2001 COMPETITION WINNERS

University of Maryland Hinman CEOs Program Announces $50,000 Business Plan Competition Winners

The University of Maryland  announced the winners for its first ever $50K Business Plan Competition on May 1st, 2001. First Place in the Emerging Company category was won by Chesapeake PERL with a $20,000 prize award and First place in the Concept Stage category was won by Onsyss Mobile Computing with a $20,000 prize award. Blue Wave Semiconductor, Inc. received a Certificate of Merit for a promising early stage student driven startup and was awarded $10,000.

The winners were selected on Tuesday, May 1st by local venture capitalists Jack Biddle of Novak Biddle Venture Partners, Linda Powers of Toucan Capital, Steve Walker of Steve Walker and Associates, Errol Unikel of Capitalyst, Kyp Sirinakis of WomenAngels.net and Allen Wolff of Spacevest. The first ever competition received 54 entries. The University of Maryland $50K Business Plan competition is sponsored and managed by the Hinman CEOs Program, a joint program of the A. James Clark School of Engineering and the Robert H. Smith School of Business.

EMERGING COMPANY CATEGORY — FIRST PLACE

Chesapeake PERL, Inc.
Chesapeake PERL, Inc. has a platform technology to reduce recombinant protein manufacturing costs by nearly two orders of magnitude. This technology changes simple insect larvae into efficient mini-bioreactors that produce high-quality, low cost recombinant proteins. PERL will enter untapped markets where, until now, using these proteins has been cost prohibitive. The company has secured exclusive licenses protecting both its technology and its state-of-the-art factory.

Team Members:

• Minh-Quan K Pham, Ph.D. - Founder and Director - Ph.D Chemical Engineering, 1999
• Terry Chase, President
• Nikolai van Beek, Ph.D. CSO
• Mike Torino, CEO
• Bill Bentley, Ph.D., Founder and Director

CONCEPT STAGE CATEGORY — FIRST PLACE

Onsyss Mobile Computing, Inc.
Onsyss is a mobile computing solution provider that empowers its customers with mobile computing and wireless technologies that reduce costs and create competitive advantage by efficiently managing the dissemination and accessibility of critical information in the mobile environment.

Team Members:

• Peter A. Cannito, Jr., MBA candidate 2001
• John B. Cannito

CERTIFICATE OF MERIT

Blue Wave Semiconductor, Inc.
Blue Wave Semiconductor (BWS) offers a patented, low cost solution for producing high quality Ultra Violet (UV) light sensors. This technology provides the opportunity for being the low-cost provider for integrating the specialized sensors into watches or small electronic devices used in detection, measuring and tracking of UV exposure, the number one cause of skin cancer. Product extensions include military applications for missile tracking using UV light energy given off by the burning of fuels in propulsion, and data storage utilizing the UV sensor in next generation blue laser CD or DVDs. BWSs ability is not only limited to the semiconductor devices, but also has a strength in optoelectronics.

Team Members:

• R.D. Vispute, Founder and Acting CEO
• Ryan Ockuly, President, Business major, expected graduation 5/02
• Archana Vispute, Accounting and Administration
• Venky Venkatesan, Business, Financial, and Technology