Three Student Teams Win Top Awards in
University Technology Commercialization Competition

April 7, 2009

AUSTIN, Texas–PassPro-tech, Intelgrid Solutions and HydroCoal Technologies defeated eight other student teams in the IC² & WBT University Technology Commercialization Competition held during the WBTshowcase.

PassPro-tech from the University of Texas at Dallas took the grand prize of $10,000 for its single-sign-on technology that offers a simple, secure way to authenticate users on multiple networks with a significantly higher level of security than competing technologies. PassPro-tech has also earned a spot at the Global Moot Corp Competition to be held May 6-9 at The University of Texas at Austin.

Second place and $3,000 went to Intelgrid Solutions from the Center of Investigation for Advanced Materials (CIMAV) and The University of Texas at Austin’s Master of Science in Technology Commercialization Program. Intelgrid Solutions possesses an integrated system with components installed in an electrical grid to monitor and control power distribution. The third place $2,000 prize went to HydroCoal Technologies from Kennesaw State University. HydroCoal Technologies’ patent-pending front end coal processing products and processes will enable its customers to produce clean, synthetic fuels from coal.

The WBTshowcase hosted the inaugural IC² and WBT University Technology Commercialization Competition on March 25.  The competition was sponsored by the IC² Institute at The University of Texas at Austin and the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). The purpose of this competition is to give university students the opportunity to pitch their business plans to panels of investors, venture capitalists and industry leaders.

About the IC² Institute
The IC² Institute is a globally recognized “think and do” component of The University of Texas at Austin whose mission is to engage in cutting-edge research to enhance the solving of unstructured problems related to market economies, wealth creation, growth and prosperity through entrepreneurial activity and the commercialization of technological innovation. The Institute carries out this mission through its primary applied research laboratory at the Austin Technology Incubator as well as through the Bureau of Business Research, the Global Commercialization Group, the Digital Media Collaboratory, Visiting Scholars and the Master of Science in Technology Commercialization Program; which provides students with the business acumen needed to identify, validate, develop, and pitch an effective business plan to potential investors.

About the WBTshowcase
The WBTshowcase has emerged as the world's largest forum of pre-screened, pre-prepped, undiscovered companies and technologies emanating from top universities, labs and research institutions from across the country and around the globe. The WBTshowcase represents the collaborative, year-long effort of investors, licensees, and tech commercialization professionals. The WBT is deal-focused and diverse, showcasing companies and technologies that vary by geography, funding source, and type of research institution. Participating technologies are selected by - and presented to – more than 100 seasoned venture investors and Fortune 500 licensing scouts representing a variety of industries, each supported by private funding, federal R&D grants or both.