Connecticut Technology Council

THUMBS UP: State tax credit for capitalists

A state tax credit passed in 2010 and revised last year shows promise of directing money to small startup companies that traditional venture capital firms may avoid as too risky.

The state income tax credit is 25 percent of investments as high as $250,000. When passed in 2010, an investment of at least $100,000 was required to be eligible for the tax credit. Last year, the investment threshold was lowered to $25,000 to qualify for the credit.

Click Here for the Full Article: New Haven Register

Also check out this article by Mara Lee from the Hartford Courant (1/22/2012); http://cour.at/z3K09W

Q4 2011 MoneyTree Report Released - National Annual Venture Investment Dollars Increase 22% Over Prior Year

Venture funding in Connecticut stalled in 2011, falling 37 percent from a year earlier, even as deal making picked up across the rest of the country. Venture capitalists injected about $135 million in Connecticut companies during 2011, a 37 percent decline from the nearly $216.5 million invested in the year-ago period.  That sum represents 55 deals, compared to 59 deals in 2010.  Read more at Hartford Business Journal's analysis article, by Greg Bordonaro.

MoneyTree report 4th quarter 2012 press release:
Clean Technology and Internet Sectors Show Double-Digit Gains in 2011

Venture capitalists invested $28.4 billion in 3,673 dealsin 2011, an increase of 22 percent in dollars and a 4 percent rise in deals over the prior year,according to the MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the National VentureCapital Association (NVCA), based on data from Thomson Reuters.  The amount of venture dollars invested in 2011 represents the third highest annual investment total in the past ten years.  Investments in the fourth quarter of 2011 totaled $6.6 billion in 844 deals, a 10 percent decreasein dollars and an 11 percent decrease in deals from the third quarter of 2011 when $7.3 billionwent into 953 deals.

Double-digit increases in investment dollars in 2011 were spread across a number of industries, including the Clean Technology and Internet-Specific sectors.  Investment dollars also increased across every stage of development category, with the exception of a 48 percent decrease in SeedStage investments.  First-time financings rose in 2011 compared to the prior year, however, fourth quarter investing did show a decline in both first-time dollars and deals when compared to Q3 2011.

"As previously projected, venture capital investing in 2011 exceeded 2010 levels and ranks in the top three years for VC investing in the past decade," noted Tracy T. Lefteroff, global managingpartner of the venture capital practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers. "We saw a resurgence in investments in Clean Technology and Internet-specific companies in 2011, as well as a bit of a jump in average funding in the Internet sector.  However, while venture capitalists continue to show their interest in these areas, they are acting prudently and not chasing excessive valuations.  Accordingly, despite the increase in investing, we're unlikely to see these sectors overheat like we saw in the 1999 to 2000 era."

"While venture capital investment grew in 2011, it is important to note that deal volume growth did not keep pace with dollar growth,” said Mark Heesen, president of NVCA. “In most industry sectors, round sizes increased significantly, driving the higher investment levels across most stages of investment. Reasons for this phenomenon differ depending on area of investment. For some, the higher rounds are driven by the challenging exit market which requires venture capitalists to fuel their existing portfolios longer and at greater investment levels than in the past. This is particularly acute in the life sciences and clean tech sectors. In other sectors such as Internet, software and media, the higher rounds speak to increasing valuations. Given the diversity of the venture investment landscape, we expect these notable distinctions to continue into 2012 as our industry sectors are impacted differently by the continued economic uncertaintyand ongoing opportunities in the market." ...

Click Here for the Full Press Release with Further Analysis

Click Here for a Press Release Specifically Detailing 4Q 2011
Attributed To: the National Venture Capital Association, the PwC Network, and Thomas Reuters

MoneyTree Report results are available online at www.pwcmoneytree.com and www.nvca.org.

How to get the most out of your meetings

CTC has been using this software to help us organize meetings, making sure our staff meetings are effective and never redundant or disorganized. We are most impressed by the ease and effectiveness of planning the agenda, taking notes live during the meeting against that agenda, being able to park ideas for future discussion and the value of being able to email the automatically formatted minutes of the meeting just afterwards. A great tool for planning groups and committees. Below is an open letter from guest blog author, Edwin Siebesma.

---

We all spend a lot of time in meetings, either formally scheduled or just quick ad-hoc conversations. Meetings allow for a unique form of direct communication and will help get everyone on the same page to move a project or organization forward.

Unfortunately the word “Meeting” often triggers eye rolls and exasperation, with many of us writing off the time as wasted. According to the Wharton Center for Applied Research, the average CEO spends 17 hours per week in meetings, senior executives an average of 23 hours and middle managers 11 hours. Even worse, only 56% of these meetings are productive.

If we could make all meetings productive, huge financial gains are possible, and equally beneficial, effective meetings will also improve the company culture and create a sense of accomplishment.

To improve the effectiveness and efficiency of meetings I developed MeetingKing, a web based tool to facilitate and document your meetings and conversations and get things done. MeetingKing will help the organizer to implement best practices in an efficient way. You can create a free account at http://meetingking.com.

So how can you get the most out of your meetings? Let’s look at the three stages around meetings:

• Preparation
• The actual meeting
• Follow-up

Meeting preparation
First make sure your meeting has a clear goal and then determine who should participate. Be selective; don’t invite anyone to whom the meeting is irrelevant.

The next step is setting a start AND end time and creating the agenda. This may sound formal, but is absolutely necessary. Without an agenda participants cannot prepare and the meeting will be dominated by people who like to talk, instead of having a constructive discussion based on sensible arguments. Even for a one-on-one phone call I will make sure the other party knows what we are discussing. Make sure you distribute any supporting material (reports, analyses, etc.) together with the agenda.

As organizer you should demand that attendees come prepared. They should have read the material provided and be ready to contribute to the discussion with well-founded arguments. Write down your arguments, so you won’t forget them during the meeting. If you use MeetingKing you can make private notes right in the agenda. Going to a meeting without an agenda and without proper preparation is like going to an exam without studying – you are doomed to fail.

MeetingKing makes your meeting preparation easy. It automatically copies the list of invitees, the date and time and the location from Outlook, iCal or Google Calendar and creates a unique meetings space. In that space you can create your agenda and include supporting materials and attachments. The invitees can contribute to the agenda. No longer 10 or 20 different emails and separate word documents. More info at http://meetingking.com/how-to-create-a-meeting-agenda-with-meetingking/. (Note: forced adoption is not necessary; MeetingKing is already effective if only the organizer has an account).

The actual meeting
Rule one is to start on time and rule two is to end on time. People are busy and if you, as organizer, don’t value your participants’ time, they won’t value yours. If your meeting is part of a series of meetings you should start with a quick update on the tasks from the previous meeting(s). This will make sure things don’t fall through the cracks and will help to get all participants in a winning mood if they can see what was accomplished since the previous meeting. In case of overdue tasks, request an explanation and have the task owner commit to a new date.

