TurboVote, a voter-assistance startup that was launched last fall while its founders were attending Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, announced yesterday that it has partnered with four Michigan universities to make voting easier for Detroiters. Just in time for the presidential election, Wayne State University in Detroit, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Marygrove College in Detroit, and Eastern Michigan … Continue reading “Four SE Michigan Universities Launch TurboVote”
Tag: Wayne State University
Wayne State Offers Free Patent Clinic to Detroit Entrepreneurs
On the heels of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office opening up its first-ever satellite location in Detroit, Wayne State’s law school has announced it will offer a free patent procurement clinic to qualifying local entrepreneurs. It’s the only pro bono patent law procurement clinic in Michigan. The clinic, located in Midtown at 471 Palmer, … Continue reading “Wayne State Offers Free Patent Clinic to Detroit Entrepreneurs”
Power Panel Brings Solar Manufacturing to Detroit
Solar panel manufacturing in Detroit? I didn’t know it either until I received an e-mail from Adam Stratton, Power Panel‘s vice president of business development. An affable Canadian, he invited me out to the company’s manufacturing facility on the far western edge of the city, in a corner of Detroit I had yet to visit. … Continue reading “Power Panel Brings Solar Manufacturing to Detroit”
Genome Dynamics on Taking Overactive Bladder Biomarker Tests Mainstream
Though the pharmaceutical industry seems to want to do its best to make us giggle with its cutesy advertising campaigns, to Martin Bluth, an overactive bladder is no laughing matter. Bluth, co-founder of Detroit-based Genome Dynamics International (GDI), says treatments for overactive bladders represent a $26 billion market—and that’s not including the social costs of … Continue reading “Genome Dynamics on Taking Overactive Bladder Biomarker Tests Mainstream”
TechTown Hosts North African Entrepreneurs as Part of State Dept. Program
What brings a group of entrepreneurs from the Mahgreb region of Africa to Detroit’s TechTown? It’s an interesting story that started in Egypt three years ago. On June 4, 2009, President Obama delivered a speech in Cairo that was aimed promoting harmony between the United States and the Muslim world. Tensions were high after eight … Continue reading “TechTown Hosts North African Entrepreneurs as Part of State Dept. Program”
Wayne State Launches Pre-Seed Fund For Student Tech Startups
Wayne State University has launched a new pre-seed fund supporting student-run tech startups, the first of its kind in Detroit. The Warrior Fund, which is made possible through a grant from the Michigan Initiative for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, will be administered by the tech transfer office and Blackstone Launch Pad. A total of $25,000 is available … Continue reading “Wayne State Launches Pre-Seed Fund For Student Tech Startups”
EcoCar 2 Competition Offers Students the Chance to Drive Future of Hybrid Cars
Students from 15 universities—including Wayne State University—are currently battling it out in the EcoCar 2 competition, which is sponsored by General Motors, the U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory, and 20 other industry and government entities. It offers participants the chance to gain real-world automotive engineering skills as they strive to improve the fuel … Continue reading “EcoCar 2 Competition Offers Students the Chance to Drive Future of Hybrid Cars”
Seven MI Universities to Partner in Tech Transfer Talent Network
The University of Michigan’s tech transfer office will lead a new two-year, $2.4 million initiative to help state universities take advantage of local entrepreneurs and innovators in an effort to commercialize university technology. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is funding the Tech Transfer Talent Network, and other member universities are Wayne State University, Michigan State University, … Continue reading “Seven MI Universities to Partner in Tech Transfer Talent Network”
SE Michigan Startups Nab Pre-Seed, Microloan Funding
