‘Operation Mousetrap’ is all about innovation

http://news.siuc.edu/news/April10/040810cjm10103.html

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Operation Mousetrap isn’t about finding a better way to capture a furry rodent; rather, it focuses on ways to help commercialize the research and innovation technologies developed by Southern Illinois University Carbondale faculty and staff.

The inaugural sessions of the entrepreneurial technology transfer program draw to a close this week with nine special presentations highlighting a small fraction of the technology, research and innovation that exists at SIUC. Participants will demonstrate their projects, offering PowerPoint presentations and discussing their business plans while honing their “pitches” for funding.
Media Advisory

Reporters, photographers and camera crews are welcome to cover the Operation Mousetrap entrepreneurial technology transfer program presentations set for Friday, April 9, in Room 241 at the Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center. Presentations begin at 12:30 p.m. with graduation set for 2:30 p.m. John Koropchak, vice chancellor for research and graduate dean, will present certificates of achievement to participants completing the program.

Since early 2010, participants have been meeting each week to hear a variety of experts discuss topics of interest. They’ve learned about testing their innovations and business concepts, exploring entrepreneurship, identifying funding and working with investors, protecting their business and intellectual property, planning for financial success and much more. Curt Jones, founder and CEO of Dippin’ Dots and an alumus of SIUC, spoke about defining a target market. Jack Goecken, founder of MCI, addressed entering and capturing the market. Participants also heard about testing their business concepts from Curtis Baird, chairman of the board of the School Center in Carbondale.

“In addition to the weekly training and speakers, participants have been meeting with their business coaches to further develop their business plans and investor pitches. This one-on-one assistance gives each faculty or staff member the opportunity to focus on the stage of business development that is most important and applicable to them at this time,” said Kyle Harfst, director of technology and enterprise development at SIUC.

Harfst and Maryon King, director of the College of Business Center for Innovation and associate professor of marketing, both served as business coaches for Operation Mousetrap participants. Operation Mousetrap uses FastTrac TechVenture, an entrepreneurship and business program provided by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The foundation fosters entrepreneurship through such programs all over the U.S., giving people the tools they need to develop or hone their skills to better utilize and market technology.

Essentially, the program works with technology and life science researchers and developers in bringing their innovations from the concept stage to the marketplace. There is an emphasis on intellectual property and some of those participating in the current program are already seeking patents for their work. The participants received scholarships, valued at about $1,500, to be part of the program.

Harfst’s desire to establish an entrepreneurship program for faculty and staff researchers and scientists at the University led Lynn Andersen Lindberg, director of business innovation and research, to approach Mark Petrilli. Petrilli, state director of the Illinois Small Business Development Center, was enthusiastic about the concept and provided partial funding for the inaugural session, according to Andersen Lindberg. The University’s Technology Transfer staff helped identify faculty and staff who had technologies that were ready to take the next step toward commercialization and they received invitations to the program.

Partnering to provide the SIUC program are the College of Business Center for Innovation, Illinois Small Business Development Center, Small Business Incubator Program and the Southern Illinois Research Park.

Operation Mousetrap participants successfully completing the intensive 12 sessions will get certificates of achievement on Friday, April 9, from John Koropchak, vice chancellor for research and graduate dean. The graduates are eligible for three months of free rent at the Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center through the Small Business Incubator Program and can also apply for $5,000 to $10,000 in challenge grant funds from the Southern Illinois Entrepreneurship Center.

The ultimate goal of the program is increasing the number of technology-based companies emerging from SIUC research and locating in Southern Illinois, Andersen Lindberg said.

“The program has been so successful that plans are already under way for the second Operation Mousetrap program, set to begin in August,” said Andersen Lindberg. “In addition, the program staff will continue to work with this first group of participants to assist them in the next phases of their entrepreneurial tech transfer activities. We’ll be offering them business coaching, follow-up workshops and seminars throughout the year.”

Participants in the inaugural Operation Mousetrap include:

• Ken Anderson, professor, geology.

• Bakul Dave, associate professor, chemistry and biochemistry.

• Peter Fadde, associate professor, curriculum and instruction.

• Thad Heckman, assistant instructor, architecture school.

• Yuqing Hou, assistant scientist, graduate school.

