Winning team could launch its start-up before graduation
By: Christi Fish
PUBLIC AFFAIRS SPECIALIST
Ten University of Texas at San Antonio teams comprised of business and engineering students will compete for $100,000 in cash and business-related services this Saturday at the $100,000 Student Technology Venture Competition, hosted by UTSA’s Center for Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship (CITE). Competitors will be scored on the viability of their proprietary new technologies and the business plans they developed to market those technologies.
UTSA’s $100,000 Student Technology Venture Competition is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Buena Vista Theater (BV 1.326) on the UTSA Downtown Campus.
The $100,000 tech competition is the largest business planning competition in San Antonio. This weekend’s competitors will offer a variety of new technologies poised to enhance the healthcare, energy, vehicle safety, manufacturing and retail industries.
Members of the Harvard Business School Club of San Antonio have mentored the teams, which will be judged by local academic, business and entrepreneurial experts on their technology, business plan and presentation. At the close of the daylong competition, some of the winning teams will have the opportunity to sell their companies.
“UTSA first began offering the student tech competition in 2007, and the community has whole-heartedly embraced our efforts,” said Cory Hallam, director of CITE. “With the help of our sponsors, we now offer UTSA students $100,000 in services and prizes through the competition, which is held twice each year, including consulting services, marketing services, office space and other benefits. That level of support is tremendously encouraging to our student entrepreneurs.”
UTSA’s $100,000 New Technology Venture Competition is sponsored by the Texas Research & Technology Foundation, Cox | Smith, the Harvard Business School Club of San Antonio, the San Antonio Technology Center, Startech and the UTSA Colleges of Business and Engineering.
UTSA established the competition in 2007 when it observed that its engineering students were developing new technologies and its business students were writing business plans, but neither group of students continued their efforts beyond turning in their projects for a grade. With the competition in place, UTSA’s students are now developing marketable technologies and forming viable new companies based on those technologies.
“The tech start-up competition is an unparalleled experience for UTSA students,” said Hallam. “The format gives them a chance to experience what it’s like to be an entrepreneur—long before they graduate and have mortgages or bills to worry about.”
Schedule
- 9 a.m.–noon
Project Viewing & Judging / Interaction with Teams (Open to Public) - Noon–12:30 p.m.
Lunch - 12:30–2:30 p.m.
Competition - 2:30–3 p.m.
Awards & Networking Reception
Competitors
ACESS offers a new way to capture, store and transfer energy efficiently by using multiple super capacitors in a series in its storage circuit. Student team includes Cesar Carter, Bryan Folsom, Carl Gleinser, Kevin Messenhimer, Mario Ramos, Gideon Roberts and Christopher Weldon.
ATALIS offers a RFID-based technology that identifies and weighs bottles stocked by business and bar owners in real-time to determine if the correct amount and type of alcohol is used for a particular drink and to determine if the charge is correct. Student team includes Zachery Chaney, Mark Foresman, Clayton King, Ryan Mertz, Laura Phinney, Mark Ramsower and Wesley Richard.
B.A.T. offers a safe and convenient technology to jump-start a battery. The system uses voltage measurements to accurately detect a fault in the ignition system, notify the user and override the fault. Student team includes Nicholas Carrizales, Lester Crowley, Daniel Angel Cuellar, Richard De Los Santos, Kimberly Marie Garcia, Janet Montemayor and Cesar Perez.
The EGLD or electrolytic gastric leak detector detects leaks in gastric bypass surgery. Student team includes Taylor Bobb, Daniel Escaloni, Justin Hoffman, Michael Horwath, Absalon Lyra, Jennifer Schmidt and Karin Thornsburg.
FDIP offers an ultra-violet camera system to eliminate faulty produce from food packaging lines. Upon detection of poor quality, a robotic arm eliminates the tainted produce from the line to reduce the number of food borne illnesses and packages with spoiled food. Student team includes Lindsay Christo, Charles Garcia, Alexander Hilmy, Michael Hoad, Addison Schweitzer and James Thompson.
McDay Cam offers vehicle safety cameras that can record video during operation. Upon impact, the video is saved. Otherwise, it is deleted. Student team includes Beaudry Barnett, Aman Dhingra, McHenry Diaz, Yong Sinn, Juan Tostado, Dustin Wilson and Dawn Gonzales.
Ortho Applications offers the Synergy Wrap, a portable hot/cold therapeutic wrap that is digitally controlled and regulated to provide safe and consistent hot or cold temperatures. Student team includes George Arredondo, Richard Hall, Michael Hanson, Bryan Oliver, Christian Terrazas and Kevin Tessmer
PowerSole offers the SolarSole technology, a shoe that harnesses both piezo electricity and solar energy to charge a small back up battery located in its heel for the purpose of charging handheld electronic devices. Student team includes Rochelle Gonzalez, Allison Herber Linahan, Erika Irvin and Srintha Kota.
The SCHRUBR technology promotes a clean environment by cleaning and removing bio fouling that has accumulated on the hulls of ships. Student team includes William Dorothy, Jeffrey Edmonds, Anthony Fuller, Billy Holman, Jonathan Moreno, Miguel Villalba and Tabitha Williams.
Voice Detection for the Deaf offers a mobile technology to assist in the awareness of surroundings of the deaf and hard of hearing by integrating an alerting wristband with a mobile phone application. Student team includes Domingos Francisco, Marlena Gonzales, Joaquim Dos Santos Jaime, Kelley Poindexter, Roberto Sierra and Ahmad Turki.