 The Maryland
Technology Extension Service (MTES), which offers manufacturing solutions to Maryland
companies, had a $261.4 million economic impact from January 2000 through December 2007.
MTES has assisted Maryland manufacturers in: increasing sales by $57.8 million; retaining
sales by $146.8 million; saving $15.4 million in costs; saving $7.5 million in investments;
avoiding $9.8 million in unnecessary investments; and increasing plant or equipment
investment by $24.1 million. MTES has also helped manufacturers create or retain 1,248
jobs.
 The Maryland Industrial Partnerships
Program (MIPS) announced the approval of 18 new research
projects partnering Maryland companies with university researchers to develop high-tech commercial
products. Worth $4.4 million, the projects combine $3 million from participating companies and
$1.4 million from MIPS. Funding supports work in the
laboratories of participating university system faculty, who work closely with partner
companies to develop their products. Projects included new cancer treatments, rapid wound
healing, and location tracking of firefighters and first responders.
Mtech’s Maryland Performance
Excellence Awards Program, along with U.S. Senators Barbara
Mikulski and Benjamin Cardin, recognized eight high-performing organizations with Maryland
Performance Excellence Awards. Columbia-based Howard Community College won the prestigious
U.S. Senate Productivity Award. Maryland Quality Awards were given to Allen & Shariff
Corporation, Asbury-Solomons Island, College of Southern Maryland, NIST Information Services
Division, Queen Anne’s Public Schools and Savantage Financial Services Inc. Naval Medical
Logistics Command received a Certificate of Recognition.
Professor Emeritus Hung C. "Jimmy" Lin donated $100,000 to the Electrical and Computer
Engineering (ECE) department for the creation of the Jimmy Lin Fund for Innovation and
Invention. The goal of the gift is to promote innovation among ECE students, staff and faculty
by stimulating, encouraging and rewarding the invention and patenting process.
Hinman CEOs alumnus Anik Singal (B.S. '05) launched the Hinman CEOs Alumni Fund with a $50,000
donation. The fund makes money available, in increments of $500 to $5,000, to Hinman CEOs
students launching companies. Alumni manage the fund with oversight from Mtech staff.
Zymetis Inc., the latest company to
join the Technology Advancement Program (TAP), may hold the
key to producing inexpensive ethanol. Using enzymes created by a bacterium found in the
Chesapeake Bay, Zymetis can break down any material with plant matter into ethanol in a
cost-effective manner. Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley visited TAP to announce the company
on March 10. Zymetis benefitted significantly from Mtech’s VentureAccelerator, Bioprocessing
Research and Education, and Maryland Industrial Partnerships programs.
Link Plus Corporation, a
biotechnology company located in Columbia, Md., has formed a
subsidiary called Link Plus BioTech, Inc. to focus on public health-related applications of
molecularly imprinted polymers for the specific detection, binding and separation of
viruses. The company's technology was created by Fischell Department of Bioengineering Professor Peter
Kofinas and materials science and engineering graduate student Daniel Janiak. The creation
of Link Plus BioTech results from an exclusive license agreement with the University of Maryland (UM).
Kofinas will serve as the subsidiary's chief technology officer. Kofinas and Janiak also placed
first in the Faculty and Graduate Student category of the UM $50K Business Plan Competition
for their company, Intelligent Packaging Systems, which will manufacture flexible polymer
coatings that change color upon the detection of food-borne bacteria such as E. coli,
salmonella or listeria.
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