TechAlert - April 2007

Welcome to the April 2007 edition of TechAlert, the bi-monthly newsletter of the Illinois Technology Development Alliance. Our issues feature articles of great interest to entrepreneurs; to investors interested in leading-edge, high-technology opportunities, and to established companies looking for innovative solutions to pressing business needs.

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ARTICLES

- Falck Medical Revolutionizes Early Diagnosis of Glaucoma and Stroke Risk

- QuesTek Innovations Receives ITDA Technical Development Award

- Entrepreneur Briefcase - The Great 20-Minute Business Plan Presentation:

How to Get Investors Interested

- Monday Morning Meetings Provide Connection and Coaching to Entrepreneurs

- How High Is Your Patent IQ?

- 5th ITDA Technical Development Award Goes to Insititue of Tribology and

Coatings

- Growth Dimensions Seeks Proposals for Biomass Commercialization Awards

- ITDA Announces NASA and Navy Federal Development Seminar: Thursday, June

7th, 2007

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Falck Medical Revolutionizes Early Diagnosis of Glaucoma and Stroke Risk

If you heard about an ophthalmologist or optometrist who used state-of-the art equipment that was substantially more effective at diagnosing glaucoma (the second leading cause of blindness worldwide) would you be interested?

How about if that same doctor or your internist had a way to conduct a painless, non-invasive, six-second test (already approved for Medicare and Medicaid re-imbursement) that could far more reliably assess your early risk of stroke than any other office procedure readily available today, would you ask for it?

Falck Medical of Allentown, PA is an early-stage, diagnostic medical device company with a line of products based on patented technology that enables doctors to dramatically improve the way eye pressure is measured and reported. The measure of eye pressure is important because it is an extremely significant predictor of glaucoma and ocular blood flow, which is used to assess early risk of stroke.

The company, which was incorporated in 2000, has working prototypes, major patents granted between 2001 and 2004, and is conducting clinical studies. “It’s a compelling story,” says Rich Milliman, Falck Medical CEO. “We provide a truly superior technology that provides significant benefits to both patients and their doctors.”

Glaucoma Screening Today and Tomorrow

Glaucoma is a group of diseases of the eye that if left untreated cause permanent damage to the optic nerve, resulting in loss of vision and blindness. According to Prevent Blindness America, the nation's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight, glaucoma affects one in 200 people age 50 and younger and one in 10 over the age of 80, so the market for improved devices and procedures is huge and growing.

Eye care professionals screen for glaucoma by using a procedure called tonometry which determines the pressure inside the eye, called intraocular pressure or IOP. Current methods for measuring IOP are inaccurate and usually involve staining the patient’s corneas with fluorescein.

The procedure may involve applying pressure to a patient’s eye with a hand-held device or may capture IOP measurements through a device that is attached to a slit lamp. (A slit lamp, which consists of components that are used for eye examinations including a high-intensity light source and a forehead and chin rest, is the bulky apparatus that your optometrist or ophthalmologist uses to swing these various instruments into place in front of your face during an eye examination.)

“Falck Medical provides a line of extremely accurate tonometers that more quickly, accurately, and easily measure intra-ocular pressure yielding significantly more detailed information than any other method or device available today,” Milliman says.

“The medical benefit to the patient is faster, easier, and more reliable screening for early risk of glaucoma,” he continues. “The nice thing from the eye doctors’ standpoint is that they are already doing tonometry. Our products are easier for the doctor than what is out there now. You push a button and get the result.”

The original work on what became this technology began about 12 years ago. “The Falck devices also provide an improved guide for the therapy process through secondary diagnostic tests, one of which helps assess whether diabetic eye disease or normal tension glaucoma is indicated,” Milliman adds.

Another secondary test that the Falck devices incorporates yields information that enables the eye care professional to better prescribe treatments which have a higher probability of working. Follow-on applications of this test provide a better gauge of the effectiveness of the prescribed treatment in managing the patient’s glaucoma.

