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Four UI Research Park firms win grants
[June 21, 2006]

Four UI Research Park firms win grants


(News-Gazette, The (Champaign-Urbana, IL) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Jun. 20--CHAMPAIGN -- Four companies at the University of Illinois Research Park have been named winners of Innovative Product Grants from the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.



Caviton, iCyt, Kim Laboratories and SmartSpark Energy Systems will receive grants totaling $550,000 to help underwrite the cost of developing new products with applications for homeland security.

Roxanne Nava, the department's assistant director, congratulated the winners during a visit to the park this morning.


Here's a look at the four grant recipients and how they plan to use their grants:

SMARTSPARK ENERGY SYSTEMS: SmartSpark's $150,000 award will go toward developing and commercializing ForeverPower, a power supply system that uses a combination of solar power, energy storage and electronics to provide reliable power even in extreme circumstances.

The company says the power supply system can be left unattended for up to 10 years while providing consistent power day and night. It could be used in surveillance, communications, monitoring and tracking applications for homeland security.

Company President Rick Krein said ForeverPower should be able to power sensors "for all sorts of things" at remote locations since it doesn't need to be hooked up to the electric grid.

"We're looking to have this commercialized within two years," he said.

The state grant builds on a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant the company received last October for the project, senior engineer Brian Kuhn said. That grant came through the Defense Department's Special Operations Command.

As a result of the state grant, the company plans to create 14 new jobs over the next two years.

ICYT: The bioscience company plans to use its $150,000 grant to develop a new version of its Reflection cell-sorting instrument, said Tim Hoerr, the company's chief executive officer. The new version will involve a hood designed to help contain biohazardous material.

"This has lots of implications for homeland security," Hoerr said, noting the device could deal with foodborne pathogens or water that's potentially contaminated.

Hoerr said iCyt's cell-sorting instruments can be used by biotech and pharmaceutical companies, academic research labs, private research groups and governmental institutions.

Besides being used in biological warfare agent detection, the system could also have applications in commercial agriculture.

Hoerr said he expects to have an advanced "beta" version of the instrument in use this fall, with commercial use expected in January 2007.

"It's terrific to have the state's assistance in the deal," he said, adding the grant is predicated on iCyt's projection of adding 20 people over the next 18 to 24 months. The company already employs about 50 full-time employees.

CAVITON: Caviton plans to use its $100,000 grant to develop a system for detecting chemical warfare agents, said Dave Kellner, the company's chief executive officer.

Caviton's system uses microdischarge-based detectors that produce colored light when a substance such as a toxin, trace metal or biological warfare agent is present.

"It's still in the research and development stage," Kellner said, adding the detectors could be used in handheld sensors and at building portals.

The detectors could also be incorporated into badges that could later be examined to determine whether military personnel have been exposed to low levels of contaminants, he said.

"We've had some previous funding from the Marine Corps and the Air Force for development of similar systems," Kellner said.

The company, which is working on the next generation of microsensors and analytical equipment, plans to add 13 new jobs over the next two years.

KIM LABORATORIES: Kim Laboratories plans to use its $150,000 grant to hire protein biochemists and instrument production technicians to support initial manufacturing of its ValidCheck rapid-testing system.

ValidCheck can be used to test for food contaminants in cafeterias. Its homeland-security applications include testing for bioterrorism contaminants and pathogens such as ricin, anthrax and botulism.

Company founder Myung Kim said the product could help keep safe the nation's water and food supplies.

Kim Laboratories, which employs 16, specializes in detecting biological contaminants in food, water and health care facilities.

"We are supposed to have at least 23 new jobs created by the grant over the next two years," Kim said.

The state grant "give us validation that our technology is innovative," he added.

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