TechConnect Names Winners of 2006 Emerging Technology Leadership Awards; Awards Honor Life Sciences, Physical Sciences Business, IP Innovators; Ceremony Held at First Annual TechConnect's 2006 Summit in Boston
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--May 31, 2006--TechConnect (www.techconnect.org), a global technology outreach organization dedicated to locating the world's most commercially-promising technologies and start-up companies, today announced winners of their first annual "Emerging Technology Awards."Recipients for the 2006 TechConnect Emerging Technology Awards (TETAs) were selected to receive the awards by a review team comprised of leading researchers and commercial experts, who also serve as members of the TechConnect Executive Committee and the Advisory Board, which include representatives from Boston University, Yale University, University of California, Sanyo, Ford Motor Company, Motorola, Merck and many others. (More about TechConnect's Board Members below).
"The TechConnect Emerging Technology program is design to provide an ideal forum for early-stage technology companies to showcase their technologies and market advantages to potential go-to-market partners," said Matthew Laudon of TechConnect, co-producer of the event.
TechConnect's annual event, the TechConnect Summit, brings together the world's top technology generators, developers and investors within diverse categories, including automotive, electronics, energy, media, chemicals, food and health care. TechConnect applies the academic peer-review process to a business vetting procedure to identify only the best technology and venture global opportunities.
"During our debut 2006 TechConnect, we received more than 120 submissions of intellectual property (IP) and business plans from universities, research centers and commercial companies representing 14 countries -- both start-ups and well-established names," notes Laudon. "All applicants then participated in a vetting process, where board members screened their IP and business plans for promise and potential impact."
After the initial screening process, 40% of the submitters were invited to present their IP and business plans to commercialization and venture capital representatives in one-on-one meetings, Laudon added.
There are three (3) 2006 TechConnect Emerging Technology Awards winners, representing innovation in life sciences and physical sciences. The 2006 TETA Recipients are as follows:
Life Sciences: Industrial Categories -- Health, Pharma, Personal Care, Biotech Mediating Multiple, Same Family GPCRs with Single, Multi-Target PEPDUCIN(R) Drug Compounds Tufts-New England Medical Center Boston, MA, US Participants include: John Cosmopoulos, Tufts University Athan Kuliopulos, MD, PhD, Tufts-New England Medical Center Lidija Covic, PhD, Tufts-New England Medical Center Nicole Kaneider, MD, Tufts-New England Medical Center Physical Sciences: Industrial Categories -- Electronics, Sensors, Telecom, Instrumentation Piezoelectric MEMS Microphones, Speakers, and High Temperature Sensors MonoDrive, Inc. Menlo Park, CA, US Participants include: Scott Rader, PhD, MonoDrive, Inc. Mhamed Ibnabdeljalil, PhD, MonoDrive, Inc. Physical Sciences: Industrial Categories -- Energy, Materials, Chemicals, Agro Pepfactants UniQuest Pty Ltd Brisbane, Queensland, AU Participants include: Kyle Meetze Anton Middelberg, PhD, BE, The University of Queensland Annette Dexter, PhD, BSc, The University of Queensland
The TechConnect Executive Committee and Advisory Board
This year, the TechConnect Emerging Technology Award winners were selected by a review team comprised of business and investment leaders on the TechConnect Vetting Team including such organizations as:
Boston University Merck Massachusetts TTC Cisco Systems University of California Motorola Rice University DaimlerChrysler Yale University Goodrich University of Minnesota University of Wisconsin-Madison University of Illinois University of California San Diego Northwestern University Analog Devices, Inc. IBM Intel Chevron Imperial College-London University of Geneva, CH Ford Motor Company Cabot Corporation Georgia Tech Novartis BASF Sanyo ExxonMobil Washington University University of Florida New York University University of Michigan Tufts University Washington University In-Q-Tel Atomic Venture Partners Honeywell
TechConnect Summit Comes to California in 2007
The next TechConnect Summit will be held in May 2007 in Santa Clara, California. "Based on the success of this year's event in Boston, we believe the TechConnect Summit in Silicon Valley will fill an enormous void in the marketplace by creating a venue where innovators and early stage companies can meet face-to-face with investors and enterprises looking to find tomorrow's technology opportunities," Laudon said.
About TechConnect
TechConnect is a global technology outreach organization, dedicated to bringing together the world's most promising IP and start-up companies across all industries and technology focus areas. TechConnect is led by an executive team with experience in community creation, publishing know-how and unrivaled event execution. TechConnect is founded upon the application of the academic Peer-Review process towards the evaluation of emerging technologies and early stage venture companies. With extensive knowledge in industry, academia, and business development, TechConnect brings only the best ideas and companies to its audience through publications, events, and outreach activities. The annual TechConnect Summit provides the largest global snapshot of peer reviewed emerging technologies, IP and early stage companies based on their market impact and positioning. www.techconnect.org