PBN, RIEDC Honor 2007 Innovation Award Winners
September 20, 2007 | Print this page | Share This | Email this page
Providence Business News and the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation are thrilled to announce the winners of this year's 2007 Rhode Island Innovation Awards. Launched in 2006, the Rhode Island Innovation Awards honor individuals and organizations that are making innovation central to their activities or have gone beyond the call of duty to help others innovate. This year marked the first year that RIEDC and PBN partnered with the Tech Collective to combine the Rhode Island Innovation awards with Tech Collective's Tech Laureates Night to create a single gala celebration. "Celebrating success and bringing recognition to the state's innovators is an important part of helping people understand why innovation is central to Rhode Island's economic growth," says RIEDC executive director Saul Kaplan. "The Innovation Awards and Tech Laureates Night showcased the state's incredible innovation talent and reinforced what I have believed all along: Rhode Island has what it takes to be a national innovation leader." In addition to receiving special recognition at this year's celebration event on September 20, winners also will be featured in a special issue of the October 1 Providence Business News. What set this year's winners apart from the many worthy applicants? Whether it was establishing a home for the geek community, helping builders and designers find sustainable materials, or developing a new system to help broken bones heal quickly, this year's Innovation Award winners all recognize the importance of continually improving how they deliver services, create new productions, or catalyze new ideas. Meet the Winners Innovator of the Year: IluminOss Medical The glue that holds this company together — polymer glue to be precise — also promises to play a big role in healing broken bones more quickly. IlluminOss works to stabilize bone factures from the inside out, forgoing traditional methods of using external pins, plates and screws to fix broken bones. The goal is to create a system that improves patient outcomes, reduces scarring, and allows patients to get back to work and other normal activities faster with less downtime after surgery to repair broken bones. Collaborative Innovation Leader: LOCAL Architecture Research Design LOCAL Architecture Research Design steps beyond the drawing plans of architecture and calculates the impact of important factors such as a project's environment, economic feasibility, and ease-of-use for the community. Founder Charlie Cannon is serious about helping people understand the role of design in solving complicated problems. Whether teaching at the Rhode Island School of Design, "architecting" a new office or guiding projects in the Business Innovation Factory patient experience lab, Cannon uses his skills to bring people together to focus on big win projects — people from all industries and disciplines. Innovation of the Year: CleanBrands CleanBrands founder and CEO Gary Goldberg did what many innovators do: he set out to solve a problem. In 2004, his 8-year-old son was having difficulties breathing at night, and he was diagnosed with allergies to dust mites. Over the course of several nights in the emergency room, his son's pediatrician explained the severity and magnitude of the problem. The doctor challenged him personally, as a textiles manufacturer, to create an encasement product that would protect people from allergens. That's exactly what he did. Goldberg developed covers for pillows, mattresses and box springs that allow people who suffer from allergies or asthma to sleep soundly. Innovation Champion (organization): The Slater Technology Fund The Slater Technology Fund. Photo by Brian Mcdonald.Since 2006, despite tightening budgets, Slater has invested in startups making amazing technological strides, including developing robotic surgical devices, inhibitors for the treatment of sepsis, and personal communication systems for the hearing impaired…to name a few. Richard G. Horan, senior managing partner of Slater, said like anything in life, the most important element of a venture's success is its people. Slater finds innovative people from various backgrounds, including scientists, students and serial entrepreneurs, and invests in their vision. Investing more than $3 million in fiscal year 2007 alone, the Slater Technology Fund is an essential supporter for local start-ups and expansions in Rhode Island. Student Innovator: Adam Stanley Adam Stanley. Photo by Brian Mcdonald.In the long-run, energy-saving materials are cost-efficient, but the initial cost of an energy-saving product usually breaks the bank. Brown University graduate student Adam Stanley, a candidate for an M.S. in entrepreneurship and innovation, with an aerospace engineering degree already under his belt, is working to find a more efficient and less expensive way to save energy. Stanley, along with a group of colleagues at Brown, is focusing on solar cells and high-temperature semiconductors. Stanley's ultimate goal is to form a manufacturing company in Rhode Island with a team of employees who will manufacture the solar cells and other energy saving products Rising Star Innovator: Matt Grigsby Making his design projects sustainable proved frustrating for Design Awareness founder Matt Grigsby. So, Grigsby turned his training at the Rhode Island School of Design into a realistic solution for designers and developers who want to become more green and integrate sustainable materials into their work. Grisby developed Ecolect.com, an interactive website where designers will be able to search online for sustainable materials and within seconds find the manufacturers' contact information. Perhaps more important, they will be able to download and print spec sheets, which will allow them to compare properties and determine whether a material can be used for their project. Innovation Champions (individual): Brian Jepson and Jack Templin Brian Jepson and Jack Templin knew there was a large community of IT and digital media (ITDM) innovators in Rhode Island. The key was getting them together to share ideas and collaborate. Formed in January 2006, the Providence Geeks is a social networking group that brings together information technology workers from a wide array of industries. Monthly dinners held at AS220 downtown attract people from large and small businesses, government, nonprofits and academia. People attending serve in many different positions — some are developers, some are designers, some are students and some are investors. The events have been drawing as many 100 people on a monthly basis. At the meetings, people have been able to link up, share ideas and create new partnerships. Investments have been made, as venture capitalists have been put face to face with the people with the ideas.
