More Money, More Jobs for Brevard
The Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast has announced that Brevard County will be the location of a multi-million dollar expansion project by Avidyne Corporation, developer and manufacturer of advanced integrated avionics for general aviation aircraft.

The Massachusetts-based company currently has a small branch in Palm Bay with 12 employees. The Avidyne expansion will provide 180 new direct jobs for Brevard County over the next four years. In addition, 166 new indirect jobs will be created throughout Brevard County. Avidyne plans to build a 60,000-square-foot office building and a 20,000-square-foot hanger at Melbourne International Airport.

For additional information, visit www.spacecoastedc.org.

The event’s premier sponsors are the Florida High Tech Corridor Council and Florida Trend’s Research Florida. For additional information, visit www.floridaresearch.org.

USF Researcher Finds Cancer Treatment Alternative
University of South Florida (USF) researcher Dr. David L. Vesely has found an alternative for the treatment of the most lethal of all cancers, pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The majority of the three most common cancers, including breast, colon and prostate cancers, are adenocarcinomas, which are cancerous tumors arising from glandular tissue. For several years the standard therapy for the treatment of pancreatic adenocarcinoma used the chemotherapeutic drug 5-fluorouracil, which can only decrease the condition by 16 percent.

Vesely has discovered four peptide hormones made in the heart (vessel dilator, long acting natriuretic hormone [LANH], kaliuretic hormone and atrial natriuretic peptide [ANP]) as viable alternatives to 5-fluorouracil. They have been successfully tested in the laboratory and show a dramatic decrease in the production of adenocarcinoma cells by up to 66 percent in 24 hours.

For additional information, visit www.research.usf.edu.

UCF Leads Hydrogen Technology Learning Center Project
The State Technologies Advancement Collaborative (STAC) announced the results of its solicitation for the creation of hydrogen learning centers. The STAC program funded approximately $1,597,481 toward the implementation of three hydrogen research projects, and non-federal government entities provided more than $533,616 for a total of $2,131,097. The three projects include the establishment of three hydrogen technology learning centers in California, Florida and New York; an undergraduate course; and an educational consortium.

The first project of this initiative, which will be lead by the University of Central Florida (UCF), will be an 18-month effort that will establish learning centers in the three named states. The project participants will develop interactive displays and exhibits, create a Web site, produce publications and conduct a national conference. After the creation of the centers, the other two projects will be completed in order to create educational programs for study in the hydrogen area.

For additional information, visit www.naseo.org.

These companies are listed in the florida.high.tech 2004 directory. The directories are distributed to the companies, as well as the sponsors, advertisers and other economic development groups. Copies of the publication are available through the Maddux Report for $25 plus tax, shipping and handling.

To obtain a copy, contact Marcia Turner at Marcia@maddux.com or 800-226-4394 ext. 301.

Votran’s Intelligent Transportation System Gets OK
Votran, Volusia County’s transit system, is preparing to implement a series of technological improvements known as Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) as part of an effort to continuously improve transit service. The ITS plan will provide a more efficient, convenient, safe and customer-friendly transit service.

ITS allows transportation providers and users to make better-informed decisions by utilizing advanced technology to collect, process and distribute information. The ITS technologies employed by Votran will include systems that will track the location of vehicles in real-time, thereby providing better-coordinated transfers and more efficient paratransit operations. "The investment is substantial at $4.1 million," said Votran General Manager Ken Fischer. "The new technologies will increase efficiency, reduce operational costs and provide improved service to the customers of Votran."

For additional information, visit volusia.org.

Buildings magazine, a publication for owners and operators of commercial buildings, selected WCSS as one the Top 100 Building Products of the Year for 2003. Electrical Construction & Maintenance magazine, a publication for electrical contractors and distributors, selected WCSS as the Product of the Year for 2004 in the security and safety category.

For additional information about WCSS and other Beacon products, visit www.beaconproducts.com.

For additional information, visit www.competitivealternatives.com.

The National Business Incubator Association rated UCF’s Technology Incubator one of the top 10 incubators in the country. The incubator operates on support from UCF, Orange County, the City of Orlando and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. It fills nearly 70,000 square feet at the Research Park and at satellite locations in downtown Orlando and Sanford. Since its inception, it has graduated nine companies.

For additional information, visit www.incubator.ucf.edu.

New Program Takes Off
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is introducing a new Bachelor of Science degree program for the fall 2004 semester. The aeronautical science degree program is designed to train pilots using flight-training devices that simulate jet aircraft. The simulators train pilots to fly the Cessna 172 Skyhawk, Piper PA44 Seminole and Canadair Regional Jet. The devices have been given the FAA’s top approval rating.