To keep your meeting on track, stick to the agenda and don’t be tempted to discuss new topics that come up. These new topics may be very important and need to be discussed, but do so in a different meeting. This gives all participants the opportunity to prepare for that topic. To make sure that these new topics won’t drop off the radar, you can place them on the parking lot, a feature also available in MeetingKing. Next time you organize a meeting you can add the relevant parking lot items back onto your agenda.

Making notes is key for any meeting. If you have no record of what you decided, you may as well not have the meeting. These notes should not be long essays, but just short bullets. There are three types of notes; informational notes, decisions and tasks. It is best to appoint one person to make the notes during the meeting, so he or she can focus on that task and the others can focus on the discussion. In case you don’t have a formal secretary, I suggest rotating the task of making notes.

Making notes is a breeze in MeetingKing. You simply type a short bullet and save it as a Note, Decision or Task. MeetingKing will add this information to your central team task manager and automatically prepare and distribute the minutes. More info at: http://meetingking.com/writing-minutes/.

Follow-up
It is important to distribute the meeting minutes as soon as possible after the meeting. If things were interpreted or recorded incorrectly and the discussion is still fresh in everyone’s mind, this can be corrected immediately.

The minutes should include a list of attendees, a correct summary of all key points, decisions and tasks for each topic and preferably a complete task summary at the end. Make sure that the minutes are stored in a place where you can actually find them in case you need to look up something. MeetingKing does this all automatically for you.

The list with action items is the most important outcome of the meeting. If the meeting did not result in tasks, the meeting was probably unnecessary, and an email message would have been more appropriate. Ideally the task list is interactive, sends reminders and is accessible to all participants so they can provide updates. The integrated team task manager in MeetingKing takes care of this.

As mentioned before, if you have a series of meetings, start the next meeting with an update on the action items of the previous meeting. To help you with that you can create a follow-up meeting in MeetingKing and tasks from the previous meeting(s) will be added to the agenda of this new meeting. A great help to get things done, because no-one wants to see his name next to an overdue task.

Why do we have poor meetings?
Having effective and efficient meetings is not rocket science, as long as you follow the basic rules. The key problem is the information and documentation flow around meetings. Current documentation methods require the use of at least three or four different tools –email, word processors, tasks managers, file sharing, etc. This is complicated and time consuming, so... we struggle on.

Possible solution
To help you improve your meetings I developed MeetingKing. In the text above I already gave some examples how MeetingKing can help. MeetingKing is built around the natural workflow of meetings and conversations and turns short notes into up-to-date actionable information:

• Meeting agenda
• Professional meeting minutes
• Tasks and task reminders
• Powerful searchable archive
• And more

Users enter information easily and only once. MeetingKing translates information from the meeting invitation into an agenda automatically, and that agenda serves as the basis for taking notes. After the meeting, MeetingKing compiles complete meeting minutes and emails them to attendees. Users can assign tasks directly while taking notes and the dashboard and email reminders make sure that things actually get done.

MeetingKing maintains the continuity of a sequence of meetings by adding all action items from prior meetings to the agenda of the next meeting. By adding tags to topics, users can find anything related to a certain project or department regardless of the meeting where it was discussed. All participants can make private notes right in the agenda and the minutes, for optimal preparation and follow-up.

I hope article gave you some useful hints and tips to get the most out of your meetings. More information and a meeting checklist are available at http://meetingking.com.

Kind Regards,
Edwin Siebesma
Founder / CEO
MeetingKing

Norwalk's XLerant Closes $3 Million in Series B Financing; Investors Include Connecticut Innovations

Leader in budget preparation software to expand North American presence.

XLerant, Inc., a provider of budget preparation software for mid-sized and large organizations, today announced the close of a $3 million Series B round of financing. Chrysalis Ventures led the round alongside existing investors, including Connecticut Innovations. In conjunction with the financing, Chrysalis Principal Wright Steenrod will join XLerant’s board of directors.

The investment will be used for sales and marketing expansion in North America. Founded in 2005, XLerant replaces traditional, restrictive spreadsheets with an easy-to-use, yet sophisticated budgeting and planning application called BudgetPak. This intuitive software provides maximum user flexibility and expanded financial control. Customers often choose BudgetPak because it drives greater fiscal ownership among managers and allows leaders to align financials with organizational strategy.

"Great organizations strive to get more line manager ownership of budget numbers. BudgetPak improves line manager flexibility while also expanding financial control. It's the best of both worlds,” XLerant CEO Ted Dacko said. “XLerant takes organizations beyond the days of error-prone Excel spreadsheets and builds budget accountability at all levels. We facilitate a better budget through a better budgeting process."

“XLerant already has a great product and enthusiastic customers,” Dacko said. “Now it has received funding from what I consider to be the leading venture capital firm in America. Chrysalis will be an extraordinary partner as we accelerate our growth.”

Dacko formerly served as CEO of HealthMedia, a provider of web-based personalized wellness and disease prevention programs based in Ann Arbor, MI and backed by Chrysalis Ventures and other investors. Dacko grew and led HealthMedia to a successful acquisition by Johnson & Johnson in 2008, delivering a substantial return to investors. Previously, Dacko held senior positions with Hyperion, Orion Micro Systems, Comshare, Corporate Class Software, FAME Software and Interactive Data Corporation.

“Ted has proven he can build and lead successful, profitable companies,” said Chrysalis’ Steenrod. “After his great results at HealthMedia, we are thrilled to partner with him again in his latest venture, which addresses a long-standing market pain point and has already developed a devoted customer base.”

Connecticut Innovations, a leader in supporting entrepreneurial, technology-driven entities in the state, invested in XLerant in 2007.

“We at Connecticut Innovations are pleased to have supported XLerant in its early years. We’re delighted it already has grown to the point of earning further investment from a leading venture capital firm,” said Peter Longo, Connecticut Innovations president and executive director. “Funding from Chrysalis Ventures is a tremendous endorsement.”

About XLerant, Inc.

XLerant is a software solutions company that builds and implements innovative, practical, and incredibly powerful corporate budget preparation software for mid-sized and large organizations, energizing a "Culture of Budget Accountability" among users. The company serves clients in several industries, including higher education. XLerant's premiere budgeting and planning application, BudgetPak, replaces spreadsheet-based budgeting and provides maximum user flexibility and financial controls. Improved communication, greater ownership of the numbers and increased transparency enables companies to better manage financial performance throughout the fiscal year. For more information, please visit http://www.xlerant.com.

About Chrysalis Ventures

Chrysalis Ventures manages one of Mid-America’s largest funds for early-stage and growth investments with approximately $400 million under management. Since 1993, the firm has invested in over 65 companies, primarily in the healthcare and technology sectors. With headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, Chrysalis has offices in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Ann Arbor and Houston. The firm seeks to partner with entrepreneurs to build enduring businesses in industries undergoing significant transformation. For more information, please visithttp://www.chrysalisventures.com.

