Emerging technologies, investors gather for WBTshowcase
Improving water quality and safety worldwide, finding a treatment and prevention for age-related macular degeneration and providing advanced thermochromic barcodes are among up-to-the-nanosecond ideas that will be presented at the seventh annual WBTshowcase March 24-25 at the Arlington Convention Center.
The WBTshowcase – the letters stand for “world’s best technologies” – is one of the largest collections of undiscovered technologies from actual startup companies as well as universities, labs and research institutions from across the country and around the globe.
The showcase serves as a means for emerging companies to build their network of resources and as a launch pad to get their technologies into the marketplace.
More than 90 presenters – including some from the University of Texas at Arlington – are scheduled to exhibit high-tech products to more than 100 venture investors and Fortune 500 licensing scouts representing a variety of industries. Each is supported by private funding or federal research and development grants.
Technologies are judged on if they could spawn many products, if they have the potential to create a whole new industry or if they are close to commercialization.
The WBTshowcase is produced in cooperation with the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds, the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer and the Southeastern Universities Research Association.
This is the sixth year in a row UT-Arlington has been one of the sponsoring institutions for the showcase. The Center of Innovation at Arlington and the Office of the Governor also are hosts.
A combined venture of the university and the Arlington Chamber of Com-merce, the Center is a branch of the Arlington Technology Incubator and provides an extensive on-site network of expertise in marketing, accounting, finance and legal services.
Most companies are presenting for the first time and all have been coached and groomed by veteran mentors to make a six-minute, investor-oriented presentation. All have the same goal: to find seed/venture capital or a corporate licensing partner.
About one-third of past WBTshowcase presenters have gone on to secure venture capital or a licensing agreement with a Fortune 500 company, said Paul Huleatt, WBTshowcase chief executive officer.
When compared to industry norms for venture investment – 1 to 3 percent of business plans get funding – the track record of the WBT and the success of WBT presenters are significant, said Huleatt.
UT-Arlington researchers who will present at this year’s showcase are Richard Billo, associate dean for research in the College of Engineering; Krishnan Rajeshwar, distinguished professor and associate dean of the College of Science; and Karel Suzak, assistant professor in bioengineering.
Billo, mechanical engineering assistant professor Brian Dennis and industrial engineering professor John Priest are working with researchers at West Virginia University to develop a cost-efficient process to convert lignite coal into heavy crude oil. They hope to produce heavy crude at about $30 per barrel.
Rajeshwar has developed Photostrip, an eco-friendly paint-stripping product that contains no toxic chemicals and is naturally biodegradable in water and oxygen.
Zuzak – along with Dr. Edward Livingston, a University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center surgeon – are working on a device that will provide better images for surgeons in the operating room.
For information about the WBTshowcase, visit http://www.wbtshow-case.com/
