Corrections or additions?
These articles were prepared by Barbara Fox for the May 11, 2005
issue of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Life in the Fast Lane
Four Princeton area companies – ExSar Corporation, Signum Biosciences,
Visible Tech-knowledgy, and Energy Photovoltaics – will each get,
almost for free, the services of a post doctoral fellow next year,
thanks to a new program of the New Jersey Commission on Science and
Technology (NJCST). The New Jersey Technology Fellowships will pay a
$50,000 salary to nine researchers who recently earned the PhDs.
Up to $495,000 was allocated for the fellowship program, aimed at
encouraging collaborations between the state’s research universities
and the business community, providing needed talent to entrepreneurial
companies, and developing innovative ideas into commercial products.
Also recently announced is the commission’s budget item of $1 million,
through the new University Intellectual Property program, so that
research universities can speed up the transfer of innovations from
lab to marketplace. SBIR Bridge Grants (to help early stage high-tech
firms to pursue federal research funding) were awarded to Advanced
Cerametrics in Lambertville and Innovative Power Solutions in
Eatontown.
Alan Delahoy, vice president of R&D at Energy Photovoltaics (EPV) on
Bakers Basin Road, did the paperwork to get the fellowship for Anamika
Patel. "We are not directly paying the employee, though we will
support the health insurance and benefits," Delahoy says. Founded in
1991, the 50-person firm does research and development on photovoltaic
products ranging from machinery to photovoltaic modules (www.epv.net).
Patel, who earned her PhD in electrical engineering from the New
Jersey Institute of Technology, will work on developing efficient
solar cells at EPV. She has a bachelor’s degree from K.I.T.S. in
India, and her doctoral thesis was on the "sputtering" of tantalum
films (coating tantalum onto steel for corrosion control). "The
research is not directly related to what we do, but her experience
with sputtering is useful here," says Delahoy. "We use sputtering for
depositing various thin films onto large pieces of glass." He explains
that sputtering is conducted in a vacuum system by bombarding the
target with inert gas ions. It ejects atoms from the target material
that then coat the substrate.
How the fellowship selection worked: When EPV received the
commission’s notice of the fellowship program, Delahoy E-mailed four
New Jersey colleges – NJIT, Rutgers, Princeton, and Stevens –
informing faculty members of this program and asking if they knew
anyone who was about to receive a PhD in the areas of thin films and
photovoltaics. "It was curious that we did not hear about Dr. Patel
from NJIT but from a professor at Rutgers," says Delahoy, who earned
his PhD from Rutgers (his bachelor’s degree was from Oxford University
in England in 1971).
The matching of candidates with jobs got a little confusing because,
as he says, "we had a couple of irons in the fire." Delahoy actually
selected two candidates, but the other one chose a competing offer
that included a partial salary in addition to the fellowship. That
candidate lost out altogether.
Once the link was made Delahoy and Patel put together the joint
applications – getting them typed, bound, and hand delivered – in
three days. "That’s what small companies have to do – be nimble, and
seize every opportunity we can," says Delahoy. "This fellowship gives
us an extra pair of hands that we didn’t think we could afford." The
fellowship could be extended for a second year. It also includes
$5,000 for the post doc’s equipment, training, or conference
attendance needs.
Additional Princeton recipients:
Gregory Kornhaber, a PhD in molecular biosciences, who will help to
jumpstart ExSar Corp.’s efforts to develop new drugs by analyzing
human proteins. Founded in 2000, the five-person firm based at
Princeton Corporate Plaza (Deer Park Drive), analyzes and profiles
potential drugs using proprietary methods of mass spectroscopy
David Fela, who has a PhD from Rutgers, will help Signum Biosciences,
also based at Princeton Corporate Plaza, find compounds in exotic
plants that could treat Alzheimer’s disease. The five person firm was
founded in 2002 (www.signumbiosciences.com).
Rabin Bhattacharya, who has an electrical engineering PhD from
Princeton University, will help Visible Tech-knowledgy generate new
intellectual property in the field of flexible electronics and help
resolve issues with current products.
Visible’s CEO Alex Gelbman moved the five-year-old company from
Hoboken last year. Based at 501 Forrestal Road, the company is trying
to develop and commercialize what it calls "Visible Labels," which
have the look and feel of ordinary paper labels but are smart – they
can be changed remotely via wireless networks. "We’re still very early
stage," says Gelbman. "We had to wait for the RFID market to be
recognized before people could appreciate the benefits of our
solution."
Several of the companies note that they had less than a month from the
time of notification until the deadline. Next year there will be more
competition, because other companies will be poised and ready to
pounce. For information call 609-984-1671.
