Move to Baltimore : Innovation + Job News

Technology professionals saw their biggest pay raises last year and those living the Baltimore/Washington area saw the second highest wages in the nation.
 
The data comes from Dice’s 2012 salary survey, which culled information from more than 18,000 IT professionals throughout the U.S. After two straight years of flat wages, tech workers’ salaries grew, on average, more than 2 percent, to $81,327 last year.
 
Average salaries in the Baltimore/Washington market were considerably higher, at $94,317, and salaries grew 6 percent. IT professionals in Silicon Valley pulled in top pay, at $104,195. Austin saw the biggest wage growth, with a 13 percent jump in pay.
 
Wages are higher in the Baltimore/Washington area, in part, because the high education levels, says Jason Hayman, market research manager for Hanover IT staffing firm TEKsystems Inc. Nearly half of all Washingtonians hold a bachelor’s degree or higher while more than one-third of Baltimore residents hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. That puts Baltimore No. 8 in terms of education and Washington No. 1 in the nation.
 
Jobs in the federal government, which is adding IT positions, also is a factor in the region’s salary standing, Hayman says.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Sources: Dice; Jason Hayman and Brendan Foerster, TEKsystems

The Center for Digital Government and Government Technology recently named Baltimore as one of the top 10 digital cities in the country. Baltimore was ranked at number 9 on the list. The survey ranks cities based on a number of criteria to determine which are using technology to the greatest benefit of its citizens.
 
In its eleventh year, the Center for Digital Government Digital Cities Survey is conducted annually. The survey is the first and only survey model providing a sustained assessment of city governments’ use of information and communications technology. The Center for Digital Government’s Digital Cities Performance Institute identifies and promotes best practices and emerging trends in the public sector IT community.
 
The survey uses a number of criteria to determine which municipalities make the cut, and which aren't quite keeping up with technology. The top 10 cities are selected in four different population based categories. Municipalities are then judged on their commitment to technology use,  the impact of technology  across multiple municipal program areas, measurable progress on technology use and initiatives from the prior year, cost savings in hard and soft dollars across the municipality brought to city programs and departments as a result of technology use, innovation in adding new technology and using new technology tools and an attitude toward technology that demonstrates a spirit of  effective collaboration.
 
This is Baltimore's first appearance in the top 10.

Writer: Amy McNeal
Sources: Baltimore City, Government Technology

Baltimore now has 9 new chargers available for drivers of electric vehicles. Mayor Stephanie
Rawlings- Blake, Department of General Services Director Theodore “Ted” Atwood, Parking
Authority of Baltimore City Executive Director Peter Little, and John Murach of Baltimore Gas
and Electric were on hand at the dedication celebration for the new chargers. The Mayor
also took a spin in a new Chevy Volt, which is being considered as a fleet vehicle by the
Department of General Services.

The 9 new car chargers are located at city owned garages around downtown Baltimore.
Electric vehicle chargers have been installed at the Arena Garage, the Baltimore Street
Garage, the Caroline Street Garage, the Lexington Street Garage, the Little Italy Garage, the
Penn Station Garage, the Redwood Street Garage, the Water Street Garage, and the West
Street Garage.

The celebration ceremony for the 9 new chargers is a part of the city's efforts to reduce
energy consumption. During the month of October, which has been designated “Energy
Awareness Month,” Baltimore City officials have also held energy awareness and green
initiatives seminars. Baltimore's city government is also holding a City Employee Energy
Challenge, pitting different city departments against one another in a competition to
reduce energy use. According to the Department of General Services, the Baltimore City
government is on target to meet its goal of a 20% reduction in energy use by 2015.

Writer: Amy McNeal
Source: Department of General Services, Baltimore City

The Maryland Technology Development Corporation, a state-sponsored agency to encourage technological and entrepreneurial development in Maryland, is hosting the event "2011 ENTREPRENEUR EXPO: Harnessing the Power of Innovation in Maryland" on November 14 at the BWI Marriott. The event is designed to serve as a kick off for Global Entrepreneurship Week in Maryland.

