Emerging Technologies : Innovation + Job News

Bmore Fiber, a group of business leaders and residents working to bring super high-speed broadband access to Baltimore, has won the $10,000 Gigabit Genius Award, created and funded by Philadelphia's startup and technology communities to encourage gigabit innovation worldwide. A panel of expert judges selected by Philadelphia's Division of Technology were instructed to choose the most promising projects from anywhere in the world.

The winning projects were chosen from among 20 finalists by a panel of expert judges drawn from Philadelphia's technology, civic, academic, and entrepreneurial leadership.

The projects were chosen for their potential to transform lives using ultra high-speed Internet connectivity known as gigabit. Gigabit technology would make the Internet up to 100 times faster than it is today, a difference in speed similar to the transition from dial-up modems to broadband Internet connections.

Bmore Fiber was awarded the bulk of the prize, $7,500, to begin developing teleradiology technology that will enable specialists to transmit and review radiology scans in real-time, making the experience identical whether the specialists are in the next room or the next continent.

"We are going to meet to consider our next steps. This is a big topic. One question is whether the funds should go to enabling the gigabit technology and then seek a path for the teleradiology work, or whether we should start work on the teleradiology project right away. In my mind the two are inextricably linked, so we'll have to see what makes sense," says David Troy, a Baltimore-based entrepreneur and spokesperson for Bmore Fiber.

The team will also start looking for partners from among Baltimore's robust technology and healthcare sectors.

"We have a broad range of volunteers here in the community, but we don't have anyone specifically lined up for the teleradiology project yet. Here in Baltimore, though, it would seem that with Hopkins and UMD medicine so strong here, we should not have trouble finding willing partners," says Troy.

The remainder of the prize, $2,500, was awarded to Israeli entrepreneur Daniel Dobroszklanka for a remote education project that would enable students anywhere in the world to participate in a world-class live classroom experience.

Source: Dave Troy, Bmore Fiber
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The Maryland Department of Information Technology (DoIT), in partnership with public and private agencies across the state that form the One Maryland Broadband Network (OMBN), won $115,240,581 in grant funding through the U.S. Department of Commerce's (DOC) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. Funding was provided through the Fed's ongoing stimulus plan, aka American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and this grant is one of the biggest broadband grants awarded to date.

OMBN will use the funds to build more than 1,200 miles of high-speed Internet line, linking together three independent broadband networks and extending affordable and abundant Internet access to more than 1,000 anchor institutions � including 458 schools, 44 libraries, 262 police and emergency centers, 15 community colleges, 6 universities, and 221 other government and community support centers. The new network will connect the state from Western Maryland to the Eastern Shore, reaching 2 million homes and 443,000 businesses.

The grants are expected to create more than 800 new jobs now and at least an additional 800 jobs in the future. They will provide high-speed access to parts of Maryland that had little or no Internet connectivity. Many connections are too slow to process large amounts of data quickly � a problem when trying to send business records, video conferencing for educational coursework, medical records, and emergency communications.

Source: Office of Governor Martin O'Malley
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The company will work with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), a DOE research facility, to develop technologies for thermochemical conversion of biomass to advanced biofuels that are compatible with existing fueling infrastructure. The technologies will upgrade bio-oils into gasoline, diesel and jet fuels using a specialized catalytic reactor designed to resist corrosion and extend catalyst lifetime. Also on the team are VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, who will be providing pyrolysis oils, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, who will study corrosion.

The funding is a component of the Department of Energy's strategy to accelerate the development of sustainable biofuels, and is coordinated by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Biomass Program.

Grace and PNNL researchers will use a thermochemical process known as pyrolysis, which breaks down biomass using heat to produce bio-oils that can be further processed in existing petroleum refineries into transportation fuels.


Source: W.R. Grace
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Baltimore-based MP3Car.com is hoping to do for the automotive app what the Apple App store did for mobile apps with it's newly launched Auto App Mart.

