Tag Entrepreneurship
UW-Madison spinoff wants to help out in the grocery aisle
When Wes Schroll moved from a dorm into an apartment and began grocery shopping, he hated it.
Interactive website developer succeeds by excelling in information architecture
Earthling Interactive of Madison does produce websites, but calling the 16-year-old firm a "website developer" is like comparing a Boeing 777 pilot to a kid who hurls paper airplanes. Sure, they both achieve flight, but that's the end of the similarities.
Software piggybacks on electronic medical records, saves clinician time
Many people assume that electronic medical records would simplify doctoring, helping medical staff retrieve symptoms, diagnoses and prescriptions at computer speed. But Jonathan Baran, a Madison entrepreneur who began developing medical automation software while a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, says providers often don't see the promised efficiencies.
Heavy-duty neutron accelerators paint promising future for UW–Madison spinoff
A Madison manufacturer of the world's most powerful commercial neutron generators is awaiting final regulatory approval for its first sale outside the research market. The device will be used to calibrate safety detectors at nuclear reactors in the United Kingdom.
UW 2020: New VCRGE program to support early stage research
In an effort to create a dynamic new funding mechanism for bold research ideas, ideas with potential to drive significant discoveries, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education (VCRGE), with support from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), is teeing up a new program to seed potentially groundbreaking research.
One hot idea: Thermal spray makes metal better
A company spawned by an experiment on lawn mower blades has mushroomed into a national leader in high-temperature coatings that alter the surface properties of metal.
UW–Madison researcher wins Governor’s Business Plan Contest
Katie Brenner, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and her team of co-founders won the 2015 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest in Madison Wednesday for an app-based device to help women monitor their fertility.
Survey finds UW–Madison alumni starting companies across the state
A survey just completed by the Wisconsin Alumni Association shows a substantial level of business startups among graduates of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
UW honors noted entrepreneurs with achievement awards
The University of Wisconsin–Madison Entrepreneurial Achievement Awards this year honor a graduate of the Department of Computer Sciences who co-founded the company that’s now WebMD, and a Department of Animal Sciences professor who has turned his patented technologies into startup companies.
UW-Madison startup marries digital, physical worlds
A startup business that wants to link the realm of physical objects to the digital world of the Internet is basing its future on low-cost, highly engineered, one-of-a-kind plastic stamps.
Patent office director offers views on intellectual property, diversity
The director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office spent Wednesday conversing with the UW–Madison community about the opportunities and challenges of intellectual property protection.
Simple sample: Federal grant advances pain-free blood tests from UW startup
A company with deep roots at UW–Madison wants to make blood sampling less painful and more convenient. Tasso Inc. is perfecting a device the size of a pingpong ball that extracts a small sample while held against the skin for two minutes.
First woman director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office visits for a discussion about innovation and opportunity
UW-Madison, a world leader in producing patents, will welcome Michelle K. Lee, director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, on April 15 for a tour of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery and a discussion about the future of intellectual property and innovation.
UW grant program seeds promising ideas, like safer batteries
State Economic Engagement & Development (SEED) grants are administered by the Office of Industrial Partnerships to support research that interests a researcher and a spinoff he or she founded. During fiscal year 2015, its first year, SEED started disbursing $700,000 to five laboratories. The next round of grants is budgeted at $625,000, and applications are due Feb. 15.
Student inventors get boost to commercialize color 3-D printing, iPhone app
Applying a similar approach to the 3-D printer, a group of University of Wisconsin–Madison students are commercializing a device that adds color to a printer that now dominates the market. Their business idea was one of two student projects to receive an Igniter grant from the university’s Discovery to Product (D2P) office.
University spinoff aims to hit the mark precisely with brain-scanning tool
As brain surgeons test new procedures and drugs to treat conditions ranging from psychiatric disorders to brain cancer, accuracy is becoming an ever-greater issue.
Grants fund UW technology projects on the road to commercialization
An exercise machine that helps stroke victims walk. An advanced technology for assessing the progress of prostate cancer. A faster process for making neural stem cells to investigate new treatments for injury and disease. A cheaper, more beautiful LED light bulb. A game to teach meditation. These projects, and a dozen more, are beneficiaries of the first round of awards by the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Discovery to Product, or D2P, program, which began operating in March.
Olver to lead University Research Park
Aaron Olver, a former secretary of the state Department of Commerce and head of Madison’s economic development division, has been hired as managing director of University Research Park (URP).
Menu for success: EatStreet finds fast growth in fast delivery
It’s startup city at the offices of EatStreet in downtown Madison: bikes in the corridors; backpacks in the corners; construction workers running cable for the large new office that will be filled within weeks by engineers and product managers. Business is booming, says Matt Howard, EatStreet’s president. The company — a coast-to-coast, online restaurant take-out ordering service — has more than doubled its list of customers since January, and it’s just received a $6-million investment.
WARF appoints Tong to board presidency
Business leader Peter Tong has been appointed the new president of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) board of trustees. Tong, who was appointed May 9, succeeds John W. Rowe, who will remain a member of the board.