UF event to bring together inventors, investors, startup companies

March 21, 2012

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida’s Office of Technology Licensing will hold its sixth annual “A Celebration of Innovation” technology showcase Tuesday at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center.

Fourteen early-stage startup companies based on UF technologies will present in the areas of medical devices, drug development, explosive detection, green energy and other industries. Last year’s showcase drew a record crowd of more than 300 public officials, business leaders, inventors and service providers. The conference also drew about 50 investors from as far away as Germany, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, California, Boston, Minnesota and throughout Florida.

“A Celebration of Innovation has become a must-attend event for investors in the Southeast and across the country,” said Jane Muir, associate director of the UF Office of Technology Licensing. “It’s a great opportunity for them to get a first look at technologies being developed at UF. We’re bringing scientists and entrepreneurs together to help get these technologies from the lab to the marketplace, where they can make the world a better place.”

One of the startups is ReliOx, which is commercializing a UF-patented method of using chlorine dioxide to make a cost-efficient, safe and powerful antimicrobial disinfectant for medical, food processing and water treatment applications.

Mind2Market plans to reveal its new cost-saving process of using radar sensor technologies to monitor human and animal vital signs.

eMotion Technologies will demonstrate how its sensor-based system allows musicians to use their instruments as extensions of their bodies.

Other companies are commercializing a wide range of applications of UF research in cancer, diabetes, genetics, computers, drug delivery, explosives detection, broadcast communications, marine-biology based pharmaceuticals and solar energy.

Speakers will include UF President Bernie Machen and UF Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Win Phillips.

Some of the companies presenting are based in the Florida Innovation Hub at UF, a new 48,000-square-foot business incubator at Innovation Square, a multi-use development expected to include research facilities, residences, shops, restaurants, and science and technology businesses, situated midway between the UF campus and downtown Gainesville. In light of the excitement surrounding these initiatives, this year’s showcase will also feature a panel discussion of nationally recognized experts, “Building an Innovation Community,” about how communities around the country, such as Austin, New Haven and the Research Triangle have harnessed the transformative power of innovation for economic development.

For information, visit http://conferences.dce.ufl.edu/innovationshowcase/.