The devices will train students more efficiently, and completion of the flight curriculum will require 118 fewer flight hours. The program will only be offered at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach and Prescott, Arizona campuses. No other universities currently offer simulators for all three of these jet aircraft.

For additional information, visit www.erau.edu.

Community Partnership Continues to Succeed
The Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. is publishing Texture magazine for its community partner, the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission. The publication explores and promotes the region as leading the nation in technology innovation, talent and culture. The magazine’s inaugural issue is made possible through Economic Stimulus 2.0 funding provided by Orange County, as well as the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. The first issue is slated for May 2004.

For advertising information, contact (407) 354-5568.

Robotics Competition Attracts Special Guests
The University of Central Florida College of Engineering and Computer Science co-hosted the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics Florida regional competition with NASA/Kennedy Space Center. The competition took place in the UCF Arena and included a luncheon for business and education leaders. Several companies represented at the luncheon served as mentors to students in the competition.

Students were welcomed by Gov. Jeb Bush and Jim Kennedy, director of Kennedy Space Center. The governor praised FIRST Robotics competitors as the "doers, dreamers and innovators of tomorrow." "We should hold them up high as examples of what we want our state to be," Bush said during the luncheon. "We brag ’til the sun sets about how great our football teams are. I hope and pray that our state also brags about the young kids who are going to be the engineers, the scientists and the folks that are really going to transform our state."

For additional information, visit news.ucf.edu.

3D Animation Takes New Shape
RoninWorks, one of Orlando’s UCF Technology Incubator clients, recently launched BurstMouse™ at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose. BurstMouse™ is the latest evolutionary step in 3D computer interaction.

The BurstMouse™ is an "off the shelf" Logitech™ optical wheel mouse retrofitted with a CyMouse motion sensor supplied by Maui Innovative Peripherals, Inc. The BurstPlugIn™ will enhance the existing Maya™/3D Studio™ transformation and rotation tools with 6D direct hand-eye alternatives. The product bundle is priced at $350 and contains the BurstMouse™ and the BurstPlugIn™ for Maya™ and 3D Studio Max™.

For additional information, visit www.roninworks.com.

Enterprise Florida Requests High Tech Images to Help Market State
Have an innovative business you’d like to showcase? Want to demonstrate all the high tech activity in your community? Enterprise Florida (EFI) – the state’s primary economic development organization – is building a photo library to help businesses and communities around the state showcase their success. EFI is gathering images to highlight the state’s high tech industries for use in its press kits, marketing materials and Web sites.

If you have images that depict Florida’s strengths in Information Technology, Life Sciences, Aviation/Aerospace, Homeland Security/Defense or Financial/Professional Services, contact Erin Heston at: eheston@eflorida.com or (407) 316-4644.

USF Reduces Leakage in Semiconductor Circuits
USF researchers, Nagarajan Ranganathan and Narender Hanchate have developed a new technique called LECTOR for the reduction of power leakage in semiconductor circuits. The method for reducing leakage is the effective stacking of transistors in the path from the supply voltage to ground by introducing self-biased leakage control transistors so that one of the Leakage Control Transistors is always near its cut-off region.

LECTOR has several advantages over the existing methods for controlling leakage in CMOS circuits. For additional information, visit www.research.usf.edu.

Program Helps Businesses with Technical Challenges
When Modern Silicone contacted the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (SATOP) with a technical problem manufacturing a silicon cooking glove that contains Velcro, SATOP accepted the challenge. The organization put Modern Silicone in touch with Boeing, offering 40 free hours of assistance.

The SATOP is a cooperative program between the states of Florida, New Mexico, New York and Texas. It is a free service designed to help businesses solve technical challenges in the areas of mechanical, chemical, electronics, electrical, fluids, adhesives, robotics, manufacturing, environmental and materials requirements. The program is made up of an alliance group of 30 space industries, universities, colleges and NASA centers.

For additional information, visit www.spacetechsolutions.com.

We Want to Hear from You … Update Your Info Today!
The FHTCC is continuously updating its contact information of monthly newsletter subscribers. If you or your company currently receives the FHTCC monthly eNewsletter, please e-mail your complete contact information, including your name, company name, address, phone number, fax number and e-mail address to pressroom@floridahightech.com. Your information will be used to notify you of important business events, proposal deadlines and grants that are available in your region. The Corridor does not share or sell its database to others.

Did You Know?
More than $1 billion is spent on sponsored research in Florida’s leading universities. Learn how to capitalize on research, explore commercialization and business opportunities, and network with technology industry experts and investors.

For additional information, visit www.floridaresearch.org.

