2009 – Page 40 of 98

Prescription Writer helps doctors write clearly

By Newsroom

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August 5, 2009

Rick Ballard isn't trying to build a better mouse trap. He's working on creating a better prescription pad.The owner of Prescription Writer is working on a small handheld machine that allows doctors to write out consistently legible prescriptions. The product would be similar to a smartphone, in more ways than one."It prints the prescription out or sends it to the pharmacy," Ballard says.It also works as a cell phone, PDA, and offers Internet access. That allows the doctor remote access to a patient's medical records, literally putting them in the palm of his or her hand.Prescription Writer is based in Ann Arbor SPARK's downtown Ann Arbor business incubator. The just-started-this-summer firm has three people and plans to expand with further product development.Ballard is working with a few design and manufacturing companies on a prototype. He estimates he needs about $100,000 in investment capital to take his idea to the next level. Within the next year, he expects to hit his goal and also to put his device in a doctor's hands."We'll definitely need more people when we get the ball rolling," Ballard says.Source: Rick Ballard, owner of Prescription WriterWriter: Jon Zemke

Google brings in U-M grad Miller to run AdWords

By Newsroom

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General

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July 29, 2009

Google reached back to Michigan to find the next person to head up its operations in the Great Lakes State.University of Michigan alum Mike Miller has been tapped to take over the AdWords division, which is based in downtown Ann Arbor. The Grosse Pointe native and University of Detroit Jesuit High School grad worked at Cisco before joining Google in 2006 where he has served in the leadership of the Internet search engine's online sales and operations.He currently serves as the Vertical Lead of the AdWords TechB2B team and the lead of the Customer Development team. Since joining Google in 2006 Mike has served on the Agency leadership team, and he helped form and lead AdWords’ Retail team, serving as its first Vertical Lead. Miller plans to move back to Ann Arbor with his wife, Betsy. His plans for the Ann Arbor office and its continued expansion are unclear. Julie Currie, a spokeswoman for Google, said his schedule didn't permit time for a phone interview, but you can see what he said (and didn't say) about the Ann Arbor office to another publication here.Source: Julie Currie, spokeswoman for GoogleWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arborite rallies local entrepreneurs to create MeetMe app

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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July 29, 2009

Lots of companies are making applications for iPhones these days. Ann Arbor resident Gregg Hammerman is organizing entrepreneurs and companies to make a new iPhone app - MeetMe.Among the contributors are entrepreneurs like Oakland County-based Adam Finkel and Royal Oak-based Vectorform. So even though Hammerman came up with the concept, the father of two who works almost 80 hours a week for gloStream knew he had to bring in help to make MeetMe a reality. And its help he could see working together to develop more technology in the future."I could see this casual group of guys saying, 'Here is a cool idea. Who's in and who's out?'" Hammerman says.MeetMe specializes in finding the right place for two people to meet halfway between each other. It utilizes the likes of Yelp and Google maps to find an area halfway between two distant points to meet and which is best place to take that lunch/dinner/coffee meeting.Since Hammerman lives in Ann Arbor but works in Oakland County, he spent a lot of time staring at Google maps to find a good halfway point to meet people for business. He knew there had to be a more efficient way of doing this, and MeetMe was born this spring.Source: Gregg Hammerman, co-creator of MeetMeWriter: Jon Zemke

SRI International expands staff to 9, expects 8-10 more

By Newsroom

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Innovation News

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July 29, 2009

There is a reason SRI International is growing in Ann Arbor. Actually there are a lot of reasons, and that’s a big part of why the newly established research institute is hiring. "Ann Arbor has a lot of talent," says Kenneth Augustyn, director of the Ann Arbor office of SRI International. "A lot of it is in little companies and some of it is in bigger companies."SRI started off as an acronym for Stanford Research Institute in 1946 before becoming independent of the prestigious university in 1970. The University of Michigan had a similar entity at the same time that also eventually went independent before becoming a part of General Dynamics. Five people left General Dynamics to start up a similar research institute under the SRI International brand in January of 2008. That group has since established itself and grown to nine people in the 3,444 square feet it is leasing on Ann Arbor’s northeast side. SRI International’s Ann Arbor office is expanding into another 2,682 feet across the hall so it can hire even more people. Augustyn expects the office will add another 3-4 people this year and 5-6 more next year.SRI is based in Menlo Park, California. Its Ann Arbor office is part of the institute’s Engineering & Systems Division that conducts research for applications that impact everything from solar panels to radar. Future expansion plans for the office are expected to include xperimental laboratory and test facilities.Source: Kenneth Augustyn, director of the Ann Arbor of SRI InternationalWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor’s Linux Box hires 2, to add 1-2 more

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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July 29, 2009