The program of events includes a prize competition entitled "Entrepreneurial Launch Pad" in which conference participants are offered 3 minutes on stage in a conference hall to explain to a panel of judges and audience members what their business is doing that is innovative. Prizes will be awarded to the most innovative entrepreneur.

The Expo will also offer a Marketplace exhibition hall where Maryland companies and emerging entrepreneurs can showcase what their companies are doing with exhibits and demonstrations. The Marketplace will offer a Town Square central area with interactive programming and curated sessions by Betascape. Attendees will also have the opportunity to search for a mentor at the Meet Your Mentor event, a speed networking event with over 50 service providers and entrepreneurial support organizations participating.

Early Bird registration is available through October 20th.


Writer: Amy McNeal
Source: TEDCO

The newly opened Fells Point Farmer's Market offers the neighborhood fresh opportunities for growth. Merchants offering meat, herbs, produce, baked goods and more are setting up shop in the square on Saturdays, providing the neighborhood with both new food choices and a gathering spot.

 

Opened under the auspices of Fells Point Main Street, the market has been an immediate success.  Vendors are being added to the mix, with five new vendors expected to be added in the next few weeks.

For some vendors, this market provides the opportunity to start their businesses and explore the possibility of pursuing their passions as a profitable enterprise. Baker Teresa Pessaro had been creating her vegan treats for friends and clients for some time before she decided to take a shot at expanding her enterprise Goody Goody Gumdrops with a stall at the market.

"There's been a good, positive response. There's so many people in the neighborhood, and with the water taxi and tourists, you meet a lot of different people. I've gotten good feedback." says Teresa Pessaro.

The market is focused on both building a better community in Fells Point and providing opportunities for residents to get fresh food. Fells Point Main Street is looking to expand the market's offerings, and find ways to give back to the neighborhood.

"We're all about supporting the neighborhood, getting people to shop local and stay local. What a better way than to make it so that people can wake up, grab a head of lettuce or something from the market and stay in the neighborhood." says Fell's Point Main Street volunteer Nathalie Mageria.

The market will run every Saturday until November 12. Fells Point Main Street is accepting applications for new vendors, and recruiting volunteers.

Author: Amy McNeal

Sources: Nathalie Mageria, Fells Point Main Street; Teresa Pessaro, Goody Goody Gumdrops

 

Over the past few years Baltimore's reputation as a hub of creativity -- both artistic and technological -- has grown. But, while the work of the city's artists and techies has done much to help the city as it marches forward, the efforts of the two communities have largely been separate. What would happen if the two groups came together, sharing their strengths and ideas?

That's the question Andrew Hazlett and Scott Burkholder, J. Buck Jabaily and Dave Troy hope to begin answering this Saturday, Jan. 15 at CreateBaltimore, a conference for artists, coders, crafters, curators, designers, entrepreneurs, hackers, connectors, activists, makers, educators, museum staff, performers, tinkerers, writers, and others who want to work together to enrich life in Baltimore.

"We were at a Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance event, talking about futurism, networks and participatory cultural organizations, and it occurred to us simultaneously that a lot of these things were starting to sound familiar. We both are in the arts and culture sphere but had spent time hanging out with the tech and entrepreneurial community in Baltimore. We realized that there are a lot of ways in which these two communities are more alike than they realize, but at the same time have a lot to learn from each other," says Hazlett, co-organizer of CreateBaltimore.

"It's not just that museums and artists need to become more adept with social media. Or, that web designers need to understand art and design better, it's deeper than that. So many different topics came to us that we think people would like to talk about," he continues.

The two contacted J. Buck Jubaily, executive director of Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, and Dave Troy, an entrepreneur and leader in the local tech community who started TEDx Mid-Atlantic. The group decided that the best way to kickstart the conversation would be with a BarCamp or unConference-style event that allows participants to create the agenda, make presentations, and generate the discussions that interest them the most.