“We have a device that not only offers truly better medical care but also benefits the practitioner by allowing them to improve their care of existing patients without increasing appointment time or purchasing more big equipment,” Milliman says.

The Falck Medical line includes both a slit lamp and a hand-held version. Both versions measure tonometry (eye pressure) and can perform two specialty tests: tonography, measuring the draining from the eye, and ophthalmodynamometry, a test that measures how much blood is going into the back of the eye and the pressure of the central retinal artery—a proven predictor of the risk of stroke.

“These specialty tests can be performed today; however some apparatus to perform the tests is very expensive and bulky while others cause considerable pain for the patient,” Milliman says. “Current tests are also very time-consuming. The patient must recline to be tested, and the process increases the length of appointments and slows down patient flow.”

As a result, even though these tests are already reimbursable under Medicare and Medicaid CMS codes and have been recommended by organizations such as the Mayo Clinic, they are often not made part of annual physicals.

Falck Medical Device Offers Break-through Potential in Detection of Early Risk of Stroke

Stroke occurs when the arteries that move the blood through the neck or head get clogged up or close. Currently, the first screening for stroke is performed by a doctor who holds a stethoscope to the neck and listens for a peculiar noise, sort of like a whistle. This procedure relies heavily on the doctor’s hearing, judgment, and experience, and doesn’t assess the arteries in the head.

“Using our hand-held device, a family doctor will be able to accurately read and record exactly how much blood is flowing through the carotid artery in the neck to the back of the eye. The test is painless and takes about 6 seconds per eye,” Milliman says. “With our device in their hands, internists and general practitioners can get a much more accurate reading and have a higher probability of identifying early risk for stroke.”

When the measure of blood reaching the retinal artery in one eye is different than the flow to the other eye (more than 20 percent is a general guideline), or if both eyes have lower flow than would be expected given the patient’s age, the doctor can then prescribe the next level of test, a carotid ultrasound. Fees for a carotid ultrasound can be more than $1000, which is one reason it is not the first screening test.

”Another huge benefit is that our product uses disposable prisms,” Milliman says. “The device knows whether the prism has been changed or not and won’t permit reuse. This protects the patient against the spread of disease. Academic studies have shown that virals and prions (an infectious agent made only of protein) can spread via eye fluid on the tip of a tonometer because even an alcohol swab down isn’t foolproof.”

Next Steps

The company is currently raising up to $2 million of A round capital which will be used to fund early commercialization and testing milestones including beta site tests at four universities. “The ITDA has been very helpful in linking us with angels and other investors,” Milliman says. “Even though we are currently headquartered in Pennsylvania, depending on the source of funding, that might change. We are flexible if it turns out there are geographic constraints on the money we raise.”

Falck Medical is also conducting additional clinical trials under the oversight of an Independent Research Board (IRB) to re-validate prior clinical trials, and Milliman says the company exit strategy is most likely acquisition after four to five years in the marketplace. “Corporations in the medical space have expressed potential interest as investors,” he says, “but thus far the company has been funded by founders, family, and friends without any institutional money.”

So far Falck Medical has accomplished their milestones by outsourcing. “We don’t need a lot of internal labor which helps us manage our costs. We have designers and manufacturers lined up and distributors who are interested as well,” Milliman says. “We have universities that have agreed to be beta sites. They will test, study, and write papers about their findings.”

“Our business was founded by a leading glaucoma specialist in New England,” Milliman says, “so there are already a number of regional eye care professionals and interests who have heard about our products. We plan to submit our FDA 510(k) application this quarter. Turn-around usually takes about three months, and once Falck Medical receives that approval, optometrists, ophthalmologists, or family physicians can use our equipment.”

Asked about challenges to the technology, Milliman acknowledges that there will be an education process, especially with general practitioners. “Like with any breakthrough invention, we face the challenge of displacing an incumbent and entrenched technology, but with our technology, we can show physicians how to efficiently provide significantly improved diagnostic care to their patients and how to earn a very significant level of additional revenue for doing it.”