About Connecticut Innovations

Connecticut Innovations (CI) is a quasi-public organization dedicated to driving a vibrant, entrepreneurial, technology-based economy in Connecticut. CI stimulates high-tech growth by investing in early-stage Connecticut technology companies, university/industry research collaborations and technology transfer and collaborating with government, business, nonprofit and academic organizations to advance technology growth and promote public policies consistent with CI’s mission. For more information on CI, please visit http://www.ctinnovations.com.

Attributed to: PRWeb

Bringing together industry, universities, and the federal government to invest in the emerging technologies

$500 million to jump start the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership

Press Release from the White House, advanced manufacturing companies, take note:

Today, at Carnegie Mellon University, President Obama launched the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP), a national effort bringing together industry, universities, and the federal government to invest in the emerging technologies that will create high quality manufacturing jobs and enhance our global competitiveness. Investing in technologies, such as information technology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology, will support the creation of good jobs by helping U.S. manufacturers reduce costs, improve quality, and accelerate product development.

The President’s plan, which leverages existing programs and proposals, will invest more than $500 million to jumpstart this effort. The President believes that even as we live within our means, we must invest to win the future. Investments will be made in the following key areas: building domestic manufacturing capabilities in critical national security industries; reducing the time needed to make advanced materials used in manufacturing products; establishing U.S. leadership in next-generation robotics; increasing the energy efficiency of manufacturing processes; and developing new technologies that will dramatically reduce the time required to design, build, and test manufactured goods. Leading universities and companies will compliment these federal efforts helping to invent, deploy and scale these cutting-edge technologies.

“Today, I’m calling for all of us to come together- private sector industry, universities, and the government- to spark a renaissance in American manufacturing and help our manufacturers develop the cutting-edge tools they need to compete with anyone in the world,” said President Obama. “With these key investments, we can ensure that the United States remains a nation that ‘invents it here and manufactures it here’ and creates high-quality, good paying jobs for American workers.”

The AMP is being developed based on the recommendation of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), which released a report [today] entitled “Ensuring Leadership in Advanced Manufacturing.” The PCAST report calls for a partnership between government, industry, and academia to identify the most pressing challenges and transformative opportunities to improve the technologies, processes and products across multiple manufacturing industries.

The AMP will be led by Andrew Liveris, Chairman, President, and CEO of Dow Chemical, and Susan Hockfield, President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Working closely White House’s National Economic Council, Office of Science and Technology Policy and the PCAST, AMP will bring together a broad cross-section of major U.S. manufacturers and top U.S. engineering universities. The universities initially involved in the AMP will be the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of California-Berkeley, and University of Michigan. The manufacturers initially involved in the AMP will be Allegheny Technologies, Caterpillar, Corning, Dow Chemical, Ford, Honeywell, Intel, Johnson and Johnson, Northrop Grumman, Procter and Gamble, and Stryker.

The U.S. Government has had a long history of partnership with companies and universities in developing and commercializing the new technologies that have been the foundation of our economic success – from the telephone, to the microwave, to the jet engine, to the internet. The AMP will provide the platform for similar breakthroughs in the next decade, by building a roadmap for advanced manufacturing technologies, speeding ideas from the drawing board to the manufacturing floor, scaling-up first-of-a-kind technologies, and developing the infrastructure and shared facilities to allow small and mid-sized manufacturers to innovate and compete.

Major Commitments to Advanced Manufacturing Being Made Today

To launch the AMP, the President today announced a number of key steps being taken by the federal government:

• Building domestic manufacturing capabilities in critical national security industries: Starting this summer, the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Energy, Agriculture, Commerce and other agencies will coordinate a government-wide effort to leverage their existing funds and future budgets, with an initial goal of $300 million, to co-invest with industry in innovative technologies that will jumpstart domestic manufacturing capability essential to our national security and promote the long-term economic viability of critical U.S. industries. Initial investments include small high-powered batteries, advanced composites, metal fabrication, bio-manufacturing, and alternative energy, among others.
• Reducing the time to develop and deploy advanced materials: The Materials Genome Initiative, would invest more than $100M in research, training and infrastructure to enable U.S. companies to discover, develop, manufacture, and deploy advanced materials at twice the speed than is possible today, at a fraction of the cost. In much the same way that advances in silicon technology helped create the modern information technology industry, advanced materials will fuel emerging multi-billion dollar industries aimed at addressing challenges in manufacturing, clean energy, and national security.
• Investing in next-generation robotics: The National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Institutes of Health and the Department of Agriculture are coming together to make available today $70 million to support research in next generation robots. These investments will help create the next generation of robots that will work closely with human operators – allowing new ability for factory workers, healthcare providers, soldiers, surgeons and astronauts to carry out key hard-to-do tasks.
• Developing innovative energy-efficient manufacturing processes: The Department of Energy will launch an effort to leverage their existing funds and future budgets, with initial goal of $120 million to develop innovative manufacturing processes and materials to enable companies to cut the costs of manufacturing, while using less energy.

Additional complementary steps as part of AMP will include:

• Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency exploration of new approaches that have potential to dramatically reduce – by up to a factor of 5 – the time required to design, build, and test manufactured goods while enabling entrepreneurs to meet Defense Department needs.
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of California-Berkeley, and University of Michigan commitment to form a multi-university collaborative framework for sharing of educational materials and best practices relating to advanced manufacturing and its linkage to innovation. The universities will also join together with industry partners and leading government agencies to define research opportunities and build a collaborative roadmap for identify key technology priorities.
• Commerce Department development of an advanced manufacturing technology consortium, starting with $12 million in FY12, to identify public private partnerships to tackle common technological barriers to the development of new products.
• Proctor & Gamble announcement that it will make available advanced software at no cost to American small and mid-sized manufacturers through the recently launched Midwest Modeling and Simulation consortium. This is a highly valuable digital design tool usually unavailable to smaller firms.
• Department of Energy launch of an initiative with the Ford Motor Company and the National Association of Manufacturers to make use of the Department’s National Training & Education Resource to educate and train a new generation of manufacturers.
• Defense Department investments, funded at $24 million in FY11, in domestic manufacturing technology that address urgent operational needs including improvements for transparent armor, stealth technology, and targeting systems. The Department is also developing an online marketplace to increase domestic manufacturing capacity in industries critical to our national security by connecting U.S. manufacturers with product needs at the Department and other federal agencies.

Angel Investing Jumps With State Tax Credit Change

"There is an explosion in entrepreneurship and people want to get in on it," said Matthew Nemerson, president of the Connecticut Technology Council, which started lobbying for a tax credit for angel investors more than five years ago. "The legislation came at the right time to throw fuel on the fire. Because of the $100,000 limit, the fuel [was] a little bit watered down."

"Thirty companies have gotten investments since a law took effect 18 months ago allowing investors who put at least $100,000 into young, small Connecticut firms in certain technology and science fields to deduct a quarter of that investment from their state income taxes.

Two months ago, the state loosened the angel investor tax credit to $25,000, and nine of the 30 deals have closed just since then, for a total of $2.1 million."

