 The Maryland Technology
Extension Service (MTES), which offers manufacturing solutions to Maryland companies and is
administered by the Clark School’s Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech), had a
$291.8 million economic impact on manufacturers from January 2000 through September 2008. MTES has
assisted Maryland manufacturers in: increasing sales by $73.4 million; retaining sales by $151.8 million;
saving $17 million in costs; saving $8 million in investments; avoiding $6 million in unnecessary
investments; and increasing plant or equipment investment by $30 million. MTES has also helped
manufacturers create or retain 1,427 jobs. The data reflects surveys of MTES clients by the National
Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
 The Maryland Industrial Partnerships Program (MIPS), also administered by
Mtech, announced the approval of 23 new research
projects partnering Maryland companies with university researchers to develop high-tech commercial products.
Worth $3.6 million, the projects combine $1.8 million from participating companies and $1.8 million from
MIPS. Funding supports work in the laboratories of participating university system faculty, who work closely
with partner companies to advance their product development. Projects include an advanced system to detect
and monitor traffic and traffic patterns, an aquaculture system to farm-raise oysters, a new unmanned aerial
vehicle that flies like the Osprey helicopter, autonomous undersea structural inspection robots, and
renewable-energy-fueled power grids safe from electromagnetic pulse attacks.
 TRX Systems, an Mtech
Technology Advancement
Program (TAP) graduate company founded by Professor and Associate Chair of Electrical and Computer
Engineering (ECE) Gil Blankenship, won first place in the third annual Global Security Challenge competition. For winning, TRX Systems received a $500,000 federal contract from the Department of Defense's Technical Support
Working Group. TRX Chief Executive Officer Carole Teolis, (B.S. '86, M.S. '89 and Ph.D.
'94, electrical engineering), and Chief Operating Officer Karina Drees presented the TRX
Sentinel™ first responder personnel location, tracking, and monitoring technology.
 The State of Maryland’s
Department of Natural Resources is supporting a new annual investment fund,
called the Chesapeake Bay Seed Capital Fund, which will be administered by Mtech.
The fund assists
startups with technologies that could improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. Governor
Martin O’Malley announced the initiative, as well as the first funding recipients,
Zymetis Inc. and Traffax Inc. The fund will invest $250,000 annually over a
three-year period. Funding recipients are jointly selected by Mtech and Maryland Department of Natural
Resources staff. Zymetis, a company in Mtech’s TAP incubator, is a biotechnology company developing novel
enzyme products to produce low-cost, high-yield ethanol from cellulosic biomass. Traffax is a startup
developing technology to monitor traffic patterns and travel times using Bluetooth technology. The company’s
patent-pending invention was developed at the Clark School’s Center for Advanced
Transportation Technology by Stan Young, Phil Tarnoff,
and Nick Ganig.
 AccuStrata
Inc., TRX Systems Inc. and Zymetis Inc., three early-stage
companies in TAP, each took
first place in their respective categories at the 2008 Maryland Incubator Company of the Year Awards.
The companies were selected from 21 finalists in seven categories. AccuStrata Inc., winner in the Best
New Incubator Company category, features a patented technology that could make products such as solar cells,
flat panel displays and semiconductors less expensive for consumers by improving the precision and yield of
manufacturing processes. TRX Systems Inc., winner in the Best Homeland Security Company category (see above
as well), could save the lives of firefighters and first responders with its Firefighter Sentinel™ System,
comprised of a highly advanced personal tracking device, base station and software. Zymetis Inc., winner in
the Best Technology Transfer Company category, may hold the key to inexpensive ethanol through an enzymatic
process derived from a bacterium found in the Chesapeake Bay that breaks down any substance consisting of
plant matter (cellulose) into its constituent sugars (which are then fermented into ethanol) faster and
cheaper than any available solution.
 Anik
Singal, Hinman CEOs alumnus and CEO of Affiliate Classroom Inc.
(a privately held company in the TAP incubator, a VentureAccelerator
graduate, and a leading publisher of educational tools for interactive
marketers) was named as one of the top five Best U.S. Entrepreneurs 25 and Under by BusinessWeek.com. Singal, along with the other 24 entrepreneurs, was selected from among hundreds of nominees
interviewed by BusinessWeek.com’s staff.
 Mtech announced the winners of the 2008 University of Maryland $50K Business
Plan Competition.
Winners were chosen among eight finalist teams in three categories. Randolph Ballard, an electrical
engineering student, was a member of the winning team in the undergraduate student category for the
LDTech team developing the Liquid Desiccant Waterfall, a visually appealing, low-energy
dehumidifier that pulls moisture from the interior of a house and releases it outside in the atmosphere.
Mehdi Kalantari, a faculty researcher and program director of the Master's in Telecommunications program,
and a 2005 ECE Ph.D. alumnus advised by Prof. Mark Shayman (ECE/Institute for Systems Research), placed
second overall in the alumni category. His business project, Resensys Inc., is aimed at developing
remote, wireless, distributed sensors that persistently monitor the structural health of bridges,
massive commercial and residential buildings and other civil infrastructures.
 Department
of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Associate Professor Srinivasa Raghavan and his
advisee, Fischell Fellow and bioengineering graduate student Matt Dowling, won the attention of a group
of venture capitalists and the title of "Best Inventor Pitch for Bioscience Day 2008" for their
presentation of "nano-velcro," a biomaterial they invented capable of stopping bleeding, particularly
in situations where surgical help is not immediately available. Their startup company is called Remedium
Technologies.
 Approximately 451 people,
from 15 colleges in the region and nationally, registered for the University
of Maryland Technology Start-Up Boot Camp, one of the region’s premier events for both aspiring and
seasoned technology entrepreneurs looking to gain new inspiration, knowledge, insight, and connections
that will ignite their ideas and startups. Hosted by Mtech, the Boot Camp has grown from 100 University
of Maryland attendees in 2001 to an average of more than 400 attendees for the past three years. The event features new venture experts, grant makers, angel investors,
venture capitalists, and both active and aspiring entrepreneurs, who speak or engage in panels on topics
such as: how to launch a technology venture from the ground up; university initiatives that can help
bring ideas to market; how to raise capital; best ways to safeguard and manage intellectual property
and assets; and how to write a great business plan and market technology products.
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