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QuesTek Innovations Receives ITDA Technical Development Award

The Illinois Technology Development Association awarded a technical development award to another Illinois business, QuesTek Innovations of Evanston. This is the fourth commercialization award granted in the last four months.

“The biggest challenge with small technology businesses is that once they have a prototype working, they need money to turn prototypes into products, and that money is very difficult to raise,” says John Noel, ITDA vice president and manager of Illinois Technology Transition Center (ITTC). “The whole impetus behind our program is to contribute to solving this problem by funding very specific commercialization milestones for companies that meet very specific criteria. “

QuesTek Innovations: Developing New Materials in a Different Way

Privately held, profitable, and cash flow positive, QuesTek is in the business of developing designer metals. ”We approach the development of new materials in a different way,” says Brian Tufts, Manager of Material Sales at QuesTek. “We computationally design, patent, and license unique materials. Using our Materials by Design® methodology, we develop materials faster and more cost effectively than anyone else.”

Historically metal alloys, for example steel and stainless steel, were created by trial and error discovery. “There has been a lot of empirical development over the last 100 years to optimize new steel and alloys,” Tufts says. “As systems have grown more complex, the demand for specific materials has become more stringent. Fundamental material modeling is more effective than trial and error to develop alloys meeting unique material demands.”

Clients tell QuesTek what attributes are required—perhaps tensile strength or resistance to rust—and QuesTek will design the formula to meet that need. This means that rather than having to buy an “off-the-shelf” product that might over- or under-perform to specifications, a client can work with QuesTek to receive exactly what they want.

“Our uniqueness is based on the effectiveness of our models and design platform,” Tufts says. “We are experts at computational materials design; powered by skilled materials engineers using mature models and extensive thermodynamic data bases. We don’t manufacture; we design and patent the material and license it to major manufacturers.”

Year on year QuesTek’s revenue growth has been strong. “The company has a data base and a methodology that has been refined and honed over time,” Noel says. “They have prior experience in working with the DoD. They have a prototype that has tested very well. They hit the sweet spot for this award program.”

The US Air Force Seeks QuesTek Expertise

Several years ago, the DoD funded a large industry consortium to identify non-toxic corrosion resistant coatings for aircraft landing gear. Whereas landing gear currently requires toxic cadmium plating for rust resistance, there were strong drivers for a better coating.

“While working with this coating consortium it dawned on us: ‘with our design tools we can design a whole new alloy and eliminate the need for a coating altogether!’ We decided to design a corrosion-resistant material instead,” says Tufts. “QuesTek’s first prototype came within 15 percent of solving the Air Force’s problem, and that was the start of a five-year working relationship.”

QuesTek designed and patented a novel idea for the metallurgy which will make a new type of non-rusting steel patented as Ferrium®S53. For the last three years, the product has been put through exhaustive testing which will culminate later this year in specifications that allow S53 to be FAA approved for use in structural aerospace components.

However, to become fully commercialized, S53 must obtain two critical specifications: Aerospace Materials Specification (AMS), a procurement handbook which standardizes the expression of a product’s exact chemistry and minimum specs, and Metallic Materials Properties Development & Standardization (MMPDS), which is required for every structural material that goes into an aircraft.

“There is a whole host of mechanical testing to prove that a product meets the minimums for these specifications,” says Tufts. “You have to produce 10 unique melts at commercial scale and then perform extensive testing. We have melted more than 100,000 pounds of steel in support of this test program and early prototype components.”

Once a material is in the AMS document, there is no telling what can happen in terms of demand because all engineers use this handbook to specify materials. “In a way, it’s almost like a marketing promotion,” Noel says, “since just being in the book places your products in front of thousands of qualified buyers representing hundreds of thousands of applications.”

The cost of all this testing will total nearly a half-million dollars, and when QuesTek added up their available resources plus the government funding that they were able to secure, they still came up short.