Read the full article by Mara Lee in today'sHartford Courant, http://cour.at/z3K09W

 

BioRelix Inc. Secures $500,000 Investment from Connecticut Innovations

Antibiotics developer utilizes novel riboswitch-based drug discovery platform

Connecticut Innovations (CI), the state’s quasi-public authority responsible for technology-based economic development, today announced that it has made an investment of $500,000 in antibiotics developer BioRelix Inc. (BioRelix) of New Haven, Conn., through its Eli Whitney Fund. This investment is part of a $4.244 million round of funding for the company. 

BioRelix is developing antibiotics using a new riboswitch-based drug discovery platform. Riboswitches are short stretches of messenger RNA (mRNA) that bind small molecules and control genes that are essential for the survival of many human pathogens. First identified in the laboratory of Prof. Ron Breaker at Yale University, several different classes of riboswitch mRNAs have been identified and each potentially could serve as a novel anti-infective drug target.

The company’s most advanced initiative is an antibiotic for a hospital-acquired infection. BioRelix is also involved in a research collaboration with a subsidiary of Merck & Co. to identify new antibacterial drug candidates.

“We are extremely pleased to add Connecticut Innovations to our top-tier investor team,” stated Brian Dixon, chief executive officer of BioRelix. “The additional resources they provide will help us in the discovery of new, much needed antibacterial medications.”

The BioRelix team, which includes several scientists that formerly worked at Bayer Pharmaceuticals and Yale University, has extensive scientific and drug development experience. The team has successfully secured technology licenses from Yale University and other institutions.

“As we work to reinvent Connecticut, this investment further highlights the state’s commitment to the bioscience sector,” said Governor Dannel P. Malloy. “With the Bioscience Connecticut initiative and a renewed push to partner with businesses across the state, Connecticut is demonstrating our leadership in the field and sending a clear message that the state is open for business. This Connecticut-based company is an excellent example of the remarkable talent and innovation available right here at home.”

Peter Longo, president and executive director of CI, noted, “We are excited to be investing in BioRelix, which we believe shows a great deal of promise of developing a new generation of antibiotic drugs using its novel riboswitch-based mechanism of action. The company has many strengths, including its experienced team, strong and growing intellectual property portfolio, and novel approach to antibiotic development. It is also addressing a sizeable, $37 billion global antibiotics market, which is growing steadily.”

About Connecticut Innovations Inc.
Connecticut Innovations (CI) is a quasi-public organization dedicated to driving a vibrant, entrepreneurial, technology-based economy in Connecticut. CI stimulates high-tech growth by investing in early-stage Connecticut technology companies, university/industry research collaborations and technology transfer and collaborating with government, business, nonprofit and academic organizations to advance technology growth and promote public policies consistent with CI’s mission. For more information on CI, please visit www.ctinnovations.com. 

About BioRelix Inc.
BioRelix Inc. is a drug discovery and development company focused on identifying new anti-infective drug treatments. BioRelix is building a portfolio of products based on novel patented RNA targets, termed riboswitches, which were identified by the laboratory of BioRelix co-founder, Ronald Breaker, Ph.D., Howard Hughes Investigator and Henry Ford II Professor at Yale University. BioRelix owns a worldwide license to develop and market riboswitch targeted medicines. Our investors include CHL Medical Partners, Novartis Bioventures, New Leaf Ventures, Aisling Capital, Elm Street Ventures, Alexandria Equities and Connecticut Innovations.

SOPA / PIPA - Stop Online Piracy Act and the Senate’s Protect IP Act of 2011

CTC cares about this and is tracking this federal legislation.  We will post updates here as the bill goes through it's process in DC.   We encourage those that care about freedom and the integrity of the global internet to get informed and speak up!

Make an impact: Send a letter or call your legislator. Use CTC's advocacy tool: http://bit.ly/vWpufk 

1/18 update:   SOPA / PIPA Internet Piracy Bills - votes coming 1/24
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is with the House Judiciary Committee and will be voted upon after the winter recess. The Senate’s Protect IP Act (PIPA) will be up for a vote Jan. 24....

Today, Google and Wikipedia have shown their colors: black. From Google: 

"Fighting online piracy is important. The most effective way to shut down pirate websites is through targeted legislation that cuts off their funding. There’s no need to make American social networks, blogs and search engines censor the Internet or undermine the existing laws that have enabled the Web to thrive, creating millions of U.S. jobs."

Local news items of interest:

Click here to read bill co-sponsor Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)'s blog post stating his current position. 

1/17/2012 -Concerns About Online Piracy Act Growing Among State's Congressional Delegation, by Daniela Altimari, Hartford Courant

1/17/2012 - Dodd, Techies Still At Odds Over Piracy Legislation, CT News Junkie
1/1/3/2012 -Connecticut Delegation Split On Internet Piracy Bills,  CT News Junkie, by Christine Stuart

--More general references about the bills:

Wondering how your legislator stands on SOPA / PIPA? 
Check out this SOPATRACK tool: http://bit.ly/u0a7uY

A legal analysis of the bill by professors from Stamford, Temple and Elon Universities is here: http://bit.ly/tpKmhV   - where they state, "(the bill) may represent the biggest threat to the Internet in its history." (thanks to UConn's Eric Knight for the link)

Bill Summary: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41911.pdf - provides a great summary, if you don't want to read the actual bill itself. It also states the concerns about the bill.

Vague, vague how...  http://www.publicknowledge.org/blog/coica-v-20-protect-ip-act does a great job of explaining WHY the wording is vague, instead of just stating the the wording is "too vague" (which is vague, and what you will see most places )

Legal review: http://blogs.law.stanford.edu/newsfeed/files/2011/07/PROTECT-IP-letter-final.pdf - Letter from 108 law professors, again pointing out the problematic sections of the bill.

The Bill itself: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112s968rs/pdf/BILLS-112s968rs.pdf

Make and impact: Send a letter or call your legislator. 
Use CTC's advocacy tool: http://bit.ly/vWpufk

 

Connecticut Technology Council Announces 53 Finalists for Eighth Annual Women of Innovation® Awards Program

Women leaders in technology, science and engineering to be honored March 1^st, Dr. Alicia Abella of AT&T Labs to keynote awards ceremony

The Connecticut Technology Council (CTC) today announced 53 finalists for the eighth annual Women of Innovation^® Awards Program. The program recognizes women across Connecticut – those in the workforce and students – who are innovators, role models and leaders in the fields of science, engineering and technology.

A winner in each of the eight awards categories will be announced during the Women of Innovation^® Awards Dinner at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington on March 1, 2012.

The complete list of 2012 Women of Innovation^® awards finalists is posted on the CTC website, www.ct.org. Ticket purchases and registration for the 2012 event may be handled online through the CTC website.

Finalists were nominated by their peers and selected based on their professional experience, history of innovation, ability to think creatively and solve problems, and demonstration of leadership. Students were judged on inventiveness, accomplishment in science and technology, and academic achievement.

“Our 2012 finalists represent an outstanding group of women who are excelling in their careers in technology,” said Beth Alquist, planning committee chair for the Women of Innovation^® Awards Program. “These women are extraordinary and outstanding contributors to their professions, to their employers, and in many cases to their communities.”

