New Ideas for a New Carolina

CONGRATULATIONS NEW IDEAS FOR A NEW CAROLINA WINNERS!

The 2008 New Ideas for a New Carolina statewide business idea contest announced the winners of this year’s competition last night at the ThinkTEC Innovation Summit in Charleston.

The Grand Prize of $5,000 seed money, a scholarship to FastTrac entrepreneurial training programs and access to a Dream Team of Mentors to help cultivate the idea went to Dr. Ron Fullbright from Spartanburg County. His idea is Scentinel, a rapid-deploy, all-weather, nanosensor system used to detect the presence of thousands of elements and chemical compounds in the environment such as levels of greenhouse gasses, atmospheric conditions, water conditions or toxic agents.

There were also winners in four specific business categories and a Wildcard category. Each category winner will receive $2,500 to cultivate their idea and a scholarship to FastTrac. The runners-up in each category will receive $1,000.

Winners and Runners-Up in each category were as follows:

Engineering

Winner: Mount1 – Shaun Abraham and Anand Deekaram (Richland County); a robotic arm mount for flat screen televisions that can automatically adjust the position of the television using any universal remote control.

Honorable Mention: Electromagnetic Enhancement of Crude Oil Recovery - Charles Stowers (Beaufort County); a method of electromagnetic stimulation used in heavy oil reservoirs, tar sand reservoirs, shale oil and secondary oil recovery to increase production rates.

Software/Information Technology

Winner: BigLeapGPS – Joe Milam (Anderson County); a family protection company that utilizes the world’s smallest GPS device coupled with a 24/7 support network dedicated to locating and recovering lost, kidnapped, or injured family members, pets or assets anywhere in the world.

Honorable Mention: oneZone Solutions – Jeff Beck (Charleston County); a home/business automation system that can control the temperature, lighting, security, irrigation and other home systems from any web-enabled device in the world.

Bio-Science

Winner: Z Box - Jay Hughes (Charleston County); a compact CPAP medical device that creates a positive air pressure in the esophagus and sinus cavities for those suffering from mild to severe sleep apnea.

Honorable Mention: Sleeve-On - Ron Norris (Richland County); a device for individuals with breast cancer who suffer from lymph edema and/or circulatory disorders to help them pull on their compression sleeve(s) using one hand.

Environmental Sustainability

Honorable Mention: Palmetto Solar – Andrew Epting (Richland County); implementation of the creation, installation and maintenance of solar photovoltaic systems for manufacturing, warehousing and retail industries, government and institutions of higher education and the small business and residential sectors.

Wild Card category

Winner: Azula – Julie McWherter (Spartanburg County); a pliable and fashionably-designed mat for women to sit on at the edge of the pool to protect their bathing suits from snagging.

Honorable Mention: Charleston Fish and Chip – Andrew Smith (Charleston County); a facility where customers can either work on their golf game on a driving range and nine hole course or practice their cast in a stocked fishing hole.

Congratulations to everyone!

Stay tuned for the announcement of our 2009 contest – and keep the ideas flowing!