ITDA Technical Development Award Fills QuesTek’s Funding Gap

“QuesTek matches our award criteria spot on,” Noel says. “They picked one problem, went after it, and solved it. Another reason ITDA really likes this project is that the technology has wide DoD application. Once you solve the landing gear problem, you can use the same process to tackle other problem. Getting all this testing done helps with the military market, and it could really jump start their commercial line.”

QuesTek’s business model is to generate licensing revenue from S53 that will provide capital to develop other products. “This award is very critical to us,” says Ray Genellie, QuesTek Vice President of Operations. “Within the context of a much larger pool of funds, it allows us to get this product designed, tested, qualified, certified, and to market. We are creating a new material that no one thought was possible. A structural stainless steel is a huge feat.”

Once QuesTek proves their business model with the Air Force, the company plans to move into commercial aviation. “It’s not at all unrealistic that you or I might fly on a plane in the next few years with landing gear built out of our material,” Tufts says.

Genellie adds that the grant from ITDA also benefits the broader economy of this region. “We subcontract a portion of our testing and engineering,” he says, “which means that about half the grant money will be consumed locally.”

Tufts says that working with the ITDA is like having another business development person directly on staff. “There’s a lot of R&D out there with the government, and we can’t capture everything,” he says. “The ITDA keeps their eyes and ears open for things that might benefit us, and every now and then something hits.”

ITDA has also been a source of consulting advice. “For example, all of a sudden we were having materials shipped in from Europe for the first time,” Tufts says. “We asked ourselves who could we talk to about how to do this, and we turned to the ITDA. They are very responsive, and if they can’t help us, they point us to someone who can.”

QuesTek’s technology has application beyond steel. “We play in a lot of space,” Tufts says. “We’ve done projects in aluminum, titanium, copper, and nickel, as well as some non-alloy applications. Our progress with S53 and a couple of other near-term products offer the opportunity for us to become extremely profitable.” Tufts says that the company plans to use this model to commercialize other technologies coming through development.

“How often do you get a chance to participate in a company that changes the way things are done?” Tufts asks. “Everyone in aviation faces the same set of issues and uses the same set of technology right now. It’s a huge opportunity out there. We have fantastic visibility; people know that we are working on a product that offers a 10 to 20 percent improvement in strength. They and we are all very excited about what it could mean.”

QuesTek Innovations: Developing New Materials in a Different Way

The US Air Force Seeks QuesTek Expertise

ITDA Technical Development Award Fills QuesTek’s Funding Gap

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Entrepreneur Briefcase - The Great 20-Minute Business Plan Presentation: How to Get Investors Interested

Investors are bombarded with requests for money and attention; they don’t have time to waste, and they make their decisions very, very quickly as to whether or not an entrepreneur’s pitch is something they need to listen to or not.

This means that when entrepreneurs have the chance to do a formal business plan presentation they must get across clearly, in the first couple of sentences, what it is that their company does. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter how good the rest of the presentation is or how well the business idea is defended from an intellectual property standpoint, the audience will stop listening.

In the March Entrepreneur Briefcase, Waverly Deutsch, an expert in developing and delivering effective business plans and instructor in entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, shared proven techniques on how to nail down an introduction that connects with investors and how to develop and deliver a business plan presentation that works.

If you could use advice on how to improve your communications with potential investors, click here to read Ms. Deutsch’s full article.

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ITDA Technical Development Awards Program

The ITDA created the technical development awards programs using a portion of the funding they received from the Department of Defense and NASA. “This is a very focused and narrow program,” says John Noel, ITDA vice president and program manager of ITTC, “but when a company matches our criteria, we may be able to supply the funding to help them move to the next stage of development.”

The award programs are open-ended until the allocated funding is committed. Award decisions are made through an RFP process that is scored and evaluated based on scientific, technical, and management review. An award recipient must be an ITDA client, an incorporated Illinois technology company, a small business as defined by the SBA, with a documented proof-of-concept, a production-ready prototype, an in-place management team, and a complete business plan.