Ann Arbor SPARK and Wayne State University recently announced that eleven Southeast Michigan startups have received investments from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund and microloan awards from the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Local Development Financing Authority (LDFA). The investments are meant to help early-stage companies commercialize their technology. Three companies from TechTown’s business accelerator program received pre-seed … Continue reading “SE Michigan Startups Nab Pre-Seed, Microloan Funding”
RetroSense Therapeutics’ Blindness Therapy Lands Investment
On Friday, the Maryland-based Foundation for Fighting Blindness announced it has invested $250,000 in a vision-restoring therapy developed by Ann Arbor, MI-based startup RetroSense Therapeutics. The technology RetroSense uses was licensed from Wayne State University, where it was pioneered by anatomy and cell biology professor Zhuo-Hua Pan. RetroSense works with a photosensitivy gene called Channelrhodopsin-2 … Continue reading “RetroSense Therapeutics’ Blindness Therapy Lands Investment”
Wayne State Hires Former Pharma Exec to Lead Tech Commercialization Efforts
In Michigan, technology spun out of the University of Michigan is firmly entrenched in the startup success stories that get the most press: HandyLab, Accuri Cytometers, and the like. What’s less publicized is the key role Wayne State University’s technology has played in major companies like Asterand and the California-based SciClone Pharmaceuticals. Wayne State is particularly … Continue reading “Wayne State Hires Former Pharma Exec to Lead Tech Commercialization Efforts”
Potential Treatment for Degenerative Eye Diseases Developed at Wayne State
Former Wayne State University opthalmology researchers Raymond Iezzi and Rangaramanujam Kannan have developed a new way to treat age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa using injections of nanoparticles, the university announced earlier this month. Iezzi, who has since gone on to the Mayo Clinic, and Kannan, who is now with Johns Hopkins, are currently in … Continue reading “Potential Treatment for Degenerative Eye Diseases Developed at Wayne State”
Fighting Crime with Technology: A Detroit Success Story
In Forbes magazine’s annual piece about America’s most dangerous cities, published in October, the article leads with an anecdote from Detroit. Detroit has been a mainstay on such lists for decades, and last year, it led the nation in violent crimes with with 345 murders and 1,111 violent crimes reported per 100,000 residents. According to … Continue reading “Fighting Crime with Technology: A Detroit Success Story”
Leaders of Entrepreneurial Programs From MI Universities Gather
Last Thursday and Friday, leaders of entrepreneurial studies programs from seven Michigan universities met in Lansing for the Michigan Entrepreneurship Leaders Forum, where they discussed what’s working in their individual programs, how they might be able to collaborate in the future, and how all of their efforts might help boost the state’s economy. “I’ve been … Continue reading “Leaders of Entrepreneurial Programs From MI Universities Gather”
Urban Science Expands Detroit Headquarters to Accommodate Growth
Urban Science, a Detroit-based company founded 34 years ago to help bridge science and marketing functions primarily for automotive clients, recently announced it has expanded to a larger and completely renovated 100,000-square-foot space. The new digs, at 400 Renaissance Center in Detroit, will accommodate Urban Science’s growing business and work force. “People think of the … Continue reading “Urban Science Expands Detroit Headquarters to Accommodate Growth”
‘TechTown 2.0’ Expands Focus
TechTown has undergone some changes recently as Leslie Smith transitions into her new role as executive director. Nothing drastic, she says, but rather an expansion of its incubator business model to include targeted outreach to a few Detroit neighborhoods in order to make its entrepreneurial mission more accessible, an increased focus on microenterprise and procurement … Continue reading “‘TechTown 2.0’ Expands Focus”
Could Detroit Become the Silicon Valley of Social Entrepreneurship?
The first rule of starting any entrepreneurial venture is: Find a problem that needs solving. Detroit, as we all know, has some big social problems: poverty; crime; homelessness; abysmal literacy rates; rampant unemployment. It should hardly be a surprise, then, that a motivated young class of social entrepreneurs has sprung up in the city, and … Continue reading “Could Detroit Become the Silicon Valley of Social Entrepreneurship?”
