Mechanical Engineering Junior Earns Cash Award in Business Plan Competition

Eric Jones, a junior mechanical engineer and member of the Hinman CEOs Program, tied for first prize in the Robert H. Smith School of Business's Undergraduate Business Plan Competition with his new company, Cyprus Precision. Jones will receive $800 as part of the award. Earlier this year, Jones’ team was awarded an $12,500 Advanced E-Team Grant from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) with Professor David Barbe as the PI.

Cyprus Precision is developing a Global Positioning Systems (GPS)-based product for athletes that will take measurements during training sessions and competition, giving them an edge in their specific sport by providing information necessary to optimize their performance. Using GPS, inertial sensing technology, and efficient algorithms to interpret acquired data, this device and its corresponding software will provide a novel method for obtaining speed, distance, and other measurements appropriate to specific sports such as rowing, cross-country running, and downhill skiing.

Cyprus team members include (all Hinman CEOs students): founder and CEO Eric Jones, a junior mechanical engineering student; junior marketing and entrepreneurship major Sarah Vogel; junior finance, general business, and entrepreneurship major Dennis Cinelli; and junior computer engineering major Akil Muralidharan.

Published December 15, 2003