The special sauce that keeps Linux Box going, and growing, isn’t so special upon closer inspection.The Ann Arbor-based firm has provided support and consulting for Linux systems for the last decade. That same consistent, quality support has allowed it grow from two people at its beginning to 10 people last year, when Concentrate last checked in. Today Linux Box employs 12 people and two interns with plans to hire another 1-2 people."We just keep doing the same thing we've been doing," says Elizabeth E. Ziph, CEO of Linux Box. "We're also diversifying into some software. (Ziph declined to elaborate on it) We’ll hopefully have something to release in the third quarter."Linux runs on open-source software and is a distant third behind the top two operating systems - Windows and MacIntosh. Think of it as the software for the nerdiest of nerds. However, its use is growing, at least in the Ann Arbor area. Ziph expects the company to grow 25 percent by the end of this year and another 25-40 percent in 2010.Source: Elizabeth E. Ziph, CEO of Linux BoxWriter: Jon Zemke

MC3 continues to spinout firms, plans to hire 2-6

By Newsroom

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Innovation News

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July 29, 2009

MC3 grows by shrinking. It’s an odd concept to grasp, but the Ann Arbor-based firm has turned it into quite the successful money-making plan.The University of Michigan spin-off makes it money by spinning off companies from it. It has spun off three firms since it began spinning in 1991. Two of those are still in the area, including it’s latest release - Accord Biomaterials. It's why MC3 only employs 10 people, two interns and a couple of independent contractors today."These companies have 70 employees and have raised their own money," says Scott Merz, president of MC3.MC3 is short for Michigan Critical Care Consultants. It got its start developing blood pump technology that originated from U-M. It now makes a habit of taking those sort of early stage ideas and making them something bigger companies want to license. MC3 is now working on applications for its blood pump technology and dabbling in other young technologies it sees as encouraging. That type of development is expected to lead to another 2-6 hires within the next year."We have a couple of emerging businesses that I think are encouraging," Merz says.Source: Scott Merz, president of MC3Writer: Jon Zemke

DNA Software lands $2.5M for research in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Innovation News

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July 29, 2009

Millions of dollars are rolling into DNA Software thanks to three federal grants worth $2.5 million. We're talking the Ann Arbor company, not the industry as a whole.The 8-year-old start-up will use the money from the National Institutes of Health to continue development of its new technology specializing in 3D structure modeling of RNA-based molecules. The idea is to use the discoveries for antibiotics applications.DNA Software has already reached the first milestones of this development as part of its initial phase. This money will fund the second phase and keep the firm's 15 people and a handful of interns and independent contractors (it recently doubled its staff size) working. "These grants are very good for small companies," says Jeff Machak, vice president of business development for DNA Software. "Revenue is hard to find for research and development."DNA Software, recently named one of Michigan's 50 Companies to Watch, uses Wayne State University spinoff technology to conduct wet lab research, develop molecular biology software and provide scientific consulting for DNA and RNA-based experiments. These are often used to help predict how maladies, such as those caused by flu, evolve.The company brings in most of its workforce from local sources. The resumes of its staff list the likes of Kalamazoo College, University of Michigan, Wayne State University and the old Pfizer campus in Ann Arbor. It hopes to hire s few more people from these sources as it goes after even more research grant funding."We're really taping into the local talent pool to make this happen," Machak says.Source: Jeff Machak, vice president of business development for DNA SoftwareWriter: Jon Zemke

Video U-M Students Get A Tech Start

By Keith Jefferies

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Economic Development

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July 29, 2009

Think of it as a Head Start program for budding entrepreneurs. U-M's Office of Tech Transfer teams students from a variety of backgrounds with university researchers and innovators to start new companies from scratch.

Where’s VC cash? UM spinoffs, Ann Arbor companies early winners

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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July 29, 2009

When it comes to venture capital, companies with roots in Ann Arbor are cashing in early and often.Excerpt:So far, the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor-based firms are the big winners in early investing from two state funds, the Venture Michigan Fund and the 21st Century Investment Fund.Twelve Michigan companies have received funding from the funds. Of eight Ann Arbor companies, seven are UM spinoffs. Read the rest of the story here.

The Ann Arbor News hits the presses for the last time

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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July 29, 2009

The door on The Ann Arbor News closes as the door to AnnArbor.com opens.Excerpt:ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Geoff Larcom has covered higher education, written columns and led sports coverage at The Ann Arbor News. His final assignment: the newspaper's own obituary after 174 years.The only daily newspaper in this college town — daily circulation 45,000 — is rolling off the presses for the last time on Thursday and going out of business. It is being replaced by AnnArbor.com, an online news site that will produce a print edition twice a week, on Thursday and Sunday."This will be our last edition. Farewell Ann Arbor. Hugs all around," said Larcom, 51, when asked what the opening paragraphs of his story are likely to say.Read the rest of the story here and the Chicago Tribune column about it here.