Ann Arbor

Safe Routes to School program promotes walking and biking

By Newsroom

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January 12, 2011

In this era of suburban sprawl and parents bypassing the bus to drive their progeny to school, a new wind is blowing. The desire for walkable communities with fitter populations is now being bred at a tender age via the federal Safe Routes to School program. Last December the Michigan Dept of Transportation announced that 10 Michigan schools will receive $1.4 million in federal Safe Routes to School funds, including a grant totaling $160,840 to Ann Arbor's Thurston Elementary School. The funds are to be used for capital and educational projects to facilitate walking and biking to school."It is both a federal program by which Thurston Elementary School and 70-plus other schools in Michigan have received funding, and it's a movement to challenge the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of students and families with regard to travel to and from school," explains Lee Kokinakis, senior director of Safe Routes to School. The Thurston Elementary School project will include, among other things, installing pedestrian refuge islands on Green Road; improving crosswalks and pedestrian accessibility on Green Road at its points of intersection with Gettysburg Road and Burbank Drive; and implementing pedestrian and bicycle safety programs at the school.Other schools, too, are laying their groundwork. As of December 20 last year, 496 Michigan schools – 26 of which were in Washtenaw County – had registered with the program, according to the Safe Routes to School team. Registration is not the same as submitting a funding application, Kokinakis emphasizes, but it is the initial step a school takes to indicate interest in planning for a safe route to school. "In cases where the distance is reasonable and where the routes are safe, walking and bicycling [to school] is a very viable alternative," Kokinakis says. "It has many benefits in that it's a very similar alternative to the general walkable community principle."Source: Lee Kokinakis, senior director of Safe Routes to SchoolWriter: Tanya Muzumdar

Bebarang’s Allen Kim is 2010 College Entrepreneur of the Year

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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January 12, 2011

The hype behind Bebarang (formerly Bebaroo) is more than a baby bump now that one of the Ann Arbor-based startup's co-founders (Allen Kim) has been named Entrepreneur magazine's 2010 College Entrepreneur of the Year.Excerpt:College seniors skip class for plenty of unproductive reasons, but not Allen Kim. An industrial operations engineering major at the University of Michigan, he and Luis Calderon have been playing hooky to persuade investors to part with around $500,000 for Bebarang, their startup that Kim describes as a "Netflix for baby clothes." (In fact, we chatted with them on a drive back from some pitch meetings in Chicago.)Kim's "aha" moment: Last year, "my aunt, who had a baby, was complaining about how expensive baby clothes were. And I love Netflix. I thought there had to be a way to combine these two things."After some serious research, which included discussions with more than 100 moms, it really came down to the numbers."It's a $25 billion industry," Kim says. "The average kid outgrows baby clothes 16 times, which works out to be about $150 every two months on things that might be worn just a few times."Read the rest of the story here.

MASTERMIND: Dave Konkle

By Constance Crump

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Economic Development

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January 10, 2011

Dave Konkle is a green pioneer. Don't believe it? Konkle was hawking wind power and solar energy back when disco was king and Towering Inferno ruled the box office. The former Ann Arbor Energy Office head is now the energy program director for the city's DDA and a much sought-after consultant, spreading the gospel on energy efficiency.

Ann Arbor’s Gravikor bets on space age welding tech

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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December 15, 2010

Gravikor's new welding technology is so next generation it doesn't look like welding. The Ann Arbor-based startup, which also has a presence in Madison Heights, is commercializing space-age welding technology that is so light and seamless that it looks like the two pieces of metal are glued together.Delphi developed the technology for use in space frames. It's not commonly used for the frames of NASCAR vehicles, but must be done by hand at a cost of $10,000 per vehicle. Gravikor's technology promises to be done automatically for far less."We make the same frame automatically for $5,000," says James Ritcher, principal of Gravikor.Gravikor is trying to translate this technology to military vehicles and is currently vying for a place in a $9 billion U.S. military program to rehab Humvees. Its welding promises to take 2,000 pounds off a Humvee and make it easier to attach armor plates and lengthen its lifetime by making it stronger and more fuel efficient. "In Army circles, weight is the enemy," Ritcher says.He expects to hear whether Gravikor has won a place in the Army's program by this spring. The company is also planning to launch a civilian automotive component to its technology at the same time. The idea is to create safer automobiles through stronger roll cages and increase their fuel economy.Gravikor recently made the finals of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition and is fundraising to commercialize its technology. If it wins the military contract, Ritcher expects the 1-year-old company to expand its staff from half a dozen people to 20-30. He pegs Gravikor's revenue potential at $1.5 billion within five years.Source: James Ritcher, principal of Gravikor.Writer: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Ann Arbor firms score big wins at Accelerate Michigan competition