Mp3Car, the largest car computing community online, is placing heavy odds that an in-dash computer will soon become a standard feature in every new car. The company points to the success of Ford's Sync, Genivi's selection of MeeGo as a reference platform and Google's entrance into telematics as clear indicators that in-vehicle infotainment is the new frontier in mobile computing.

Driving the market in that direction are drivers' demand for a smartphone-like application experience in their vehicle that provides access to a variety of helpful apps at little to no cost.

As the Apple App Store and other application platforms have proven, crowdsourcing application development is a successful marketplace that will continue to grow.

According to Heather Sarkissian, MP3Car's CEO, the Auto App will act as a conduit for carmakers, platform providers and others to connect with the its community of automative application developers with whom they can partner to create apps that balance consumer demands for functionality and a personalized experience with carmaker's concerns about safety and security.

"Essentially mobile computing will be increasingly available in cars over the next two to three years. The issue though is that the software for these systems becomes obsolete fairly quickly, are impossible to update, and right now there's no way to get apps to drivers that for the most part are free," she says.

MP3Car, Sarkissian says, is well positioned to become the leader in the auto app market. The Auto App Mart is important because it is mobilizing the global community of developers to consider developing a different kind of app, familiarizing them with what the concept of an automotive app would be, and getting them to start thinking about safety and usability concerns associated with these apps.

The company won't set industry standards, compatibility, other technical specifics, but rather to mobilize developers, acting as a central location for innovators.

"We're really focused on getting the developers all in one spot and being really aware of their needs and very supportive of what they need to do to innovate. Ideally [Auto App Mart] would be a resource that automotive makers will want to tap into to develop applications. The reality is that Ford isn't going to want to negotiate with 50 developers. They're going to want to negotiate with one -- MP3Car," says Sarkissian.

Source: Heather Sarkissian, MP3Car.com
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The Maryland Industrial Partnerships Program (MIPS), an initiative of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) at the University of Maryland, has awarded $3.3 million to 16 teams of Maryland companies and faculty developing commercially promising technology products. All the funding goes to the faculty members conducting the research and development on company products.

Projects for this round of funding include floating wetlands to clean the Chesapeake Bay, bolts that change color as they are tightened, faster Internet-via-satellite upstream, wireless sensors for monitoring home energy use, bioremediation for restaurant oil, and a backup mass-emergency electrical system. Treatments, vaccines or tests for anthrax, malaria, influenza, staph infections and infertility are also included.

Totaling $3.3 million, the projects combine $1.9 million from participating companies and $1.4 million from MIPS. Funding supports research in the laboratories of participating university faculty, who work closely with partner companies to advance their products.

Nine company partners are in Montgomery County; four are in the Baltimore area, one is in Howard County, one is in Frederick and one is in Frostburg.

Projects awarded include:

• Silver Spring-based Bio-Quick Corporation and Richard Zhao, associate professor and division head, pathology, University of Maryland, Baltimore received $195,570 for the clinical study of Bio-Quick's ultrasound-facilitated tissue preservation system, which cuts down the time it takes medical and research facilities to preserve tissue samples from two days to one hour.

• Ellicott City-based BlueWing Environmental Solutions & Technologies LLC and Joshua McGrath, assistant professor, environmental science & technology, University of Maryland, College Park was awarded $139,000 to develop BioHaven Floating Islands, which closely model natural floating island systems commonly found in clean waterways, to remove harmful nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from impaired waters such as the Chesapeake Bay.

• Rockville-based Cellex Inc. and Richard Zhao, associate professor and division head, pathology, University of Maryland, Baltimore recieved $172,600 to perform a second phase clinical evaluation on the QFLU test, which simultaneously diagnoses influenza and detects flu virus drug resistance in point-of-care settings.

• Frederick-based Cerona Networks Corporation and John Baras, Lockheed Martin Chair in Systems Engineering, and professor, electrical and computer engineering and Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park was awarded $161,500 to develop algorithms for Internet via satellite communications to improve upload speeds from users to the Internet, support more subscribers per satellite and enable communications on the move.

