An East Lansing technology company has beaten out 84 companies statewide for a $100,000 prize for the strength of its business plan.
InPore Technologies, which was founded by
MSU chemistry professor Tom Pinnavaia, received the
Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest (GLEQ) SmartZone Award in June. The contest recognizes companies for their business plans, management skills and fund-raising abilities.
InPore is a Lansing regional SmartZone company—part of a regional effort to foster high-tech businesses and reshape Michigan’s economy.
Regional officials say InPore is the perfect example of how MSU innovations can and will be the catalyst for a new economy.
“InPore is definitely one of the success stories,” said Jeff Smith, project manager for the
East Lansing Technology Innovation Center (TIC). “This is exactly what the university is pushing hard for right now. They want to take faculty and staff efforts . . . and push them into the commercial market.”
InPore uses a technology invented by Pannavaia and patented by MSU to produce Silapore particles—sub-micron sized silica material that can be used to reinforce polymer-based products. The company is currently testing the particles for use in wind turbine blades.
Pannavaia is also the founder of
Claytec, Inc., which seeks solutions to problems in chemical industries.
Source: Jeff Smith
Writer: Louise Knott Ahern
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