Priority will be given to projects which promote Illinois’s strengths and advantages, particularly projects commercializing locally developed technologies with Illinois economic developmental potential. For more information, visit our web site. (http://www.illinoistechnology.com/services/federal_funding/documents/ITTCRFPTDFY06.pdf)

Earlier this year, ITTC made its first ever award to UPONUS Technologies, LLC of Wilmette, IL. Additionally the NASA Illinois Commercialization Center (NICC), operated by the ITDA under contract with NASA and the Glen Research Center (GRC) in Cleveland, OH, made enhanced commercialization awards to Santec Systems, Inc. of Chicago, and CogniTek Management Systems, Inc. of Northfield, IL.

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Monday Morning Meetings Provide Connection and Coaching to Entrepreneurs

I have been reporting on the companies that have presented at the bi-monthly Monday Morning Meetings for more than a year, and this month I thought I would share from an observer’s viewpoint how these meetings are conducted and why they can be such a valuable experience for high technology entrepreneurs and others who are interested in start-up companies.

As Waverly Deutsch, Ph.D. and instructor at the University of Chicago School of Business discusses in the March Entrepreneur Briefcase, every successful entrepreneur must be able to deliver a great business plan presentation and a compelling elevator pitch.

There is no better way for an entrepreneur to learn to do that than to have expert coaching in the preparation of the presentation and then to have multiple presentation opportunities—including some, like the Monday Morning Meetings that are serious opportunities, but not life and death.

Structured and Supportive Format

The Illinois Technology Development Alliance (ITDA) is very selective in choosing Monday Morning Meeting companies. Typically three entrepreneurs are invited to present at each bi-monthly session. Joel S. Dryer, a successful serial entrepreneur and owner and principal of Lab To Company, moderates the events, keeping them on time and on task. Each entrepreneur has 13 minutes—not one minute more—to tell his or her story.

“The format works and Joel does a good job of moderating,” says February presenter Brian Precious, Business Development Manager of SmartSpark® Energy Systems, Inc., Champaign, IL. “We normally present one-on-one, so I appreciated having the opportunity to stand up and answer tough questions from a variety of people.”

The ITDA helps presenting companies express a sound and supportable business strategy, build a concise and easy to understand explanation of what the company does, and clearly and crisply identify and quantify the market for their products and services.

“A presentation is successful,” Dryer says, “if when it is over the audience understands what the business does; is confident that the entrepreneur has been in the marketplace and understands how to solve a big problem there, and believes that the company has the team, skills, and experience to execute what they need to do.”

Precious encourages entrepreneurs to be well-prepared, well-rehearsed, and to come with a purpose.

“Don’t just go and talk about your company,” he says. “We asked for help in business development and networking. It’s also important to not put things into your presentation that you aren’t comfortable with.”

Russ Felker, CEO of RevStor™, Inc. of Schaumburg, IL another company that participated in the February event says, “Joel Dryer tells you what he expects from your presentation. He’ll ask questions to make sure that the audience gets to follow-up and clarify anything they don’t understand.”

Monday Mornings Filled with Networking Opportunities

The February meeting was attended by more than seventy entrepreneurs; service providers; angel, venture, and private equity investors; scientific officers, and representatives from research parks and university research departments.

Not only was there the opportunity to network over coffee before the session started, once the meeting convened, Dryer asked everyone in the audience to state their name and business which helped individuals identify and target the people they wanted to meet.

“Being in Champaign gives us the advantage of being close to the University, but the ITDA event gave us access to the Chicago business community,” Precious says. “A lot of good things have come out of that meeting, including discussions with potential customers and partners.”

In hosting Monday Morning Meetings, the ITDA usually partners with another organization active in the high tech entrepreneurial space. In February, that was Chicago Technology Park (CTP). Located on 56 acres within the Illinois Medical District, CTP serves as a vital ground for technology companies in early development as well as expansion facilities for those companies that are growing their operations. A number of people from CTP were available to the entrepreneurs.

