Innovation + Job News

In 1956, Elvis Presley released his first hit, Prince Rainier of Monaco married American actress Grace Kelley, and the Federal Highway Act was signed into law promising 41,000 miles of road improvements across the United States.

Under the radar, another milestone occurred: The University of Dayton Research Institute was born.

Starting with just 20 sponsored projects, those seeds have born tasty fruit. Today, the institute has grown to more than 1,000 sponsored projects, 400 employees and more than $96 million in research expenditures this year.

The university now ranks second among all American colleges in the amount of federal and industry-funded materials research it performs. It also ranks first in Ohio and among the top 30 universities for federally sponsored engineering R&D.

All the while, it has managed to do something no other university has done, according to UDRI Director John Leland: remain a not-for-profit arm of the university.

"There have been a lot of university research institutes," he says, "but all have spun off into separate corporate entities. The University of Dayton never spun this off," instead keeping full-time researchers on university staff, which "gives them the ability to give full-time attention to customers."

Projects can run from the simple -- analyzing why a part broke on a piece of machinery -- to complex -- analyzing how a bird brought that plane down in the Hudson River.

Besides its work helping companies develop new materials and scale them up for production, UDRI is also conducts research related to energy and the environment, aeropropulsion, structures, mechanical systems, sensors and how to improve the interface between human beings and complex systems.

More than 40 years ago, researchers at Kent State University had an idea that liquid crystals could revolutionize modern technology. The soft, yet fluid, crystals could be aligned by electric charges, and voil� � crystal clear displays.

The idea was scoffed at � even ridiculed. Glenn Brown, the lead researcher on the project, was thought of as "crazy." But other Kent State researchers signed on. That mad-professor technology has morphed from a brilliant idea to a homegrown LCD Kent-made wristwatch, and into technology that has shaped the last few decades.

Modern televisions, cell phones and laptop computers are just a few of the products that simply could not exist without the innovation of the KSU Liquid Crystal Institute, says director Oleg Lavrentovich. He estimates that just last year the liquid crystal industry � for flat panel TVs alone � was worth about $140 billion. There are an estimated 1,000 jobs in Ohio related to the technology, and "tens of thousands" more around the globe

"The success story is not associated with the number of people employed, but the increased quality of life," Lavrentovich says. "Just about everything that carries information uses liquid crystal displays."

In 2008, the institute hauled in about $17 million in research dollars from state and federal agencies, divided among liquid crystal researchers around Ohio.

"Scientific exploration can lead to enormous economy impact in just a couple of decades," Lavrentovich says. "The 1960s in Kent is an example of that. From the first (liquid crystal) wristwatch in Kent to a $140 billion industry is just an illustration� it's mind-blowing."

Source: Oleg Lavrentovich
Writer: HiVelocity Staff

A clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a growing pipeline of "potential best-in-class therapeutics" with high-hopes of tackling issues such as heart attacks, obesity and cognitive disorders�

Sound too good to be true?

The drugs � although still in the clinical stages � are very real to Athersys.

Currently, the Cleveland-based company is continuing its enrollments in safety and efficacy trials of its adult stem-cell therapy MultiStem, for heart attack patients and for those who run the risk of rejecting bone marrow transplants. MulitStem is a biologic product manufactured from human stem cells obtained from adult bone marrow.

However, Athersys is also exploring other avenues of development including medicines for the treatment of metabolic and central nervous system disorders � utilizing proprietary technologies, including Random Activation of Gene Expression (RAGE).

While the company is still in the clinical phase of developing its pharmaceutical remedies, Ahtersys leaders remain optimistic.

"Based on our research to date, we believe that MultiStem may provide key benefits over current standards of care in the bone marrow transplantation area, as well as other areas such as heart attack, stroke and other ischemic neurological disorders," Athersys CEO Gil Van Bokkelen says in a recent statement to his shareholders.

Van Bokkelen co-founded Athersys in October 1995 and has served as its CEO and a director from the beginning. Just recently, he rang the NASDAQ closing bell in Times Square.

