Corrections or additions?
This article was prepared for the November 21, 2001 edition of
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Life in the Fast Lane
French telecommunications company Alcatel named the
Sarnoff Corporation to its prestigious research partner program. While
10 international educational
institutions have already become partners with Alcatel, Sarnoff is
the first private company to join this program. “Alcatel’s
relationship
with Sarnoff grew out of professional associations among scientists
from both companies,” said Niel Ransom, chief technology officer
for Alcatel Americas.
Sarnoff, which has been working on wireless technologies for some
60 years, already has completed the first stage of a wireless project
for Alcatel. Called DAMAN, it is a routing protocol that allows
computers
to link to one another without the need for a central infrastructure.
At a press conference on November 15, Jim Carnes, president and CEO of
Sarnoff,
said DAMAN has broad implications. Not a specific product, but rather
a technology that could be included in any number of devices, Daman
means that, “You will be able to get any information anywhere
in any form,” said Carnes.
Jim Kaba, a member of Sarnoff’s technical staff, demonstrated the
technology. “DAMAN allows one laptop to reach distant laptops
by routing through a series of other laptops,” he explained. The
routing is fluid: As one group of laptops moved around the room, they
adjusted to their slightly altered geography by connecting to one
another differently.
Theoretically, Kaba said, the chain of linkage could go on
“infinitely,”
connecting over any distance. It would be especially useful in
situations
where communications needs to be set up quickly, or where a greater
than normal number of users suddenly come together. Examples include
the scene of a disaster, a military campaign site, or even a city-wide
celebration.
Jacque Magen, Alcatel’s director of external affairs, said the company
is now scouting for test sites for the technology, which would be
layered onto existing software applications. The company has signed
a second contract with Sarnoff for further development of the
technology.
Sarnoff’s work on DAMAN was one reason the research company
was chosen as an Alcatel partner, according to Magen. It has named
seven research partners
for this prestigious program and is looking for three more. Sarnoff
is the only partner so far that is not a university.
Through the partnership Sarnoff and Alcatel will collaborate on
research,
may exchange researchers, and may form early stage companies to
commercialize
new technologies. Terms of the partnership are fluid, and will be
reviewed every year, said Magen, “to prove that each side is happy
with the collaboration.”
Alcatel’s $32 billion bid to acquire Lucent Technologies fell through
last May. The French telecommunications maker has 110,000 employees
and operates in more than 130 countries.
Sarnoff and Alcatel have not yet announced specifics of any other
projects on which they might collaborate.
Promising avenues for Sarnoff, however, were on display throughout
its auditorium during the press conference. The central theme was
security. A display on perimeter security drew a great deal of
interest.
On a laptop, a man was tracked as he moved along a row of hedges.
Other displays showed “bug-eye” cameras, stereo 3D motion
detectors, tracking devices, voice ID, unmanned tanks, night vision,
and more.
Sarnoff and Alcatel both say they see a bright long-term
future for telecommunications. But for now, at least, security is a
hot field, and DAMAN will certainly have a role.
Sarnoff Corporation, 201 Washington Road, CN 5300,Princeton 08543-5300. James E. Carnes, president & CEO. 609-734-2000;fax, 609-734-2040. Home page: www.sarnoff.comTop Of PageExpansionsStratus Engineering (SERV), 2525 Route 130,BuildingE, Cranbury Plaza, Cranbury 08512. Charles Sahyoun, president.609-409-9790;fax, 609-409-9788. Home page: www.stratusservices.comIn an usual twist for an architecture and engineering firm, thiscompanyhas a staffing organization, Stratus Services Group in Manalapan,as its parent company. Charles Sahyoun, the president of the growingengineeringfirm, and Joseph Raymond, CEO of the staffing group, are cousins.With 55 employees, Stratus Engineering firm has added an additional3,200 feet at Cranbury Plaza for a total of 15,000 feet.Founded in 1997 by Charles Sahyoun and four partners, theengineeringgroup does construction, expansion, or retrofits for industrial,commercial,and utility clients. Their clients include ConEdison New York, LucentTechnologies, and Hoechst Celanese, Hartford Steel Technology, thePlainfield Fire Department, Orion Energy, and Entergy.Sahyoun went to New Jersey Institute of Technology, Class of 1981,and worked at Nuclear Power Services, later acquired by Day andZimmerman.There he met Tom Foley, Al Ribaudo, Gene Porzio, and Art Abrusseze.”My cousin Joe already had the infrastructure — the financing,human resources, and the benefits and 401k plans — so we startedas a subsidiary of his firm,” says Sahyoun.The two cousins’ firms enjoy a limited synergy. Some of staffingprojectsmay need engineers. Or the engineering firm may need IT-relatedfunctionsthat the staffing company can fill. “We helped them out to gopublic two years ago and now we own shares in Stratus Services,”says Sahyoun.”We usually work for final customers, not subcontractors toanotherarchitect,” says Foley, a graduate of Penn State, Class of 1992,with an MBA from St. Joe’s. “Many of our clients have their ownarchitects on staff and know what they want. Lucent is consolidatingtheir spaces so we are doing lab retrofits.”Top Of PageCrosstown MovesShawnee Chemical Company, 600 College Road, Suite3600, Princeton 08540. Terrence Hurley, president. 