Inside VT KnowledgeWorks

Countdown to the Entrepreneurship Summit

Entrepreneurs are news at VT KnowledgeWorks and on Twitter.

The deadline for an Intent to Compete form in the  VT KnowledgeWorks Second Annual Entrepreneurship Summit Business Concept Competitions - one for students, one open - is February 5, 2010.

Nanosafe Founder Co-Edits Book on Nanotechnology Risk Management

Nanotechnology Environmental Health and Safety: Risks, Regulation and Management, co-edited by Matthew Hull and Diana Bowman, is on Amazon.com's Hot New Releases in Nanotechnology.  I wrote more about that story on Handshake 2.0.

Hull founded NanoSafe, headquartered in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center and a VT KnowledgeWorks member company, in Blacksburg, Virginia.

I asked Matthew Hull, "Nanotechnology Environmental Health and Safety looks like a textbook. Am I correct in assuming it's written for students in courses?"  He kindly replied:

Absolutely.  The book would fit nicely with a graduate level or undergraduate level technical or business course focused on balancing the risks of technologies with their commercial development and ultimate societal acceptance.  There's a shortage of information resources on nanotech EHS, particularly resources that really lay out the issues like our book does.  A newcomer to nanotechnology could pick up this book and develop a strong understanding of the major challenges, who the key players are, and what management strategies are being adopted globally. 

 

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NanoSafe, Inc. helps nanotechnology organizations navigate emerging environmental health and safety (EHS) issues.  NanoSafe, Inc. offers consulting, testing, and research and development services designed to accommodate a broad range of client needs.  Founded in 2007 by Matthew Hull, NanoSafe is headquartered in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center and is a member company of VT KnowledgeWorks business acceleration center in Blacksburg, Virginia.  Here's more about NanoSafe on Inside VT KnowledgeWorks.

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VT KnowledgeWorks is a unique growth enhancement program open to entrepreneurs in the New River Valley of Virginia and beyond.  Acceleration center and incubation facilities are located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. 

VT KnowledgeWorks sponsors include Attaain, Inc., BB&T, Handshake 2.0, Harris Office Furniture, Hodges, Jones & Mabry, P.C., Latimer, Mayberry & Matthews IP Law, LeClairRyan, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and The Becher Agency (TBA).

VT KnowledgeWorks Member Company Abokia Wins SCOUT Award from LeClairRyan

From VT KnowledgeWorks sponsor LeClairRyan:

LeClairRyan is pleased to announce that Abokia has been selected as the recipient of the first Southwest Virginia Connection for Originating Unique Technology (SCOUT) Award. The LeClairRyan SCOUT award recognizes an entrepreneur or emerging business in southwest Virginia with a unique idea that is poised for the next stage of its evolution.

Abokia seeks to deliver easily customizable and massively accelerated biocomputing software in order to address the inability of today’s computing technology to keep up with the exponential growth in genomic sequencing information.  Specifically, with the computing required to perform routine sequence analysis increasing 100-fold every 18 months, a growth rate that is 50-fold more than the projected computing capability of processors, Abokia’s innovative software solutions promise to bridge this ever-widening gap, thus enabling scientists and engineers to accelerate discovery in the life sciences.

“With the looming deluge of DNA promised by today’s sequencing technologies, our society sits at the dawn of a new era where high-end computing has become the key to unleashing discoveries in the life sciences,” said Dr. Heshan Lin, founder of Abokia.  “As such, Abokia sits at the nexus of high-end computing, bioinformatics, and genomics to enable scientists to make discoveries faster and at a fraction of the cost.  Initially, we will be commercializing the cutting-edge bioinformatics research coming out of Virginia Tech.”

Abokia will deliver their massively accelerated biocomputing software through the use of emerging commodity computing platforms that will enable users to access information on demand – whether on their smartphone, laptop or desktop.  Abokia’s products encompass technology related to algorithmic transformation, computational acceleration, and I/O acceleration.  The end result of the convergence of these technologies will be an increase in both processing speed and data transfer capabilities that will ultimately enhance a multitude of downstream processes such as biomanufacturing, rational drug design, and real-time pathogen detection.

“We are invested in knowing the business needs of our venture capital clients,” said LeClairRyan Venture Capital Practice Area Team Leader Michael Drzal. “Being immersed in the industry, we recognize there are many exceptional Southwest Virginia entrepreneurs with great ideas who are seeking capital. Establishing this award was a natural outgrowth of our desire to invest in those entrepreneurs and their ideas.  I am very pleased we can assist Abokia in bringing this cutting edge technology to the bioinformatics/genomics market.”

As the recipient of the award, Abokia will receive up to $15,000 in legal services over the next 12 months.  The firm plans to offer the award again in 2011.  The application process will begin in August 2010.

About LeClair Ryan
Founded in 1988, LeClairRyan provides business counsel and client representation in corporate law and high-stakes litigation.  With offices in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C., the firm has more than 300 attorneys representing a wide variety of clients throughout the nation.

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The SCOUT Award was first announced on Handshake 2.0 when LeClairRyan was featured in the Rackspace Tech Showcase.

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VT KnowledgeWorks is a unique growth enhancement program open to entrepreneurs in the New River Valley of Virginia and beyond.  Acceleration center and incubation facilities are located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. 

VT KnowledgeWorks sponsors include Attaain, Inc., BB&T, Handshake 2.0, Harris Office Furniture, Hodges, Jones & Mabry, P.C., Latimer, Mayberry & Matthews IP Law, LeClairRyan, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and The Becher Agency (TBA).

