2009 Headlines
New York Creative Core's Emerging Business Competition Names Johnson School Alumnus Winner and Student Finalist
Jon Greene and Jason Springs Run Businesses Featured in Top Five
April 24, 2009 | Ithaca, NY | Johnson School alumnus Jon Greene (MBA '04) and current student Jason Springs (MBA '09) were recently chosen as two of the five finalists in this year's New York Creative Core Emerging Business Competition. Chosen from 76 applicants, Greene and Springs competed for a prize of $100,000 to further develop their businesses. Greene's business Widetronix was ultimately chosen as the grand prize winner.
Widetronix is commercializing an innovative new battery technology based on advanced semiconductor materials research completed at Cornell's College of Engineering by Dr. MVS Chandrashekhar, Dr. Michael Spencer, and Dr. Christopher Thomase. Their betavoltaics technology is similar to photovoltaics in operation, except that rather than using the sun's energy, the team uses beta isotopes and a proprietary semiconductor diode to generate power. While not a replacement for all conventional battery technologies, the Widetronix platform produces very small batteries with a lifetime of greater than 25 years. The company is targeting numerous defense applications in partnership with several defense contractors and is working to expand its business development activities in the medical sector for both sensors and implants.
"Central upstate New York is rich with entrepreneurs and promising new businesses. To be chosen by the judges as the winner of this competition is truly an honor," commented Greene. "The prize money will ensure that we are able to complete necessary product development milestones and enable us to move toward volume sales in 2010."
GeneWeave Biosciences, co-founded by Springs, is a medical company developing the world's first disposable genetic tests for bacteria. These tests will allow health care professionals around the world to rapidly diagnose patients with drug-resistant or toxic bacterial infections without the need for laboratory equipment, and at a lower cost than current rapid methods. The core technology behind GeneWeave Biosciences' devices uses engineered bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria but are harmless to humans, to detect bacteria and determine whether harmful characteristics such as resistance to antibiotic therapy or toxin producing capabilities are present.
The Creative Core Emerging Business Competition is a project of the Central Upstate Regional Alliance, a 12 county public/private consortium that works on a variety of regional issues and opportunities. The goal of this project is to stimulate job creation and business development by providing resources to the Central and Upstate New York region, increase visibility of entrepreneurial culture, and indentify high growth potential business opportunities in the area. The five finalists presented to a panel of judges on April 17 at Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management auditorium. The $100,000 prize winner was announced on April 21.