"In addition to advancing our clinical and preclinical programs, we remain actively engaged in partnering discussions involving multiple programs," Bokkelen says.

Source: Gil Van Bokkelen
Writer: Colin McEwen

Akebia Therapeutics has stepped up to the plate, is waiting for the pitch, and is confident in its abilities to hit the ball out of the park.

"Both are potential home runs," says Ian Howes of Akebia's two revolutionary drugs for treatment of anemia, blood vessel leakage and cancer.

The Cincinnati-based biomedical company spun off of Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals in 2007. Since then, Akebia has focused on two drugs with technical-sounding names: AKB-6548 and AKB-9778.

The first has moved into the early stages of human trials and is designed as a safer alternative to traditional anemia treatments. According to Howes, chief financial officer and vice president of corporate development, one of the problems in combating anemia is the traditional treatment. Current drugs boost EPO -- the hormone that triggers production of red cells -- but at a dangerous 500 to 1,000 times the needed amount.

Akebia's AKB-6548 has shown in animal and early human trials to boost EPO production only two to three times the normal amount, Howes says.

The second drug is still six months from clinical trials, but is even more promising, Howes says. AKB-9778, designed to stop blood vessel leaks, could revolutionize treatments for diseases like sepsis and acute influenza as well as the effects of Interleukin 2, a cancer drug that can cause blood vessel leaks. Akebia's new drug stopped 100 percent of the leaks that IL2 caused in animal tests. But the most surprising -- and potentially most beneficial finding? Howes says early results indicated the new drug also stopped cancer tumors from spreading to other parts of the body.

Akebia currently has 11 employees, but Howes says once the second drug enters clinical trials, the company could grow to 15 to 20.

Source: Ian Howes, Akebia
Writer: Gene Monteith

Ohio is emerging as a national hub for the growth of minority and female-owned businesses as well as those in the inner city, says Cathy Belk.

Want evidence? Consider the choice of Cleveland for a Dec. 3 conference that is expected to draw 250 entrepreneurs from throughout the Midwest.

Belk, chief marketing officer for Jumpstart Inc. -- the northeast Ohio venture development organization that accelerates the progress of high growth early-stage businesses -- says the conference is unique in its focus.

"This is definitely the first of its kind in Cleveland which focuses on minority, female and inner city early stage companies and raising capital for them," she says.

Titled "Transforming the Landscape of Business in America: A Minority Business Early-Stage Capital Summit," the summit is a partnership between JumpStart, The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC), The Institute for Entrepreneurial Thinking, and The Marathon Club.

Two panels will feature expert angel investors and venture investors to help emerging companies understand what it takes to find capital.

Speakers will include Deborah Shufrin, senior vice president and director of programs, ICIC, who will focus on her organization's partnership with the Obama Administration in fulfilling the administration's Urban Strategy. Serial entrepreneur William Pickard will give the luncheon keynote address. Pickard organized the Detroit partners of the MGM Grand Casino in Detroit and owns a significant stake in five African-American newspapers, several automotive companies, and multiple McDonald's restaurant franchises.

The event also will feature investor pitch presentations, open to all attendees, from six of Northeast Ohio's most promising minority entrepreneurs.

For more information or to register, go here.

Source: Cathy Belk, Jumpstart Inc.
Writer: Gene Monteith

Yost Engineering Inc., a technology service, support and development company, knows a good intern can become a great employee. That's why the Portsmouth-based company has hired five of them, including three this year, from the Third Frontier Internship program.
 
"When they come into the work world they know what would get them a "B" on a (school) project isn't good enough for a client. If they're willing to do that that extra work, they turn into very good employees," said Yost Chief Operations Officer Francesca Hartop.

Among the company's products are sophisticated educational robotics kits, robotic and animatronics controllers and various software for healthcare providers. But it bucks the stodgy stereotype that often follows engineers, touting "a relaxed, friendly, team environment for employees. The dress code is casual, and staff members routinely bring semi-well-behaved dogs to the office. We also share our space with office cats and a large fish tank to provide feline entertainment."

