Connecticut Technology Council

Meet the Marcum Tech Top 40 Advanced Manufacturing Winners

Amphenol Corporation
Wallingford
R. Adam Norwitt, President & CEO
http://www.amphenol.com/

Amphenol designs, manufactures, and markets electrical, electronic and fiber-optic connectors, interconnect systems and coaxial and specialty cable. Amphenol has a diversified presence in the high growth markets including Telecommunications and Data Communications, Wireless Devices, Wireless Networks, Broadband Communications, Military, Commercial Aerospace, Industrial and Automotive.


APS Technology, Inc.
Wallingford
William E. Turner, President
http://www.aps-tech.com/

APS Technology, Inc. designs, develops and manufactures electromechanical, instrumentation, sensor and software products for the oilfield. APS has engineering expertise in oilfield sensors and drilling equipment, shock and vibration isolation designs, mechanical and electronics analysis for harsh environments, and contract design. APS’s customers include all of the major integrated multinational oilfield service companies, independent service companies, and non-drilling oilfield companies.


ATMI, Inc.
Danbury
Doug Neugold, CEO
www.atmi.com/

ATMI, Inc. is a global provider of specialty semiconductor materials, and safe, high-purity materials handling and delivery solutions designed to increase process efficiencies for the microelectronics, life sciences, and other industries. In the microelectronics sector, we provide products which enable our customers to make leading edge semiconductors and advanced flat panel displays. In life sciences, our products and innovation are allowing customers to product biopharmaceutical products using single-use technology, a low-cost manufacturing technique which provide greater flexibility and enables novel therapies to be scaled for high-volume production.


Dymax Corporation
Torrington
Andrew G. Bachmann, President
http://www.dymax.com/

Dymax manufactures industrial adhesives including UV light curable adhesives, epoxy resins, cyanoacrylates, and activator-cured adhesives. Dymax adhesives and curing systems optimize the speed of automated assembly, allow for 100% in-line inspection, and increase throughput. A complete line of UV light curing systems that are compatible with UV light curing adhesives is also manufactured by Dymax. UV curing spot lamps, flood lamps, and conveyor systems are available in stand-alone configurations or can be integrated into manufacturer's existing assembly lines.


EDAC Technologies Corp.
Cheshire
Dominick Pagano, President & CEO
http://www.edactechnologies.com/

EDAC Technologies Corp divisions are recognized leaders in supplying the Aerospace, and commercial markets with highly engineered products. Operating out of eight diversified sites in Southern New England, EDAC Technologies markets to an impressive worldwide customer base.


Foster Corporation
Putnam
Lawrence Acquarulo, President & CEO
http://www.fostercomp.com/

For over twenty years Foster Corporation has been serving medical device manufacturers with industry leading technology and service in biomedical polymer compounding. Specialty compounds include radiopaque elastomers for device visibility under x-ray, custom colored materials for component differentiation, reinforced polymers for thin-wall catheter enhancement, as well as antimicrobial formulations for infection prevention. In addition to the core compounding business, Foster Corporation is also comprised of two other business units, including Foster Polymer Distribution and Foster Delivery Science. Foster currently operates two manufacturing sites in Putnam, CT and Las Vegas, NV. Additional sales offices are also located in India & Germany.


HARMAN
Stamford
Dinesh Paliwal, President & CEO
http://www.harman.com

HARMAN designs, manufactures, and markets a wide range of infotainment and audio solutions for the automotive, consumer, and professional markets. It is a recognized world leader across its customer segments with premium brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, and Mark Levinson® and leading-edge connectivity, safety and audio technologies. The company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of 14,000 people and sales of $4.3 billion.


Rogers Corporation
Rogers
Bruce Hoechner, President & CEO
http://www.rogerscorp.com/

With more than 180 years of materials science and engineering experience, Rogers provides product designers with solutions to help them power, protect and connect our world with greater reliability, efficiency and performance. Rogers’ three core businesses include Power Electronics Solutions for high-voltage rail traction, energy efficient motor drives, wind and solar power conversion; High Performance Foams for cushioning, sealing and impact protection in tablets and smart phones, aircraft, rail and automotive interiors, sporting goods, apparel and gear; and Printed Circuit Materials for wireless infrastructure, power amplifiers, smart antennas, and radar systems for automotive and defense applications.