Kudos to the folks at Tampa Bay’s Maddux Business Report. The magazine celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. A comprehensive business, the Maddux Business Report boasts a circulation of 15,000-plus within the seven-county Tampa Bay region.

The Florida Finance Network Seminole County Workshop
Monday, April 12 – Seminole Community College
11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
For event information, contact Alexa Farber (407) 665-7135 or afarber@seminolecountyfl.gov

Defense & Security Symposium (Formerly AeroSense)
Presented by: The International Society for Optical Engineering
April 12-16 – Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, Kissimmee
For event information, visit spie.org/conferences/programs/04/or

BAMA 2004 Solution Conference for Manufacturers &
Suppliers
Presented by: Bay Area Manufacturing Association
Tuesday, April 13 – The St. Petersburg Hilton
For event information, visit www.bama-fl.org

It’s In The Bag
Presented by: The UCF Technology Incubator and Catalysts Studios
Tuesday, April 13 – National Entrepreneur Center, Orlando, Florida
8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
For event information, visit www.incubator.ucf.edu

EBN Monthly Forum
Presented by: Emerging Business Network
Tuesday, April 13 - Radisson Plaza Hotel Downtown Orlando
5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
For event information, contact Julie Matthews (407) 447-2265 or jamathew@mail.ucf.edu

Space Coast EDC Quarterly Meeting
Presented by: Harris Corporation
Wednesday, April 21 - Harris Corporation, Melbourne
5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
For event information, contact (321) 638-2000

41st Space Congress
Presented by: NASA and the Department of Defense
April 26-30 – Radisson Resort at the Port, Cape Canaveral
For event information, visit www.spacecongress.org

IP SAN-The Other White Meat
Presented by: Storage Networking User Group Tampa Bay
Wednesday, April 28 - Carillon Area, Pinellas County
For event information, visit www.snugtb.org

April Executive Briefing Featuring Congressman Adam Putnam, US Congress District 12
Presented by: Tampa Bay Technology Forum
Sponsored by: Publix
Friday, April 30 - Publix Corporate Headquarters, Lakeland
For event or sign up information, visit www.tbtf.org

International Summit 2004
Presented by: Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission
Thursday, May 13 – 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
For event information, contact Irma Stenman
(407) 422-7159 ext.202

IT Forum
Presented by: Manatee Community College
May 13-14 - Center for Innovation and Technology, Manatee Community College
For event information, contact Idelia (941) 752-5218 or Heather (941) 752-5219

1st Annual Florida Tech Transfer Conference
Presented by: The Florida Research Consortium and the Tampa Bay Technology Forum
May 17-18 – Hilton Hotel, St. Petersburg
For event information, visit www.floridaresearch.org

SBA Expo ‘04
Presented by: U.S. Small Business Association
May 19-21 – Orange County Convention Center Orlando, Florida
For event information, visit www.sba.gov/50

National Events
The following are events taking place outside of the Corridor which readers may be interested in traveling to:

CLEO/IQEC 2004
May 16-21 – Moscone Center West, San Francisco, CA
For event information, visit www.cleoconference.org

Inside Florida’s High Tech Corridor is published by the Florida High Tech Corridor Council, Inc. (FHTCC) and its economic development partners. The FHTCC is an initiative of the University of Central Florida (www.ucf.edu) and the University of South Florida (www.usf.edu). For more information visit our Web site at (www.floridahightech.com), or contact one of the region’s economic development partners listed below.

You can also find links to the region’s community college partners at www.floridahightech.com/careers/studies.htm and to various industry organizations at www.floridahightech.com/info/otherlinks.htm.

Central Florida Development Council
www.cfdc.org

Citrus County EDC
www.citrusedc.com

Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast
www.spacecoastedc.org

Enterprise Flagler
www.enterpriseflagler.org

Enterprise Florida, Inc.
www.eflorida.com

Greater Tampa Committee of 100
www.tampachamber.com

Highlands County EDC
www.highlandsedc.com

Lakeland Economic Development Council
www.lakelandchamber.com

Manatee Economic Development Council
www.manateeedc.com

Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission
www.orlandoedc.com

Ocala/Marion County Economic Development Council
www.ocalaedc.org

Pasco Economic Development Council
www.pascoedc.com

Pinellas County Department of Economic Development
www.siliconbay.org

Sarasota County Committee for Economic Development
www.sarasotacountyced.org

Seminole County Department of Economic Development
www.businessinseminole.com

St. Petersburg Economic Development
www.stpeteshines.com

Sumter County EDC
www.gosumter.com

Tampa Bay Partnership
www.tampabay.org

Volusia County Department of Economic Development
www.floridabusiness.org