“Having a mix of people there allowed us to get contacts in various areas to help us with our business,” Felker says. “We talked to people who are prospective hires, potential resellers, as well as some financing contacts.”

Entrepreneurs Receive Immediate and Constructive Coaching

“You get feedback right there at the meeting,” Felker continues. “It’s a little less formal than a presentation to a financing source, but you tend to get more of an honest response. It isn’t a seller and buyer relationship so people in the audience don’t have a vested interest in whether you get funded or not, and they tell you what they think.”

RevStor, Inc. (www.revstor.com) has developed a revolutionary storage software platform that allows companies to use existing hardware to implement an inexpensive, secure, and managed storage solution. The company has existing customers and is actively marketing their products.

“Conceptually, it’s like putting a server in place,” Felker says, “but instead of new hardware, our products allow our clients to reclaim the unused storage space on existing computers.” RevStor software runs on Windows, Linux or UNIX platforms and on just about any TCP/IP network.

”Think of SANware™ as running data through a virtual shredder to slice it into chunks, then mixing up those chunks in a virtual wind tunnel so that no file is at rest in one piece, except when you want to use it,” Felker explains. “Then that data is stored and backed up on unused capacity that the customer already owns.”

“The RevStor presentation covered several products,” Dryer said. “It would be helpful to position them and briefly explain their differences. An animated graphic of how the data moves around and some statistics about storage efficiency with this solution would also be helpful.”

Felker also received a suggestion to express his pricing in a more succinct and comparative fashion and since then he’s been quoting his pricing that way. ” When you buy a storage solution,” he says, “it’s usually expressed in price per gigabytes. Our cost is $1.33 per gigabyte versus $20 per gigabyte for competitive alternatives. That’s a great advantage to us.”

RevStor has filed multiple patents; the addressable market is more than 2.5 billion users, and the company’s software is both HIPPA and Sarbanes Oxley compliant. Felker is looking to raise $3 to $5 million to file patents, to ramp up marketing and branding, and to do further product development.

With eight approved patents and several more pending, SmartSpark Energy Systems (www.smartsparkenergy.com) specializes in power electronics. One product provides off-grid power that is maintenance free. A second product extends the life of rechargeable battery strings, which has application in hybrid and electric vehicles, and a third concept is for scalable, low-cost circuitry that connects to solar panels to allow them to plug into an AC outlet.

“Our founders started this company because we are dedicated to facilitating the mainstream adoption of alternative energy technologies,” Precious says. “Our products are designed to lower the cost and increase the performance and reliability of current and future energy technologies.”

The company has completed a Phase II SBIR grant from the Department of Defense to develop along lasting power system that the military can use to power equipment in areas where grid power is unavailable. The product is called ForeverPower™ and prototype units are currently undergoing military field testing. .

Dryer suggested incorporating a product schematic, a chart on potential markets beyond the government, and a chart on competition into his presentation. “Assume that I am a battery manufacturer,” he said. “Show me where your product fits in to the cycle of developing a battery. From your presentation, I understand what the product does, but where does it physically go, and how is it going to be used.”

Dryer also underscored the importance of a presenting company sharing the strengths of their management team using SmartSpark’s CEO, a former president of a $100 million division of a major public corporation, as an example.

“A divisional president has likely spent most of his or her career executing,” Dryer said. “He or she has risen through the ranks, been in sales and marketing, understands finance, and has reached the top of a multi-million dollar division. That person knows how to run a company. A block and tackle background like his is just what’s needed in small businesses.”

Next Monday Morning Meeting: June 18

When asked if he would recommend the Monday Morning Meetings to other entrepreneurs as either presenters or attendees, Brian Precious says, “Absolutely, in a heartbeat.”

The next Monday Morning Meeting will be June 18th, 2007 at the Northern Illinois University Naperville campus. Click here for more information

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How High Is Your Patent IQ?