• Takoma Park-based CoolCAD Electronics LLC and Shuvra Bhattacharyya, professor, electrical and computer engineering and Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, University of Maryland, College Park will use its $150,000 grant to develop a cost- and power-consumption-optimized wireless sensor network for monitoring energy use in residential and commercial buildings.

• Lutherville-based Corridor Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Gerald Rosen, professor, pharmaceutical sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore will test the use of a compound against bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax with its $223,031 award.

• Olney-based EcoEmergence Corporation and Jianhong Meng, director, Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition, University of Maryland, College Park will developing the first industry standard test to evaluate the efficacy of bioremediation products (including EcoEmergence's bacteria mixture) for fats, oils and grease, which clog sewer systems and have a negative impact on the environment using its $440,745 in MTech funds.

• Baltimore-based Encore Path, Inc. and Jill Whitall, professor, physical therapy and rehabilitation science, University of Maryland, Baltimore will use the $138,872 award developing a new rehabilitative TREADTRAC Device to facilitate the recovery of walking in individuals with stroke in clinical and, eventually, community settings.

• Baltimore-based Fyodor Biotechnologies, Inc. and Ganesh Sriram, assistant professor, chemical and biomolecular engineering, University of Maryland, College Park will use the $180,330 developing and optimizing a yeast-based platform to reliably produce the drug artemisinin, a therapeutic effective against malaria and other diseases.

• Frostburg-based Instant Access Networks LLC and Hilkat Soysal, lecturer, physics and engineering, Frostburg State University will put the funds toward the $225,000 development of an economically viable backup electricity system by combining battery and hydrogen storage with renewable energy sources to provide power for mission-critical infrastructures in the case of a disaster when the electric grid becomes unavailable for a long period of time.

• Germantown-based Integrated BioTherapeutics, Inc. and Mary-Claire Roghmann, professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore will use the $137,277 developing a toxin-based vaccine against Staphylococcus aureus, a common cause of both hospital-acquired and community-acquired infections and bacterial sepsis.

• Halethorpe-based KYDES Pharmaceuticals, LLC and Stephen Hoag, professor, pharmaceutical sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore will use the $300,399 to develop compounds that deactivate drugs such as opiates, amphetamines and benzodiazepines when they are tampered with to prevent their abuse.

• Rockville-based Opticul Diagnostics Corporation and Richard Venezia, professor, pathology, University of Maryland, Baltimore will put the $325,849 towards pre-clinical and clinical testing of Opticul's rapid, point-of-care test system for antibiotic-sensitive and antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, the bacterium that causes staph infections such as MRSA.

• Gaithersburg-based Pregmama, LLC and Istvan Merchenthaler, professor, epidemiology and preventative medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore will use the $143,278 to develop a therapeutic regimen called Fertamax to prevent egg aneuploidy, infertility, miscarriages, and trisomic pregnancies for women over 35.

• Bethesda-based StarEnergyCo, Inc. and Nam Sun Wang, professor, chemical and biomolecular engineering, University of Maryland, College Park will use the $225,848 award to develop an economical, turn-key process to produce astaxanthin--useful as an antioxidant and as a pigment in aquaculture--from algae and using carbon dioxide emitted from ethanol plants.

• Bethesda-based Stress Indicators Inc.and Chandrashekhar Thamire, professor, mechanical engineering, University of Maryland, College Park will be use $200,000 developing a reliable process for manufacturing the company's High Resolution (HR) Smartbolts, fasteners which are fitted with special visual tension indicators that show whether a joint is loose or tight with a clear, reversible color change.

Source: Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Two guys are sitting in their hammocks when one turns to the other and says, "Hey let's hit a happy hour." Sounds like the opening line of a joke, but for Brian Chaplin, a Baltimore-area bartender, and Tom Camposano, a fireman, it turned into their big idea.