RSL Fiber Systems, LLC
East Hartford
Giovanni Tomasi, CEO
http://rslfibersystems.com/

RSL was the first company to supply fiber optic lighting solutions to military ships. Which uniquely address issues associated with maintenance costs, corrosion, electronic interference, radar cross section and multi-mission requirements. We are proud to be the sole source provider to the US Navy for LPD17 Class, the DDG1000 Stealth Destroyer Class, and for the Italian FREMM multi-mission frigate class. Through grants from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), RSL has transitioned designs and technologies originating through military focused development efforts into commercial markets to improve safety and increase productivity.

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CTC Announces the 2013 Marcum Tech Top 40 Award Winners

Schools Tackle Science Teacher Exodus

Read this fascinating article by Melissa Bailey about STEM education in New Haven, Connecticut, and the US here at the New Haven Independent.

 

New Haven’s public schools have tapped two new “teacher mentors” to help 18 newly hired science teachers, as part of an effort to stop science teachers from leaving the system in droves.

Richard Therrien, the school system’s science supervisor, outlined the problem—and introduced two new people aiming to help fix it—at an orientation session for new science teachers at Hill Regional Career High.

This year, 18 of 120 science teachers are new to the district—the highest number in five years, according to Therrien.

Teacher turnover among science teachers has remained high in New Haven, reflecting a national challenge that’s particularly acute in urban districts. New Haven is beginning to examine the problem and look for solutions as part of a $53 million federally backed effort to improve the way it develops and retains teachers.

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Therrien has been battling attrition for years. This year, he offered a new solution: “teacher mentors” whose sole job will be to support new science teachers. The mentors, Matthew Erickson of Edgewood School and Lana Rowan of Wilbur Cross High (pictured), introduced themselves Thursday to the group.

“I’m your resource,” Erickson said.

Rowan will spend a lot of time helping six new teachers at Cross. Erickson will focus on middle school. They’ll be available to take phone calls, help teachers plan lessons, or even help out in a struggling teacher’s classroom for a week. The new “mentor” jobs are being paid for through the $53 million federal Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grant, which aims in part to create new ways for teachers to take leadership roles without leaving the classroom to be administrators. Rowan and Erickson won’t grade their mentees through the formal teacher evaluations; they’ll only support them.

As part of the $53 million plan, New Haven will begin studying exactly which teachers are leaving city schools, and why. The district plans to start issuing exit polls to departing teachers, according to New Haven teachers union President David Cicarella.

The mentoring duo gave out their cell phone numbers before rushing back to teacher leadership boot camp at the Yale Law School, also paid for by TIF.

Therrien said new science teachers they’re helping can feel isolated: One new teacher, for example, will be the only person teaching physics at Wilbur Cross. He hopes the extra support helps teachers make it past the two-year mark, which so many have failed to do.

If the new mentors succeed at their job, he said, they’ll eliminate the need for the job, because teachers will stay on with the district, eliminating the need for newcomers.

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A school “is not a factory. It should be more like a family. If you’ve got teachers coming out every year in large numbers, that’s disruptive,” [Richard M. Ingersoll, a professor at the University of Penn Graduate School of Education] argued.

High turnover also has a ripple effect across a school that hurts student learning, argues Susanna Loeb of the Stanford Graduate School of Education. Loeb and colleagues conducted 850,000 observations of students in the 4th and 5th grades of New York City schools over the course of eight years. They found that a school’s teacher turnover rate was a significant factor —about as significant factor as poverty—hurting student test scores.

Ingersoll said bringing in mentors, as New Haven is doing, is a good start to addressing the problem. “Its a big need,” he said. Science teachers in particular get so much training in subject knowledge that they have less preparation on how to teach. For 40 percent of science teachers across the country, Ingersoll said, “Day 1 was the first day they had taught teenagers.”

Cody, the former Oakland teacher, created a mentoring program there to address a high churn of science teachers in a small, 10-person department. The program paired experienced science teachers with rookies, built a “family” feeling within the department, and cut turnover to zero, he said.

Ingersoll said his research backs up the notion that mentoring works. It’s “very important to have had some support, some mentoring, some collaboration time” with other teachers. “Those teachers who get that are much more likely to stick around.”

Therrien said he’s hopeful about the year ahead: “We had a great group of applicants this summer, especially in middle school and certain subjects, more than usual, so I remain very optimistic about the potential of those 18 teachers to really help students learn science.”

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Schools Tackle Science Teacher Exodus

United Tech, Pentagon in $1 Billion-Plus Deal for F-35 Engines

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp, has reached an agreement in principle with the Pentagon on a contract to build 39 engines for a sixth batch of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, three sources familiar with the deal said on Monday.

