2009 – Page 79 of 98

Arbor Photonics gets VC boost from The Wolverine Fund

By Newsroom

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March 11, 2009

The venture capital continues to pour into Ann Arbor's Arbor Photonics. The latest bucket of cash to fall into the lap of the laser firm comes from The Wolverine Venture Fund, the venture capital firm run by University of Michigan business students.The amount invested has not been made public, but Arbor Photonics has accepted millions of dollars in investments from the Michigan Pre-Seed Fund and the Michigan 21st Century Job Fund since last fall.The money is expected to help build the prototype of the company's first product and hire staff to develop it. Arbor Photonics just hired a new Vice-President of Engineering last month and expects hire more later this year.The University of Michigan spin-off is developing a 3C optical fiber laser for the manufacturing sector. U-M Prof. Almantas Galvanauskas invented the technology that is expected to dramatically improve fiber lasers. The technology is an optical fiber structure called Chirally-Coupled Core Fiber or 3C fiber. The 3C fiber significantly improves the performance of fiber lasers in industrial manufacturing, a $2 billion market that grows about 14 percent annually on average. The company plans to make the product available by 2010 and hopes to hit $50 million in sales within the next six years.The Wolverine Fund is part of the University of Michigan's Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies in the Ross Business School. The fund, the first to be run by students, is worth $3.5 million and has invested in more than 18 companies in industries like information technology, life sciences and alternative energy.Source: University of Michigan and Phillip Amaya, CEO of Arbor PhotonicsWriter: Jon Zemke

Golden Limo plans to add 5 jobs in Ann Arbor this year

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Community Development

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March 11, 2009

Ann Arbor's Golden Limo has already gone through its dip in the economy and is now on the upswing looking for new jobs.The luxury limousine service watched a good portion of its business disappear when Pfizer left town and British Airways dropped its contract. But that was then and Golden Limo is poised to recapture that business this year while adding five jobs to its staff of 38 employees and 12 contractors.Even though corporate business is down as the economy continues to tighten and cutbacks become the norm, the American consumer is still finding ways to spend on the finer things in life for those special occasions. It's also trying to break into new territory with its Town & Gown tours, the next one set for Thursday."People are still going to take their vacations. They're still going to get married. They're still going to go to prom," says Sean Duval, CEO and founder of Golden Limo. "They're going to spend that money."And Duval expects to continue making it. He started Golden Limo in 1992 while he was managing a fast-food restaurant in Milan. He got some money together and bought a friend's small limo service as his way of capturing part of the American dream. In fact a little bit of corporate work in the beginning played a key part launching the company."We really took off after we took on Weber's Inn," Duval says. Source: Sean Duval, CEO of Golden LimoWriter: Jon Zemke

U-M launches major embryonic stem cell research program

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Innovation News

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March 11, 2009

The University of Michigan isn't wasting much time pursuing embryonic stem cell research now that state voters and President Barack Obama have given the green light to such endeavors.The university launched Michigan's first embryonic stem cell research program this week, the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies. The consortium will focus on medical research that could lead to breakthrough treatments and cures for diseases, such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis. State voters approved such research in November and Pres. Obama removed the remaining restrictions earlier this week.The stem cell consortium has landed $2 million in funding to start work in U-M's Medical School this spring. University officials hope it will lead to more federal research dollars and attract young talent in science industries.U-M researchers and doctors will utilize the stem cell lines developed at the consortium. The university is also looking at forming partnerships with the state's other major universities, such as Michigan State, Wayne State and Oakland. Stem cells are considered the body's master cells because they replicate endlessly and form the more than 200 cell types of the human body. Embryonic stem cells are derived from fetuses and have been controversial among Pro-Life groups who oppose their use. Source: University of MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

Downtown and Underground

By Jon Zemke

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Community Development

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March 11, 2009

Parking in SE Michigan usually means surface lots, driveways and the occasional garage. Ann Arbor's leaders are turning local conventional wisdom on its head, choosing to store cars underground and out of sight as a way to grow development, commerce and urban vibrancy.