• David Lightfoot, professor, plant, soil and agricultural systems.

• Sebastian Loh, assistant professor, curriculum and instruction.

• Luke Tolley, associate professor, chemistry and biochemistry.

• Tom Upton, associate professor, Rehabilitation Institute.

"Operation Bootstrap" Orientation Saturday

http://www.duquoin.com/news/x998213411/-Operation-Bootstrap-Orientation-Saturday

Carbondale, Ill. -

Round four of the popular and successful Operation Bootstrap, a training program from the Southern Illinois University Carbondale entrepreneurship team, is kicking off soon.

The program is open to aspiring and new business owners in the southern 16 counties of Illinois. Already 102 graduates from the first three classes are reaping the benefits of the business-training program. The SIUC Office of Economic and Regional Development’s Entrepreneurship and Business Development Unit and the Delta Regional Authority provide the training for “Operation Bootstrap: Seeding Southern Illinois Start-ups” to unemployed or underemployed low- and moderate-income residents in the Illinois Delta counties.

A new class session will begin in June. However, all who are interested in the intensive, 12-session program must attend an orientation session, which provides information about how the program works and all of the requirements.

Here’s the schedule for the orientation sessions:

• Saturday, April 10, 1-2 p.m., Du Quoin City Hall, 302 E. Poplar St.

• Tuesday, April 13, 4:30-5:30 p.m., SIUC Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center, 150 E. Pleasant Hill Road, Carbondale.

• Wednesday, April 21, 2:30-3:30 p.m., SIUC Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center, 150 E. Pleasant Hill Road, Carbondale. The Illinois Small Business Development Center is sponsoring a free workshop, “Finding Financing,” that will immediately follow this training session and participants are welcome to attend.

“SIU is so proud to be able to offer this training again. Our successes tell the Operation Bootstrap story best. Take a look at our Web site, www.operationbootstrap.biz, and see the results. These new business owners are hard working, inspired and determined to make a living for themselves and make a difference in Southern Illinois. With very little start-up costs, these entrepreneurs are bootstrapping their way into successful business ventures,” said Robyn Laur Russell, director of business development and international trade at SIUC.

It gives them all of the tools to help them start their own business or formalize a business they already have. The program is beneficial to entrepreneurs of all kinds, whether they are starting a small downtown business or planning a high-growth, global operation. There’s no cost to participate.

And, in addition to gaining vital information and assistance, graduates of the program are also eligible to compete for monies to help them start their new businesses. Those completing the program and developing individual business plans will vie for competitive grant awards of up $3,000. As many as 15 participants could earn funds to help them launch their businesses and create new jobs in Southern Illinois.

Operation Bootstrap 4 kicks off June 19 with an intensive “blast class” incorporating the first four sessions. Classes continue the next eight weeks running from 3-6 p.m. each Wednesday. The class meets at the Man-Tra-Con Family Opportunity Center in Du Quoin.

For more information about Operation Bootstrap or the SIUC Office of Economic and Regional Development, call 618/453-2070 or e-mail startbiz@siu.edu.

FutureGen and Economics

Note: This post was meant for the SIUC Energy Tech Blog, but I'll leave it here in case anyone's linking to it.

Recent news: Peabody Energy Acquires Equity Interest in Calera Corporation

The Calera Corporation Technology captures emissions from coal- or gas-fired fuel plants and converts them into green building materials. Another byproduct is fresh water.

FutureGen is seemingly becoming more of a reality as more companies join the roster and more research funding is pumped into the related technologies.

What will the impact be on our region if FutureGen is implemented? In case you missed it, Dr. Ira Altman from SIUC Department of Agribusiness Economics wrote a report entitled

FutureGen: The Economic Impacts of Clean Coal for Illinois

Ira Altman, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Agribusiness Economics
College of Agricultural Sciences
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
June 2007
Link to the full report (pdf).

Table of Contents:

Table of Contents
Summary 3
Introduction 4
Study Area Description 4
Results and Analysis 10
Economic Impacts of Facility Operations – Statewide 11
Economic Impacts of Construction – Statewide 11
Economic Impacts of Facility Operations – Two County Model 12
Appendix A Input-Output Analysis and IMPLAN 14
Appendix B Output Impact- Two County Model 16
Appendix C Output Impact State Model- Facility Operation 23
Appendix D Output Impact State Model- Facility Construction 30

Summary:

This research concludes that the economic impact of locating a coal gasification and carbon sequestration project in either Coles County or Douglas County would result in significant positive economic activity for the state of Illinois and the local economy.