Hatch Detroit Business Contest Down to Four Finalists; Voting Ends Nov. 2
The ideas have been pitched, the public cast their votes online and through social media for the semi-finalists, and now the Hatch Detroit retail business contest is in its final stage. This is the hard part, where we choose the winner. Will it be the wine bar or the tea room? The pop-up furniture store … Continue reading “Hatch Detroit Business Contest Down to Four Finalists; Voting Ends Nov. 2”
Randal Charlton Leaves TechTown to Run New Program for Older Entrepreneurs
Wayne State University’s business incubator TechTown announced today that current executive director Randal Charlton has stepped down to transition into a leadership position with BOOM! The New Economy, a new program supporting the Baby Boom generation’s reinvention as entrepreneurs. Leslie Smith, TechTown’s current general manager, will take over his position starting Nov. 1. TechTown was … Continue reading “Randal Charlton Leaves TechTown to Run New Program for Older Entrepreneurs”
Wayne State Uses Social Media to Mentor Girls in Science, Tech
Wayne State University announced last week that it has received a $1.7 million grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health to increase the interest of metro Detroit girls in health-related “STEM” disciplines—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Sally K. Roberts, faculty adviser for WSU’s Gaining Options-Girls … Continue reading “Wayne State Uses Social Media to Mentor Girls in Science, Tech”
NIH Awards $2.1M grant for Parkinson’s Research at Wayne State University
Wayne State University announced last week that one of its professors, Dr. Aloke Dutta, has received a $2.1 million grant for his work researching drugs that ease symptoms caused by Parkinson’s Disease. Dutta and his team aim to develop drugs with multiple ways of working to treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, and also to modify … Continue reading “NIH Awards $2.1M grant for Parkinson’s Research at Wayne State University”
NextCAT Awarded $500K Small Business Grant
Detroit-based alternative energy startup NextCAT last week announced it has received a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the amount of $498,830, bringing NextCAT’s total grant funding to $1.3 million. The company is working to commercialize a class of biofuel catalysts developed at Wayne State University. The … Continue reading “NextCAT Awarded $500K Small Business Grant”
WSU Program Nurtures Budding Research Scientists
At Wayne State University, labs aren’t just a sterile space for solemn experiments. For students in the school’s Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD), it’s a chance to work directly with their instructors, get a taste of the scientific life, and gather some up-close career advice in the process. “The laboratory setting is almost like … Continue reading “WSU Program Nurtures Budding Research Scientists”
Ash Stevens: Developing Chemicals Proudly Made in the USA
Forty-nine years ago, Wayne State University unveiled its brand new Detroit Research Park, located across from the John C. Lodge Freeway not far from the football stadium. The ceremony was held in front of a crowd of dignitaries that included Mayor Jerome Cavanagh. One of the first such endeavors of its kind in the nation, … Continue reading “Ash Stevens: Developing Chemicals Proudly Made in the USA”
Margarita Barry Leads Army Of Young Entrepreneurs To Detroit
[Corrected 7/12/11, 4:05 pm.See below.]Margarita Barry is throwing a party. Who: Entrepreneurial, creative people in their 20s or 30s Where: Detroit When: Now RSVP: www.iamyoungdetroit.com Barry, 26, is the founder of I am Young Detroit, a web site [An earlier version mistakenly described the website as a social networking site. We regret the error.]that offers … Continue reading “Margarita Barry Leads Army Of Young Entrepreneurs To Detroit”
NextCAT Continues To Push Forward With The Help of Uncle Sam
The biofuels industry is still a difficult business to crack, but fortunately for startups like Detroit-based NextCAT, the government continues to believe in the technology. NextCAT Founder Charles Salley tells Xconomy that the company will likely win a $500,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant this month. The Wayne State University spinout, based at the TechTown … Continue reading “NextCAT Continues To Push Forward With The Help of Uncle Sam”
At The Great Lakes Stem Cell (Innovation) Center, Researchers Anxiously Wait For Technology To Take Off
On the fourth floor of the TechTown science and research park in Detroit, the words “Great Lakes Stem Cell Commercialization Center” practically startle a vistor with their large, dark green lettering sprawled across a white wall. “Yeah, we’re changing the name,” James Eliason, the center’s director, tells me. “Really?” I ask. “Why?” “Well, for one … Continue reading “At The Great Lakes Stem Cell (Innovation) Center, Researchers Anxiously Wait For Technology To Take Off”
Staebler To Oversee TechTown
Wayne State University named Ned Staebler as its vice president of economic development. Staebler, a former official with the Michigan Economic Development Corp., will oversee the TechTown research park in Detroit.
David Brophy and the Michigan Growth Capital Symposium: A 30-Year-Old Growth Story
When I first started at Xconomy three months ago, people consistently urged me to meet two people: Dug Song and David Brophy. Song, a successful local Internet entrepreneur, was obvious. But why Brophy, a long time business professor at the University of Michigan? Well, it’s a little something called the Michigan Growth Capital Symposium (MGCS). … Continue reading “David Brophy and the Michigan Growth Capital Symposium: A 30-Year-Old Growth Story”
University of Michigan Tech Transfer Makes Great Progress in Ten Years. But Is It Enough?