This year’s list of 53 finalists includes researchers, educators, engineers, managers, and entrepreneurs who work in biotech, pharmaceuticals, software, computer hardware, advanced materials, medical devices, and Information technology.

High school, undergraduate and graduate students who have demonstrated extraordinary and unique achievements in their technology studies disciplines are also among the finalists. The winner in the Youth Innovation and Leadership category will receive a scholarship from Covidien Medical Devices.

2012 Women of Innovation

View more documents from CTTech.

The keynote speaker for the awards ceremony is Dr. Alicia Abella, executive director of the Innovative Services Research Department at AT&T Labs and chair of its Fellowship program. Dr. Abella manages a group of researchers specializing in data mining, user interfaces, IPTV, mobile services, SIP/VoIP technology, and environmental sustainability. Dr. Abella is also executive vice president for the Young Science Achievers program and a strong advocate of fostering the development of minorities and women in science and engineering.

A presentation by Dr. Abella:

The Women of Innovation^® Program is sponsored, in part, by the Boehringer Ingelheim USA Corporation, the law firm of Day Pitney LLP and United Technologies Corporation.

Contact Mike Scricca at (860) 289-0878, ext. 334 or [email protected] with questions regarding the program or awards dinner or visit http://www.ct.org

Meet the 2012 Women of Innovation® Finalists

Awards Event on March 1, 2012 at the Aqua Turf Club, Southington, CT 

Presenting... The 2012 Women of Innovation^®  

Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership Yvonne Akpalu CEO/Founder Why Science Dr. Akpalu is the CEO & Founder of Why Science, an education technology company igniting students’ passion for science/technology/engineering/mathematics learning. Why Science’s ground-breaking Poly & Mer technology makes STEM more accessible by combining the power of the “cloud” with state-of-the-art learning practices, programs and interactive media for the modern classroom of today. An innovator whose work has earned recognition through multiple awards, Yvonne mentors undergraduate Women in Science at Yale.
Research Innovation and Leadership Amy Anderson Associate Professor University of Connecticut  Amy Anderson is an Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Connecticut where she leads a research group to discover and develop novel drugs for treating infectious diseases and cancer as well as understanding and overcoming mechanisms of drug resistance. She received her B.S. from M.I.T. and a Ph.D. in biophysics from Harvard before completing a postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF. Amy enjoys spending time with her husband and children at the beach in Rhode Island.
Small Business Innovation and Leadership Katherine Ayers Director of Research Proton OnSite  Kathy Ayers is responsible for executing Proton's technology roadmap to achieve cost effective production of hydrogen for energy applications. She has been awarded several Small Business Innovative Research and other grants for DOE, NSF, ARPA-E, and ONR. Kathy holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology and has mentored several female students through Mentornet. She also has two young daughters and enjoys running, swimming, and music.
Large Business Innovation and Leadership Lisa Bongiovi Vice President, Intellectual Property Counsel UTC Climate, Controls & Security Systems Lisa Bongiovi is Vice President, Intellectual Property Counsel at UTC Climate, Controls and Security Systems. In this role, she is responsible for managing all intellectual property matters, including management of over 7,000 pending and issued patents and over 4,400 pending and registered trademarks worldwide. Lisa also oversees all intellectual property matters associated with the product development process, and all licensing and enforcement matters involving patents, trademarks, and copyrights.
Academic Innovation and Leadership  Susan Brown Teacher - Applied Technology New Haven Public Schools-Mauro Sheridan Magnet School  Susan Brown is a science, technology, and robotics teacher for middle school students in New Haven, CT. She adores teaching children how to think, create, and find their authentic 'selves'. Her past careers as an author, college educator, business owner in advertising and fitness, have given her the opportunity to work with youth to find their way through education and their passions. She has created an award winning robotics program and instituted a Women in Engineering partnership.  She is team lead for her school's NASA Explorer Program, and is a recipient of numerous education awards and Michael Jordan Fundamentals Grants.
Entrepreneurial Innovation and leadership Jyl Camhi Founder and President Great Play  Jyl Camhi's company, Great Play, is a patented interactive gym for children that helps develop motor skills, sport skills, fitness and coordination. Great Play has other patents pending and is franchised in metro cities around the U.S. Jyl worked with Microsoft in the 1990's, creating systems, teams and infrastructure, and receiving the Bill Gates Microsoft manager of the year award in 1996. Inspired by today's childhood inactivity crisis, Jyl's alternative approach combines technology and fitness to appeal to youngsters who are not natural athletes, encouraging physical development.
Large Business Innovation and Leadership Kim Carpenter Global Vice President of Human Resources Covidien Kim Carpenter serves as Vice President, Global Human Resources for the Surgical Solutions Business Unit of Covidien. Ms. Carpenter has more than 25 years of comprehensive HR experience. Prior to joining Covidien in 2007, she served as head of Global Leadership Development for Bayer Healthcare. Ms. Carpenter earned a B.A. degree in psychology from Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ.
Large Business Innovation and Leadership Teresa (Terry) Cowles Integration Manager, 787 Program Hamilton Sundstrand/UTC  With 28 years at Hamilton Sundstrand's Air Management Systems (AMS), Terry Cowles has contributed to the evolution of standards, methods and requirements management across AMS.  As project lead for their largest 2011 program, Airbus A380 Air Generation and Temperature Control Systems, her work resulted in the certification of the aircraft. She received UTC's highest level of recognition for the formation of her Integrated Product Development Team. Terry's system level requirements management process is now the standard across HS, applied to multiple programs including the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Small Business Innovation and Leadership Manon Cox President and CEO Protein Sciences Corporation  Manon Cox is President & CEO at Protein Sciences Corporation. She joined the company in 1998. Previously she was with Gist-Brocades, where she held positions in BD, Production and R&D. She holds a Doctorate in Virology from the University of Wageningen; received her M.B.A. with distinction from Nijenrode and Rochester, NY Universities; and holds a Doctorandus degree in Molecular Biology, Genetics and Biochemistry from University of Nijmegen. Her passion and career goal is to bring global innovation to the vaccine industry by using recombinant DNA technology.
Large Business Innovation and Leadership Renee Davis VP, Chief Actuary Bond & Financial Products The Travelers Companies, Inc  Throughout her career at Travelers, Renee Davis has been focused on strong performance by applying analytics to business problems in order to improve business results. As part of the Actuarial and Analytics Leadership team, Renee has served as senior advisor for many strategic initiatives in advancing analytics and talent for the company. Outside of work, Renee enjoys spending time with her husband and three children, especially on the beach in Rhode Island.
Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership Caroline Dealy Chief Scientific Officer Chondrogenics Inc. Dr. Dealy’s work is dedicated to research and technology to understand and  treat debilitating human conditions including osteoarthritis. Chondrogenics is a Connecticut biotechnology company established with the support of UConn to develop the potential of human stem cells for cartilage repair. Through a major grant from the State, Chondrogenics is conducting preclinical studies to investigate the ability of the cells to repair damaged cartilage, with the goal of developing a stem cell based approach for osteoarthritis treatment.
