made Microlution the winner of the 2005 V. Dale Cozad Business Plan Competition. http://www.tec.uiuc.edu/news/display_tecnews.php?id=44 Sat, 02 Feb 2008 00:00:00 CST From PayPal to YouTube, from Yelp to Netscape, Illinois computer science and engineering students and alumni have a reputation for launching new technologies and web services that change the way we all think about computing. The New York Times and Fortune Magazine have both recently proclaimed many of our young alumni as some of the most influential players in the industry today. Do you have the next great idea? Want to follow the same path? The iVentures10 program is a new kind of summer intern program computer science and engineering students with a great idea for a software or web based start-up company. During the 10 summer weeks, student teams will develop their idea into a working prototype and lay the groundwork to launch their start-up. The program will provide working capital, plus any office resources and management guidance you might need to create a prototype of your product/service and pitch your idea to investors. iVentures10 will award up to 4 teams of 2-4 students with this 10 week internship and up to $25,000 in funding. The internship is structured to allow you maximum flexibility in creating your prototype, while providing a solid foundation in the skills you need to start a company, develop a valuation and capitalization structure, plan the launch of your product/service, and attract investors. At the conclusion of your 10-week internship, you will present your company and product idea to potential investors to attract additional capital to continue your venture. Three teams of computer science and engineering students participated last year, the first year that the program was offered. Projects the students developed ranged from social networking and bookmarking sites to a service that enables consumers to compare product prices and offers by snapping a photo of a product’s bar code in store. "It's pleasant to see something you learn working in real life," says CS PhD student and Snap & Buy team member Ali Farhadi. Information Session with free food. IllinoisVENTURES is holding an information session in Siebel 2405 on January 29th at 5:30pm. Free food is included. Attend and learn more about More information about capitalizing on your own unbeatable deal through iVentures10 is available at www.iventures10.com. Applications are due by February 21, 2007. Contact Amit Sudharshan at asudharshan@illinoisventures.com with any questions about this program. iVentures10 is sponsored by IllinoisVENTURES, a seed and early-stage technology venture capital firm focused on research-derived companies in information technologies, physical sciences and life sciences, with a particular emphasis on those deriving from research conducted at the University of Illinois and other regional research institutions. IllinoisVENTURES works closely with inventors and entrepreneurs to mold concepts, vision, intellectual property, sweat and passion into breakthrough, high-growth companies. Located in Champaign, they have started over 25 companies and have recently been named by Entrepreneur magazine to its 2005 list of the top 100 venture capital firms nationally for entrepreneurs. http://www.tec.uiuc.edu/news/display_tecnews.php?id=41 Wed, 23 Jan 2008 00:00:00 CST Please visit the following link to see the interview:http://www.engr.uiuc.edu/news/?xId=072808160728. http://www.tec.uiuc.edu/news/display_tecnews.php?id=40 Thu, 13 Dec 2007 00:00:00 CST Idea to Product Global Competition Winner By Eva Panagiotopoulos The Murchison Chair of Free Enterprise hosted the Idea to Product (I2P) Global Competition on November 3, at The University of Texas at Austin. I2P Global invited universities from Asia, Europe, and North America to compete for $25,000 in prizes and a chance to enter the Global Moot Corp competition. In addition, participants benefitted from valuable feedback given to them by the entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, engineers, and intellectual property attorneys that served on the judging panels. The first place winner of the I2P Global Competition was Michael Callahan, a graduate student in Systems and Entrepreneurial Engineering at the University of Illinois. Callahan was awarded $10,000 and an entrance into the Global Moot Corp competition for his most recent invention, a device called the Audeo. The Audeo translates neurological signals into spoken words or commands for other devices, such as a motorized wheelchair. By interfacing near the source of vocal production, the Audeo has the potential to restore communication to people who are unable to speak. The proposed solution is a featherweight wireless device resting over the vocal cords capable of transmitting neurological information from the brain. Using data analysis, this information can be processed into synthesized speech or a menu selection capable of conveying the basic necessities of human life. The mission of the Audeo is to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities through utilization of the mind and advanced communication. Callahan’s vision and hope that led to the formation of this company is to, "allow people with disabilities to express their thoughts and ideas, an aspect of life which is often taken for granted. Unfortunately, most patients who lose all motor control have no way of conveying their ideas.” Callahan hopes the Audeo will give people back this ability and allow many more profound ideas to change the world through communication. Callahan started the competition with a disadvantage from missing the feedback round. Instead, he was meeting with Texas Instruments. However, Callahan remained strong throughout the all-day competition. The preliminary was in the first round and took place during the morning. The second and final round narrowed down the competition to three potential winners. Callahan gained an advantage here because as he stated, “We were the only team competing with our very own invention. All the other teams were presenting someone else’s invention, like a professor’s.” The team that developed the Audeo device has co-founded Ambient, a corporation to help people with speaking disabilities regain their ability to communicate. Callahan and his team have entered several competitions and won the V. Dale Cozad Business Plan Competition at the University of Illinois, earning $11,000 to aid in the development of the Audeo, as well as the first $30,000 Lemelson-Illinois Student Prize for innovation. Ambient has also been named Startup of the Year in 2007 and Callahan was named Student of the Year in the 2007 EE Times Annual Creativity in Electronics (ACE) Awards competition. http://www.tec.uiuc.edu/news/display_tecnews.php?id=39 Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:00:00 CST By Dean Hopkins This October the Technology Entrepreneur Center expanded its Student Entrepreneur Learning Lab (SELL) by opening a branch in EnterpriseWorks (EW), in Research Park at the University of Illinois. The new “SELL-South” facility is a more advanced laboratory than the original SELL, which is located at the TEC. SELL-South is a wet lab, meaning experiments that require water or direct ventilation to eliminate chemical fumes can be conducted there. According to Brian Lilly, a professor in the TEC, the space gives students the option to work on various types of projects. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Lilly also serves as a mentor for students at the TEC. In fact, one of these projects is the reason TEC decided to open the new lab facility. Chris Roney, a senior majoring in Speech Communication, is currently trying to create a specialty ice cream product with nutritional benefits. Because the SELL was not an appropriate space for Roney to conduct this experiment or store food products, TEC faculty and staff decide to pursue another location that Roney and other students like him could utilize. “The lab in EnterpriseWorks is clean and a nice environment to work in.” Lilly said. “We are thrilled that they’ve allowed us to move into this facility, and look forward to continuing the partnership.” EnterpriseWorks is a startup business incubator that has a variety of resources available to individuals launching new companies. These resources include furnished office space, conference rooms, high speed wireless internet, and the full wet labs mentioned as being utilized by the TEC students. While most tenants have to complete an application process and pay fees to use space at EW, Scott Pickard, the director at EnterpriseWorks, is allowing the Illinois students to take advantage of open space at the facility for free. Pickard said that part of EW’s mission is to provide startup companies with assistance in order to become successful organizations. EW also aims to get involved with students at Illinois and support them with their career development. “There is no greater way to learn than experience,” Pickard said. He hopes that the student teams working at EW will eventually become companies, and possibly tenants. In addition to Chris Roney’s, there are two other projects being conducted at SELL-South. Ryan Mulligan, Noah Cohen, Marc Morin, and Derek Klein are a group of students that have entered the Innovate or Die Pedal-Powered Machine Contest sponsored by Specialized and Google. The contest requires contestants to take advantage of human pedal power and invent a device that will be useful to the world. The winner of the competition will receive a Specialized Globe bike and $5,000. The team is currently working at SELL-South to develop a machine that grows food in areas with bad soil, such as third world countries. The device will be a human-powered water pump that will spray plants with nutrient enriched water, allowing the plants to grow aeroponically (without soil). Christian Douglass, a student in Lilly’s Entrepreneurial Approach to Green Engineering class, is currently in the process of developing a business to sell paints and stains. Instead of using chemicals that are harmful to the earth’s environment, Douglass has created paints with all-natural