Impact results are calculated using the IMPLAN Professional Version 2.0® for two models: a state level model and a two county model. Report highlights include the following impacts from the operation of a coal gasification facility:

---A $135 million increase in statewide economic output from facility operation
---A $34 million increase in statewide labor income from facility operation
---A $91 million increase in statewide value added from facility operation
---An $11 million increase in tax revenue from facility operation
---An increase of 510 jobs in Illinois from facility operation
---A $258 million increase in statewide economic output from construction
---A $116 million increase in statewide labor income from construction
---An increase of 2,525 jobs in Illinois from construction
---A $85 million increase in local economic output
---A $19.98 million increase in income for local labor
---A $59 million increase in local value added
---A $8.1 million increase in taxes and
---An increase of 360 new jobs to the local area.

Dr. Altman is interested in doing additional research more focused on the impact of Illinois coal from FutureGen.

SIUC team wins fourth in global innovation contest

Saluki Times, March 31, 2010
By Tim Crosby

CARBONDALE, Ill -- A team of Southern Illinois University Carbondale researchers, students and entrepreneurs brought home a top prize in a national technology innovation contest.

The team won fourth place at the Global Venture Challenge 2010, a contest based at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The SIUC team was one of just 22 finalists from five countries competing for cash prizes at the contest, aimed at finding innovative ideas from graduate students to address the world’s needs for energy and security.

The team pitched the so-called “nanoscopic electronic nose,” a device in which tiny nano-scale wires stand in for the biological smell detector cells present in a mammal’s nose. Because of their tiny size and chemical reactivity, nanowires can detect extremely small concentrations of chemicals in the parts-per-billion range. Sensors based on this technology also are extremely stable and power efficient.

When assembled in arrays of sensors and coordinated by software, such sensors can form a sort of electronic nose that can send detailed information about the environment. Applications might include very small, power-efficient sensors that can send doctors real-time information about a patient’s blood glucose level, for example, or lead to improved radio frequency identification tags -- often used in the retail sales industry, but with many other potential applications -- that can sniff the air for explosives or other chemicals.

The team presenting the device included Andrei Kolmakov, assistant professor in the Department of Physics; Victor Sysoev, a former visiting Fulbright Scholar from Saratov State Technical University in Russia; physics doctoral student Evgheni Stlecov; Renee Favreau, a senior in marketing; Jenni Janssen, assistant director of the SIUC Center for Innovation; Gina Montgomery, a senior in industrial design; and Maryon King, associate professor of marketing. Read More...

Technology and Innovation Expo in One Week

Want to attend SIU's Technology and Innovation Expo - Spring 2010 in Edwardsville on Tuesday, March 30? Email techtran@siu.edu now. Event details at http://techtransfer.siuc.edu/tie/s10/.

SIU To Present System Technology & Innovation Expo March 30

http://www.prweb.com/releases/technology_innovation/expo_biochemistry/prweb3597054.htm

The Southern Illinois University system, which for decades has provided a fertile environment for the development of major technologies, will showcase current research and inventions March 30 when the system presents the Technology and Innovation Expo on the SIU Edwardsville campus.

Edwardsville, Ill. (Vocus/PRWEB ) February 12, 2010 -- The Southern Illinois University system, which for decades has provided a fertile environment for the development of major technologies, will showcase current research and inventions March 30 when the system presents the Technology and Innovation Expo on the SIU Edwardsville campus.

Faculty inventors in the fields of biochemistry, engineering, medicine and pharmacy from SIU Carbondale, SIU Edwardsville and the SIU School of Medicine in Springfield will combine forces to showcase the latest research under way on the three campuses. The Expo also will focus on opportunities for potential partners to help make this cutting-edge research a commercial reality.

The Expo is scheduled from 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. that Tuesday in SIUE’s Morris University Center. The event will feature presentations by SIU faculty inventors who have technology to license. The event promises to bring together academics, entrepreneurs and business people to increase awareness of available technologies that can lead to new products and innovations in a networking environment.