Large Business Innovation and Leadership Mary-Ellen Devlin Executive Director & Executive Counsel of Intellec Boehringer Ingelheim USA Corporation After graduating from Fordham University Law School, Mary-Ellen Devlin worked as a patent litigator for six years with both trial and appellate experience. In the early 80s, she went 'in-house' first at American Cyanamid Company and then Boehringer Ingelheim. Mary-Ellen became the first woman officer of the largest intellectual property law association in the U.S.
Small Business Innovation and Leadership Betsy Didan Vice President COCC  Betsy Didan develops, promotes, and supports innovative technologies to reduce paper and increase payment speed and security for community bank customers and credit union members throughout the northeast, improving bank efficiency and reducing environmental impact. Her system to eliminate paper check processing for 140 financial institutions has saved thousands of gallons of fuel used to transport physical checks. Her electronic payment processes have accelerated check processing and verification, reducing opportunities for fraud. Betsy speaks at nationwide conferences on advanced payment technologies.
Large Business Innovation and Leadership Edith DiFrancesco Vice President, Engineering Methods UTC Climate, Controls & Security Systems  Edith DiFrancesco is an executive with 26 years at UTC. Edith joined Carrier in 2008 as the VP, Engineering Methods after 23 years with Otis in Engineering, Safety and Quality leadership positions. Significant contributions include development of the LVM and Gen2 elevator products, the Otis Product Development Process and the Carrier Product Safety Process. Edith holds a BEng Mechanical from McGill University and an M.S. Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Academic Innovation and Leadership Joan Feigenbaum The Grace Murray Hopper Professor of Computer Science Yale University Joan Feigenbaum received an A.B. in Mathematics from Harvard and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford. Her research interests include Internet algorithmics, security and privacy, massive-data-set algorithmics, and the interplay of economics and computation. She is a Fellow of the Association of Computing Machinery and was an invited speaker at the 1998 International Congress of Mathematicians.
Large Business Innovation and Leadership Elizabeth Gandza Sr. Project Manager The United Illuminating Company After graduating UConn in 2000 with a B.S. in civil engineering, Liz Gandza worked as an engineer on transportation projects for URS in Rocky Hill. In 2002, she worked as an engineer and project manager on transportation and electrical transmission infrastructure projects for BL Companies in Meriden. In 2008, Liz joined UI to manage electrical transmission infrastructure projects. Liz lives in Southington with her husband CJ and their son, Nichola
Large Business Innovation and Leadership Elizabeth Garypie Black Hawk Chief Engineer Sikorsky Aircraft  Liz Garypie is Chief Engineer, Army & Air Force Programs at Sikorsky Aircraft. In this role, she provides overall technical leadership for domestic BLACK HAWK development and production programs, including the UH-60M, HH-60M MEDEVAC, UH-60M Upgrade, and future product requirements. Liz has worked for Sikorsky Aircraft since 1999, holding positions of increasing responsibility in both Engineering and Programs. Liz holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Trinity College, Hartford, and is an active member of the Society o Women Engineers (SWE).
Collegian Innovation and Leadership Ramona Georgescu Graduate Student University of Connecticut  Ramona Georgescu received her B.A.s in Computer Science and Physics from Connecticut College in 2004 and her M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Boston University in 2007. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at the University of Connecticut, working under the direction of Dr. Peter Willett. Her area of interest is statistical signal processing, with a focus on estimation and multi-target tracking.
Large Business Innovation and Leadership Kristina Givens Process Innovation Program Manager Lawrence & Memorial Hospital  Kristina Givens is the Process Innovation Program Manager for Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London. She has been instrumental in the implementation and deep adoption of Lean principles at Lawrence & Memorial, the alignment of Lean with IT Projects, and the integration of the Production Preparation Process (3P) to ensure the success of the hospital’s strategic growth initiatives. Kristina holds a B.S. in International Business, and has studied language and business at Salamanca University, Salamanca, Spain and holds a Six Sigma green belt certification.
Large Business Innovation and Leadership Amy Harper, PhD 2VP, Research & Product Development The Travelers Companies, Inc  In 2006, Dr. Amy Harper joined Travelers Risk Control, a group that exists to aid underwriters in account selection and retention, as well as to collaborate with policyholders and their agents to reduce losses and promote prevention initiatives. Amy received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Social and Organizational Psychology from Temple University and holds a B.A. degree from Illinois Wesleyan University. She has been developing and implementing products and services for the insurance industry for nearly fifteen years.
Community Innovation and Leadership Dionne Henry Repair Develop Engineer Pratt & Whitney  Dionne Henry is a 12-year veteran at Pratt & Whitney, providing repair development expertise to commercial aircraft engine customers world-wide. Decisions made in this leadership role directly contribute to flight safety. A dedicated humanitarian  and volunteer; she is currently chairperson of CPEP's Board of Directors. She spearheads the growing non-profit that designs programs to promote interest in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) for under-served youth in CT. Additionally, Dionne has aided schoolchildren and families as one of the Church Missionaries to Guatemala last summer. "I want to inspire young adults to embrace STEM disciplines.”
Youth Innovation and Leadership Emilia Hernandez High School Student Hopkins School  Emilia Hernandez is a senior at Hopkins School in New Haven. She is one of the captains of her school's Science Olympiad team. In addition to her scientific interests, she is President of Junior Statesmen of America, participates in Model U.N., and is an active member of the Fencing team. For the last two summers, she has done research in Genetics at Yale about the protein-protein interactions involved in ribosome biogenesis.
Academic Innovation and Leadership Sally Hill Principal Designer Eli Whitney Museum  At age five, Sally Hill began appropriating her mother's The New York Times Sunday crossword puzzles to pencil constructions of the squares. She has loved grids ever since. Sally trained in graphic design at Yale just as the computer equipped the profession with powerful tools. Now she converts 20 years of learning project designs at the EWM into the 3D grids of CNC production while introducing her undergraduate graphic design students to the art of layering information with traditional and modern book folds.
Youth Innovation and Leadership Areej Jahangir High School Student Glastonbury High School  Making periodic visits to the Middle East and South Asia as a Pakistani-American, Areej Jahangir has seen first-hand the issues gripping developing nations in the areas of education and the quality of life. Her ambition is to combine policy and technology tools to close the gaps between developed and developing countries. One such specific study that she is currently working on is water purification through locally producible ceramic filters.
Youth Innovation and Leadership Morgan Jordan High School Student Joel Barlow High School  Morgan Jordan is a senior at Joel Barlow High School, and has a passion for chemistry and biology. Morgan recently conducted extensive research on environmentally-friendly surfactants through an independent research program. She is a member of the varsity debate, tennis and mock trial teams, president of the Serving Our Underprivileged Club, and is a classically-trained pianist. She enjoys volunteering at the Special Olympics, leading drives for the homeless, tutoring, and participating in the Girl Scouts.
