Three Area Startups Selected for Clean Tech Program
A program led by three state agencies to assist New Jersey-based startups in the clean technology sector has selected three Route 1-area companies among the initial six to receive funding from the $435, 000 program.
Applications are still being accepted on a rolling basis for the Clean Tech R&D Voucher Program. The program is a joint effort of the state Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. Visit www.njeda.com/csit for more information.
The area companies that have already received funding are the following:
Eion NJ Corp., a home-based business in Princeton, is developing a specialty fine-grained mineral product that rapidly captures and stores carbon dioxide when applied to agricultural soils. The company, which previously received funding from the Clean Tech Seed Grant Program also administered by the Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology, will use these new funds for its work with equipment at Rutgers University’s School of Environmental and Biological Science’s greenhouses.
HiT Nano Inc., based on Florence Columbus Road in Bordentown, “develops next-generation, low-cost and high-performance [lithium ion] batteries and energy storage materials by using novel high temperature nanotechnologies,” according to its website, www.hitnanoinc.com. With its $11,250 in vouchers through the clean tech program it will be able to access equipment at Princeton University’s Princeton Institute of Materials (Imaging and Analysis Center and Micro and Nano Fabrication Center) to assist in its research and development efforts.
RRTC Inc., based in Belle Mead, is a spin-off of Solidia Technologies and the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Rutgers University. Founder Rik Riman is developing advanced composite materials based on Low Temperature Solidification (LTS) technology he originally helped develop at Rutgers. The technology reduces energy expenditure and the carbon footprint. Its funding from the state will help cover the costs of equipment at Rutgers University’s Materials Science and Engineering core facility.
Plainsboro Public Library Names New Director
The Plainsboro Public Library Board of Trustees has named Darren Miguez as its new director. The Library’s former Youth Services Department head, Miguez has served as acting director since April.
“Darren is the right leader for the Library,” said E. Karen Kennedy, the president of the library’s board of trustees. “His strong leadership experience will help drive the strategic vision to improve the Library and reach out to the Plainsboro community.”
Miguez served for five years as head of the library’s Youth Services Department. Before that, he was the director of the Old Bridge Public Library. In that role, he won a grant that created the library’s Idea Farm makerspace.
Miguez brought this interest in technology and library services to the Plainsboro Library’s Science Center, helping to develop a 3D printing service and 3D design classes with the support of the Plainsboro Library Foundation. He founded the Plainsboro Library Teen Advisory Board and reads to children at the Library’s weekly family story time. He also reads what he calls “not-so-scary stories” at the annual Haunted Tonight celebration.
“We have a talented staff supported by an engaged Board of Trustees. I look forward to working with them to continue serving the community and connecting Plainsboro’s residents with the resources they need. I want the library to become more interwoven in the community, reaching out to understand what our users want and providing it to them,” Miguez said in a statement. He holds a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of North Texas.
Plainsboro Public Library, 9 Van Doren Street, Plainsboro 08536. 609-275-2897. Darren Miguez, director. www.plainsborolibrary.org.
PennEast Dropped
Environmentalists scored a long-sought victory on September 27 as PennEast officially dropped plans for a 116-mile gas pipeline that would have run through parts of Hunterdon and Mercer counties.
Deaths
John Francis Kite, 62, on September 22. He was retired from the Mercer County Bridge Department.
Mary Alice Fitzpatrick Luttmann, 78, on September 25. She was retired from the law firm of Mason, Giffin and Pierson, where she was an estate paralegal for many years.
Timothy Patrick Ostopuck, 67, on September 15. He was a corrections officer with the Trenton State Prison System for more than 30 years.
Walter Olden Wright, 91, on September 15. He was the owner and operator of the River Sand Company in East Brunswick for more than 30 years. He also served in several roles for Plainsboro Township, including as past chair of the zoning board.
George A. Dillon, 65, on September 22. He was a judiciary clerk for the state judiciary until his retirement in 2017.
Gerald P. Sellner, 75, on September 18. He was a civil engineer who was retired from the state of New Jersey and Lawrenceville-based Arora & Associates.
Roman Sikora, 88, on September 16. He was a past foreman for Kramer Trenton Company and supervisor of building services at Princeton University.
Theodore B. Van Itallie, Jr., 70, on September 11. He spend 13 years as associate general counsel and head of global litigation for Johnson & Johnson then became director of the division of law in the state Department of Law and Public Safety and an arbitrator specializing in commercial disputes in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.
Albert J. Raboteau Jr., 78, on September 18. He was a professor of religion at Princeton University from 1982 to 2013.
Alban Forcione, 82, on September 14. He was a professor of Spanish and comparative literature at Princeton for nearly 50 years.
