Meet our new student ambassadors!

We've just engaged 14 of the brightest student minds to help us stir up innovative and entrepreneurial activity on their campuses.

Over the next few weeks, we'll introduce each ambassador on our homepage. Starting with, David Mims from Rice University.

David's vision in his new role: "...My goal is to leverage the structure of the NCIIA program and existing services of the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship to create a nexus of entrepreneurial activity at Rice that will accelerate the development of business opportunities for our broader constituencies."

We're pleased to announce the winners of the first (2010) BMEStart biomedical design competition for undergraduate students. More than 60 entries were received from 30 universities across the US. Congratulations!

First place, winning $10,000:
HydrEYE CorneOasis Contact Lens, North Carolina State University

Second place, winning $5,000:
Procar: A Trocar Worth Trusting, Columbia University

Tied for Third Place (sharing $2,500):
Malaria Retinopathy Automated Detection, Tulane University
Handheld Plasma Isolation Device, Purdue University

Former E-Team EcoTech Marine has been ranked by Inc.com as one of its fastest-growing, privately held companies in the US.

EcoTech Marine, which manufactures water pumping products primarily for salt water reef aquariums using a patented technology, grew 995% in revenue between 2006 and 2009 and earned a ranking of 302.

As a student team at Lehigh University, EcoTech Marine received an E-Team grant in 2003 and incorporated the same year.

The schedule and registration for Open 2011, NCIIA's 15th Annual Conference, are now live. Log in and register now!

NCIIA's Open, the premier conference for faculty and students involved in technology innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education, will take place March 24-26 in Washington, D.C.

Former E-Team Therapeutic Systems is the second student venture to receive investment funds from NCIIA's venture development company, VentureWell.

Therapeutic Systems, which formed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst,  has developed a new therapy system - a wearable vest - for people with autism. The vest system provides a therapy known as Deep Pressure Touch Stimulation (DPTS) that treats people by applying firm pressure to the chest, much like the feeling of a hug. The vest offers users much more control over the sensation they seek: the inflatable system can be inserted into any off-the-shelf vest and can safely apply a range of pressure. Autism is an increasingly diagnosed condition in the US: one in every 110 children will have the condition.

Therapeutic Systems was considered for VentureWell investment after progressing through NCIIA's venture development program. As a student team, Therapeutic Systems particpated in the 2005 BMEIdea competition, the Invention to Venture and Advanced I2V workshops, received an E-Team grant in 2007 and presented at the 2009 March Madness for the Mind showcase of student innovation.

Earlier in the year, VentureWell made its first investment in former E-Team Whole Tree.

August is National Inventors Month, an extended celebration of American invention and creativity. The event, started in 1998 by the United Inventors Association of the USA, the Academy of Applied Science, and Inventors' Digest magazine, helps promote a positive image of inventors and highlights their real contributions to the world.

Invention is, of course, close to the heart of NCIIA, and in the spirit of National Inventors Month we'll be presenting profiles of our student inventors each week throughout the month of August.