"We're hoping there will be some really good connections made between people who have more in common than they realize. We want it to have both short and long term impact. Conversation is great, but you have to have concrete next steps that take place. We view this as the start of an ongoing process. We'd like to see some theoretical back and forth, but also have some specific ideas about how entrepreneurs and the DIY, Etsy, craftmaker community can collaborate to take advantage of the storefront offers the city government has been working on. That could result in some concrete economic activity in the city," says Hazlett.

The event, which will be held at the Maryland Institute of Art's Brown Center, is sold out, however, Hazlett encourages anyone who would like to attend to sign up for the waitlist.

Source: Andrew Hazlett, CreateBaltimore
Writer: Walaika Haskins

if you're looking for a job in Baltimore, you're in the right place. That's according to a recent Forbes Magazine list that ranked Charm City as the fourth best city in the country to find a job. The magazine based its findings on a monthly report issued by Juju.com, a job listing aggregation site. 

The JuJu "Job Search Difficulty Index" tracks how hard it is to find a job in the nation's 50 major cities. Juju divides the number of unemployed workers in each city, using reports provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by the number of jobs in their index of millions of online job postings.

According to the site, Baltimore has 1.89 unemployed persons for each advertised job. Washington, D.C. ranks as the best city for job seekers with 1.11 unemployed per job advertisement. San Jose, Ca. is No. 2 with just 1.20 out of work individuals per job listing and New York City at No. 3 has 1.63 jobseekers for each job advertised.

Source Forbes Magazine
Writer: Walaika Haskins

In an effort to keep up with the growth of business in the mobile ad space, Baltimore based Millennial Media announced last week that it plans to hire 20 additional staff members by the end of 2010.

According to the company, from 2009 to 2010, Millennial Media's staff grew by more than 50 percent. To keep up with the company's unprecedented revenue and client growth, the number of employees grew an additional 34 percent during the first nine months of 2010. The 20 new positions will boost the company's engineering, operations, and sales teams in its Baltimore and San Francisco offices.

Source: Millennial Media
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Buying a home in Baltimore just got $1000 less expensive for potential homebuyers. Baltimore Housing has increased its funding commitment to Live Baltimore's popular "Buying Into Baltimore" event. A total of $200,000 will be made available this fall for qualified event participants. First time homebuyers can now receive $4,000, towards their homes. Prior to the funding increase the grants were $3,000. A total of 50 awards will be available.

This fall's "Buying Into Baltimore" event will take place on Saturday, September 11 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mergenthaler Vocational Technical High School, 3500 Hillen Road. It will feature the City's East Side neighborhoods.

Live Baltimore has organized the biannual "Buying into Baltimore" program since 1998. It includes neighborhood tours, educational workshops and an exhibitor fair.Participation in the tours as well as homeownership counseling qaulifies participants to receive funds for the downpayment or closing costs of a city home. Baltimore Housing provides the funding and administers the money, structured as five-year forgivable loans.

"We are very excited about this increased commitment by Baltimore Housing to encourage homeownership," says Anna Custer, Live Baltimore executive director. "With the expiration of the federal homebuyer tax credit, many potential buyers are sitting on the sidelines. We're hopeful this bigger award will help buyers get back in the game."

To receive the funds, participants must:

1) live in the desired home as the primary owner/occupant,

2) possess a valid homeownership counseling certificate,

3) participate in the "Buying into Baltimore" tour and have the tour ticket validated at four homes,

4) buy in the eastern part of Baltimore (see Live Baltimore website for boundary details),

5) purchase a home that is less than $417,000, and

6) sign the home sales contract after the event takes place.

Funds are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants must close on a house within 90 days of the eastern region fair to receive the $4,000 award. There are no income restrictions on this program, nor does a recipient have to be a first-time homebuyer. Full details about the award and the event are available on the organization's website: www.livebaltimore.com/bib.

"The market is ripe with great opportunities for first time home buyers," says Baltimore Housing Commissioner, Paul T. Graziano. "Baltimore is a great place to live and low interest rates matched with our $4000 in financial assistance could help the perspective home buyer capitalize immensely on the current market."

