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College of Engineering -- University of Wisconsin-Madison The Fountain
Home : News & Events : Headlines : 1999 :
Smith and Westmont Win $10,000 in Technology Enterprise Competition

Wave board and inventors

Scott Westmont (left) and Sean Smith (right) hold a wave board equipped with one of their new bindings. (49K JPG)

S.O.S. Binding Systems, Inc. by Business School student Sean Smith and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences student Scott Westmont is the first place $10,000 winner of the 1998-99 G. Steven Burrill Technology Business Plan Competition. The team developed a technology-based business plan to market a new foot binding system used in waveboarding, a form of water skiing. The team recognized the sport's high rate of injuries resulting from bindings that did not kick loose upon wipe outs. S.O.S. binding was designed to break loose and reduce the risk of injury.

Solar inventors

Dan Lerner (left) and Mete Kural (right) presented a business plan involving a high efficiency solar collector/concentrator. (42K JPG)

The competition was held Friday, April 9, 1999 in Grainger Hall. In preparation for the competition, engineering and business students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison put in months of teamwork, planning and developing their market research and business plans for technology-based business ventures. The G. Steven Burrill Technology Business Plan Competition is designed to encourage joint engineering, business, and science student teams to conduct market research, assess technological feasibility and write a business plan that builds on the strength of UW technology, business expertise and education. The competition is sponsored by the UW Technology Enterprise Cooperative, the College of Engineering and the School of Business.

The following teams also earned cash prizes: Judges combined the second and third place prizes and split the amount between two teams, each receiving $5,500. Those teams are: New Millennium Solar by Mete Kural and Dan Lerner. The team presented a plan to market a high efficiency solar collector/concentrator to power producers in the West.

Uranium recycling inventors

From left to right: Howard Chu, Nathan Gierke, Eric Loewen and Derik Ward (not pictured) presented a plan to cost effectively convert depleted uranium hexaflouride. (33K JPG)

Plasma U: The cost Effective Conversion of Depleted Uranium Hexaflouride by Eric Loewen, Nathan Gierke, Howard Chu and Derik Ward. A plan to license technology and reprocess the government's deteriorating piles of uranium hexaflouride into useful products.

Shoe inventors

Kathy Lemenes (left) and Dorene Kent (right) received an honorable mention for their plan to market a hollow shoe heel for storing small personal items. (37K JPG)

The fourth place $1,000 prize went to Hot U.com by Walter R. Roth, Dan Sullivan, Faisal Rashid and Dan Schuman. The team has a plan to market student scheduling software to university registration administrators. In addition the team is developing a student oriented web portal.

Shoe Evolution Co. by Dorene Kent and Kathy Lemmenes received a $250 honorable mention for their plan to market a hollow shoe heel for storing small personal items.

For more information contact COE Assistant Dean Lawrence A. Casper at 608/265-4104 or James C. Beal at 608/263-0611

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Copyright 1999 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
Date last modified: Monday, 12-Apr-1999 00:00:00 CDT
Date created: 12-Apr-1999
Content By: perspective@engr.wisc.edu

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