"We looked at our iPhone because we thought we'd be able to find a good solution. But we couldn't find anything we were happy with that had had good information," Chaplin recalls.

So the two decided to create their own app. They hired a developer to write the code and Chaplin bought TK and a book on how to use them. Their goal was to design an app that offered users the most accurate and up to date information.

The easiest way to do that was the pair decided was to have bars subscribe to the service. Bars receive access to a private website that allows them to update their information whenever they choose. The new details are instantly available.

Bars can also use the app's "dispatch" function to send blasts out to app users to alert them to last minute drink and dining specials, or any other information they want to get out. "That's limited only by their creativity. We wanted it to be more than just a tool to send out information, but also a means of communication too," Chaplin explains.

The application also needed to have a user-friendly interface, be fun to use and have the look and feel of Baltimore, says Chaplin. "There're a bunch of happy hour apps out there that are national, but they don't give you that warm and fuzzy feeling. We put that into it and people have really responded well to it."

One year later, and Chaplin and Camposano's Dilly Dally Apps, Llc, released the app. "We kept adding new features and making it better, but finally we got it to the point where we think it's a cool thing."

A one-year subscription to the service is $250. Chaplin says they kept the price low to make it possible for any bar owner to join the service. "We want to capture the majority of bars. That was another problem with the other apps, they were missing a lot of bars. So we set the price low so that bars would be interested in joining."

The free "Baltimore Happy Hour" app is available at the Apple App Store. It includes a map which displays participating bars with a drop down menu to select specific neighborhoods. There's also a list of member bars and the dispatch page where bars post their alerts. The taxi page enables users to call a cab with a single click and contact page for users to interact with the app's owners.

Users of the app can also send updates via buttons linked to their Twitter and Facebook accounts or email their friends to let them know which bar they'll be headed to that day. The messages will include the name of the bar and that day's special.

Chaplin says that he hopes to generate a grassroots movement among the app's users. "They can help us spread the word by showing the app to bar owners and also liking our Facebook page."

Future plans include an app for the Droid as well as expansion into the suburbs to the north and south of the city.

Source: Brian Chaplin, Dilly Dally Apps
Writer: Walaika Haskins

By creating an entirely new layer of ad inventory that serves a video ad in front of any type of web page, ShortTail's D:30 Platform is designed to create a more sustainable ad model for websites. The D:30 has been effectively leveraged by marketers in all major brand categories to efficiently extend their existing television/video ad creative online and provide consistent brand messaging. Significantly, any publisher will now be able to meaningfully participate in the video ad marketplace with hundreds of brand advertisers by deploying a simple ad tag.

The companies will be able to offer clients an end-to-end solution by leveraging each other's technologies and expertise. While ShortTail has focused on creating new video ad inventory for publishers, TidalTV has built a state-of-the-art system that enables advertisers to reach their desired audience with highly impactful video ad placements and no waste. TidalTV's technology leverages the power of data and optimal ad decisioning to guarantee delivery of a brand's message against a target demographic.

"We're excited to bring this offering to the advertising and publisher communities," says Scott Ferber, CEO of TidalTV. "It delivers a scalable video advertising solution to the marketplace across high quality content, and by leveraging our optimal ad decisioning technology, TidalTV can ensure that the right ad reaches the right audience -- creating increased effectiveness for branded advertisers and a more relevant ad experience for the consumer."

"One of the reasons I am so excited about this partnership is that while we have focused on different industry segments, our companies share a belief that video must be at the core of online advertising," says David Payne, President & CEO of ShortTail. "By removing the artificial constraints on pre-roll, and opening up the opportunity for publishers without a lot of video views to generate material video revenue, ShortTail is helping redefine what the online ad model can be -- one that is sustainable and elegant without garish skins, flying cars, or pay walls. If it's archaic to believe that TV ads online aren't a better ad model than two-dimensional teeth whitening ads, then call me a dinosaur."


