November 16, 2007 — Small Times presented its respected Best of Small Tech awards at NanoCon International conference and exhibition. The awards honor significant achievements in leadership and product development — in nanotechnology, MEMS and microsystems — during the past year in eight categories.
In addition, Small Times presented its annual Lifetime Achievement award to E. Clayton Teague. This award recognizes Dr. Teague’s contributions to small tech throughout his career — which currently involves his directorship of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO). Dr. Teague has been working in the some of the fields now known as nanotechnology since 1968.
Winners and finalists in the other categories are as follows:
The Best of Small Tech Advocate of the Year award goes to Dr. Horst Adams of Alcan Technology & Management Ltd. in Neuhausen, Switzerland, whose work has furthered the transfer of nanotechnology R&D results to industrial applications. Adams has established a global R&D network for the development of nanoparticle-enhanced materials and attracted worldclass institutions to it; he has also launched a global “peoples’ nursery” for young nanotechnology scientists.
Runners-up are Jean-Cristophe Eloy (Yole Developpement), Pekka Koponen (Spinverse
Consulting), Scott Livingston (The Livingston Group, Axiom Capital Management), Del Stark (European Nanotechnology Trade Alliance).
The Best of Small Tech Application Product of the Year award goes to Parallel Synthesis Technologies Inc.’s Silicon Microarray Technology, a micromachined set of silicon pin tools for printing DNA or Protein microarrays. The printing elements produce microarrays with up
to 50,000 spots of DNA (of about 250 picoliters each) on a 25mm x 75mm substrate, and are substantially less expensive than traditional technologies.
Runners-up are Discera’s MOS1, Polychromix Inc.’s PHAZIR Plastics Analyzer, VTI Technologies’ Pressure Sensor – SCP100, and New Scale Technology’s Squiggle Motor.
The Best of Small Tech Business Leader of the Year Award goes to NanoDynamics Chairman and CEO Keith Blakely, who led the development of products capable of
improving energy, water, and infrastructure globally. During the past year his initiatives have included introduction of the Rev 50H solid oxide fuel cell, and launch of a joint venture with Shell Technology Ventures to apply nanomaterials and nanotechnology to solve some of the oil and gas industry’s most pressing challenges.
Runners-up are Kevin Maloney (QuantumSphere, Inc.), David Moxam (Authentix) Klaus Schroeter (NANOIDENT Technologies, AG) and Erich Thallner (EV Group).
FormFactor, Inc. captured the Best of Small Tech Company of the Year award for its work to change the approach wafer probe card manufacturers are taking to tackle rising test costs through tighter collaboration with IC manufacturers. The company leverages MEMS
technology, which is scalable to shrinking semiconductor geometries. For Fiscal Year 2006, FormFactor’s revenues grew 55% and thus outpaced both the semiconductor and semiconductor capital equipment markets.
Runners-up are Authentix, Inc., Discera, Knowles Acoustics and NANOIDENT Technologies AG.
The Best of Small Tech Award for Innovator of the year went to Yuri Lvov professor at Louisiana Tech. University, Institute for Micromanufacturing. He has worked during the past year to pioneer drug reformulation through polyelectrolyte nano-encapsulation, which has allowed stable nano and micro colloids of important cancer drugs. He extended the
same approach for Improvement of cellulose microfibers from recycled paper through polyelectrolyte nanocoating, which has allowed increase of recycled fiber usage in paper. His results are protected with four US patent applications and were widely published in peer reviewed journals.
Runners-up are Stephen Y. Chou (Princeton University), Paul J. Glatkowski (Eikos, Inc.), Wan-Thai Hsu (Discera) and Daniel Resasco, Ph.D. (SouthWest NanoTechnologies, Inc.).
The Small Times 2007 Best of Small Tech Micro/Nano Tool of the Year award goes to a tool that was designed to deliver uniform nanopowder and ultrafine micro powders for thermal spray coating applications. Thermally sprayed coatings have been shown to benefit greatly by the use of nanomaterials, but applications have been limited by the lack of production equipment to
deliver nanopowders. Northwest Mettech Corporation’s Nanofeed Liquid Powder Feeder bridges that gap.
Runners-up are CytoViva, Inc.’s CytoViva Imaging System, IntelliSense’s IntelliSuite, BioForce Nanosciences, Inc.’s Nano eNabler and Nanonex Corporation’s Nanoimprint System.
The Small Times 2007 Best of Small Tech Nanomaterial of the Year award goes to QuantumSphere, Inc.’s QSI-Nano Manganese, a catalyst material used in the cathode of Zinc/air batteries to increase their longevity and power output more than 320%, enabling new power applications.
Runners-up are Phiar Corporation’s Metal-Insulator Electronics, nCoat, Inc.’s N01, SusTech’s Thera-med and Advanced Diamond Technologies, Inc.’s UNCD Wafers.
The Best of Small Tech Researcher of the Year award went to Rice University professor Ching-Hwa Kiang, who has developed a technique for stretching a protein
and following the path to understand the folding pathways. This work is important because protein misfolding may result in malfunction of biological processes and even disease such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and even cancer.
Runners-up are R. Douglas Carpenter (QuantumSphere, Inc.), Zhihong Chen (IBM’s TJ Watson Research Center), Dr. Claude Gagna (New York Institue of Technology) and Dr. John J. Kasianowicz (NIST).
This is the sixth year of the prestigious Small Times Best of Small Tech Awards. Except for the Lifetime Achievement Award, all awards honor accomplishments
between July 1, 2006 and July 1, 2007. Judging was done by the Small Times staff and a distinguished group of individuals with expertise in key areas: Bruce Alton, Micralyne; Pamela Bailey, TinyTechJobs; John Barratt, Natural Carbon; John Bedz, Michigan Small Tech; Tom Breunig, The Adelsa Group; Gene Burk, MEMS Consulting Services; Richard Carter, Ultra Electronics; Don Featherstone, Sterne Kessler Goldstein Fox; Lynn Foster, Greenburg Traurig; Joe Glachino, Wireless Integrated Microsystems ERC, University of Michigan; Patti Glaza, Clean Technology and Sustainable Industries Organization; Avinash Kant, Broadpoint Securities; Kelly Kordzik, Fish Richardson; Scott Livingston, Axiom Capital; James Peterson, Jones Day; Jeffrey Rosedale, Woodstock Washburn; James Ryan, College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, U. Albany; Katie Szcsepaniak Rice, Wasatch Venture Fund; Mauricio Terrones, Advanced Materials Department, Instituto Potosino de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica, Mexico; Cynthia Volkert, Institute for Materials Physics, University of Gottingen, Germany; and Neil Wyant, University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.