Innovation + Job News

Corrosion is a serious global problem of massive proportions, according to Todd Hawkins, managing director of Massillon’s Tesla NanoCoatings Limited.

In response to the problem, Tesla NanoCoatings worked with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) for five years to engineer Teslan -- a revolutionary carbon nanocoating to control corrosion.

The company recently leased 1,000 square feet of space at Stark State College’s Advanced Technology Center to conduct expanded research and development on Teslan. According to Hawkins, the product has potential applications in the aerospace, petrochemical, transportation, marine and industrial markets.

“Teslan’s foundation is fullerene, the toughest, most resilient and most effective organic protective coating developed for metals,” Hawkins explains. “It’s stronger than diamonds. One of its major characteristics is that, if damaged, it will transfer electrons to the defective site and non-corrosion will occur.”

According to Hawkins, Teslan has undergone extensive exposure and immersion testing in both fresh and sea water by the U.S. Army ERDC in various locations across the country. Other testing has been ongoing internally at NASA and Battelle as well.

“Now’s the time for expanded research and development, and we’re excited about this opportunity with Stark State,” he says. “Collaboration is vital to bringing new ideas to fruition, and we look forward to a very productive relationship with Stark State.” The company will be recruiting engineering students as interns.

The college was instrumental in Tesla NanoCoatings receiving a $100,000 startup award from the Innovation Fund, a regional fund that supports technology-based entrepreneurial endeavors and emerging businesses.

“We’re proud to welcome Tesla NanoCoatings to our campus,” says Para M. Jones, Ph.D., president of Stark State College. “Stark State is a supporting member of the Innovation Fund, and we’re very pleased Tesla NanoCoatings received a startup grant. This funding will assist them in further commercializing their groundbreaking corrosion control coating, and we look forward to their success.”

Hawkins established Tesla NanoCoatings in 2007. The company currently has five employees, and Hawkins anticipates bringing on additional employees by the end of the year.


Source:  Todd Hawkins, Para Jones
Writer: Lynne Meyer

The tech firm yet2 is gaining an Ohio presence thanks to a $1.8 million award from Ohio Third Frontier.

The Needham, Massachusetts-based company specializes in technology transfer and patent transactions, operating an online marketplace since 1999. Don Monaco, Director of Business Development at yet2, says the decision to pursue an Ohio location “was quite easy, frankly.” He explains, “The state of Ohio, being very forward thinking relative to the business base in the state, elected to invest in making small and mid-market companies more competitive in terms of technology development utilization.”
 
Establishing a yet2 location puts Ohio in good company, since the company has additional locations in Tokyo and Liverpool. “The types of businesses in the state of Ohio are very good candidates for harnessing the benefits of Open Innovation,” says Monaco, which is a concept promoted by Henry Chesbrough, a professor at the Center for Open Innovation at the University of California, Berkley. The concept is a model using internal and external ideas for mass innovation.
 
The Ohio location is yet to be determined, but Monaco says they will select what they believe is “the best fit for our company, the state and associates we will be hiring to lead the effort.” Meantime, he reiterates his gratitude toward the Ohio Department of Development and Ohio Third Frontier “for having the confidence in yet2.com’s ability to bring economic value to the state, spread the word about Open Innovation and ultimately make a positive difference in the future for our prospective Ohio clients, their employees and shareholders.”
 
 
Source: Don Monaco
Writer: Joe Baur

The Curiosity rover is busy investigating Martian climate and geology, thanks in large part to a power system developed by the University of Dayton Research Institute’s (UDRI) Energy Technologies and Materials Division.

“The art of science resides in people and not equipment,” says UDRI’s Senior Research Engineer, Chad Barklay. He explains their contribution to the Curiosity project was the result of collaboration among a team of scientists from JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), NASA, Teledyn and Rocketdyne. “[We] determined which tests would be needed to ensure that the radioisotope power system (RPS) would properly function after entry, descent and landing.”

The result was a system that operates Curiosity’s wheels, robotic arm, computers, radio and other instruments. Needless to say, NASA is pleased with UDRI’s contribution. “Informally, there has been nothing but praise from various NASA program mangers regarding our efforts and contributions,” says Barklay, noting a few researchers on his staff have previously received formal recognition from NASA in the form of “Group Achievement Awards.”

As Curiosity continues its expedition 350 million miles away, Barklay continues his work in radioisotope power systems – something he says has a rich legacy in Dayton.