Source: Live Baltimore
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The Neighborhood Grants Program of the Baltimore Community Foundation (BCF) recently awarded $85,647 in grants to 23 community-led projects in neighborhoods across Baltimore City and County.

The BCF neighborhood grants fund a varietyy of projects like community gardens, neighborhood signs, and community festivals that have been proposed by a community organization. They reflect various interests and causes, with each project underlining the value of citizen power in action and how community organizations mobilize residents to complete a neighborhood project, build new leadership, or strengthen existing leadership within neighborhoods.

In Remington, for example, residents are working to provide constructive summer activities for neighborhood youth by organizing a first annual summer science camp. The 10-week program will provide young people with an exciting and enriching outlet during the summer months and into the fall, with lessons on steam engines, hot air balloons, solar ovens, and bio-fuels. The camp will help keep neighborhood youth off the streets and engaged in healthy activity while at the same time providing academic enrichment to combat the summer learning loss.

"The Neighborhood Grants Program is in many ways at the heart of what we do at BCF," says BCF President and CEO Tom Wilcox. "Our support of resident-led efforts to strengthen neighborhoods is a crucial investment in the life of our city, and one central to our vision of a Baltimore with a growing economy where all have the opportunity to thrive."

BCF's Neighborhood Grants Program is supported in part by the William Donald Schaefer Civic Fund at BCF, created in 2008 as a living legacy for Governor Schaefer, one that honors and perpetuates his commitment to Baltimore's neighborhoods.

BCF's 2010 Neighborhood Grants Program awards include:

Better Waverly Community Organization (Abell, Better Waverly) - $5,000
To attract more residents and merchants to Waverly's commercial corridor by designing, publishing and distributing a self-guided historic walking tour brochure focused on the area.

C.A.R.E. Community Association (Middle East) - $5,000
To discourage illegal dumping by reclaiming and beautifying a vacant lot in Baltimore's Middle East neighborhood.

Cherry Hill Community Coalition (Cherry Hill) - $5,000
To engage adults and middle school youth from Baltimore's Cherry Hill neighborhood in establishing the Eat Healthy, Live Healthy Community Garden, which will offer farm shares to community residents.

Duncan Street Miracle Gardens (Broadway East) - $3,892.95
To help this long-standing and successful community garden pursue a rodent abatement campaign.

Edmondson Heights Civic Association (Edmondson Heights) - $2,087.50
To increase neighborhood visibility and resident pride by installing a neighborhood sign in the center of the community.

Fells Prospect Community Association (Fells Prospect) - $4,900
To discourage and reduce littering, graffiti, and crime in the neighborhood by gating a problematic alley and transforming it into a community green space.

Greater Remington Improvement Association (Remington) - $1,384.68
For the first annual Remington Science Summer Camp, a 10-week Saturday workshop series for neighborhood youth that runs from late summer through the first weeks of the school year.

Hanlon Improvement Association (Hanlon-Longwood) - $3,000
To increase the number of active community association members by hosting a day-long forum that will explore neighborhood issues and community building solutions through resident focus groups.

Hezekiah Movement (Roundhouse) - $2,000
To support the Our Families in Healing Program's participation in the SoWeBo Recovery Expo, an event that provides Southwest Baltimore residents with information and resources related to addiction recovery services and drug prevention.

Lutherville Community Association (Lutherville) - $2,357
To improve community cohesion and neighborhood identification by installing a community sign, park benches, and greenery on land that sits at the neighborhood's gateway.

Madison East End Multipurpose Center (Madison East End) - $3,250
To promote healthy eating and exercise among neighborhood youth by conducting interactive workshops that incorporate technology and field trips to address issues of proper nutrition, mental health, and physical fitness..

Milton/Montford Improvement Association (Milton/Montford, Madison East End) - $3,160
To fund a summer peace camp for neighborhood youth, ages 6-13, that offers computer classes, arts and crafts, gardening, leadership development, and field trips.