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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December 15, 2010

It has been hard to separate the words Ann Arbor from last weekend's Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. The winners really added an exclamation point to the event.If the top prize winners weren't from Ann Arbor, they at least had strong ties to it. Arbor Photonics took second place ($150,000) and University of Michigan studentpreneurs swept the top four places in the student competition with its $60,000 in prizes. The winner of the big prize ($500,000), Kalamazoo-based Armune BioScience, is developing technology that originated from U-M.Ann Arbor SPARK took the lead on organizing the event held at U-M's new North Campus Research Complex, formerly the old Pfizer campus. The other business accelerator agencies in southeast Michigan (TechTown, Automation Alley and Macomb-OU INCubator) made the event happen with funding from of the New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan."Innovation is alive and well in Michigan," Dave Egner, executive director of the New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan, said during his remarks at the event. "We have definitely seen that in the last three days."Among the other winners that happened to be based in Ann Arbor are Life Magnetics of the AARP Encore Award, Accio Energy for the Alternative Energy Award, Evigia Systems for the Defense and Homeland Security Award, Hygieia for the Medical Devices Award and Ix Innovations for the Products and Services Award. Each received $25,000 from a prize pool worth $1 million.Organizers hope to hold the event again next year. However, they are also looking to expand the prize pool to help attract more entrants and provide more seed capital to Michigan-based companies."Now if we can only get our sponsors to give us 10 grand prizes ($500,000 each)," Michael Finney, formerly the president & CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK and the newly minted head of the Michigan Economic Development Corp, said during his remarks at the event. "They're going to give these companies what they need to take it to the next level."Source: Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition; Dave Egner executive director of the New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan; and Michael Finney, formerly the president & CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK and the newly minted head of the Michigan Economic Development CorpWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

FamilyMint makes mobile kid money mgmt product

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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December 15, 2010

FamilyMint continues to roll out its principal financial-education product this year, recently releasing a mobile version, thanks in part to some cash from the Michigan Microloan Fund. "We're really excited about our mobile version," says Jeff Eusbio, CEO and co-founder of FamilyMint. "Anyone with a web browser can use it."The Ann Arbor-based business, which calls the Tech Brewery home, provides an online money-management system for kids, with parents serving as the bank. With this system, children figure out what to do with their money and then go to mom and dad to make withdrawals. FamilyMint has a team of five employees, three independent contractors, and the occasional summer intern. It launched the Beta version of its website early this year. It has since released a premier version and is partnering with a number of local credit unions. Eusbio plans to focus on the credit union market next year by integrating it into its youth programs. "Their target markets and ours are the same," he says.Source: Jeff Eusbio, CEO & co-founder of FamilyMintWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Ann Arbor parking garage boasts new energy-efficient lighting system

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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December 15, 2010

The parking garage at Fourth and Washington streets in downtown Ann Arbor has a new lighting system in place. Now, the fun begins - looking at the data.Andrew Brix, the city's Energy Programs Manager, explains that of the three half-floors that are below grade in the garage, two of those floors have had LED lights installed, and one has florescents. "Both technologies are reducing the amount of energy by 50 percent, just by replacing the lamps," he says.The fixtures can now be turned on and off instantly, and can be controlled better than the original metal halide fixtures. They're still looking at the data, but Brix believes the control system will generating even more savings, perhaps up to 60 percent of the original amount."That is a very exciting project, and it's a very sophisticated control system," he says. "What I'm working on right now is manipulating and analyzing that data."The florescent tubes can be turned on tube-by-tube, offering varying levels of light. The city can compare which system is the most efficient, to see what will be the best option for the underground garage being built on Fifth Avenue by the library.Brix encourages people to look at the system and send him feedback at energy@a2gov.org.Upcoming projects include the installations of outdoor fixtures on the garage at the Wheeler Service Center, and new lights at the Cobblestone Barn, which are in place but not functional yet while some compatibility kinks are being worked out.Source: Andrew Brix, energy programs manager for the city of Ann ArborWriter: Kristin Lukowski

Big Chill media spotlight casts warm glow on U-M’s strong points

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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December 15, 2010