This quiz is a warm-up for the May issue of Entrepreneur Briefcase, in which Mike Muczynski, a patent attorney in the Chicago firm Marshall Gerstein & Borun LLP, addresses some patent misconceptions and basics of what every inventor or entrepreneur needs to know when it comes to patenting intellectual property.

We invite you to take this quiz, click here to proceed and then visit our web site in May to read the complete Entrepreneur Briefcase Article: Increasing Your Patent IQ!

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Fifth ITDA Technical Development Award Goes to ITC

The Institute of Tribology and Coatings (ITC) of Sugar Grove, IL (www.tribologyinstitute.org) is the fifth company to receive an ITDA commercialization award this year. The company is an advanced research and development organization that focuses on tribology—the study of friction and materials.

Award milestones encompass formulation, design, fabricating, testing, and analysis of composite material.

“There are several reasons that the Institute of Tribology received this award,” says John Noel, ITDA Vice President. “They staff their projects with scientists and engineers who are the best in their field; they already have a number of ongoing projects with the US military so they know how to work effectively with the DoD, and most of all their deep expertise in tribology has produced a formulation that has the potential to meet the military’s need for stronger and lighter materials.”

That formulation is a product of the Institute’s strong background in composites. “Composites offer the benefit to the military of being more versatile,” says Steve Meyers, ITC Executive Vice President. “The military has older equipment that was not designed for dessert warfare. That equipment is wearing out in the Middle East, and the people who designed the parts for it are long gone. The goal is to build replacement parts out of better, lighter, and stronger material.”

A not-for-profit company, ITC functions as a collaborative. “We combine our own in-house staff with leading university professors and national laboratory scientists and other industrial partners,” Meyers says. “For every researcher inside, there are many others outside that we involve in our projects and ideas.”

ITC’s collaborative staff is drawn from a variety of outside resources, such as the faculty and scientists at Northwestern University, Argonne National Laboratories, and leading manufacturers. The company’s business model allows clients to solve problems utilizing top-tier expertise that is normally inaccessible to the outside world. ”We pair the best of the academic community with our own abilities and program management capabilities,” Meyers says. “Any idea of ‘not invented here’ disappears very quickly in a collaborative model like ours.”

He says that working with the ITDA is another good experience in collaboration. “They are very knowledgeable in technology start-ups, in venture capital funding, and in developing effective and believable business plans,” he says. “They can offer a lot of assistance to inventors who are willing to share what they are doing.”

“The Tribology Institute excels at all the basics,” Noel says, “plus they have the discipline and expertise to develop a technology to the point where it is a good commercial solution.”

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Growth Dimensions Seeks Proposals for Biomass Commercialization Awards

The Growth Dimensions Biomass Commercialization Award Program, developed by Growth Dimensions for Belvidere-Boone County, Inc. and funded by the US Department of Energy, aims to help entrepreneurs capitalize on the array of agricultural biomass resources in northern Illinois.

“We believe that the value-added side of the bio-energy sector offers great potential for this region,” says Mark Williams, Executive Director, Growth Dimensions for Belvidere-Boone County, Inc. based in Belvidere, IL. “We are looking for entrepreneurs with ideas for products that can leverage value from the co-products of the rapidly growing bio-renewable energy sector.”

New-use opportunities include bio-based plastics and composites for industrial applications, consumer products, and building materials. These biomass commercialization efforts can produce new economic activity and more jobs while reducing the amount of petroleum consumed.

Capitalizing on Regional Strengths

The Biomass Commercialization Awards are offered through a competitive merit-based solicitation which is available at http://www.growthdimensions.org/page.asp?DocumentID=345. Growth Dimensions receives and reviews proposals and then partners with the Illinois Technology Development Association (ITDA) to provide commercialization services.

“Growth Dimensions' mission is to focus on biomass for its strategic economic impact on this region,” Williams says. “The biomass awards program is based on commercialization, and our partnership with ITDA expands the network and the reach of this program.”

The ITDA offers a broad understanding of capital and technology sources as well as extensive experience in working through federally funded programs from the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, NASA, and the Small Business Association.