“American universities have carried much of the responsibility for technology transfer from the laboratory to the commercialization of ideas and inventions," said SIU President Glenn Poshard. “The SIU system is proud to have played a major role in this endeavor over many years.

“The SIU Technology and Innovation Expo allows the campuses to display our efforts in this process,” he said.

Faculty inventors will present throughout the day, including SIU School of Medicine's William Halford, PhD, who will talk about the latest progress of his work in herpes vaccine. Inventors from SIU Carbondale will reveal the latest research in biofuels and advanced materials startup companies that have resulted from university research.

SIU Edwardsville’s featured inventions range from new drugs for treatment of Alzheimer's to magnetic refrigeration, a promising energy technology.

Keynote talks will be given by successful industry collaborators James Bashkin, chemistry director/co-founder of NanoVir, and Matt Kulig, serial entrepreneur and currently COO for Aisle411.com

Also featured at the Expo in the afternoon will be a panel of experts discussing “Ideas to Markets: Successful Technology Commercialization.” Panel members from industry, university administration, inventors and investors will provide insight into the technology commercialization process.

Throughout the day exhibits and poster presentations by speakers, SIU faculty, students, and event sponsors will be on display in the common areas. The event will include lunch and a catered reception for attendees. Registration is required and tickets are $25 per person.

Event information—including the Expo agenda, speakers, sponsorship opportunities and registration—is available online: http://techtransfer.siuc.edu/tie/s10, or by calling (618) 650-2166.

Sponsors for the event include Ameren Economic Development, Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP, Madison County Community Development, St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association, the Madison-Bond Workforce Investment Board and Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois.

The event is being organized by the SIUC Technology Transfer Program, the SIU School of Medicine, the SIUE Graduate School, the SIUE Southwestern Entrepreneurship Center and SIUE’s University Park, a research park on the campus.

Southern Illinois University Carbondale:
Founded in 1869 as a small teachers college, SIU Carbondale is a student-centered, comprehensive research university offering more than 200 majors, minors and specializations. SIUC is a Carnegie II doctoral/research-extensive (the highest category) institution offering more than 60 master’s and 30 doctoral programs. The National Science Foundation ranks SIUC 101st among public universities in the United States for total research and development expenditures, and 142nd among all universities in the country—placing the University among the top 4 percent of U.S. higher education institutions for research.

Southern Illinois University School of Medicine:
The mission of the SIU School of Medicine is to assist the people of Central and Southern Illinois in meeting their health care needs through education, patient care, research and service to the community. The School of Medicine trains caring and competent physicians, while developing new models for providing health care in rural areas. Our medical research provides the engine for continued growth in biomedical related economic development and clinical care. Our 220-plus full-time faculty physicians, who practice as SIU HealthCare, offer primary care and a variety of specialized services, many not available elsewhere in downstate Illinois.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville:
SIU Edwardsville boasts a unique academic portfolio offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in the arts and sciences, nursing, education, business and engineering as well as professional degrees in dental medicine and pharmacy. In fiscal year 2009, SIUE faculty and staff received more than $29 million in grants and contracts for research, teaching and service initiatives. For the fifth consecutive year, U.S.News & World Report has heralded SIUE for its Senior Assignment Program, and lists SIUE among the top 15 public Master’s universities in the Midwest and in the top one-third of all public and private Midwestern universities. Also, in its 2010 Best College edition, U.S. News included SIUE as one of 77 “up and coming” schools in the nation, specifically referring to SIUE as “firmly focused on improving the job they’re doing today.”

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SIUC Technology Advances to the Semi-Final Rounds of Global Venture Challenge 2010

The Center for Innovation is excited to announce that Dr. Andrei Kolmakov's Nanoscopic Electronic Nose technology advanced to the semi-finals round in Global Venture Challenge 2010.

C4I has been spearheading efforts to advance select SIUC technologies via participation in new venture competitions, with support from the SIUC Tech Dev team members. The extra focus the competitions bring to the technologies can lead to additional research and commercial opportunities.

For the next step of the Challenge, teams are required to complete a 5-page commercialization plan for submission by March 8th. First place winners will be awarded $25,000.

Read more about Dr. Kolmakov's technology on the SIUC Technology Transfer website or in this summary (PDF).