Maybe that's one reason Yost, founded in 1999, has attracted so many top interns.

"We put them right to work in coding and product development," Hartop says.

Yost Engineering is just one of more than 700 high-tech Ohio companies who've found a partner in Third Frontier. Established in 2002, it links employers with talented college students in an effort to train and retain some of the state's most talented young workers.

More than 3,000 students have gone through the program. Third Frontier reimburses company's 50 percent of a student's wages over a 12-month internship period, or up to $3,000. It's geared toward the advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, bioscience, information technology, instruments, controls and electronics and power and propulsion sectors.

Source: Francesca Hartop, Yost Engineering
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

Nathan Poeppelman loved amusement parks. But he could never seem to find real-time, organized information about the places he wanted to visit.

So, he took matters into his own hands: He formed Boz Adventures.

Poeppelman founded Boz Adventures in 2004, the same year he graduated from Miami University with a management information systems degree and entrepreneurial minor. He began offering travel information and park data through his Boz Adventures website. But the website alone, he says, really wasn't meeting the vision he had for real-time, at-your-fingertips information.

Earlier this year, Poeppelman incorporated the Columbus company and launched a new software application that allows users to tap trip logistics and inside-the-park specs through their iPhones -- wherever they are.

Want to know the wait-time for The Beast at King's Island? An interface allows park operators -- or Adventure Map users -- to upload both average wait times and real time information into a usable format. Want to know when Dollywood opens and how far it is from your Gatlinburg rental cabin? Ask your iPhone.

Poeppelman says Adventure Map currently lists more than 8,500 points of interest around the world and has signed on 31 parks on a trial basis, allowing them to upload real-time information free -- for now. While his customer base is still small, those who have downloaded the app are diverse, Poeppelman says, hailing from as far away as Great Britain, Denmark, and Australia.

Closer to home, he reports that his company is working on a partnership with Columbus-based KidsLinked, an online guide for family-friendly activities which in January won Tech Columbus's Outstanding Service Award.

Source: Nathan Poeppelman, Boz Adventures
Writer: Gene Monteith

If you've got a suspicious bump, you'll want a doctor to look at it. The question is, if it comes time for a biopsy, would you rather make two stops -- first, to your family doc, then to the dermatologist -- or one? And would you rather go home with stitches or a quick closure that creates less blood?

The folks at CleveX believe that patients will prefer the latter. And doctors seem to agree.

The Columbus-based company recently signed an exclusive national distribution agreement and its first stocking order for $180,000 worth of its ExiClip, making it one of a small, but growing, group of Ohio biomedical startups that are off the drawing board and into the marketplace.

Sam Finkelstein, CleveX's chief executive officer, says the device reduces the time a physician needs to do a biopsy from the traditional 20 to 30 minutes to less than five. It does so with a small, hand-held tool that removes the skin and closes it up in one single motion.

"You can clip, cut and close in ten seconds," Finkelstein says, adding that docs still must take time to anesthetize the area.

According to Finkelstein, the company first tested ExiClip with dermatologists, who said they would prefer to do fewer biopsies so they could concentrate on other parts of their practice. They steered CleveX toward primary care docs and OBGYNs, who often send patients to specialists because of the time it traditionally takes to remove a skin lesion and stitch it up.

Last year, CleveX raised more than $1.9 million from angel and venture investors. The company employees 10, but Finkelstein says "we expect to increase personnel, and, depending on sales, it would not be unrealistic to expect us to double."

Source: Sam Finkelstein, CleveX
Writer: Gene Monteith

Since its formation in 1994, NexTech Materials has grown from zero employees to 35. Along the way, it has gained attention for both its leadership team and its innovative products.

But the real growth is coming, says William Dawson, NexTech's chief executive officer.

