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News
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May 6th, 2006
Plagiarism
tool earns top honors:
Great Valley Business Plan Competition
LOCAL COLLEGE STUDENTS WIN MORE THAN $100,000 IN
CASH AND SERVICES AND CHANCE TO START NEW BUSINESSES
Today, by simply
clicking a mouse students can find more information than ever before.
For some students, the temptation to copy or plagiarize another
person’s work is too much. Michael Moynihan III and Brian Pedone,
East Stroudsburg University, created a new tool that
will allow faculty members a quick and easy way to check their
student’s work.
Their company Grad Techs, LLC won the 4th Annual Great Valley
Technology Alliance Business Plan Competition, title sponsored by
Sanofi Pasteur, and VaxServe.
Grad Techs will receive $20,000 in cash and more than $28,000 in
in-kind services that will help the fledgling company establish itself.
The second place company, World Tree Solutions, Inc., features an
inventory management system that will revolutionize the way small to
medium size businesses track and manage their inventory. Team members -
from King’s College– are Flinn Mueller and Todd Buckley.
They are eager take to their product to market. They will receive more
than $20,000 in donated services.
As the third place plan, CollegeBlast.com uses the internet to attack
niche markets. CollegeBlast.com will receive $16,000 in donated
services. Team members Robert Heaney and Michael Hill are students at
the University of Scranton.
“The community support continues in year four. In fact, more than
50 companies contributed to this year’s event,” notes
Co-Chair Dan Santaniello, Fidelity Deposit and Discount Bank.
“All five finalists will receive one year free rent in the one of
five incubators, the Scranton Enterprise Center, the Innovation Center
in Wilkes-Barre, the Carbondale Technology Transfer Center, CAN
BE’s Greater Hazleton Business Innovation Center, and the Center
for Research and Development (CFRED) at East Stroudsburg University.
All three winners will receive legal counsel, intellectual property
protection, accounting services, marketing consultation and logo design
along with memberships to the Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton, and Pittston Chambers of
Commerce.”
More than 150 business and community leaders were present at the Victoria Inns, Pittston, on Thursday,
May 4 to see the teams receive their prizes.
The ceremony marked the culmination of months of hard work and was made
possible by many key sponsors, including Sanofi Pasteur, VaxServe, PNC
Bank, PPL Electric Utilities, M&T Bank. Guard Insurance Group,
ParenteRandolph, Kane Is Able, Fidelity Deposit and Discount Bank,
AllTel, Procter & Gamble, Diversified Information Technologies,
Gertrude Hawk Chocolates, PG Energy, Motorworld, Penn Security Bank,
Ben Franklin Technology Partners, The Sallie Mae Fund and Ciram.
The two other finalists in this year’s competition were Crunge
Industry Solutions, Remind Me Plus, founded by Jonathan Bossick and
Brian Cooper, Penn State Worthington Scranton, and offer a technology
solution that manages a person’s busy day. Cassino Enterprises,
founded by Michael Cassino, University of Scranton, integrates classroom
technology providing students with a tool to make learning more
efficient. The judging panel will offer feedback, guidance and
networking opportunities to all five teams, as well as to the other 14
contest entries.
For the Business Plan Competition, students must devise their own ideas
for a business they believe would be viable in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Next, they conduct the
appropriate planning and research to take their plan from paper to
reality.
Endorsed by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and
Universities (NEPACU), the competition was open to students attending
schools throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania, including Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton, and East Stroudsburg. The students were
allowed to form teams, either with other students or with interested
entrepreneurs in the community. Professors from NEPACU schools served
as advisors, and local business and industry leaders were mentors for
most teams.
Plans had to include a description of the proposed company, specifics
on the products or services to be offered, a marketing strategy and
details of the company’s operations and management team. They
looked at everything from start-up costs to employment needs to
marketing needs to their potential competition.
A panel of expert judges evaluated 19 plans submitted by the student
entrepreneurs. They spent several weeks closely examining each
plan’s focus, uniqueness, economic feasibility, expertise and
abilities of the team, likelihood of success and more.
In the end, five teams were declared finalists and invited to make a
more detailed presentation before the judging panel.
It was the final chance for students to make their pitches and prove
they had the business concept that deserves part of the $105,000 in
cash and in-kind services.
“The judges were charged with the challenging task of selecting
the most viable business plans,” commented Steven Roth, Esq, Partner
Rosenn, Jenkins & Greenwald and Chairman of the Judging panel.
Other judges include: John Augustine, Innovation Center Wilkes-Barre; Alex
and Ted Brunnelle, PerfectLawyer.com (2003 Business Plan Competition
winner); Mike Burnside, Consultant; John Daly, Cinram; Bruce Jennings,
Jennings & Zale; Deb Kolsovsky, PNC Bank; and Rick Kazmerick,
M&T Bank.
“In four years, the committee has awarded more than $325,000 in
cash and in kind services,” notes Jane Ashton, Contest Co-chair
and Director for Workforce Development at the Greater Wilkes-Barre
Chamber of Business and Industry. “During that time period we
received 86 plans. More
importantly, 13 new companies were created as result of the
program,” says Jane.
