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Technology Team from San Diego State Wins $100,000 Prize

May 5, 2007 - Austin, Texas -- A patented cutting edge optical displacement sensing technique for use in accelerometers, gyroscopes, pressure sensors, temperature sensors and magnetometers claimed the grand prize at the 24th annual Global Moot Corp Competition held at the University of Texas at Austin on Saturday, May 5. Omega Sensors from San Diego State University beat out 34 teams from the UCLA-Berkeley, John Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon and top MBA programs around the world to claim the Global Champion prize.

Omega Sensors is an OEM supplier of market disruptive accelerometer technology. Applications include seismic imaging, navigation, industrial monitoring and more. The heart of the MEMSUSA accelerometer technology is Omega Sensors’ displacement sensing technology. This technology has measured displacements as small as 10 Femto-meters (where 1 Femto-meter = 0.000,000,000,000,001 meters). Team members are Brad Chisum and Nick Rhea. Alex DeNoble is the faculty adviser.

The Global Champion will receive a prize package worth $100,000: 1) $25,000 in cash; 2) the Austin Technology Incubator Launch Package worth $25,000 featuring a one year membership which includes strategic business consulting services and mentoring from a team of industry experts, office space, and access to discounted legal, accounting, and businesses services from top tier providers; 3) prosecution of the first American patent by Ropes & Gray worth $25,000; and 4) consulting with the McCombs School of Business entrepreneurship faculty worth $25,000. The winning team will also open the NASDAQ Stock Market on August 10 and their name will appear in an ad in the June 6 edition of Red Herring.

This year, 35 teams gathered in Austin to compete. The ideas they pitched are as wide ranging as the geographical distances of their hometowns. Teams from  Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Great Britain,  Norway, Thailand and all corners of the U.S. participated.

The ventures featured lifestyle enhancers such as an environmentally friendly product to control pests, energy efficient acoustical ceilings and technology to improve the shelf life of tropical fruits. Medical products such as an automated infant massager, innovative eye drops to treat age-related diseases and a periodontal disease solution were pitched. A hybrid electric technology for buses, an equine salt supplement and an online instruction program for school districts were some of the services being presented.

On Saturday, May 5, ten semifinalists competed in two divisions. The judges then selected the top two teams in each division to move to the Finals.

Omega Sensors was awarded the top prize after a two-day competition that featured 13 international graduate teams and 22 teams from colleges from the leading MBA programs around the U.S. The Finals judges were William Glasgow, Prime Investments; Betty Otter-Nickerson, Lance Armstrong Foundation; Gary Pankonien, Emergent Technologies, Phil Speros, Halsa Pharmaceuticals; and Tracy Taylor, Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp.

The Omega Sensors team was one of the eight division winners in the Opening Round held on Friday, May 4. The 35 teams were narrowed down to ten semifinals that competed Saturday morning in two divisions. The top two teams of each division competed in the Finals Saturday afternoon; less than three hours after learning they had won their Semifinal round.

Power Prawns from Thammasat University in Thailand was selected the first runner- up, and will receive $5,000 in cash. Power Prawns uses a specialized technology to breed the most sought-after larger 100% male offspring prawns. They can produce them cheaper, faster and with greater yields than competitors. Student team members include Nattakorn Thamhatai, Pipat Srimattayakul, Janejira Champaiboon, Unyarat Pornprakit and Nattaporn Santhanawit. Bill Randall is the faculty adviser.

Endoways - Trocamera from the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia was second runner-up. TrocameraTM is a new, low cost, patented device which will make laparoscopy the preferred diagnostic tool for abdominal pain in Latin American hospitals. The students are Rafael Arango, Marcela Cardenas and Jaime Gonzalez and Rafael Vesga is the faculty adviser.

The Mullis Enterprises team from University of Georgia was named third runner-up. Mullis Enterprises offers highly effective, people, pet and environmentally friendly products to control pests and alleviate the pollution threats posed by current household insecticides. The team consists of Jay Mullis, Ryan Aylsworth, William Peterson and Frederick Maidment. The faculty adviser is Charles Hofer.

For a complete list of winners, see www.mootcorp.org/Results2007.asp.

Begun at the University of Texas at Austin by MBA students in 1984, the Moot Corp Competition is the oldest new venture competition in the world, and it provides MBA student teams with a chance to simulate the real world process of raising venture capital.