Dayton-based scientists Kenneth Jordan and John Birden developed the principle and first working model of the nuclear batter. “In 1959, they received a patent for their invention, and it is this technology that forms the basis for all RPS’s used in deep space missions today,” Barklay explains, powering some of NASA’s most notable missions, such as Pioneer, Voyager and Galileo.

“The legacy of this pioneering work that occurred almost 60 years ago in the Dayton area is amazing. It has travelled beyond our solar system and is still alive at the University of Dayton.”


Source: Chad Barklay
Writer: Joe Baur

Mario Schulzke has always been fascinated with the spirit and drive behind entrepreneurs. The Plettenberg, Germany native came to America on his own at age 16, went to college and ended up in advertising in Los Angeles.
 
“I always wanted to be an entrepreneur but I couldn’t because of my work permit,” Schulzke recalls. So in 2009, he launched IdeaMensch, a vehicle to celebrate and learn from entrepreneurs. “I’d always admired entrepreneurs and people who brought their ideas to life. The original idea was to learn more from these people.”
 
This year Schulzke, now 31 and with his green card, decided to take his search on the road. He and a few friends are traveling across the country, inviting local entrepreneurs to share their stories. “People with ideas truly live everywhere,” Schulzke says. “I figured there was no better way to start this than to go on a road trip and try to learn from these people in person.”
 
The group is organizing 50 events in 48 states in 115 days. This past week they were at Quicken Loans Arena. The entrepreneurs featured were Eric Wobser of Ohio City Inc., Joe Pulizzi of Content Marketing World, Laura Bennett of Embrace Pet Insurance, David Levine of Wireless Environment and Deb Papes-Stanzak of Ronwear. Each entrepreneur gave a 15-minute speech about how and why they brought their ideas to life, followed by a brief Q&A.
 
Schulzke’s goal is to get other would-be entrepreneurs to act on their ideas. “The goal is to encourage and inspire people to bring their ideas to life,” he says. “If I could get one person to say ‘I have this idea and I’m going to get started on it,’ I’ll be happy.”

 
Source: Mario Schulzke
Writer: Karin Connelly

The Ohio Department of Development wants to help companies and organizations buy and sell their products locally across the state. 

Check Ohio First is a free and easy-to-use online program to promote contracting with and between Ohio businesses. “Both suppliers and buyers enter brief profiles into the Check Ohio First directory, which can then be searched by Check Ohio First members,” explains Wendy Boortz, Program Manager. “The program automatically matches buyers and suppliers by industry codes.”

“Check Ohio First celebrates the strength of Ohio businesses,” said Christine Schmenk, Director of ODOD, in a news release. “Ohio buyers like to do business with local companies, and this partnership is perfect for job creation.”

Check Ohio First was launched in October 2011 as a virtual, year-round extension of the Ohio Department of Development’s annual Ohio Business Matchmaker program, an annual procurement event now going into its eighth year.

According to Boortz, Check Ohio First recently added free webinars to the mix. “Buyers educate suppliers on how to do business with their organization, and procurement counselors provide webinars that help businesses get ready for contracting opportunities,” she says.  Most of the webinars are recorded and stored in the resource library located on the Check Ohio First website.

“The website also contains a list of upcoming events, and visitors can browse our resource library and link to procurement training and opportunities,” she states.

Boortz notes that Check Ohio First is building a database to reflect private and public users. “We currently have about 350 profiles, including 100 companies that have registered as both buyers and suppliers and 20 as buyers only.”


Source:  Wendy Boortz
Writer: Lynne Meyer

Synthetic tracheas, developed, designed and “grown” by Columbus-based Nanofiber Solutions, were recently successfully transplanted into two patients in Russia.

Nanofiber Solutions does research to advance tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. “We develop three-dimensional manmade scaffolds to create synthetic human organs,” explains Jed Johnson, Ph.D., chief technology officer.

Both patients suffered from a narrowing of their laryngotracheal junctions due to auto accidents. “We seeded the scaffolds with bone marrow from each of the patients,” Dr. Johnson explained. “The resulting synthetic tracheas matched the dimensions of each patient’s natural larynx and trachea.”

According to Dr. Johnson, the highly experimental procedure was conducted by an international team of surgeons. Both patients were able to speak and breathe normally immediately after the surgery, he noted, and since the cells used were from each patient, there has been no rejection problem.