The agreement - which Pratt had expected to reach over a month ago - is valued at more than $1 billion, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly.

The Pentagon agreed on the terms of a contract for the sixth and seventh orders of F-35s with Lockheed Martin Corp, which builds the jets, in late July. The government buys the engines separately from Pratt & Whitney, which is the sole producer of engines for the radar-evading warplane.

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[President Dave] Hess told Reuters in June that F-35 engine sales would account for more than 50 percent of the company's military engine revenue in coming years, when production ramps up, reaching $2 billion by around 2018.

Hess said that last year, military engine revenue accounted for about $4 billion of Pratt's total revenue of $14 billion.

 

Read the rest of the story in Andrea Shalal-Esa's Reuters article on the Hartford Courant's website.

The NEXT big thing

The integration and automation industry is a behemoth of software potential at $5 billion, an attention-getting number that nonetheless had limited value to LogicBroker Inc. and its CEO Payman Zamani.

LogicBroker, with 18 employees, produces software in Shelton for automated procurement that includes broad needs like shipping, logistics, supply and resupply. Its target market is in the $5 million to $100 million annual revenue range.

If the company lacked a single resource it was in large-scale market analysis that deconstructed the $5 billion market into more usable parts.

Enter a 10-month-old state-sponsored business facilitator, CTNEXT, and a “meet and greet” it hosted earlier this year at which Zamani met Gary Breitbart, director of growth company advisory services for the Business Council of Fairfield County.

As CTNEXT’s marketing director Kim Demers said, “Peyman Zamani met a few advisers and he could have worked with any of them. But Gary had a specific e-commerce history and Peyman said to me, ‘Gary just got it.’”

The next stop was UConn Stamford, where the School of Business is a leading resource — both human and material — for CTNEXT. Breitbart would not personally digest the big data required by LogicBroker, but he knew the UConn Business School could handle the task.

Zamani was recently at UConn Stamford with Jud Saviskas, executive director of the Stamford campus School of Business; Brian Brady, instructor in residence and director of the Stamford Learning Accelerator; and others to hear the final presentation by the foursome that cracked the marketing code for LogicBroker by dismantling integration and automation needs on the multibillion-dollar macro level and bringing them home.

The four are UConn Stamford School of Business graduate-level students Fei Xia, Yan Li, Amey Nirpase and Nai-Ling Hsiu. Their data are already at work, even as they completed their multimonth project Aug. 16.

“Their research has been absolutely beneficial,” said LogicBroker’s director of sales George Huedorfer. “Market research like this lets us clearly identify market potential. We can go after customer groups and we can put the data behind it, which is important.”

Said Saviskas, “This is a great example of the School of Business putting groups of students on company-sponsored projects that have good results and that can be executed by the company.”

“We work with CTNEXT to identify growth companies,” said Brady. “Kim (Demers) saw an excellent opportunity to work with MBA student teams — as in this case — to solve problems and they are making valuable contributions toward tackling business issues.”

Those issues, said Saviskas, run the gamut “from finance to foreign exchange to seaweed nutrient extraction.”

CTNEXT has so far helped 400 companies, linking advisers and growth companies. In Hartford this month, CTNEXT sponsored a mentor match. “Almost like speed dating and a lot like a job interview,” said Demers. Of CTNEXT’s facilitating mission, she said, “There’s a ‘click’ part to what we do. Do the parties hit it off? Is there a rapport? There’s an art and a science to what we do.

“Companies that opt to work with CTNEXT work with an adviser,” she said. “The adviser, in turn, expedites services, for example, with fundraising, with growth or with helping to solve a complex business problem like with Payman’s company.”

Zamani said the distilled market data from the four students had shed light on industries that included consumer electronics, furnishings and pet supplies — highly distribution- and procurement-themed industries of the sort LogicBroker counts among its clients.

LogicBorker’s point man on the project was its COO Karim Hadchiti, who was absent for the meeting. It was Hadchiti, Zamani said, who was “day to day in the trenches” working with the students.

In turn, said Brady, “Karim Hadchiti gave the students experience with a senior executive, an entrepreneur and a venture capitalist, including opportunities that would not happen in a typical classroom.”

LogicBroker this month also closed Series A financing in the amount of $1.6 million through Connecticut Innovations, the state’s quasi-public authority responsible for growing Connecticut businesses through innovative financing and strategic assistance. The financing came through the Eli Whitney Fund as part of the Series A funding round that included existing and new investors. The money will be used to further fast-track the company’s already impressive growth. Connecticut Innovations reports it has helped bring $4 billion in financing to companies in the state, creating more than 26,000 jobs.