NexTech, based in Lewis Center, does business in 35 countries and offers more than 100 products, mostly related to ceramic materials used in solid oxide fuel cells. The company is working with a number of partners in development of new products -- but much depends on the adoption of fuel cell technology in the U.S. to power vehicles and buildings, Dawson says.

"There's a lot more going on outside of the United States due to government incentives," Dawson says. "Korea provides an 80 percent subsidy for (homeowner purchases of) fuel cells. Japan has thousands of units going into homes right now."

While a number of stationary power demonstration units exist in the United States, widespread use here is in the future, Dawson says. Yet, the advantages are clear, both for stationary units and mobile units used in military applications or to power vehicles, he says.

"They have very high efficiency, they don't create pollution, and because of their high efficiency the greenhouse effect is reduced more than 50 percent."

While NexTech continues building inroads into the fuel cell business, it is also forging ahead with production of a number of sensors used to detect the presence of gases in the surrounding air.

"We just started offering hydrogen safety sensors (to detect hydrogen in the air), and are working on emissions sensors that we hope will be coming to the marketplace in two to three years," says Dawson.

Source: William Dawson, NexTech
Writer: Gene Monteith

About 80 acres of earth is being moved to make way for a farm in Wyandot County for a new brand of cash crop: clean, renewable solar energy.

When completed sometime in mid-2010, the $30 million project � adjacent to the Wyandot County Airport � is expected to be one of the largest solar fields east of the Mississippi.

American Electric Power recently inked a 20-year agreement with Wyandot Solar to purchase electricity generated at the 10.08 megawatt farm.

The project counts a few big players. Wyandot Solar, a subsidiary of Germany-based juwi solar will fund construction of the project, including more than needed160,000 solar panels, which will be built by First Solar's nearby Perrysburg operations.

Shelly Clark, a spokesperson at AEP, says excavating for the project is already underway.

"AEP Ohio was heading in the direction of clean energy," she says. "It will help us to continue our growth and to meet our mandates from the state of Ohio."

A major impetus: Last year, the Ohio legislature passed a bill requiring 25 percent of Ohio's energy to come from alternative and renewable sources.

"(We're) working towards the goal of producing electricity where it can be most efficiently produced and moving it to where it is needed the most," Clark says, adding that 1,500 nearby homes and businesses will be the first recipients of the energy.

Using labor from the surrounding area, about 70 construction jobs were created to complete the project. Three permanent positions are expected when the job is done.

Source: Shelly Clark, American Electric Power
Writer: Colin McEwen

They're lean. They're green. They're cleaning machines, made by Cold Jet of Loveland, Ohio.

The company specializes in dry ice blasting systems. These machines make carbon dioxide pellets and shoot them through special nozzles at high pressure to remove unwanted material from a wide array of surfaces. Upon impact, the pellets return to gas and dissipate.

Applications include general maintenance, mold remediation, manufacturing environments, aerospace and power generation projects and historical landmarks.

According to company spokesman Kevin Wilson, many users prefer this process because it's simple and environmentally responsible � no chemicals or water are used. And there's no secondary waste. The process is especially useful in commercial bakeries and other sites where moisture from traditional cleaning can affect product outcomes. Customers in EPA-, FDA- and USDA- inspected facilities across the country use it, Wilson says.

Another market is finishing medical devices; pressurized CO2 smoothes edges without abrasion, making it superior to traditional techniques.

Recently, Cold Jet received a five-year General Services Administration contract, enabling use of dry ice blast cleaning and production systems for certain government buildings and equipment.

Cold Jet is headquartered in Ohio and has operations in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Canada and Mexico. Next month, in Frankfurt, Germany, the company will exhibit its products at EuroMold, an expo for the injection molding industry. It employs 75 locally and 110 globally.

Source: Kevin Wilson, Cold Jet
Writer: Gabriella Jacobs

Hearts beat, lungs expand and patients squirm, all factors that can cause a magnetic resonance imaging machine to produce blurry images. And when it comes to detecting potentially cancerous tissues, a blurry MRI scan is not a good thing.