Source: TidalTV
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Some times finding yourself at the wrong table during an event can lead to good things. That's how more than 100 invitation-only attendees with a vested interest in the health of the Chesapeake Bay came together last week to discuss issues, initiatives to prevent bay pollution and innovative technologies developed by Maryland-based companies, according to Jim Poulos, vice president of Technology Transfer and Commercialization at the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) .

"Will Baker, head of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, was sitting next to me, and I knew that this could be an opportunity for the  Chesapeake Bay Foundation and TEDCO to do something together. We've been exploring the opportunity for a few years and came up with this technology show. We knew we had some small companies that are in the green space and that they're [Chesapeake Bay Foundation] are into cleaning up the Bay. So it was just a matter of connecting the right technologies with water cleanup," he says.

The event, "Technologies that Can Save the Bay: Reducing Nutrient and Sediment Pollution," sponsored by TEDCO and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), highlighted nine technologies from private industry, non-profit associations and research universities that are being developed and deployed to improve water quality and improve the overall health of the Chesapeake Bay by reducing pollution. The event took place at CBF's Phillip Merrill Environmental Center.

"We wanted to show the diversity of institutions, companies and their technologies," says Poulos

The showcase also featured keynote remarks by Tom Horton, noted environmental journalist and Chesapeake Bay expert, and J. Charles "Chuck" Fox, senior advisor on the Chesapeake Bay and Anacostia River to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Poulous along with Allen Hance, executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Trust, and Amanda Bassow, director of Chesapeake programs at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, delivered a special presentation on funding opportunities for entrepreneurs interested in Chesapeake Bay conservation. Attendees and presenters enjoyed a networking, poster, and exhibit session at the end of the event. Closing remarks were made by CBF President Will Baker.

"Environmentalists, business leaders, entrepreneurs and those concerned with the health of the Chesapeake Bay have come from all over the region to learn about these emerging green technologies," says Will Baker, president of CBF. "We are pleased to work with TEDCO to promote the awareness of these technologies and are eager to see more environmentally-focused business models transfer to the marketplace."

Of the nine technologie included in the event, several are either commercially avaialble or will soon be available. They were broken down into three areas:  direct water cleaning solutions, urban solutions, and solutions used in the Bay.

Poulos hopes to host another showcase next year that will include representatives from the federal level, Deleware, New York, Virginia and West Virginia, states that are also affected directly by the Bay or the its watershed.

Companies that presented technologies included:

•Porous Asphalt, Kent Hansen, National Asphalt Pavement Association -- Porous asphalt is an environmentally friendly tool for storm water management. It can conserve water, reduce runoff and promote infiltration which cleanses stormwater, replenishes aquifers and protects streams.


•Creating Green Stormwater with Bioretension, Allen Davis, University of Maryland College Park -- Bioretention, a soil and plant-based stormwater management practice , is used to filter runoff from developed communities. Also known as a rain garden, a bioretention facility consists of a porous soil covered with a thin layer of mulch and is designed to mimic natural vegetated areas and filter pollutants from water.

•Regenerative Stormwater Conveyance and Floating Wetlands, Keith Bowers, Biohabitats, Inc. � Biohabitats, a conservation and ecological restoration company, is developing floating artificial wetlands. These wetlands are composed of recycled plastic bottles wrapped in biodegradable fiber mats in the entrances to the Bay such as the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. These wetlands act not only as filters but as regenerated wetlands.

•SkyGarden: Green Roof Media, Emlyn Stancill, Stancills, Inc. -- SkyGarden specializes in engineered soils and mineral formulations for the greenroof industry. A green roof system is an extension of the existing roof which involves a high quality water proofing and root repellant system, a drainage system, filter cloth, a lightweight growing medium and plants.


