Small Times announces Best of Small Tech Award Winners at Nanocon International Conference
Santa Clara, CA – Small Times presented its highly respected Best of Small Tech awards at its NanoCon International conference and exhibition today at the Santa Clara Convention Center. This is the sixth annual Small Times awards program, which spotlight the top companies, leaders and the biggest successes in nanotechnology, MEMS and microsystems during the past year. “Each year it gets more and more difficult to judge the best and brightest as the micro and nanotechnology market continues to mature and new products come to market,” said Christine Shaw, Senior Vice President and Group Publisher of Small Times. “It is an honor to recognize the leading companies, and business and research executives who are driving integration of nanotechnology into the commercial pipeline.”
Best of Small Tech Award: Advocate
The Small Times 2007 Best of Small Tech Advocate of the Year award goes to Dr. Horst Adams of Alcan Technology & Management Ltd. in Neuhausen, Switzerland, whose work has furthered the transfer of nanotechnology R&D results to industrial applications. Adams has established a global R&D network for the development of nanoparticle-enhanced materials and attracted worldclass institutions to it; he has also launched a global “peoples’ nursery” for young nanotechnology scientists.
Runners-up are Jean-Cristophe Eloy (Yole Developpement), Pekka Koponen (Spinverse Consulting), Scott Livingston (The Livingston Group, Axiom Capital Management), Del Stark (European Nanotechnology Trade Alliance).
Best of Small Tech Award: Application Product
The Small Times 2007 Best of Small Tech Application Product of the Year award goes to Parallel Synthesis Technologies Inc.’s Silicon Microarray Technology, a micromachined set of silicon pin tools for printing DNA or Protein microarrays. The printing elements produce microarrays with up to 50,000 spots of DNA (of about 250 picoliters each) on a 25mm x 75mm substrate, and are substantially less expensive than traditional technologies.
Runners-up are Discera’s MOS1, Polychromix Inc.’s PHAZIR Plastics Analyzer, VTI
Technologies’ Pressure Sensor – SCP100, and New Scale Technology’s Squiggle Motor.
Best of Small Tech Award: Business Leader
NanoDynamics Chairman and CEO Keith Blakely led the development of products capable of improving energy, water, and infrastructure globally. During the past year his initiatives have included introduction of the Rev 50H solid oxide fuel cell, and launch of a joint venture with Shell Technology Ventures to apply nanomaterials and nanotechnology to solve some of the oil and gas industry’s most pressing challenges. As a result, Blakely earned the 2007 Small Times Business Leader of the Year award.
Runners-up are Kevin Maloney (QuantumSphere, Inc.), David Moxam (Authentix) Klaus Schroeter (NANOIDENT Technologies, AG) and Erich Thallner (EV Group).
Best of Small Tech Award:
Company FormFactor, Inc. captured the Small Times 2007 Best of Small Tech Company of the Year award for its work to change the approach wafer probe card manufacturers are taking to tackle rising test costs through tighter collaboration with IC manufacturers. The company leverages MEMS technology, which is scalable to shrinking semiconductor geometries. For Fiscal Year 2006, FormFactor’s revenues grew 55% and thus outpaced both the semiconductor and semiconductor capital equipment markets.
Runners-up are Authentix, Inc., Discera, Knowles Acoustics and NANOIDENT Technologies AG.
Best of Small Tech Awards: Innovator
Louisiana Tech. University, Institute for Micromanufacturing professor, Yuri Lvov has worked during the past year to pioneer drug reformulation through polyelectrolyte nano-encapsulation, has allowed stable nano and micro colloids of important cancer drugs. He extended the same approach for Improvement of cellulose microfibers from recycled paper through polyelectrolyte nanocoating, which has allowed increase of recycled fiber usage in paper. His results are protected with four US patent applications and were widely published in peer reviewed journals. The achievement of this vision earned him the Small Times 2007 Best of Small Tech Innovator of the Year award.
Runners-up are Stephen Y. Chou (Princeton University), Paul J. Glatkowski (Eikos, Inc.), Wan-Thai Hsu (Discera) and Daniel Resasco, Ph.D. (SouthWest NanoTechnologies, Inc.).
Best of Small Tech Award: Micro/Nano Tool
The Small Times 2007 Best of Small Tech Micro/Nano Tool of the Year award goes to a tool that was designed to deliver uniform nanopowder and ultrafine micro powders for thermal spray coating applications. Thermally sprayed coatings have been shown to benefit greatly by the use of nanomaterials, but applications have been limited by the lack of production equipment to deliver nanopowders. Northwest Mettech Corporation’s Nanofeed Liquid Powder Feeder bridges that gap.
Runners-up are CytoViva, Inc.’s CytoViva Imaging System, IntelliSense’s IntelliSuite, BioForce Nanosciences, Inc.’s Nano eNabler and Nanonex Corporation’s Nanoimprint System.
Best of Small Tech Award: Nanomaterial
The Small Times 2007 Best of Small Tech Nanomaterial of the Year award goes to
QuantumSphere, Inc.’s QSI-Nano Manganese, a catalyst material used in the cathode of Zinc/air batteries to increase their longevity and power output more than 320%, enabling new power applications.
Runners-up are Phiar Corporation’s Metal-Insulator Electronics, nCoat, Inc.’s N01, SusTech’s Thera-med and Advanced Diamond Technologies, Inc.’s UNCD Wafers.
Best of Small Tech Award: Researcher
Rice University’s professor Ching-Hwa Kiang has developed a technique for stretching a protein and following the path to understand the folding pathways. This work is important because protein misfolding may result in malfunction of biological processes and even disease such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and even cancer. Her breakthrough research in this area earned her the Small Times Best of Small Tech Researcher of the Year award in 2007.
Runners-up are R. Douglas Carpenter (QuantumSphere, Inc.), Zhihong Chen (IBM’s TJ Watson Research Center), Dr. Claude Gagna (New York Institue of Technology) and Dr. John J. Kasianowicz (NIST).
Best of Small Tech Awards: Lifetime Achievement
E. Clayton Teague, Director at the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office captured the Small Times 2007 Best of Small Tech Lifetime Achievement award. This award is in recognition of his contributions to the industry throughout his career—which currently involves his directorship of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO), In this position, Dr. Teague serves as a NIST representative to the National Science and Technology Council, reporting to the Office of Science and Technology Policy. He also is serving as Chair of the American National Standards Institute Technical Advisory Group to the ISO Technical Committee on Nanotechnologies. Dr. Teague has a history of contributions to small tech: Beginning with his work on quantum mechanical tunneling in vacuum, he has been working in the some of the fields now known as nanotechnology since 1968.
About the Awards
This is the sixth year of the prestigious Small Times Best of Small Tech Awards. Each award submission is evaluated by the Small Times’ staff and a distinguished panel of industry experts, relative to each category, and the winners are chosen. Awards are based on accomplishments between July 1, 2006 and July 1, 2007. More details can be found in the January/February 2008 issue or online at www.smalltimes.com.
About Small Times
Small Times magazine is a business publication covering the fast-emerging nanotechnology, MEMS, and microsystems markets. Founded in 2001, it is the leading source of news and analysis about micro and nanotechnology and MEMS, detailing technological advances, applications, and investment opportunities to help business leaders stay informed and make critical decisions. www.smalltimes.com
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