ingredients. He is currently running tests at SELL-South on the paints to determine how they stand up to the different elements of the weather. Lilly received a $14,500 grant from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) to assist the students with their projects. Lilly uses this money to help the students with their business ideas and to buy supplies that they need. He would like to get more students involved with the TEC from other disciplines outside of Engineering. He is willing to help others who are seriously interested in starting careers in entrepreneurship. Lilly believes students have several advantages when working in the EnterpriseWorks building. “There are innovative people in the same room, and they can learn from one another. The students receive an out-of-book learning experience,” Lilly said. For more information about TEC programs, contact Rhiannon Clifton (rclifton@uiuc.edu). For more information on working in SELL-South, contact Brian Lilly (lilly@uiuc.edu). http://www.tec.uiuc.edu/news/display_tecnews.php?id=34 Fri, 09 Nov 2007 00:00:00 CST By Eva Panagiotopoulos “You have to think anyway, so why not think big.” A famous American business executive, entrepreneur, and CEO said this once. And I think Donald Trump knew what he was talking about when he said it. The fresh organization Illini Global Initiative is taking “thinking big” to a new level, globally. If you’re thinking Illini Global Initiative sounds like any other typical environmental organization, meet the President and Co-Founder Jim Heffron. As he made clear, “IGI is different from an Environmental organization. We want to be a resource. We want to focus on projects and build relationships, focus on core areas such as global health poverty, environmental and climate change, social justice, and multiculturalism.” And when Heffron was asked how IGI would captivate a different edge he responded, “I’m all about big, crazy ideas.” Initiative, in Heffron’s view must go beyond discussions and readings. It is about brainstorming, contributing, and not wanting to stay limited, in other words, “We have to let people know crazy ideas are ok and we will make them happen.” Illini Global Initiative was created in the spring semester of 2007 with a mission to unite existing student organizations, faculty, and administration in to bring global issues into the perspective of students. In doing so, IGI will give the student body the tools and know-how to empower them to make a difference in their own ways. The organization will articulate a purpose with “core areas,” but not stay limited to them. IGI acknowledges being a brand new organization with still some kinks in their structure, however, thinking big is exactly how IGI desires to bring in new ideas and growth to the big picture. The ideas and hard work of IGI are already prepared to make a big first impression. The organization has successfully reached out to other organizations and built a coalition. Without any fear and only optimistic anticipation about everyone’s hard work coming together, IGI will present its first event November 5th-9th, Live Green. Live Green week is composed of several activities (including lectures, demonstrations and hands-on displays) with the expressed intent to show Illinois students how to live greener – less-destructive, more globally-conscious – lives. Each day of the week has a specific theme that incorporates these activities. Demonstrations and hands-on displays will be taking place on the quad throughout the week as will the sale of raffle tickets. In addition, a weeklong CFL Drive of selling less energy consuming and longer rated life CFL lights bulbs for $3 each. This event was also made possible with special help from SECS Vice President Ari Sahagun, the sponsorship of the Technology Entrepreneur Center and the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership, and the assembly of organizations: Students for Environmental Concerns, Engineers Without Borders, Planeteers, AEISIC National Organization for Business and Engineering, Re-Use, Just Foods, Amnesty International, Volunteer Illini Projects, La Casa, Student Hurricane Relief Network, Student Farmworker Alliance at UIUC, Red Bison, Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences. Live Green demonstrates how IGI has developed its values and purpose statements, and the commitment to “go big, or go home.” When asked what the next project for IGI would be, Heffron answered, “We were talking about global health and poverty with the collaboration of AIDS campaigns but better ideas might come along. We are staying open-minded, the bigger- the better.” If students are interested in an organization that is constantly working on projects and a place for ideas to develop, Illini Global Initiative is the epitome of it all. Students must be warned however, IGI is only setting the standards high, and is on its way from campus to nationwide, to worldwide in no time. After all, only thinking big will take you there. http://www.tec.uiuc.edu/news/display_tecnews.php?id=33 Thu, 01 Nov 2007 00:00:00 CDT