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April 15th, 2006
NPTI and
CFRED facilitate over $1 million investment to create
start-up companies and to
develop new products
An investment of $1M to produce new technologies and create start up
companies in Northeastern Pennsylvania is being overseen by the
Lackawanna and Luzerne County Keystone Innovation Zones, facilitated by
the Northeastern PA Technology Institute (NPTI) and the Pocono
Mountains Keystone Innovation Zone, and coordinated by the East
Stroudsburg University Center for Research and Economic Development
(CFRED).
In January,
Governor Rendell announced that Wilkes University and East Stroudsburg
University of Pennsylvania would receive a total of $500,000 in the
form of two Keystone Innovation Grants. KIG funding provides support to
institutions of higher education to facilitate technology transfer,
including patent filings, technology licensing, intellectual property,
royalty agreements and other designated resource needs. The grants,
funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic
Development, must be matched at least dollar-for-dollar by resources
other than the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The $500,000 and required
matching funds will generate in excess of $1M that will be invested in
six projects from four institutions of higher education in northeastern
Pennsylvania.
Each of the
thirteen colleges and universities in northeastern Pennsylvania had an
opportunity to apply for Keystone Innovation Grant funding. Key
components in each of the award winning applications included a dollar
for dollar match and a clear path to commercialization.
The grant
allocation committee, chaired by the Ben Franklin Technology Partners
of NEPA included two representatives from each of the three Keystone
Innovation Zones. The committee thoroughly reviewed the ten
applications and distributed the funds according to the greatest
probability of successfully creating a product and taking that product
to market. “The proposals were excellent and the allocation
committee’s task was not an easy one,” commented Gerald
Ephault, allocation committee chairperson.
Don Webster, NPTI
Board member and co-chair for the Great Valley Technology Alliance,
noted “I’m impressed with the decisions and especially the
decision making-process of the selection committee – rather than
an approach that could have potentially watered down the investment
impacts, the committee has recognized those applications with the highest
perceived potential for tech transfer success.”
The approved projects and Keystone Innovation Grant awards include:
• East
Stroudsburg University -
NE Wildlife DNA Forensics Lab: $125,000
Project Description:
To build and maintain a long-term collection of diverse animal species
of DNA samples, to design patentable technology for forensic methods to
collect and preserve sample material from animals directly in the
field.
• Wilkes
University - Bio Functional Nano-Coating: $120,922
Project Description:
To produce bio-functional coatings for applications such as
anti-bacterial fabrics, bio-sensors and photo-catalytic bio-chemical
remediation.
• East
Stroudsburg University - Real Time Steganography- $48,000
Project Description:
Scanner will monitor incoming and outgoing network traffic, preventing
employee theft before it occurs. The scanner prevents employee
downloads, prevents dishonest employees from passing company secrets
over the internet, and monitors and detects known fingerprints of
artifacts and the signatures in carrier files.
• University of Scranton - Validation of Species:
$75,000
Project Description:
Leverages genomic/proteomic knowledge and multiplexed DNA microarraying
platforms to develop a rapid, sensitive and cost-effective system
capable of detecting hundreds of potential biowarfare agents in a
single sample.
• College
Misericordia - Novel Methods for Understanding Protein Loss:$99,500
Project Description: To
coat the inside of pharmaceutical packaging with stable coatings that
deter protein adsorption and maintain drug stability 2-3 years.
• College
Misericordia - Develop and Market an Assistive Technology Efficacy
Tool: $6,578
Project Description:
To explore and improve assistive technologies by developing a new
assessment instrument. This software application will determine if a
given technology actually provides the quality of life for which it was
intended.
These innovative
KIG projects reflect the collaboration, academic excellence and
intellectual capital that are generated in the thirteen institutions of
higher education in Northeastern Pennsylvania. “Wilkes is pleased
to play a role in advancing the research profiles of Northeastern Pennsylvania institutions through this
major initiative,” said Wilkes University President Tim Gilmour.
East Stroudsburg University President Robert J. Dillman said,
“Our region’s greatest economic strength is in our colleges
and universities. As Northeastern Pennsylvania’s economy
transitions from a legacy economy of coal and steel to an economy
sparked by innovation, our universities will lead the way by providing
a highly-skilled workforce. Education is the engine that drives the
economy.”
Partners in the
KIG initiative include: Luzerne, Lackawanna and Pocono Mountain KIZs,
each region’s chambers of commerce, College Misericordia, East
Stroudsburg University, Johnson College, Keystone College, King’s
College, Lackawanna College, Luzerne County Community College, Marywood
University, Penn State University (Worthington- Wilkes-Barre - Hazelton),
University of Scranton, Wilkes University, Ben Franklin Technology
Partners of NEPA, the Great Valley Technology Alliance, Northeastern PA
Technology Institute, Penn’s Northeast, NEPA Alliance, Workforce
Investment Boards, private industry-Fairchild Semiconductor, Right
Reason Technology, Backbone Security, ESU Center for Research and
Economic Development, Schott Nexterion and a host of others.
“This is
one of the few times, maybe the first time, our region can boast a $1
million investment in technology transfer and commercialization, said
Christopher J. Haran, CEO NPTI, “Let’s hope we can make
announcements like this on a regular basis in the years to come”.
For more
information, contact: Contact: Ken Okrepkie, NPTI, 570- 575-1787 or
Mary Frances Postupack, CFRED, at 570-422-7920.
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November 16th, 2005
Thank you for
taking the time to visit the Northeastern Pennsylvania Technology
Institute's home on the web. Please check back with us often for
information on the various initiatives that we are working on to grow
the knowledge economy of our region.
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