 

This article by Bill Fallon was originally posted in the Fairfield County Business Journal.

UConn Scientist Working on a New Way to Repair Knees

Dr. Cato T. Laurencin had already earned a PhD in biomedical engineering when he started a fellowship in sports medicine, a job that got him involved in fixing lots of torn knee ligaments known as ACLs.

“It just seemed to me that there might be a better way to be able to approach this,” said Laurencin, now a professor of orthopaedic surgery and director of the Institute for Regenerative Engineering at the UConn Health Center.

Fixing a torn ACL -- the anterior cruciate ligament, which keeps the shin bone from sliding out in front of the thigh bone -- generally requires implanting tissue from another part of the body. What if, Laurencin wondered, you could instead engineer a ligament that would regenerate?

Read the rest of the story in an article by Arielle Levin Becker at the CT Mirror.

Boehringer to Make Lung Cancer Drug Available in US

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, with U.S. headquarters in Ridgefield, announced Thursday that Gilotrif oral tablets will become commercially available in the U.S. the week of Sept. 2.

This medication is used to treat lung cancer patients with specific mutations. An estimated 15 percent of Caucasians and 40 percent of Asians have this mutation.

Until Gilotrif becomes commercially available, patients who need the medication can enroll in the Boehringer expanded access program. Boehringer Ingelheim will provide support to healthcare professionals and patients to help with the transition process once the product becomes accessible.

 

This update came from Kristin Banta at the Hartford Business Journal

A Call to Research Scientists and Engineers

Advanced Research Mentorships (ARM) with Glastonbury High School

Advanced Research Mentorship (ARM) provides an outstanding opportunity for practicing scientists and engineers to collaborate on authentic research studies with outstanding high school students. ARM is a non-traditional, non-lecture course that is designed to allow students to work independently to develop skills in all aspects of science including problem formulation, method design, data collection and data analysis. Students will improve techniques in acquiring, understanding and evaluating scientific literature. Scientists use a variety of methods to effectively communicate scientific findings. Students will have numerous opportunities to deliver oral presentations, to prepare poster presentations and to write scholarly scientific papers. Upon completion of one or more research studies, students will present their work in selected venues, such as the GHS Research Proposal Defense, The Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, The Southern Connecticut Invitational Science and Engineering Fair and The Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair and the 2014 GHS Science Symposium.

Contact: Diane C. Pintavalle, [email protected]
Instructor, AP Biology & Advanced Research Mentorship, Glastonbury High School

White Coats For First Class Of Medical Students At Quinnipiac

NORTH HAVEN — Before taking the Hippocratic oath, the first students of Quinnipiac University's new medical school received their stethoscopes and white coats Friday.

"Today you are going to put on your first white coat, and in many ways, you are never going to take it off," said Dr. Jessica Israel, keynote speaker for the school's white coat ceremony — a ritual common at medical schools to welcome the newest class of medical students. "The coat you're wearing today, it goes with you everywhere."

Chosen from about 2,000 applicants, the 60 students of the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine will begin classes Monday.

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Quinnipiac's medical school is the third in the state. The UConn School of Medicine opened in 1968, and Yale's was founded in 1813. Made possible with a $100 million investment, much of which came from Edward and Barbara Netter, the school is named for Edward Netter's first cousin, Frank Netter, who was a renowned medical illustrator.

The 145,000-square-foot building, on Quinnipiac's North Haven campus, was completed earlier this year. Lahey said the school it plans to choose 90 students out of what officials estimate will be 3,500 applications for next year's class. Within four years, class size is expected to increase to 125.

Quinnipiac officials have designed the school's curriculum and recruited students with the idea of producing more than its share of primary care physicians. Quinnipiac's goal is to have 50 percent of its graduates choose primary care; nationally, about 20 percent of graduating medical students go into primary care.

The goal is a response to the medical community's call for more primary care doctors as a corrective to the current physician shortage, which is expected to get worse as the baby boomer generation gets older and as more people are able to get health care under the Affordable Care Act.

The Association of American Medical Colleges has predicted that by 2020, there will be a shortage of more than 90,000 doctors, about half of them primary care doctors.

Quinnipiac officials said that, when recruiting for the current class, they often leaned toward somewhat unconventional applicants who might be more inclined to go into primary medicine, including older people and applicants with non-science backgrounds.

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Read more at William Weir's article online at the Hartford Courant.

John Emra Named AT&T Connecticut President

Connecticut Technology Council board member John Emra has been named President of the Connecticut region by telecommunications company AT&T.