Monument East Development (Dunbar/Broadway) - $1,300
To promote community pride and resident interaction by holding a Monument East Community Day celebration.

New Greenmount West (Greenmount West) - $4,942.50
To increase community engagement, awareness, and interaction by launching a neighborhood communications campaign that includes the use of community bulletin boards, newsletters, community dinners, new resident welcome packets, and a Greenmount West stories booklet.

Oliver Community Association (Oliver) - $3,500
To promote community involvement and social interaction through two "Evening of Jazz" events, featuring live jazz performances, poetry, art, and local vendors.

Overlea Community Association (Overlea) - $5,000
For the Lead On! Overlea project, a year-long leadership and community organizing training for neighborhood residents.

Richnor Springs Neighborhood Association (Richnor Springs) - $3,000
To improve neighborhood safety through Operation Safelight, a project to install energy efficient light bulbs and timing mechanisms on porch lights of neighborhood homes to ensure that the community's streets are illuminated from "dusk 'til dawn."

Seton Hill Association (Seton Hill) - $4,000
To raise awareness about the neighborhood by holding La Fete Francaise, a free community event with an emphasis on the neighborhood's historic French origins and featuring live music, French-themed food and drink, performers, art displays, and walking tours of neighborhood landmarks.

St. Frances Neighborhood Center (Reservoir Hill) - $4,772.61
To provide information and services to neighborhood residents by hosting the 5^th annual Reservoir Hill Resource Fair, which will feature employment, health, and academic vendors in a block party atmosphere.

Stevenswood Improvement Association (Stevenswood) - $5,000
To promote community pride and awareness by installing lamp post street banners featuring the name of the neighborhood, as well as by beautifying the neighborhood gateways with new planters.

Union Square Association (Union Square) - $5,000
To beautify three target blocks in the neighborhood by conducting trash clean-ups and installing and maintaining planters and raised beds for flowers, plants, and trees.

West Edmondale Community Association (Gwynn Oak) - $3,100
To engage residents in a neighborhood-wide clean-up and beautification project by holding a "Motivation Day" contest that will reward blocks claiming the greatest number of participants.

Windsor Hills Neighbors (Windsor Hills) - $5,000
To raise the neighborhood's profile and increase resident pride by cleaning up and beautifying a neighborhood gateway with a community sign, plants, and flowers.

Source: BCF
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Now that the worst fiscal crisis in the modern history of Baltimore has been resolved and critical funding has been restored to the Baltimore Police Department budget, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld announced a detailed plan last week to hire 100 new police officers by the end of 2010 and another 350 police officers in 2011. The new plan will keep pace with normal attrition rates and fill recently restored positions in the Baltimore Police Department budget.

"Public safety is and will remain a top priority of my administration. With my Comprehensive Budget Plan in place, we have restored every single police officer position in the Police Department budget," Mayor Rawlings-Blake says. "Now the focus must be on continued, strong hiring efforts to ensure that budgeted police officer positions remain filled."

The police officer hiring plan calls for additional measures to enhance and expedite the Police Department's hiring process to keep pace with normal retirement trends including:

• Hiring two additional certified consultants to conduct polygraph screenings;
• Hiring up to 9 contractual employees to conduct background investigations in order to clear a processing backlog of applications from new recruits;
• Create a processing unit by consolidating several smaller units that will track and distribute cases, complete civil service testing, schedule various forms of physical/psychological/polygraph testing, etc. This unit will determine the applicants that proceed to a background investigation;
• Create a third background investigation squad to handle the large volume of applicants. At present there are over 80 cases in the background process and over 120 awaiting the assignment of a background investigator; and,
• The Police Department will implement additional testing opportunities for applicants.

"Despite a very difficult budget situation, Mayor Rawlings-Blake is providing the resources my department needs to ramp-up our plan to hire hundreds of new Police officers this year and next," Commissioner Bealefeld says.

Source: The Mayor's Office
Writer: Walaika Haskins

ManTech International Corporation, a technical and engineering services firm based in Va.,  broke ground on its newest location at 4696 Millennium Drive in the Water's Edge Corporate Campus in Belcamp, Md., near Aberdeen Proving Ground.