“We use very fine synthetic polymer fibers that are 500 nanometers in diameter for our scaffolds,” Dr. Johnson explains ”That’s 100 times smaller than a human hair.  So far, we have designed and developed scaffolds for tracheas, blood vessels, intestines and skin.”

Additional trachea transplant surgeries are scheduled in both Sweden and the United States within the next few months.

The Ohio Third Frontier Commission recently awarded Case Western Reserve University’s National Center for Regenerative Medicine $2.4 million to support its process and manufacturing platform for cell therapy.  Nanofiber Solutions is among eight collaborators working with Case Western Reserve University on this project. 

Source: Jed Johnson
Writer: Lynne Meyer

The University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) is expanding their 3-D print-manufacturing program thanks to $3 million in funding awarded from the Ohio Third Frontier earlier this month.
 
The program, which runs for three years, gives UDRI the capability to start a new line of research, says Program Manager Brian Rice. “Specifically, the technology we’re focused on is something called Fused Deposition Modeling [FDM],” an additive manufacturing technology primarily used for prototyping. But Rice and his team’s interest in the technology is to produce actual functional parts for aerospace and automobile companies, like GE and Honda.
 
Explains Rice, “Let’s say, for example, one of our partners is GE Aircraft Engines. Just on a commercial engine, there might be 400 to 500 unique parts that each part would require tooling if they were going to produce it by injection molding or something. And so, the key is they can produce these unique parts with no tooling.” He goes on to explain a very near future where companies can key up three-dimensional parts on a computer and simply print it.
 
Although the technology exists in some facets, it will take time to approve large-scale FDM manufacturing for planes and cars. “When you’re putting something on an airplane or car where human safety is a concern, it takes longer to develop the technology, because it has to go through all sorts of material testing.” But the wait, Rice says, will be worth it.
 
“You take your car into the shop and they don’t have the part,” he explains, describing another scenario. “Well, in the future you might be able to just call the part up from a computer file and print it right there,” saving the consumer weeks in shipping and delivery. “We’re not there today, but that’s where the future will be.”


Source: Brian Rice
Writer: Joe Baur

The Ohio Capital Fund is on a mission to reignite venture capital and innovation across the state of Ohio.
 
“I don’t work for a typical venture capital company,” explains Fort Washington Capital Managing Director, Paul Cohn, who manages the Ohio Capital Fund. “We are a fund of funds, meaning we invest into venture capital funds.” Thus far, the investment has paid off.
 
The Ohio Capital Fund has committed $129 million to 26 venture capital firms to date – 22 of which have a presence in Ohio. In aggregate, the 26 firms have invested $205 million into 67 companies across the state, employing over 2,400 people with an estimated annual payroll of over $140 million. And it’s only the beginning.
 
“We have seen a strong investment pace by our VC funds through this difficult economic environment,” explains Cohn. “Our fiscal years ends June 30, and over that year we saw investment in Ohio companies in our portfolio increase 36 percent.”
 
One example Cohn is excited to share is Orthohelix, Northeast Ohio developer of orthopedic implant and instrument sets used by surgeons to fix bones during foot, ankle, hand and wrist surgeries. They recently announced their sale to an Amsterdam-based public company called Tornier for $135 million. Orthohelix will maintain and likely grow their presence in Northeast Ohio after the acquisition is complete.
 
Although the fund is done investing for the year, legislation to expand the fund was recently approved by the House of Representatives prior to summer recess and is now sitting in the Senate. If the measure passes, the Buckeye economy stands to benefit once again. “We are targeting a $100 million expansion so we can keep supporting the venture capital firms that are making investments in early stage Ohio companies.”
 
 
Source: Paul Cohn
Writer: Joe Baur

Jay Hopper originally got involved in web design through a journalism job in the newspaper business. He eventually left his career as a newsman to join a local startup, Trivantis, as a web editor. He eventually became the company’s vice president of product management. Then, he launched a social network for automotive enthusiasts before finally deciding it was time to get what he calls "a real job."

After failing at the traditional avenues, like Monster, CareerBuilder and LinkedIn, and doing some networking, Hopper says, “I just found that process really frustrating. I was looking for companies that would fit my skill set, passion and personality. I just started thinking, ‘Where are all these companies – the agencies, the software companies, the tech companies?’ I wished there was one place I could go and see all that.”

He set out to create a website to meet those needs. The result, Gigit Jobs, lists tech, start up, creative and design job openings in the Cincinnati, Dayton Northern Kentucky and tri-state regions.