Emra, who previously served as Vice President for External and Legislative Affairs, will be succeeding Rodney Smith, now retired, in the exectutive role.

CTC Announces the 2013 Marcum Tech Top 40 Award Winners

Connecticut Technology Council and Marcum LLP Announce Marcum 2013 Tech Top 40 Winners, Focusing on Innovation and Economic Growth

Sixth Annual Event Will Honor the State’s 40 Fastest Growing Tech Companies September 26

HARTFORD, CT (August 12, 2013) - The Connecticut Technology Council (CTC) and Marcum LLP have announced the 2013 Marcum Tech Top 40 list of the 40 fastest growing technology companies in Connecticut. They are selected on the basis of revenue growth over the last four years. Companies considered for this recognition have at least $3Million in revenue, with several of the public companies this year approaching or exceeding $1Billion in revenue.

CTC and Marcum LLP will honor the winning companies September 26, 2013 at the Oakdale Theater in Wallingford. The 2013 winners are primarily privately held companies, but 14 public companies also made the list, including: Priceline.com, Rogers Corporation, Gartner Inc. and Alexion Pharmaceuticals. Geographically, Fairfield County is home to 14 winning companies this year followed by Hartford County with 10 companies and New Haven County with eight companies.

Winning Companies were grouped into six technology areas: Software, IT Services, Life Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing, New Media/Internet/Telecom, and Energy/ Environmental Technologies.

“The annual Marcum Tech Top 40 honors the State of Connecticut’s fastest growing technology companies and gives us the opportunity to see innovation first-hand, “ said Anthony P. Scillia, Partner-in-Charge, Marcum New England. “Every year, the program serves as a reminder never to underestimate the promise of a great idea, the role of passion, the importance of management talent, and the significance of having the right team. Marcum is extremely proud to partner with the Connecticut Technology Council in presenting this year’s outstanding class of top technology companies. We enthusiastically congratulate all the winners.”

Matthew Nemerson, CTC’s President & CEO added, “Connecticut is proud of its remarkable heritage of innovation and invention. The 2013 list of Tech Top 40 companies reinforces the vital role the tech sector plays in job creation. These 40 firms are also successful models in their technology verticals and deserve the attention this event brings them.”

This year’s event sponsors include: title sponsor Marcum LLP, AT&T Connecticut, Comcast Business Class, Connecticut Innovations, MY HR Supplier, the law firm of Pullman & Comley, OneBeacon Insurance Group, Robert Half Technology, TriNet HR Corporation, UK Trade & Investment, Webster Bank, Xand, and Wellstone Insurance.

The September 26 awards program will include an exhibition featuring the Marcum Tech Top 40 companies. Six category winners will be announced and one company will be named overall winner for demonstrating the greatest percentage growth in revenue across all the technology verticals. To register, visit http://www.ct.org/Tech_Top_40.asp.

About The Connecticut Technology Council
The Connecticut Technology Council is a statewide association of technology oriented companies and institutions, providing leadership in areas of policy advocacy, community building and assistance for growing companies. Speaking for over 2,000 companies that employ some 200,000 residents, the Connecticut Technology Council seeks to provide a strong and urgent voice in support of the creation of a culture of innovation. This includes working to position Connecticut as a leader in idea creation, workforce preparation, entrepreneurial aptitude, early stage risk capital availability and providing on-going support and mentoring to high potential firms. For more information, visit www.ct.org.

About Marcum LLP
Marcum LLP is one of the largest independent public accounting and advisory services firms in the nation. Ranked among the top 20, Marcum LLP offers the resources of 1,200 professionals, including over 140 partners, in more than 20 offices throughout New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, California, Florida, Grand Cayman and China. Headquartered in New York City, the Firm's presence runs deep with full-service offices strategically located in major business markets. Marcum is a member of the Marcum Group, an organization providing a comprehensive range of professional services spanning accounting and advisory, technology solutions, wealth management, and executive and professional recruiting. The Marcum Group companies include Marcum LLP; Marcum Technology LLC; Marcum Search LLC; Marcum Financial Services LLC; Marcum Bernstein & Pinchuk LLP; MarcumBuchanan Associates LLC; and Marcum Cronus Partners LLC.

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COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS

CONTACTS:
Michael Scricca
Connecticut Technology Council
(860) 289-0878 ext. 334, [email protected]
or
Julie Gross Gelfand
Director of Public Relations & Communications
Marcum LLP
(631) 414-4302, [email protected]