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High-tech equipment is in place, technical managers are hired, a new name has been unveiled, and the first new business and clients have been recruited to what was formerly known as the Rose-Hulman Center for an Innovation Economy. The new name for the business and education incubator is Rose-Hulman Ventures (RHV).
The first business to locate in RHV is new start-up NoInk Communications, a developer of software applications for mobile professionals who can benefit from wireless technology, according to Rose-Hulman Ventures President Jim Eifert. Eifert announced projects to develop new or improved products for Beckman Coulter's SAGIAN Operations in Indianapolis and Maddock Corp. in Bloomington will soon begin. The projects involve technologies such as robotics, electro mechanical design, computer modeling and software development. "This set of clients meets our goal to work with a range of technologies that spark economic growth and are of interest to faculty and students in all our academic programs," said Eifert. Three Indiana Companies Benefit from RHV NoInk was established in April by entrepreneurs Aaron Nelson, Dustin Sapp and Robert Harris. The company is developing software to enable businesses to increase the productivity of their mobile employees through the application of wireless technology. NoInk software can reduce paperwork by automating forms, allowing employees to securely access corporate data instantaneously, and push real-time vital information to a hand-held wireless device. Eifert explained that NoInk is an example of how RHV increases the chances for Rose-Hulman graduates to start their careers in Indiana. Nelson graduated with honors from Rose-Hulman in May. Sapp will graduate from Rose-Hulman in February and Harris is entering his junior year at Rose-Hulman. The idea for NoInk grew out of an entrepreneurship class assignment, said Nelson, who serves as the company's president. "The possibilities to create products to increase productivity using wireless technology are endless," Nelson said. "We can can provide businesses with a wireless solution to their mobile business needs and eliminate paperwork." Indianapolis-based SAGIAN is a key component of the $400 million Bioresearch Division of Beckman Coulter, a $1.8 billion provider of instrument systems that simplify and automate laboratory processes in hospitals and commercial laboratories worldwide. SAGIAN has approximately 150 employees in Indianapolis and Fullerton, Calif., and together they represent the Automated Solutions Development Center.
New Product Development Labs The SAGIAN project in the New Product Development Laboratory involves research and development to accelerate the introduction of new liquid handling workstation products for Beckman Coulter, says Scott Atkin, director of the Automated Solutions Development Center. "We're working with a product that will generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue this year and even more in future years," he stated. "Rose-Hulman Ventures is currently the only source outside our company that we work with on R&D efforts. We're impressed with the staff's expertise and use them as an extension of our own R&D team," Atkin said. Maddock is working with Rose-Hulman Ventures to develop three new products to expand the company's market. Maddock manufactures construction equipment designed for recycling asphalt road material and maintenance of road right-of-way areas such as berms and ditches. "New product development would be very expensive for a small company like ours," noted David Maddock, company president. "Rose-Hulman Ventures gives us the technical expertise to get new products to the market in less than a year," he said. "We'll also be able to take advantage of opportunities to increase sales and hire new employees," Maddock stated. Eifert noted that the companies represent the three types of working relationships that RHV offers. "NoInk is the classic example of a small, start-up company that resides and grows in the incubator. Maddock represents an affiliate incubator client that receives services similar to NoInk but will not relocate to the incubator. SAGIAN is a partner who utilizes our services to help develop a technology-based product or process," he explained. 35 New Jobs Created, RHV Vice Presidents Named RHV has created 35 new, full-time jobs since February. Full-time employees include project managers and engineers. Twenty positions are currently staffed by students from Rose-Hulman, Indiana State and DePauw universities. "Most of the full-time jobs are technical positions filled by personnel who are highly sought after in the marketplace," Eifert explained. Named as RHV vice presidents are Rose-Hulman faculty Brij Khorana, professor of physics and applied optics, and Tom Mason, professor of economics. Khorana directs the Chauncey Rose Innovation Group which includes the New Product Development Laboratories. The laboratories also house the Technical Assistance and Services Center (TASC) which Khorana has managed since its creation seven years ago. Mason oversees the entrepreneurial and business planning group. He has developed the college's entrepreneurship course and established the college's engineering management graduate degree program which he continues to manage. Eifert said the organization's new name better communicates its innovative, entrepreneurial spirit and educational activities. "The new name and logo will be easy to remember and creates a strong link to Rose-Hulman," he noted. A $29.7 million gift from the Lilly Endowment last September made it possible to create Rose-Hulman Ventures. The donation was the largest single gift Rose-Hulman has ever received.
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