The new facility will accommodate ManTech's growing Maryland workforce. The company currently has more than 700 employees in Maryland supporting a number of federal government and U.S. military organizations. When the building opens in March 2011, the company will occupy 63,000 square feet of the 125,000-square-foot space. ManTech expects to have 300 to 500 technology jobs at the location in the next three years.

Headquartered in Fairfax, Va., with approximately 9,000 employees, ManTech provides innovative technologies and solutions for mission-critical national security programs for the intelligence community; the departments of Defense, State, Homeland Security and Justice; the space community; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and other U.S. federal government customers.

The company's expertise includes systems engineering, systems integration, enterprise architecture, cyber security, information assurance, intelligence operations and analysis support, network and critical infrastructure protection, information operations and information warfare support, information technology, communications integration, global logistics and supply chain management, and service-oriented architectures.

Source: ManTech
Writer: Walaika Haskins 

There's a new supermarket coming to Anne Arundel County. ShopRite, a full-service supermarket, has signed a lease for an 85,000 square foot store in the Chesapeake Square Shopping Center in Glen Burnie, Maryland. ShopRite will open in mid-Fall, 2010 in the former K-Mart, creating 200 new jobs.

The ShopRite of Glen Burnie will be operated by Collins Family Markets. This will be the fourth ShopRite for the family-owned business helmed by Larry Collins, Sr., which currently owns and operates three of the supermarkets in Pennsylvania.

The Chesapeake Square supermarket will be the eighth ShopRite in Maryland and the first to service Anne Arundel County. There are more than 200 ShopRite stores located throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland.

The new ShopRite will undergo a complete renovation, including construction, fixtures, a new fa�ade, and merchandizing. The rehab should create jobs in the local construction industry as well.

In addition to a broad array of groceries and fresh produce, the ShopRite of Glen Burnie will include a fresh bake shop, a full-service butcher, fresh seafood, a full-service floral department, a wide variety of gourmet cheeses, as well as a broad selection of natural and organic products. A full-service catering and prepared foods department will also be on-site, as well as a fresh-made sushi bar. The store will also offer ShopRite From Home^® online shopping service.

KLNB Retail, which has been working with ShopRite over the past two years to identify opportunities throughout the Maryland region, specifically targeted Chesapeake Square Shopping Center for its inaugural Anne Arundel County location.

"The demographic profile of consumers surrounding Chesapeake Square represents the ideal shopping audience for ShopRite and our research indicates that the grocery store segment is under-served in the Glen Burnie sub-market," states Michael Patz, Principal of KLNB Retail, "ShopRite has historically been extremely successful in capturing market share quickly when entering new areas, and we are confident that their unique combination of merchandising, attractive price points and product selection will be embraced in Anne Arundel County."

Source: The Fedder Company
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Baltimore has made American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM) list of the 50 fittest cities again. The American Fitness Index (AFI) data report, "Health and Community Fitness Status of the 50 Largest Metropolitan Areas," evaluates the most populous city areas to determine the healthiest and fittest metro areas in the United States.

The report reflects a composite of preventive health behaviors, levels of chronic disease conditions, health care access, and community resources and policies that support physical activity. Baltimore ranked 20th with a score of 53.5, a drop from its place in the No. 19 spot in 2009.

"The ACSM American Fitness Index not only measures the state of health and fitness in our nation's largest communities, but evaluates the infrastructure, community assets, policies and opportunities which encourage residents to live a healthy and fit lifestyle," said AFI Advisory Board Chair Walt Thompson, Ph.D., FACSM. "I liken the data report and rankings to the metro areas 'getting a physical' at the doctor's office. The information learned from the physical will help each metro area identify areas of strength and weakness."

The Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) of Washington-Arlington-Alexandria scored 73.5 (out of 100 possible points) in the AFI data report to achieve the top ranking, just as it did in 2008 and 2009.