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Roebling Condos
West End Capital Partners LLC will renovate a landmark building, a
former Hungarian community center in Roebling, to create four
loft-style residential condos that are planned to sell for under
$250,000. The 2,800 square-foot building will also have a lounge,
fitness center, and a laundry area.
Manhattan-based developers Rich Tola and Greg Swenson say that after
West End makes renovations worth more than $500,000, the property will
be worth nearly $1 million. In 1925 this property at 111 Norman Avenue
was a church center where immigrants learned English.
Tola used to be an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and CEO of
TheAskingPrice.com, the first web-based "commission-free" listings
resource for investment property owners. Swenson used to be a Trammell
Crow developer and the regional manager of fixed income sales for
McDonald Investments/Key Capital Markets.
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Crosstown Moves
Christoffersen & Wenczel, 795 Parkway Avenue, Suite A-1 Lexington
Mews, Trenton 08618-2704. David G. Christoffersen, managing partner.
609-452-2999; fax, 609-844-9770.
Louis Innocenzi, 795 Parkway Avenue, Suite A-1 Lexington Mews, Trenton
08618-2704. 609-882-2544; fax, 609-844-9770. www.christoffersenlaw.com
Two law offices moved from Lawrence Commons and continue to share
quarters. Attorney Louis Innocenzi is now subletting space in the
offices of Christoffersen and Wenczel, located in Lexington Mews in
Trenton.
Ventura Wealth Management, 23 Route 31 North, Suite A20, Pennington
08534. Nicholas Ventura. 609-730-0068; fax, 609-730-0083.
Ventura Wealth Management, a four-person financial planning firm
headed by Nick Ventura, has moved offices from Lawrenceville’s Main
Street to 21 Route 31 North, Suite A20, Pennington. Phone and fax are
new, and a website is under construction.
Battelle Ventures LP, 103 Carnegie Center, Suite 100, Princeton 08540.
Mort Collins, general partner. 609-921-1456; fax, 609-921-8703. Home
page: www.battelleventures.com
Battelle Ventures has moved from 7,500 square feet in Suite 200 to
6,500 feet on the first floor in the same building, 103 Carnegie. Also
making this move was Early Stage Ventures, which shares the space and
some of the personnel.
Valcopy Inc., 1589 Reed Road, Unit 5, Pennington 08534. Mark D.
Snyder, CEO. 609-737-7100; fax, 609-737-0090. Home page:
Valcopy Inc. has moved from 1580 to 1589 Reed Road, Unit 5. The phone
number is now 609-737-7100. The E-mail address has changed to
valcopy@comcast.net. The company sells and services printers, copiers,
and faxes by such brands as Hewlett Packard, Minolta, and Lexmark.
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Expansions
Jantorno Financial Advisors LLC, 29 Emmons Drive, Suite C-40,
Princeton 08540. Lisa H. Jantorno CFA CFP, president. 609-919-0006;
fax, 609-919-0220.
Jantorno Financial Advisors, a fee-only financial planning and
portfolio management firm, has moved from Suite G-10 into a larger
suite, C-40, at 29 Emmons Drive. The phone and fax number remain the
same.
The Travel Center, 3562 Route 27, Town Place Shopping Center, Kendall
Park 08824. Mary E. Eichler, manager. 732-329-1000; fax, 732-329-3083.
The Travel Center has moved its eight-person office from 960 square
feet in South Brunswick Square into 2,500 square feet in the Town
Place Shopping Center in Kendall Park. The phone number remains the
same.
Mary E. Eichler, the manager, says, "We’ve almost tripled our space
and were the first tenant to move in. Once the other stores, like CVS
and Cold Stone open for business, we’ll have a grand opening."
The company offers corporate, leisure, cruises, groups, packages.
ZS Associates, 150 College Road West, Suite 300, Princeton 08540.
Craig Stinebaugh, principal. 609-419-3830; fax, 609-419-3801. Home
page: www.zsassociates.com
ZS Associates moved from 100 to 150 College Road West when Novo
Nordisk expanded. It is a global management consulting firm, focus on
sales and marketing in healthcare.
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Contracts Awarded
Mikros Systems Corp. (MKRS), 707 Alexander Road, Building 2, Suite
208, Box 7189, Princeton 08543. Trish Kapp, secretary treasurer.
609-987-1513; fax, 609-987-8114. Home page: www.mikros.us
Last month Mikros Systems released an optimistic year-end report for
2004. For that year revenues were approximately $1,044,000 compared to
$231,000 in 2003. Net income was $92,000 in 2004 compared to a net
loss of $114,000 for the previous year.