•Smartslope: Living Retaining Walls, Michael Furbish, The Furbish Company � The Furbish Company designs, sells, installs and maintains plant-based building systems. "Living Walls" enable building owners and occupants to benefit from improved comfort and health, lower utility bills, increase asset value and help to restore the environment.

•Reclamation of Water and Prevention of Animal Waste Runoff, Carol Collins, Spiralcat � Spiralcat, a women-owned corporation that harvests water, energy and biofuel from diverse waste sources in order to transform waste into valuable energy and water resources. The company's technologies support local food economies, provide clean water, create usable resources, manage nutrients for soil fertility and deliver energy in an affordable manner.

•Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for the Selective Capture of Environmental Phosphate, Tracy Terry, JHU Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) � Phosphorus and nitrogen are major pollutants that enter water via runoff from sewage plants and farmland. Currently, there are no filtering systems that can selectively remove these two elements. APL is working on a system that has the potential to reduce contaminant concentrations of phosphorous and nitrogen to any arbitrary level through staging.

•Slow Release Fertilizer, Wayne Swann, NutriGrown, LLC � NutriGrown, LLC is developing a line of matrix-based soil nutrient products designed to reduce nutrient leaching while enhancing plant growth. Greenz™ technology is exclusively licensed from the USDA/ARS and is based on a formulated matrix of natural organic and inorganic compounds with high ionic exchange capacity. The matrix components bind and retain nutrients for both short and long term plant utilization.

•Pelletizing Seeds for Habitat Restoration, Robert Murphy, EcoSystem Solutions Inc. � Ecosystem Solutions, Inc., a small, privately owned, environmental consulting firm based in West Warwick, RI, specializes in wetland science, ecological solutions and soil science. They work with pelletized seeds to increase the success rate of habitat restoration. Pelletizing seeds are seeds wrapped in a clay pellet, which is a simple technique for hiding and protecting the seed until it can germinate.

Source: Jim Poulos, TEDCO
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Users can opt to keep the cash back rewards they have earned or have the proceeds donated to their charity of choice using a specially shortened URL. 

Composed of thousands of online merchants that pay referral fees, Edeems places an innovative spin on traditional fundraising. For example, a member who elects to donate to NWF finds a deal on Shoes.com, creates a link using http://nwf.honr.it and shares the shortened link with friends and family. As a result, based on the affiliate commissions provided by Shoes.com, NWF receives a charitable donation of $11.70 for every $100 purchase.

"We are excited to launch the Edeems platform while simultaneously providing a unique fundraising tool for large charitable organizations such as National Wildlife Federation," says Brenden Salta, CEO of Edeems, Inc. "Given the recent oil spill disaster and the economic downturn, this is a crucial time for National Wildlife Federation and other charitable organizations to find new, user-friendly channels of giving. Millions of links are posted on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, or personal blogs daily without any rewards. We wanted to create a way to not only reward individuals, but also offer a way to give back to the community."

To raise awareness and increase charitable donations to NWF, supporters are encouraged to visit http://nwf.honr.it before shopping online or recommending a product to a friend. Edeems' charitable service, honr.it, donates 90 percent of affiliate commissions to NWF, or any charity a member selects. In this case, donations would go to NWF to benefit its causes throughout the U.S., from protecting imperiled wildlife and its habitat in the Gulf and across the nation.

"Edeems not only gives National Wildlife Federation supporters another avenue with which to raise awareness and funds, but also provides a way to reach audiences who may not normally be inclined to donate to charity," says Anne Senft, vice president of membership and online marketing at NWF. "We are excited to embark on a new means of giving that will help us continue to support our mission to inspire Americans to protect wildlife for future generations."

The company plans to introduce more shortened URLs for a variety of charities in the coming weeks. Plans are also in the works to launch a shortened URL service for community-based fundraising. Local fire departments, schools, and other community organizations will be able to sign up for the service and receive up to 50 percent of affiliate commissions generated by the URL, says Salta.

Source: Brenden Salta, Edeems
Writer: Walaika Haskins