”This grant program matches the strengths of the region well,” says John Noel, ITDA Vice President. “Illinois has a large agricultural base with a strong history of research and development through its universities and federal labs. We want to use these core strengths of agri-business and science to make innovative products which extract and leverage the value contained in our region’s vast biomass resources.”

Attracting Companies Intent on Commercializing Agricultural-based Alternatives

Private companies that are in the process of commercializing biomass technology are eligible for these awards. “We are looking for projects with specific milestones that these awards can help fund,” Williams says.

Firms applying for assistance under this program must be primarily located in one of six counties in northern Illinois: however, all parts of a company are not required to be located in a particular geography.

“Not all the participants have to be in these counties as long as the impact gets back to the northern Illinois region in some way,” Noel explains. “As long as there is some aspect of the business based in this region and that this region benefits economically, the rest of the work could be carried out in a different geography.”

The value of awards will be based on detailed costs of project tasks and deliverables associated with commercialization activities. Due to available funding, it is expected that awards will not exceed $200,000 per award. Awards require cost-share on a cash or in-kind basis of at least $1.60 to every $1 in federal funds.

Noel advises entrepreneurs and scientists not to be put off by the matching contributions requirement. “The match doesn’t have to be in cash,” he says. “Basically any in-kind contributions that benefit the project and aren’t paid for by government dollars work, for example lab space, testing hours, loans of equipment, or pro bono consulting.”

As with most new awards programs, both Williams and Noel would like to see more proposals. “We have a mindset geared toward possibilities,” Noel says. “We encourage any company with a biomass idea to review the solicitation and submit a one-page executive summary that distills down what they want to accomplish, who the participants are, and the potential economic benefit to the northern Illinois region. Once we receive these ideas, we can begin to work with the entrepreneur to identify potential sources of matching funds.”

The current solicitation closes April 30th, but new solicitations open continuously.

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ITDA Announces NASA and Navy Federal Development Seminar: June 7

The Illinois Technology Development Alliance will sponsor a Federal Technology Development Opportunities Seminar on June 7 at the G.A.R. Rotunda and Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., Chicago. The event will begin with an informal breakfast buffet and networking time from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., and the information session will begin at 8:30 a.m.

“Our goal is to jump start local businesses—both small and more established— in their understanding of how to pursue federal technology development grants,” says John Noel, ITDA Vice President and Manager of Illinois Technology Transition Center (ITTC). “The seminar will provide a special focus on Department of Defense and NASA programs with an emphasis on how the ITDA can help companies navigate the process.”

There will be individual presentations from both the Navy and NASA discussing the problems they are trying to solve and their technology needs. The seminar will also include a panel discussion and Q&A session with four to five regional companies who are presently working with federal agencies. “These companies will represent different levels of expertise,” Noel says, “from one that has been doing business with the government for a long time and really understands it to a company that is just starting with their first federal agency partnership. Others’ experience will range in between.”

Noel expects these companies to offer different points of view. “Since they are actually doing it,” Noel says, “they can impart their wisdom and experience, and their individual opinions on what does and doesn’t work when seeking to partner with the government.” He adds that one area where he expects a lot of discussion is on the subject of working as a subcontractor to a prime. ”I imagine we’ll hear many different pros and cons on that,” Noel says.

Through the ITTC and the NASA Illinois Commercialization Center, the ITDA team offers programs services to help regional companies match their technologies to DoD or NASA needs. Because the ITDA has a long track record of introducing pre-screened and well-qualified companies to government program managers, the organization has a strong working relationship with representatives from DoD and NASA entities, and this relationship is a great benefit to ITDA clients. In addition to making contacts with NASA and Navy personnel, attendees are likely to meet people from other companies that might offer the potential to partner on projects.

“Many people you might want to meet are going to be at this session,” Noel says. “The appropriate audience for this seminar is companies at almost any stage of growth as long as they have progressed beyond simply the idea stage. They need to have the resources to prove that their idea works.”

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