ME Students Make it into Hinman CEOs Business Plan Competition Semifinals

73 proposals were submitted to the Hinman CEOs Business Plan Competition, a 40% increase over last year. Of these, 16 proposals have been selected as semifinalists, four of which include Mechanical Engineering students and faculty. The semifinalists each receive $1K to further develop their Plan for the final stage of the competition. The entries cover a broad spectrum of categories, including medical instruments/applications, software, high tech, web services, and security. Full business plans will be submitted by Monday, February 18th, 2002, with the finalist oral presentations and the awards ceremony will be held March 6, 2002. Winners will be selected in three categories: Small Business, Concept Stage, and Emerging Company.

These proposals are:

SMALL BUSINESS

Articulation Innovations — Dental device to stabilize casts

Team Members:

Ilya Zusin — Business Undergraduate at UMCP, Hinman CEO member

Ryan Hayleck — Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate, Hinman CEO member (expected grad. 12/01)

Dr. Ronald Gunderson, Professor, UM Dental School

Dr. Sharon Siegel, Professor, UM Dental School

CONCEPT STAGE

SYN Photonic Microsystems — Improved control of optical switches

Team Members:

Subramanian Rajagopal — Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. student (Expected year of graduation 2006)

Gaurav Bhalotia, University of California, Berkeley

Kashi Vishwanath, Duke University

TRX Systems —- Intelligent tracking and data management system

Team Members: (all graduating either December 2001 or May 2002)

Jordan Baker, Business

John Klancer, Computer Science

Jennifer Donaldson, Physical Science

Adam Lutz, Engineering

Elizabeth Flynn, Biology

Brian Ross, Aerospace Engineering

Tia Gao, Computer Engineering

Lawrence Salzano, Mechancial Engineering

Chinmay Hegde, Computer Engineering

Andrew Schaffer, Government & Politics

Jeffrey Hsii

Robert Sherman, Human Computer Interaction

John Kessinger, Computer Science

Adam Sparks, Finance

Jim Kirchhoff, Computer Engineering

Despenea Tsamoutalis, Math

Team Mentor:

Dr. Gilmer Blankenship, Professor, A. James Clark School of Engineering

EMERGING COMPANY

Advanced Propoulsion — Hybrid-electric drives for commerical trucks

Team Members:

Greg A. Schultz, Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Fall 2001

Robert F. D. Piacesi, President and CEO

David J. Reichenthal, Vice President - Product Development

Greg A. Schultz, Director - Technology

Dr. David Holloway, Board of Advisors, Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Published November 19, 2001