When Ken Nisbet arrived at the University of Michigan in 2001, the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) was an office in name only. Like at most universities at the time, tech transfer at U-M was an afterthought, a low priority enterprise usually staffed by people with little or no industry experience. But after witnessing the … Continue reading “University of Michigan Tech Transfer Makes Great Progress in Ten Years. But Is It Enough?”
In Southeast Michigan, Keeping Young Talent in the State a Constant Challenge
If Ashley Hartmann had her way, the junior at the University of Michigan would leave the state after getting her degree. “The job opportunities are horrendous in comparison to the rest of the nation,” Hartmann, a chemistry major, said at the MPowered Entrepreneurship career fair in the school’s student union last week. Michigan has struggled … Continue reading “In Southeast Michigan, Keeping Young Talent in the State a Constant Challenge”
Beyond the Big Three: A Tough Love Search for Detroit’s Future
“Many people watching tonight can probably remember a time when finding a good job meant showing up at a nearby factory or a business downtown,” President Obama said during his State of the Union address last night. “You didn’t always need a degree, and your competition was pretty much limited to your neighbors.” “If you … Continue reading “Beyond the Big Three: A Tough Love Search for Detroit’s Future”
First Impressions of Michigan’s Innovation Landscape: An Institutional Legacy, A Fragmented Entrepreneurial Community, and Some Unexpected Promising Sectors
Last week I headed to the Detroit and Ann Arbor area to make my first visit to one of Xconomy’s newer outposts. I spoke with entrepreneurs and industry veterans, as well as academics and investors looking to jumpstart the region’s innovation engine. Some of what I saw and heard on my trip stood in stark … Continue reading “First Impressions of Michigan’s Innovation Landscape: An Institutional Legacy, A Fragmented Entrepreneurial Community, and Some Unexpected Promising Sectors”
Helicopter Lasers, Health Record Exchange, and Rick Snyder’s Past—A Michigan Roundup
There has been a smattering of innovation news from around the state this week: —University of Michigan researchers are developing a laser-based system to protect military helicopters from heat-seeking missiles by jamming their sensors, according to a report in Gizmag. Mohammed Islam, a U-M professor of electrical engineering and computer science, is leading the research … Continue reading “Helicopter Lasers, Health Record Exchange, and Rick Snyder’s Past—A Michigan Roundup”
Michigan’s Research Universities Say They’re Creating New, High-Tech Manufacturing Jobs
Despite rumors to the contrary, manufacturing is not dead in Michigan. It’s just not solely in automotive anymore. That is among the conclusions reached in an 87-page report released today by the University Research Corridor, a partnership launched four years ago by the state’s three major research universities. The report says that more than 381,000 … Continue reading “Michigan’s Research Universities Say They’re Creating New, High-Tech Manufacturing Jobs”
iNetworksMichigan To Bring Detroit $10M, Plus Lessons Learned From Pittsburgh’s Economic Revival
When Charlie Schliebs looks at Detroit today, he sees his hometown of Pittsburgh about 30 years ago, when the steel industry collapsed. Then, Carnegie-Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh helped turn things around by stepping up to the challenge of redefining themselves as a training ground for a new, tech-based economy. That’s why Schliebs, … Continue reading “iNetworksMichigan To Bring Detroit $10M, Plus Lessons Learned From Pittsburgh’s Economic Revival”
Five Things Michigan Entrepreneurs and Innovators Are Already Doing to Invigorate the State’s Economy
I recently had the honor of being interviewed for an Xconomy article. When I finished reading the article, I read a number of the related posts. One of them, “Five Things Entrepreneurs and Innovators Can Do To Invigorate Michigan’s Economy,” bothered me because, in my opinion, it leaves one thinking that Michigan is completely missing … Continue reading “Five Things Michigan Entrepreneurs and Innovators Are Already Doing to Invigorate the State’s Economy”
Without a Thriving Detroit, Michigan Cannot Catch that Train to Prosperity
When I attended Wayne State University in Detroit back in the mid-’80s, scattered around downtown Detroit were white pillars that supported… nothing. They looked as though they were part of a kind of ancient Roman ruin—but these pillars were brand new. They were the beginnings of Detroit’s People Mover, a raised monorail that was to … Continue reading “Without a Thriving Detroit, Michigan Cannot Catch that Train to Prosperity”