The Gigit team manually reviews jobs that are posted, and while any company will be considered, positions posted must either come from a company that fits Gigit’s criteria or be a good fit in themselves. That means a web design job at the bank could work just as well as a business development position with a creative agency.

The site is aggregator-friendly, which means that jobs posted there will also show up in job-search aggregators. The site's landing pages are currently active, with a full launch planned this fall.

Hopper says he hopes the site will encourage techies and creatives to stay in Cincinnati rather than flee to stereotypically tech-friendly locales on either coast.

By Robin Donovan

Enforcer eCoaching, a personalized wellness coaching service, has secured $250,00 from JumpStart to expand services across the country. A spin-off out of the Cleveland Clinic, Enforcer eCoaching was founded by Cleveland Clinic chief wellness officer Dr. Michael Roizen, television health guru Dr. Mehmet Oz and entrepreneurs Steven Lindseth and Arthur Benjamin.
 
The eCoaching focuses on smoking cessation, weight loss, hypertension control and diabetes control through personalized one-on-one email coaching and behavior modification.

“It’s based on 25 years of health coaching by Dr. Roizen,” says Mart Butler, Enforcer’s president and CEO. “We’re seeing a lot of niche treatment programs in the marketplace for companies looking to reduce their healthcare spending. Employers see a very strong return on investment.”
 
Butler says participants in the smoking cessation program have an 85-percent success rate, while weight loss participants lose an average of two inches to their waist lines.
 
Employers or private individuals can sign up for eCoaching. They select the type of coaching they want, are assigned a coach, and then check in with daily email correspondence. “It’s part automation, part personal coaching,” says Butler. “Every email is reviewed by a personal health coach, and they really build relationships and people become more accountable for their own healthcare.”
 
The convenience of email contributes for Enforcer’s success. “People can email whenever and wherever they want, and read the emails whenever and wherever,” says Butler. “We’re slowly nudging people to success because of the daily email exchange.”
 
In addition to JumpStart’s investment to help Enforcer complete its computer platform, the organization has also provided expertise in hiring sales and IT staff.

 
Source: Marty Butler
Writer: Karin Connelly

Phoenix Coffee has introduced a direct trade coffee from Amado Nervo, in the Chiapas area of Mexico, to its menu. By purchasing the coffee directly from the growers, the middleman is eliminated and more money goes directly to the farmers.

“It’s a town of about 1,100 people and coffee is their only crop,” says Christopher Feran, coffee and marketing director for Phoenix. “We’re having a direct impact on the people of Amado Nervo. We like to connect people, and now we’re connecting them through coffee.”
 
Phoenix joined a coffee co-op out of Pittsburgh, Three Rivers Coffee Importers, to obtain the Chiapas coffee. The co-op provides health services, micro loans, low-interest loans, tools and education to the farmers. “This is the first of many direct trades to come,” promises Feran.
 
The direct trade concept fits Phoenix’s philosophy perfectly. “It makes a lot of sense for us,” Feran says. “We’ve always tried to focus on green and sustainability.”
 
The coffee is available online or in Phoenix cafes, in light and dark roasts.

 
Source: Christopher Feran
Writer: Karin Connelly

The inaugural Great Lakes Venture Fair will take place at the Cleveland Marriott Downtown October 17-18, on the heels of the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds annual conference. The fair is a collaborative effort  between  JumpStart, Ohio Capital Fund, Ohio Venture Association, TiE Ohio, CincyTech and TechColumbus and will bring together investors and startups from across the Midwest.
 
“It’s a chance for the venture capital community to come together and see some of the most promising startups,” explains Carolyn Pione Micheli, director of communications for CincyTech. “According to a study by the Kauffman Foundation, in 2007 all net news job growth came from companies that are less than five years old.” The event is the successor to the Ohio Capital Fund’s Early Stage Summit, which was held in Columbus for seven years.
 
The GLVF will only accept 18 startup companies in bioscience and IT to pitch their companies to investors. Other activities at the event include presentations on regional investment activity, and conversations about building future growth in startups and investing.
 
“In terms of growing fresh new jobs, small companies are the key, “ says Micheli. “The startup community is really important to our economic future.”
 
Keynote speaker will be Jeff Weedman, vice president of global business development for Proctor & Gamble. The application deadline for companies looking for funding is Aug. 12. Registration to attend is $200 before Sep. 15, $250 after that.

 
Source: Carolyn Pione Micheli
Writer: Karin Connelly