Large Business Innovation and Leadership Arianna Kalian Vice President, Engineering & Manufacturing UTC Power  Arianna Kalian, P.E., is responsible for overseeing UTC Power’s engineering activities and manufacturing operations for the company’s stationary and transportation fuel cell systems. Kalian joined UTC Power in 2008 from GM, where she led a range of product design and development efforts during her 19-year tenure, including an international assignment in Germany. A member of SWE, she holds a B.A. and an M.A. degree in mechanical engineering and an M.S. in management of technology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Research Innovation and Leadership Monika Kinstler Principal Engineer Pratt & Whitney  Monika Kinstler has worked in the aerospace industry as a metallurgical engineer for 26 years. Currently a principal engineer at Pratt & Whitney, she has been approving aircraft engine repairs on behalf of the FAA as a Designated Engineering Representative since 2002. She holds multiple patents, and has developed an engineering information knowledge management system that has been widely emulated within UTC. She has two children, and is a performing violinist.
Youth Innovation and Leadership Mary Kuchenbrod High School Student GHAMAS  Mary Kuchenbrod conducts her own high school research. She is testing the early development of zebra fish embryos in environments that mimic that of a developing human fetus whose mother is consuming alcohol or caffeine, as well as environments that test the effects of progesterone pollution in water systems. This research has increased her passion for biology, and led Mary to help develop a Biotechnology and Bioengineering class at her school.
Collegian Innovation and Leadership Heather Leask Undergraduate Student University of Connecticut  Heather Leask is an aspiring chemical engineer currently attending the University of Connecticut. She began researching memristor electrical components at UConn in high school. She is currently researching mechanical properties of hydrogels at UMass and is co-authoring a paper for publication this year. Outside of her academics, Heather is an avid long distance runner. She completed a marathon in Philadelphia in November and is training for the D.C. Marathon in March 2012.
Community Innovation and Leadership Kim McFadden Systems Engineering Pratt & Whitney  A Georgia Tech graduate, Kim McFadden started at Pratt & Whitney 13 years ago, focusing on engineering equipment for the testing of development engines. Since then, she has worked as a Mechanical Design Engineer, an Operations Engineer, an Industrial Manager and now as a Project Manager on the company's latest Geared Turbofan Engine. Kim uses her engineering skills as an active volunteer with Athena's Warriors, a young womens' robotics team. She supports their projects and mentors and coaches the girls to encourage the importance of physics and mechanical concepts.
Community Innovation and Leadership Kimberly McLean Principal Engineer Electric Boat  Kimberly McLean has spent 27 years working in Engineering and Information Technology at Electric Boat. She is a member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and has been working with SWE and the Girl Scouts for almost 20 years to develop and present STEM programs for girls of all ages. She works with the Girl Scouts to provide girls at camp with opportunities to learn about astronomy and the use of telescopes.
Youth Innovation and Leadership Maeva Metz High School Student Brookfield High School  Maeva Metz created the first Biology Club and Green Team at her school to help others. This is her second year in a medical internship, and she has participated in Boehringer’s Partners in Science Program. Her interests take her beyond science as a Future Global Leader with extracurricular activities such as tutoring, being Tutoring Coordinator of National Honors Society, being President of French Honors Society, and being Concert Band Head Mistress.
Community Innovation and Leadership Sandra Millan-Tripp Co-Founder Tributary Mill Conservancy  Ms. Millan-Tripp is the co-founder of the Tributary Mill Conservancy, a non-profit environmental research and education organization which has been recognized by Field and Stream and the Atlantic Salmon Association for its hybrid prototype hatchery. The Conservancy has raised and released over a million salmon back into the wild since 2003. Ms. Millan-Tripp has shared her knowledge of environmental stewardship with countless students and classrooms all over southeastern Connecticut.
Research Innovation and Leadership Stella Oggianu Project Leader, Energy Systems United Technologies Research Center  Dr. Oggianu holds a Ph.D. and an M.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.). Stella has served as thesis reviewer for M.I.T. and the University College Cork, and as Assistant Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She has over 10 papers in recognized journals and conferences, and has filed 12 patents. At UTRC, Stella has developed, executed and is currently leading innovative programs for advanced energy microgrids and integrated buildings.
Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership Julie Olson President JAO Ovation LLC  Julie Olson is a biopharmaceutical executive with over 27 years' experience, most recently as CEO of Mersana Therapeutics. While at Mersana, she helped to raise more than $35M in private equity, advanced two compounds into clinical trials in cancer patients, and continued innovative research programs. Prior to her years at Mersana, Julie was at Pfizer for 19 years, where she was VP of Licensing and played a variety of roles in drug discovery.
Collegian Innovation and Leadership Janet Paulsen Graduate Student University of Connecticut Janet Paulsen is a doctoral candidate at the University of Connecticut in the Pharmaceutical Sciences department with an emphasis in medicinal chemistry. Her accomplishments include the development of new antimycotics to treat prevalent infectious diseases using a structure-based drug design approach. In 2011, she was selected for a highly competitive internship at Merck where she made an impact on the development of pharmaceuticals to combat the ever growing HIV epidemic.
Academic Innovation and Leadership Diane Pintavalle Teacher, Public High School Glastonbury High School  Diane Corcoran Pintavalle teaches science at Glastonbury HS. Diane created the infrastructure needed for students to conduct authentic scientific research. She has built an extensive network of practicing scientists from universities, hospitals and industry who serve as mentors. Diane is a member of CSTA, serves on the executive committee for CTJSHS, and was recognized by CASL for collaborating to advance student learning. Diane holds degrees in Biology from CCSU and recently earned the M.A.L.S. from Wesleyan.
Research Innovation and Leadership Tracy Propheter Design Engineer Pratt & Whitney  Tracy Propheter was born in Atlanta, GA to two Electrical Engineers and has lived up and down the eastern seaboard and in Europe. She received her B.S. from the University of Florida and her M.S. from RPI. Her education has a grounding in Science and Engineering, but also includes History, English, Creative Writing, Music, and Art. Her hobbies include stained glass, quilting, sewing, painting, drawing, and singing. Tracy lives by the credo "I can accomplish anything one word at a time."
Youth Innovation and Leadership Kelsey Reeves High School Student Grasso Southeastern Technical High School  Kelsey Reeves has a variety of roles in addition to her high school studies; she is the National Honor Society president; a member of the National Art Honor Society; Student Council treasurer; a Mentor and peer mediator; a member of the Young Artists Society; a State Student Advisory Council on Education member, and is a participant in Work Base Learning with the City of Groton Pollution Abatement Facility.  Kelsey was chosen to represent her Compact Bio-filtration Unit to the New England Water Environment Association’s conference, and maintains high honors along with out-of-school employment.
Large Business Innovation and Leadership Julie Reiss Sr. Eng., Mechanical (Systems Engineer) Hamilton Sundstrand  Julie Reiss is the Lead System Requirements Engineer for the Life Support Systems on the Orion space vehicle for Hamilton Sundstrand. She has 12 years of experience in systems engineering, including several years on the Space Suit with design, certification, and space walk mission support responsibilities. Julie holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is pursuing her M.S. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Connecticut.