The Big Chill was more than a hockey game in a giant venue. It was a lightning rod for a number of positive strikes, ranging from the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition to improved public perception of southeast Michigan. Taking a common complaint about the Great Lakes State, snowy weather, and turning it into a fun asset has good implications for a broad swath of areas.Excerpt:To whet the appetite of Capitals fans looking forward to the Winter Classic, I visited the Big Chill at the Big House college hockey game Saturday in Ann Arbor, and if the New Year's Day game in Pittsburgh goes even nearly as well, fans are in for a treat. From weather to logistics, the event could not have come off much better than it did. You can read more here and then, more impressively, see more here.Read the rest of the story here and more from The Wall Street Journal here.

Mayaterials turns ag byproducts into fridge insulation, plans for hires in ’11

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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December 15, 2010

Mayaterials hopes to become a player in higher-end refrigerators by making them more energy efficient. That sounds easy enough on the surface, but the Ann Arbor-based company specializes in the not-so-easy details of making that happen, with terms like vacuum panels and nano silica.The 9-year-old firm specializes in nano silica products, taking agricultural byproduct and turning it into vacuum insulation panels. These panels have a rigid core encapsulated in a gas-tight envelope, creating a thin layer that holds heat into a space. The bottom line lies in creating organic insulation that makes refrigerators much more energy efficient."We're taking other people's waste and turning it into gold," says Richard Laine, CEO and CTO of Mayaterials. "The end cost to the consumer is a few hundred dollars."Mayaterials recently made the semifinals of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. It's also in the process of moving to a new facility on the south side of Ann Arbor so it can begin filling a $1.3 million backlog of orders. Right now the seven-person firm is filing for the rest of its patents and plans to fill out its staff in 2011.Source: Richard Laine, CEO and CTO of MayaterialsWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

U-M fraternity to convert old church into new house

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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December 15, 2010

A fraternity and a church might seem like an unlikely pairing. But one University of Michigan fraternity is hoping to make a church its new home, and preserve the building's integrity while it's at it.Sigma Phi Epsilon plans to move into the Ann Arbor Memorial Christian Church building, at the corner of Tappan and Hill, which will become vacant at the first of the year. As it turns out, the property is zoned correctly for a fraternity house, and the location, across the street from the Ross School of Business, makes it very close to campus and also to the athletic fields, says Jerry Mangona, alumni association president for the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and a 2001 graduate of the university."It makes it an ideal location for our members," Mangona says. "That it's a historic building added to its allure. We're dedicated to preserving the history of the building."The property is currently under contract and the fraternity chapter is in the due diligence phase and looking to a fall, 2012 occupancy.The church's worship space was built close to 100 years ago, but the annex, which includes offices, is newer. That part of the building will convert very easily to living quarters, Mangona expects, with 40-45 beds. The worship space presents a different challenge: It could be a residential learning community, he says, including a lecture hall, library, and perhaps a display area for fraternity artifacts and archives.There is also a 2,000-square-foot basement that could be converted into a social space and room for dining and other community functions. Mangona says they'd also like to have green features. "We would like the rebuild to be as energy efficient as possible," he says.Mangona doesn't deny that there will probably be the typical fraternity parties in the church, but says they could keep the sanctuary part alcohol-free, or leave it for formal dining, alumni meetings, or rituals. Despite the stereotypes, there's a new generation of fraternity men that want a clean space to live in, he says."The alumni are thrilled to have a historic space," he says. "This will be a flagship chapter facility and one that we will be proud to show off to the nation. Our entire alumni base is really excited about having a permanent place to call home."The fraternity is currently renting a home at South Hill and State Street, and was in a different house before that. The current house has 30 beds; the fraternity has a total of 110 members. Mangona expects to have to raise at least a million dollars for the project, using loans and an alumni capital campaign.The church's website says that for months it "has been searching for a way to better serve the Ann Arbor community." It's targeting a new area - Prospect Road in Ypsilanti to the east, South State Road in Ann Arbor to the west, Geddes Road to the north, and U.S. 12 and I-94 to the south -- and is currently negotiating with the New Progressive Missionary Baptist Church in Pittsfield Township to lease a small building on the property, according to a church newsletter. It will start moving to its new quarters Jan. 1 and eventually construct a new building.Source: Jerry Mangona, alumni association president for Sigma Phi EpsilonWriter: Kristin Lukowski