Quality Electrodynamics, located in Mayfield Village, is helping companies like Siemens and Toshiba produce machines that scan in a much shorter period of time, resulting in crisper, clearer images. Founded by Hiroyuki Fujita, QED manufactures the radio frequency coils that have made these machines the platinum standard of the industry.

"These machines are setting the standard for spatial resolution," explains Fujita, the company's president. "By producing better images of a patient's anatomy, we can find cancerous tissues that may be impossible to detect otherwise." QED crafts a variety of coils that are optimized for different parts of the body.

What began in a 300-square-foot incubator space at the Case Western Reserve University physics department is now a 27,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. In four short years, the company expanded from just two employees to more than 50. Things are going so well for QED, says Fujita, that he expects the company to double it staff in the next two years.

While Fujita deserves credit for the success of his company, he says that he couldn't have done it without help from the State of Ohio. "Without the Third Frontier grant for our business," he explains, "we never could have remained financially independent. Thanks to the state, we didn't have to raise any funds from venture capital companies."

Source: Hiroyuki Fujita, QED
Writer: Douglas Trattner

David Scholl says it took his company more than 10 years before it sold its first product. But what he describes as "care and nurture" within the Ohio University community appears to have paid off.

Founded at OU in 1983 with about a dozen employees, Scholl's Athens-based Diagnostic HYBRIDS has grown to 225. Scholl, president and chief executive officer, cites a 75 percent increase in jobs over the past four years.

Among the products powering growth are those related to thyroid conditions. For example, in 2000, the company partnered with OU on a $1 million grant from the Ohio Third Frontier's Action Fund, luring scientist Leonard Kohn to Ohio to support development of early detector of Graves' disease.

"About 32 million people have the disease, and there are 300,000 to 400,000 new cases diagnosed per year in the United States," Scholl says. "We began commercialization of that product in 2001, and it's been selling to the point where we decided to make a refined version, which the FDA approved in May."

The new test cuts the typical results time from three days to one. Diagnostic HYBRIDS is counting on a new web-based education and marketing effort -- and direct mail to doctors -- to raise awareness and drive earlier treatment.

The firm won a $5-million Third Frontier Award last year to further develop viral diagnostic and treatment capabilities. More recently, Diagnostic HYBRIDS licensed a test to detect recurring thyroid cancer. And it just won FDA approval for FastPoint, a test that detects two common influenza strains in less than 30 minutes.

Source: David Scholl, Diagnostic HYBRIDS
Writer: Gene Monteith

It's a question every marketer asks: What's the best mix of activities to drive the most sales?

These days, more businesses are asking those questions using The Emerging Marketplace, a web-based technology developed by Cincinnati-based ThinkVine.

While the questions are age-old, ThinkVine's technology is leading edge. In fact, according to Chief Executive Officer Damon Ragusa, his company uses SimCity-like game technology to find the answers.

"We create artificial populations to create live, simulated environments of the marketplace," he explains. "It's a very realistic simulation of real environments. We care about why things happen, not just what. "

Founded in 1999 as an advanced analytics and economic modeling consulting firm, ThinkVine refined tools developed in that business to launch Emerging Marketplace earlier this year.

"There had been little evolution as to how the work was being done," Ragusa says. "You can hire a group of statisticians to (to review historical data), and they will go away for six, seven, nine months, and come back with a report."

By contrast, Ragusa says Emerging Marketplace's simulations are based on how real people use media and are real time, meaning a client can ask "what if" questions and get immediate answers.

Ragusa cites a growing clientele that includes businesses like LegalZoom, Hershey's, Del Monte, Novartis, Pepsico, Sunny Delight and Miller Brewing. With help from a $500,000 grant through CincyTech, "we are looking at triple digit growth in revenue and number of brands under contract. We currently don't report number of employees but we increased our employee base by five-fold year over year and plan to increase again in 2010 by roughly 75 percent."

Source: Damon Ragusa, ThinkVine
Writer: Gene Monteith