609-799-3930; fax,609-799-6576.When its landlord, Montessori Corner, needed more space, Shawnee movedfrom a one-story office building in Princeton Meadows Office Centerto the third floor at the Forrestal Center but keeps its phone andfax. Founded in 1980, the company has a dozen employees in about 2,000square feet. It sells PVC resins and additives.Top Of PageLeaving TownMediCom of Princeton Inc., 101 Washington Street,Morrisville 19067. Lynn Sturgis, CEO. 215-337-9991; fax, 215-337-0960.Home page: www.medicaled.comEarlier this fall Medicom expanded from 4599 Main Street in Kingstonto Morrisville, where the firm now has 25 employees. The firm offersmedical communications, specializing in continuing education mediafor physicians, pharmacists, and nurses.Nabisco Food Services, 200 DeForest Avenue, SecondFloor Wing 2, East Hanover 07936. Mark Sale, regional vice president.973-503-3828; fax, 973-503-4046.When Kraft bought Nabisco, this two-person Nabisco regional salesoffice moved from 2681 Quakerbridge Road to Kraft’s headquarters inEast Hanover. Mark Sales is responsible for sales of cookies,desserts,and sauces to the food service industry, says his assistant, PamMietzner.Top Of PageContracts AwardedSynthon Chiragenics, 7 Deer Park Drive, MonmouthJunction 08852. Scott E. Coleridge, president & CEO. 732-274-0037;fax, 732-274-0501. Home page: www.synthoncorp.comThe carbohydrate-based drug discovery company has signed a researchagreement with Boston-based Brigham and Women’s Hospital to work onpotential antibacterial candidates to treat highly resistant germs.An oxazolidonone compound used in the drug Zyvox isthe most effective drug available today to treat drug-resistantbacteria,but already there is one type of staph infection that Zyvox cannotcure. So Ying Wang, a Harvard Medical School professor and staffmemberat the hospital wants to speed up the search for more oxazolidones.Synthon will create a wide variety of new oxazolidonone compounds.Synthon, a privately held company, launched its drug discovery programlast May. Hollingsworth, a professor at Michigan State University,moved the company from Michigan to New Jersey to get better accessto current and potential clients. (U.S. 1, May 24, 2000).Medarex (MEDX), 707 State Road, Princeton Gateway,Suite 206, Princeton 08540. Donald L. Drakeman, president.609-430-2880;fax, 609-430-2850. Home page: www.medarex.com.Medarex and m-phasys GmbH will collaborate on developing andcommercializinga large number of cell membrane receptors that could affect diseasepathways.Medarex Inc. develops monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics to fightcancer and other life-threatening and debilitating diseases. Foundedfour years ago, it has nearly 80 employees, including those at itslaboratory in Annandale. M-phasys, which was founded two years agoin Tubingen, Germany, works on membrane protein drug discovery(www.m-phasys.com).”We are pleased to be working with M-phasys,” said DonaldL. Drakeman, president and CEO of Medarex. “We believe that theirunique protein folding technology will help in accelerating thediscoveryand development of fully human antibody products.”Medarex doubled its R&D budget this year, raising it from $5.5 millionto $11.2 million, yet its losses went down, from $2.8 million lastyear to $2.7 million this year, or four cents a share.Princeton Financial Systems, 600 College Road East,Suite 2400, Princeton 08540. James C. Russell, CEO. 609-987-2400;fax, 609-987-9320. Home page: www.pfs.comPrinceton Financial Systems has licensed its investment managementand accounting system to Horace Mann Educators Corp., the largestnational, multi-line insurance company focusing on the insurance andfinancial service needs of the educational community. Based inSpringfield,Illinois, the firm sells annuities and insurance to teachers and theirfamilies.Princeton Financial Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of StateStreet Corp. with investment management software that can be licensedfor in-house use or accessed via the Internet.Top Of PageDeathsJames Edwin Loder, 69, on November 9. He was professorof the philosophy of Christian Education at Princeton TheologicalSeminary.Michael F. Collito on November 15. He was a staffanesthesiologistat the Medical Center at Princeton and director of the Pain ManagementCenter.Janice B. Stonaker, 61, on November 19. She and herhusband had a law firm on Leigh Avenue.Corrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