Some of the good news can be traced to a 2004 Small Business
Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I contract from the Office of Naval
Research worth about $100,000. Mikros is working on techniques to
minimize interference between U.S. Navy radars and commercial wireless
communication systems, and it anticipates working on a follow-on Phase
II project.
Alphion Corporation, 196 Princeton-Hightstown Road, West Windsor
08550. Bharat P. Dave, founder. 609-275-9001; Home page:
Alphion Corporation, a privately-held corporation, has closed a
third-round of funding for $10.6 million, bringing the total company
funding to $42.6 million. A developer and manufacturer of integrated
photonic components, Alphion owns the rights to more than 30 issued
and pending patents related to design, fabrication and applications of
photonic integrated circuits. The company has a class 1000 cleanroom
on Princeton-Hightstown Road for opto-electronic chip processing,
device packaging, and in-process testing.
Founded in 2000 by Bharat P. Dave, the company’s technology is used
for photonic regeneration, signal conditioning, wavelength management,
and performance monitoring. In a prepared statement, Dave said, "This
funding will allow us to expand our QLight product family while
addressing new applications in datacom, telecom, and high performance
networking."
Funding was led by Tallwood Venture Capital, with participation from
Goldman Sachs, Axiom Venture Partners, ICCP Venture Partners, Narra
Venture Capital, and industry executives.
New Jersey American Water Company, 989 Lenox Drive, Suite 224,
Lawrenceville 08648. Andrew Chapman, president. 609-512-9400; fax,
609-512-3680. Www.americanwater.com
Lenox Drive-based New Jersey American Water Company announced plans to
save energy by installing a ground-mounted solar electric system in
Somerset. It will be the largest such system in the state, and it is
expected to pay for itself in seven years.
With more than 2,800 solar panels, it will be able to supplement 15
percent of the peak-usage power needed to run the plant and save
$125,000 a year in energy costs. The savings is largely due to a
rebate available from the New Jersey Energy Program.
The parent firm of this 60-person office is RWE AG, a 100-year-old
German company with core businesses in electricity, gas, water and
wastewater, waste disposal, and recycling. It serves customers in
Mercer, Middlesex, Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, and Union counties.
Pharmacopeia Drug Discovery Inc. (PCOP), 3000 Eastpark Boulevard, CN
5350, Princeton 08543-5350. Leslie Browne, president and CEO.
609-452-3600; fax, 609-452-3672. Home page: www.pcop.com
As a result of a five-year collaborative program, Schering-Plough will
begin preclinical development of Pharmacopeia’s small-molecule drug
candidate targeted at inflammatory disease. Pharmacopeia will receive
cash milestone payments (not specified) and royalties on commercial
sales of any products that result.
This is the fifth of Pharmacopeia’s development candidates that
Kenilworth-based Schering-Plough has worked on for this collaboration.
So far, Schering-Plough has advanced two of these candidates into
Phase I clinical trials.
Based on Eastpark Boulevard, Pharmacopeia has patented chemical
screening libraries for early drug testing and development.
Universal Display Corporation Inc. (PANL), 375 Phillips Boulevard,
Ewing 08618. Steven Abramson, president. 609-671-0980; fax,
609-671-0995. Home page: www.universaldisplay.com
Samsung SDI has signed a patent license agreement with Universal
Display to use flat panel technologies in its products. Samsung SDI is
the largest supplier of passive-matrix organic light emitting diode
(OLED) displays in the world, and Universal Display has phosphorescent
materials (PHOLEDS) that use less power and generate less heat.
"We are very excited to enter into the next phase of our relationship
with Samsung SDI, as they move forward into volume manufacturing using
our proprietary technologies," said Steven V. Abramson, COO of
Universal Display, said in a statement. The worldwide market for OLED
displays is estimated to grow to more than $5 billion in three years.
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Name Changes
Krutman & Eustace, 2525 Nottingham Way, Hamilton 08619. 609-890-2525;
fax, 609-890-2509.
Attorney Joseph Eustace, formerly at 2681 Quakerbridge Road, has
joined with Michael Krutman to create Krutman & Eustace law firm. The
partners purchased a new 1,700 square foot office at 2525 Nottingham
Way, but the phone number remains the same.
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Deaths
Leonid G. Khachiyan, 52, on April 29 of a heart attack. He was a
computer scientist professor at Rutgers known for combinatorial
optimization.
Brian Joseph Christie, 45, on May 3. He was vice president of
commercial lending at Sovereign Bank.
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