Testimonial for FurnishWEB

From FurnishWEB, a member of VT KnowledgeWorks:

We were delighted to announce that the FurnishWEB Software Suite was selected by Stork Craft Manufacturing, Inc. for order and inventory tracking.  We were honored to receive these kind works from Konda Berry, Regional Account Manager, Storkcraft:

As an Indepedent Sales Representative, I love the FurnishWEB program.  I am responsible for customer service and delivery of information to my customers as well as the sales growth.
 
FurnishWEB not only provides instant viewing and tracking of orders, shipments and exact inventory, it provides the sales tools necessary to build the business with my customers.  I no longer have to request sales stats, images or any information regarding my account.  It's all provided to the customer and myself instantly. 
 
In the last couple months while visiting my accounts, I used FurnishWEB as part of my sales demonstration  to gather detailed information about their account (in a matter of seconds).  This is information that would have taken me hours to figure manually. 
 
It also provides images, statistics and pricing to my stores under the download link without having to email or snail mail information.  I can access it anywhere 24/7.  My accounts like this as well, because I am not always available  to take their call, and they too can get instant answers. 
 
When you work for a company that is technology driven, FurnishWEB is the perfect partner offering that next step in IT as well as customer service.  The implementation was seamless, very quick and completely user friendly.
 
My customers are very excited to be using it and are now entering their own orders as well, saving me time to focus on growing the sales, which is a win for all concerned especially the company I represent.

Thank you, Barry, for such a great product and sales tool!  Looking forward to a successful future!
 
Best Regards,
Konda Berry

Thank you again, Konda, for such kind words! 

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FurnishWEB is an online data management system for the home furnishings industry that expedites and systematizes order processing and product inventory tracking to optimize partnerships between manufacturers, dealers, sales representatives, staff, and customers.

You can follow FurnishWEB on Twitter, become a FurnishWEB fan on Facebook, and read Barry Welch's blog.

FurnishWEB is an enterprise of Internet Databases, a custom web development company founded in 1999, located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, Blacksburg, Virginia.  

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VT KnowledgeWorks is a unique growth enhancement program open to entrepreneurs in the New River Valley of Virginia and beyond.  Acceleration center and incubation facilities are located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. 

VT KnowledgeWorks sponsors include Attaain, Inc., BB&T, Handshake 2.0, Harris Office Furniture, Hodges, Jones & Mabry, P.C., Latimer, Mayberry & Matthews IP Law, LeClairRyan, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and The Becher Agency (TBA).

NanoSafe Makes Amazon.com's Hot New Releases List

A version of this post originally appeared on Handshake 2.0 in its Tech Showcase.

According to Amazon.com's Hot New Releases in Nanotechnology, what's hot is Nanotechnology Environmental Health and Safety: Risks, Regulation and Management, co-edited by Matthew Hull and Diana Bowman.  Hull founded NanoSafe, a VT KnowledgeWorks member company headquartered in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Virginia.

How hot is nanotechnology safety?  So hot, nanotechnology environmental health and safety (EHS) even has its own acronym - nanoEHS - and many federal agencies and international councils are intensely focused on its study.

Handshake 2.0 asked Matthew Hull why nanotechnology is hot and why we need to read this book.  He kindly replied:

Nanotechnology Environmental Health and Safety: Risks, Regulation and Management was assembled to target a broad audience including organizational safety managers, corporate executives, insurers and risk managers, nanotech investors, and students, all of whom are interested in a holistic perspective on nanotech environmental health and safety (EHS) risks, the current regulatory landscape, and emerging risk management strategies.  These are all areas where stakeholders have expressed concerns about the limited information available. 

Ultimately, the growth trajectory of commercial nanotechnology hinges on how well we identify and manage known as well as unknown risks, so a resource like this book is especially timely.  Newcomers to the nanotech EHS debate will find that they can pick up this book and, in a pretty short time, have a strong understanding of not only the risks of nanotechnology, but ways that society can manage those risks and effectively capitalize on the benefits of nanoscale materials.  More seasoned readers will appreciate the opportunity to delve into unique perspectives and detailed accounts of key nanotech EHS milestones offered by some familiar names that have helped shape the nanotech risk management landscape.

We believe that a real strength of Nanotechnology Environmental Health and Safety is that it offers unique perspectives on the nano EHS issue that have not been incorporated in other texts.  For example, one chapter written by a labor union representative, who represents workers impacted by the asbestos industry, provides a passionate charge to the nanotechnology community to apply lessons learned from asbestos to ensure the safety of emerging nanomaterials.  Another chapter provides an objective and detailed scientific review of nanoparticle toxicology and characterization.   Other chapters offer reviews of the global regulatory landscape, emerging legal frameworks, the insurance industry perspective on managing unknown risks, and case studies on how to effectively manage nano EHS risks in a range of organizational settings, from academia to large corporations. 

If, as a society, we are to enjoy the benefits that nanotechnology offers, we have a responsibility to make sure of its safety. Our book contributes to that effort.

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NanoSafe, Inc. helps nanotechnology organizations navigate emerging environmental health and safety (EHS) issues.  NanoSafe, Inc. offers consulting, testing, and research and development services designed to accommodate a broad range of client needs.  Founded in 2007 by Matthew Hull, NanoSafe is headquartered in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center and is a member company of VT KnowledgeWorks business acceleration center in Blacksburg, Virginia.  Here's more about NanoSafe on Inside VT KnowledgeWorks.

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VT KnowledgeWorks is a unique growth enhancement program open to entrepreneurs in the New River Valley of Virginia and beyond.  Acceleration center and incubation facilities are located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. 

VT KnowledgeWorks sponsors include Attaain, Inc., BB&T, Handshake 2.0, Harris Office Furniture, Hodges, Jones & Mabry, P.C., Latimer, Mayberry & Matthews IP Law, LeClairRyan, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and The Becher Agency (TBA).