Collegian Innovation and Leadership Chaitanya Sankavaram Graduate Student University of Connecticut  Chaitanya Sankavaram is a Ph.D. student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Connecticut. She received her B.Tech. degree and worked for two years at Wipro Technologies, India. Her research focuses on fault diagnosis and prognosis in automotive systems. She authored/co-authored a book chapter, eleven scientific publications and secured IEEE Best New Technology Paper Award, UConn’s Graduate Fellowship, Outstanding Achievement Award two consecutive years at Wipro) and the Governor’s Excellence Award.
Small Business Innovation and Leadership Deb Santy Director, SBIR CT SBIR Office   Deb Santy is dedicated to the promotion of technology, science, and innovation in Connecticut with a focus on small businesses. Examples of programs Deb has developed and promoted include Matches for Money, Collaborate to Innovate, Partner with a Prime, Partner with a Professor, and Careers for Engineers. Her latest endeavor, iHub, is an interactive web-based tool to enable state organizations to collaborate more efficiently and effectively. Deb actively supports and promotes high school STEM learning programs such as the Real World Design Challenge and the Sikorsky STEM challenge.	
Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership Sheila Shechtman Founder, Chairman Giftcorp   Sheila Shechtman built startup Giftcorp into a B2B ecommerce powerhouse, creating 50+ jobs and establishing one of the state's largest women owned businesses. Giftcorp employs many women spanning a range of minority backgrounds. During 2011, Giftcorp achieved dramatic growth in its revenue and management team and has a customer base including Fortune 500 companies. Sheila received the 2004 award as Outstanding Woman Business Owner of the Year by The Connecticut chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) and is a speaker at numerous nationwide business programs.
Academic Innovation and Leadership Leslie Shor Assistant Professor University of Connecticut  Leslie Shor is a chemical engineer working to improve our environment. As the first woman faculty member in the 50-year history of UConn's Chemical Engineering department, Leslie oversees several research projects aimed at understanding and replicating microbial habitat that are relevant to a variety of large-scale, global issues. Dr. Shor is mentoring four student teams conducting microbial research in her laboratory.  Dr. Shor's interest in microstructured habitats led to the UConn School of Engineering's first EFRI (Engineering Frontiers Research Initiative) award.
Large Business Innovation and Leadership Consuelo Staheli Director of Global Strategy and Portfolio Covidien Consuelo Staheli is Director, Global Strategy & Portfolio for Covidien Surgical Solutions. She is responsible for managing the portfolio of new product investments of the Soft Tissue Implants Division and ensuring alignment with business strategy. As a founding member and leader of the Surgical Solutions Women’s Leadership Initiative, she directs her talents to developing women in the organization and promoting a more inclusive environment across Covidien. Consuelo lives in Middletown with her husband and two children and enjoys hiking.
Youth Innovation and Leadership Robyn Stanco High School Student Brookfield High School  As a student in C++, Robyn has proven to be a gifted programmer and an effective leader. As a math teaching assistant in her junior year, Robyn helped to create a joint C++ curriculum differentiated at both an honors and academic level. She is co-leader of Twenty-First Century Applications of Skills and Technology (TCAST), an extracurricular group which has formed a company identity and is designing and creating a customized application. Robyn has earned the most distinguished student award for both Academic Algebra II and Academic Pre-Calculus.
Large Business Innovation and Leadership Geraldine Taber Senior Director Pfizer  Gerry Taber’s many management positions at Pfizer Worldwide R&D include her 2010 role leading the Global Technology team of 40 scientists in Groton, CT and in the U.K. to develop and deploy novel chemical research and process development technologies. Currently, she leads Pfizer's Lab of The Future (LotF) program. She has earned the EPA's Presidential Green Chemistry Award, is a Member of the AspenTech Advisory Panel, the Dow Pharma's Technology Advisory Panel, the New England Chapter of ISPE Board of Directors, and serves on the Groton Public School Improvement Team and as Co-chair of the Groton Public School Science Day Committee.
Large Business Innovation and Leadership Eleanor Tandler Co-Founder and CEO NovaTract Eleanor Tandler is one of NovaTract’s founders and the CEO. NovaTract is a startup focused on new, innovative medical devices for minimally invasive surgery based on technology licensed from Yale University. NovaTract recently received the Connecticut Technology Council's "Most Promising Life Sciences Company of the Year" Award for 2010. Prior to NovaTract, Ellie ran a UConn startup focused on the development of new orthodontic appliances and spent five years as a venture capital investor focused on investments in the healthcare sector.
Youth Innovation and Leadership Katelyn Tupaj High School Student Torutellotte Memorial High School   Katelyn Tupaj has received awards relating to technology and science. In her freshman year, she received Academic Excellence in Science, and in her junior year received the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Math and Science Medal as well as the Bausch & Lomb Science Award from the University of Rochester. Katelyn has been involved in FBLA, Math Mentors, Junior Achievement, and the National Honor Society. She was recently invited to attend Doppler on Wheels at Lyndon State University.
Collegian Innovation and Leadership Nicole Wagner Graduate Student/Chief Executive Officer University of Connecticut/LambdaVision Inc.   Nicole Wagner is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Connecticut under the direction of Dr. Robert Birge. She entered the program in 2007, and spent much of her graduate career working on optimizing retinal-containing proteins for device applications. Her research efforts played an integral role in the proof of concept studies that helped found LambdaVision Incorporated in May 2009. Nicole joined the LambdaVision team as CEO in early 2011.
Academic Innovation and Leadership Emily Wilson Geospatial Technologies Specialist University of Connecticut, Center for Land Use Education  Emily Wilson is a Geospatial Educator with the Center for Land Use Education and Research in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at UConn. She promotes and supports the use of geospatial data (maps, aerial and satellite imagery and other geographically-referenced information) and technology. She conducts applied research to make the results usable and available to local land use decision-makers and the public through education, technical training and the development of interactive websites.
Youth Innovation and Leadership Alexia Zagouras High School Student Hopkins School   Alexia Zagouras has enjoyed her advanced science classes, especially physics and biology. She has conducted research in a plant genetics lab at Yale and participated in a National Student Leadership Conference on Medicine. She is a certified emergency medical technician and plans to volunteer on an ambulance this summer. She also competes on her school’s Physics and Science Olympiad teams. She is co-head of the school blood drive, co-captain of girls' varsity water polo, and enjoys oil painting and modern dance.
Large Business Innovation and Leadership Sigal Zarmi Chief Information Officer GE Capital Americas  Sigal Zarmi leads technology efforts to drive business growth and enhance customer experience for an $108B portfolio of commercial loans and leases, leveraging Information Technology in originations, risk management and operations by focusing on simplification and productivity. Sigal holds a M.B.A. from Columbia University in NYC and a B.S. in Engineering from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. She serves on the board of the Child Guidance Center of Southern Connecticut.

Click here to learn more about the Women of Innovation Program
Click here to view the 2011 event recap