Characteristics of the D.C. area that helped it achieve the top ranking are a relatively low smoking rate, a higher-than-average percentage of folks eating the recommended daily serving of fruits and vegetables, and lower-than-average rates of chronic health concerns such as obesity, asthma, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. D.C.-area residents also use public transportation regularly, meaning they are likely to walk to and from their places of work or transit stations. Also, the area of parkland as a percentage of the city's land area is significant, providing residents with lots of space to run, bike, play sports or take a leisurely walk.

Metro areas completing the top five were Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Seattle and Portland, Ore.

The western United States dominated the top 10, with only three cities lying along the eastern seaboard. The nation's three largest cities finished in the middle of the pack with New York at 21^st, Chicago at 33^rd and Los Angeles at 38^th.

Education made the difference, working as a valuable predictor of health and fitness; areas with a high percentage of residents with high school degrees or higher are more likely to be physically active and be in excellent or very good health. This group is also more likely to have health insurance.

Source: American College of Sports Medicine
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), celebrated the funding of its 200th company. American Dynamics Flight Systems (ADFS) in Jessup, Md., which received $75,000 from TEDCO's NAVAIR Technology Insertion (NAVTI) program was lucky No. 200.  Over the course of TEDCO's 12-year history, the organization has provided more than $8.5 million in funding to Maryland businesses through its signature Maryland Technology Transfer and Commercialization Fund (MTTCF), which makes up over 75 percent of TEDCO's portfolio.

"TEDCO's has done an outstanding job in making Maryland one of the premier locations for technology-based economic development, bringing high-skilled, high-paying jobs to Maryland," says Senator Benjamin L. Cardin. "Today, I join TEDCO as it features its 10 most innovative companies and celebrates the funding of its 200^th company, American Dynamic Flight Systems. TEDCO understands the importance of nurturing high-tech companies with the capital they need to succeed so that we can ensure good paying jobs for Marylanders."

TEDCO is independent entity, was established by the Maryland General Assembly in 1998 to facilitate the creation of businesses and foster their growth in all regions of the State. TEDCO's role is to be Maryland's leading source of funding for seed capital and entrepreneurial business assistance for the development, transfer and commercialization of technology.

TEDCO connects emerging technology companies with federal laboratories, research universities, business incubators and specialized technical assistance. For the fifth consecutive year, TEDCO was recognized as the most active seed/early-stage investor in the nation in the August 2008 issue of Entrepreneur magazine and received the national Excellence in Technology-Based Economic Development award from the State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI) for the Maryland Technology Transfer Fund (MTTF) program in October 2008.

"I congratulate TEDCO on this important and significant milestone," said Governor Martin O'Malley. "TEDCO is a valuable resource which attracts companies to our state and sustains our reputation as a national leader in technology development. We are fortunate to have TEDCO in our backyard and I thank the organization for its role in moving Maryland forward."

 ADFS develops Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), including its next generation AD-150 which is a maritime aircraft system capable of vertical take-off and landing, and high speed flight. As a result of TEDCO's funding and support, the company is currently working with NAVAIR and the Patuxent Partnership to assess the viability of its technologies with the U.S. Navy.

Since its inception TEDCO has provided funds for an array of the state's  most innovative companies including Fyodor Biotechnologies, which is developing novel technologies to improve the management of malaria, including a malaria test kit; HeMemics Biotechnologies, Inc., which developed a technology to dehydrate biologics (proteins, cells, etc.) in dried or partially dried format; Spiralcat, which developed a technology that recovers water, energy and third-generation biofuels using harvesting systems; and Oculis Labs, which developed a computer security technology that protects computer screens against eavesdropping.

""It's an honor to be the recipient of TEDCO's 200^th funding award," says Wayne Morse, president of ADFS. "TEDCO provides access to exclusive partnerships and resources which are hard to come by. Through this funding, we were able to advance our technology and gain a greater presence in the marketplace, which helped bring ADFS to the next level."

Source: The Maryland Technology Development Corporation
Writer: Walaika Haskins