Detroit’s NextCAT Hopes to Light a Fire Under Idled Biodiesel Producers with New Catalysts
A funny thing happened on the way to the green economy. Real-life market forces have a way of foiling the best-laid plans of mice, men, and government incentives. When petroleum diesel was 4 bucks a gallon a couple of years ago, biodiesel seemed like such a deal. But then, says Derrin Leppek, of Detroit-based biodiesel … Continue reading “Detroit’s NextCAT Hopes to Light a Fire Under Idled Biodiesel Producers with New Catalysts”
Five Ways Michigan Can Become a High Tech and Life Sciences Powerhouse
Although I have lived in the Boston area for more than half my life, I grew up in the Detroit area and still have strong connections to my alma mater—the University of Michigan. I serve on the Board and Leadership Council of the Life Sciences Institute at U-M. In that capacity, I have kept in … Continue reading “Five Ways Michigan Can Become a High Tech and Life Sciences Powerhouse”
Six Things Michigan Can Do To Reinvigorate The Local Economy
The business model for the U.S. automotive industry needs to be re-evaluated to find ways to become competitive again with foreign manufacturers. Innovators and entrepreneurs in Michigan can help drive this by bringing new ideas for improving the supply chain, speeding up cycle times for innovative R&D, and cost reduction. These ideas need to come … Continue reading “Six Things Michigan Can Do To Reinvigorate The Local Economy”
Detroit Stem Cell Startup Gets $200K
Detroit stem cell startup MitoStem has received a $200,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant from the National Institutes of Health, according to an announcement by TechTown, the incubator that houses the company near the campus of Wayne State University. MitoStem is enrolled in TechTown’s SmartStart business accelerator program. The grant will allow … Continue reading “Detroit Stem Cell Startup Gets $200K”
$2M Achieves Liftoff For Detroit Launch Pad
Wayne State University in Detroit and Walsh College in Troy, MI, will get an entrepreneur training program called The Launch Pad off the ground thanks to a $2 million grant from the Blackstone Charitable Foundation. Detroit’s New Economy Initiative will partner with New York-based Blackstone to launch the program that it hopes will be come … Continue reading “$2M Achieves Liftoff For Detroit Launch Pad”
Four Key Ingredients Needed to Spark Innovation in Michigan
Here are four key elements that people here in Michigan should think about as we seek to create a thriving hub of innovation and entrepreneurship: 1. Management: Michigan needs be more attractive for startup management to live and work. The state should work aggressively to lure top management talent to Michigan. 2. Investors: While Michigan … Continue reading “Four Key Ingredients Needed to Spark Innovation in Michigan”
Hold On To Your Brightest Young People, Michigan
I don’t have five pithy things to tell entrepreneurs in Michigan, but I do have one comment based on my 16 years in Ann Arbor trying to help commercialize biotech/medtech innovations at the University of Michigan. Do everything possible to keep your young in Michigan. The three research universities in Michigan, U-M, Michigan State University, … Continue reading “Hold On To Your Brightest Young People, Michigan”
At Xconomy Detroit, A New Narrative Begins In A City That Is Always Striving
Welcome to Xconomy Detroit, a continuing chronicle of what this city is “becoming.” The word “Detroit” has always been immersed in meaning far beyond the physical borders of this great and tragic city. At one time, there was no need to define what one meant by the phrase “coming out of Detroit.” It was synonymous … Continue reading “At Xconomy Detroit, A New Narrative Begins In A City That Is Always Striving”
Kresge Gives $800K For TechTown Expansion
TechTown, a Detroit business incubator, has received an $800,000 grant from The Kresge Foundation to renovate the former Dalgleish Cadillac dealership on Cass Avenue into TechTwo, which will house more incubator space. The grant gives up to $650,000 for the renovation. The Kresge Foundation, which supports nonprofits in Metro Detroit, gave $1.5 million to TechTown … Continue reading “Kresge Gives $800K For TechTown Expansion”
NextCAT Testing Biodiesel
NextCAT, a Detroit-based developer of catalysts for biodiesel production, announced today that it has signed an option agreement to produce technology developed at the National Biofuels Energy Laboratory at Wayne State University. NextCat says its catalyst technology can take biomass not currently in the food stream, such as algae and recycled cooking oil, and convert … Continue reading “NextCAT Testing Biodiesel”