Ann Arbor IT companies develop innovative interview process to find truthful employees

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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March 11, 2009

Two Ann Arbor firms find a way to cut through the BS in resumes when they're hiring.Excerpt:Information technology is among the sectors most susceptible to lies by job candidates, according to CareerBuilder.com with some 57 percent of IT hirers report finding resume untruths. That's among the reasons at least two Ann Arbor IT consulting firms have developed innovative interview processes to aid in deciding whether a job candidate would be a good fit for their company.Menlo Innovations and Dynamic Edge conduct multi-layered interview processes to assess candidates' tech skills and communication abilities and to determine whether they'd be a good cultural fit.Traditional interviews, in which job candidates overstate their skills and hirers praise their companies, should be left by the wayside, Menlo CEO Rich Sheridan said."I always describe it as two people lying to each other for a couple hours," said Sheridan, who is speaking at Eastern Michigan University's Ethos Week on March 10.Read the rest of the story here.

Governor Granholm tells Ann Arbor audience that alternative energy push is all about jobs

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In The News

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March 11, 2009

Gov. Jennifer Granholm continues to emphasize how important developing green industries is to Michigan's growth.Excerpt:Gov. Jennifer Granholm wanted to be clear about it.Green is a good, but all the buzz lately in Michigan about battery powered cars and alternative energy is really about one very practical thing."In Michigan, we don't even use the words global warming or climate change," Granholm told an audience at an environmental summit in Ann Arbor on Thursday. "This is all about jobs. I just want to be really pragmatic about it."Read the rest of the story here.

Big House might host U-M vs. MSU hockey game

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In The News

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March 11, 2009

Michigan's biggest intrastate hockey rivalry will get a chance to duke it out in front of a big crowd at the Big House in Ann Arbor.Excerpt:ANN ARBOR -- Hockey at the Big House? It's going to happen, according to Michigan associate athletic director Michael J. Stevenson. Michigan on Wednesday finalized plans to play Wisconsin in the Badgers' outdoor Camp Randall Stadium on Feb. 6, 2010. Meanwhile, Stevenson also initiated talks with Michigan State to play the Spartans in the Big House, Michigan Stadium, on Dec. 11 or 12, 2010. "Our goal would be to play in front of 100,000 fans," Stevenson said Wednesday morning, sitting behind his desk in the Michigan athletic department. "It's a big deal. It's exciting for the players and coaches. It would be a great opportunity for us and college hockey." Read the rest of the story here.

From AnnArbor/Ypsilanti to Hollywood: Wesley Coller co-produced Watchmen

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Arts & Culture

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March 11, 2009

Excerpt:The last time most people in Pinckney saw him, Wesley Coller was a dropout, punk-rock skater with a Mohawk.Man, is he over that now.The Eastern Michigan University grad could be the next Joel Silver ("The Matrix") or Harvey Weinstein ("Lord of the Rings"), with today's release of the anticipated Hollywood blockbuster movie he co-produced - the granddaddy of all graphic novels, "Watchmen." The Watchmen are costumed heroes who guard an alternate-universe 1985 America. After the story opens with a Watchman's slaying, complex questions arise about who is watching the Watchmen. And about who - and what - are good. Or evil.The darkness isn't new for Cruel & Unusual Films; its logo is a pigtailed anime girl wielding a bloody ax.But the movie isn't about violence, Coller said during a phone interview from Los Angeles. Rather, "it says there is not violence without consequences," he said.Coller, 36, and his wife Celeste, toil with studio president and film director Zack Snyder, and his co-president and wife, Deborah Snyder.Snyder's 2007 flick, "300," with Coller as associate producer, grossed about $450 million by some estimates. Coller was about five when he moved from the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area to Pinckney. Read the rest of the story here.

Karmanos Cancer Inst appoints Ann Arbor resident interim CEO, COO

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Economic Development

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March 11, 2009

The Karmanos Cancer Institute may be in Detroit but its reaching out to Ann Arbor to find some of its top talent.Excerpt:Ann Schwartz has been appointed interim CEO of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and the Karmanos Cancer Center. Schwartz, of Ann Arbor, will replace Dr. John Ruckdeschel, who is leaving in a few months to take a job in Las Vegas.Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor area farmers may be more reluctant to sell development rights as prices sag

By Newsroom

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General

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March 11, 2009

Hard times for new home building may or may not turn into good times for Ann Arbor's Greenbelt. Except:The depressed real estate market presents new challenges for Ann Arbor's greenbelt program.The first is that farm owners who might otherwise be prepared to sell may, instead, hold their land.For many farmers, the value of their land represents a retirement nest egg, said Peg Kohring of the nonprofit Conservation Fund, which staffs the city's greenbelt program. With the appreciation of the past decade wiped away, those who can will likely delay selling, she said. Read the rest of the story here and how the down economy could help the Greenbelt here.