Winners! - University of San Francisco Business Plan Competition (2008)

Now the results from the 2008 University of San Francisco International Business Plan Competition:

Grand Prize
Carnegie Mellon University - Dynamics
"Dynamics has invented a low-cost paper-thin, flexible computer. The platform technology is piloting as a security card solution. A proven credit card solution eliminates $22.5 billion of fraud annually by changing a portion of your credit card number both visually (via a display) and magnetically (via a programmable magnetic stripe)."

Second Place
Duke University - Cerene Biomedics
"We are developing an implantable medical device to prevent focal epileptic seizures by delivering targeted thermoelectric cooling to the brain. Brain cooling has been proven to eliminate seizure on-sets; however this has been technologically unfeasible to date. Our device could provide first-line therapy for ~230,000 US refractory epileptic patients."

Finalists
Stanford University - Endurance Rhythm
MIT - Project Einstein
University of Michigan - GIDEON

The University of San Francisco Team led by recent USF EMBA alum, Rob Lahaderne, and leveraging a Lawrence Livermore National Lab technology as part of a new USF-LLNL cooperative effort, gave an outstanding performance, coming in a close second in a highly competitive life science division and earning an Honorable Mention for the contest. Rob will compete again soon in the Draper Fisher Jurvetson Competition.

"New Form Medical Devices: USF
New-Form Medical Devices incorporates Shape Memory Plastics (SMP) to reduce blood trauma from hemodialysis. This business venture has been organized to design, evaluate, and launch medical devices that use SMP as designed and evaluated at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. These components will be targeted to hemodialysis centers and home users."

The Professor John Miller Team Spirit Award went to a courageous can-do team from Cambridge University.

The Sustainable Business Award went to an alternative energy proposal from Yale University.

The other award winners will be listed on the University of San Francisco Entrepreneurship Program website shortly.