News

05.19.09 Great Valley Business Plan Competition

Breaker Boy Drums and Percussion took home top honors at the 7th Annual Great Valley Business Plan Competition, held on April 30th at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. Scott Carey, a student at King’s College, developed a strategic blueprint for utilizing CAD Software to design and build custom drums. Carey was awarded $20,000 in cash and $30,000 in donated services based on his plan’s ingenuity, technology focus, and commercialization potential.

This year’s second place prize went to Brave Gamer, a plan submitted by Penn State Worthington Scranton’s own Michael Marcos and BPC Alumnae Jim Walker, last year’s second place winner. The pair conceptualized a series of interactive video lessons for students to effectively learn gaming industry standards such as design patterns, revision control, scaling, proper documentation, and server management.

Cognition Media, a plan prepared by Joseph Casabona, Matthew Pfahl, and BPC alumnae Kristen Said, students at the University of Scranton, captured 3rd place. Cognition Media involves the design and development of a content management system specifically for high schools to manage their websites. This technology will allow schools to update and maintain basic information and modify all aspects of their website, including sports, extracurriculars, a web store, alumni relations, and any other needs they might have.

“The Great Valley Business Plan Competition continues to evolve and expand every year,” said Therese Maxfield, GVTA Marketing Director. “Not only do the plans continue to improve but so does the caliber of our students; I believe the success of this year has set a precedent for the years to follow. On behalf of the GVTA, we congratulate our winners and wish them the best of luck as they begin on the road to entrepreneurial success.”

Over 200 attendees gathered at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs for the festivities, enjoying a cocktail hour full of networking with some of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s most prestigious business and academic professionals.

Guests were escorted to the banquet room for an elegant dinner and itinerary featuring emcee Tim Holmes, Regional Director of Marketing for Times Shamrock, an invocation by Father Thomas O’Hara, President of King’s College, and speakers Todd Rehder (Director of Strategic Planning, VaxServe), and a video appearance by Senator Robert Casey. Commissioner Corey’OBrien and State Representative Ken Smith were in attendace, while Senator Casey, Congressman Carney and Congressman Kanjorkski had representatives supporting the event in their absence.

Upon the announcement of his First Place win, Scott Carey gave a heartfelt acceptance speech that moved Carey, his family, and many of the audience members, to tears. It was perhaps the most unforgettable moment of the evening, and a reinforcement of just what the competition stands for, and how it can positively affect the lives of its participants and the region as a whole. “Scott Carey was very emotional and stole the show,” said Robert Watts, Vice President of GVTA. “The crowd was really captivated by his energy and excitement.”

The Great Valley Technology Alliance would like to extend its deepest thanks to all of the proud sponsors who generously contributed to the 7th Annual Business Plan Competition. “The Business Plan Competition is the region’s premier economic development tool,” said Robert Watts. “By leveraging resources at our Institutions of Higher Education and investing real dollars and time into home grown talent, we are creating an entrepreneurial culture and retaining the best and brightest.”

5.02.09 TCMC Receives Grant, Becomes Newest Founding Member

“The Commonwealth Medical College (TCMC) was born from the bold ideas of a group of community leaders working to address the region’s shortage of physicians,” said Dr. Daniel Flynn, Associate Dean for Research and Economic Development for the region’s latest Institution of Higher Education. “TCMC is a new medical school that will serve all of Northeastern Pennsylvania and expects to accept sixty medical students and thirty Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) students in August, 2009.”

Governor Edward G. Rendell recently announced that 18 colleges, universities, academic medical institutions and research institutions from across< Pennsylvania will receive a $2.5 million investment from the Keystone Innovation Starter Kit (KISK) program to serve as a driver for the commonwealth’s economic growth, and help to cement the state’s reputation as a world-class leader in faculty recruitment and advanced technology. As part of the KISK program, The Commonwealth Medical College was awarded $137,000 for their faculty and/or technical needs. “The starter kit enables us to purchase a specialized piece of equipment called an ‘Array Scanner’ which is a specialized microscope that can detect rapid changes in cells and can screen many cell samples,” said Dr. Flynn. “We bought this piece of equipment to help our faculty analyze changes that occur in cells in response to deleting specific gene products, which enables faculty to uncover the function of certain proteins in diseased cells relative to normal cells. Our faculty member, Dr. Sonia Planey, developed this assay which can be done in the lab very cheaply. If this discovery turns out to be significant and useful, it will reduce the risk and cost to patients who are admitted into hospitals for diagnosis.”

The Commonwealth Medical College has campuses in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Williamsport, and is dedicated to training the next generation of physicians in a community-based model. “Focusing on selecting students with a propensity for community service, the school’s unique structure is designed to provide these students with diverse clinical experiences from the very first day of their education,” said Dr. Flynn. Dr. Flynn came to TCMC with a background in building research programs in Cancer and Cell Biology. He accomplished much at his former institution, but had a desire to help formulate larger research programs that were focused on discovery and fostered novel training opportunities for students. Dr. Flynn stated: “I inquired about TCMC to the Dean, who invited me to visit and ultimately, I was hired last December to develop our basic research and graduate education programs, and link these programs to health care and economic development.”

In addition to being a recent Keystone Innovation Starter Kit recipient, The Commonwealth Medical College has also become The Northeastern Pennsylvania Technology Institute’s newest Founding Member. “NPTI will link us with our research and education partners in the region and enable us to develop partnerships that will help not only us, but our collaborators,” said Dr. Flynn. “We will be able to pursue new educational initiatives, identify research collaborations, increase our ability to obtain federal funding for our research programs and also, NPTI will help us interact with the business community and address workforce training issues and develop applied research programs that promote economic development.”