USF Partners to Study the Effects of Blood Stem Cells
The Florida High Tech Corridor Council’s External Matching Grants
program has provided University of South Florida (USF) spin-off,
Saneron CCEL Therapeutics (Saneron CCEL), with a $71,736 grant
under the SBIR/STTR FastTrack program. The grant will be used to
study the effectiveness of cord blood stem cells for treatment of
myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack. Saneron
CCEL was also awarded a $184,249 STTR Phase I grant by the National
Institutes of Health to conduct the study.

Specifically, the study will evaluate the effects of umbilical cord blood
transplantation following a heart attack in a large animal model.
Researchers anticipate the results will assist in planning future preclinical studies to determine the dosage, route and timing of cord blood usage as therapy for heart attack recovery.

For additional information or to post a position, visit:

http://www.cryo-cell.com/news/subpage_noad.asp?ID=1

L-3 Communications Teams Up With UCF

L-3 Communication’s Link Simulation and Training (LINK) division has
joined forces with the U.S. Army Research Development and
Engineering Command’s Simulation and Training Technology Center
(RDECOM – STCC) and the University of Central Florida (UCF) to
establish a research laboratory for modeling, simulation and training
technology development.

The research initiative was formalized through the joint signing of a
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). Under the
CRADA, LINK, RDECOM-STCC and UCF will develop live, virtual and
constructive simulation capabilities and a test bed to pursue
advancements in modeling, simulation and training. 

For additional information, visit:

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/?epi_menuItem
ID=1cd823fd3a51cf8869a8cccae6908a0c &epi_menuID=c791260db
682611740b28e347a808a0c&epi_baseMenuID=384979e8cc48c441ef
0130f5c6908a0c &vnsId=704

 Funds Available at UF for High Tech Industry Research

With the early 2005 addition of the University of Florida (UF) to the
Florida High Tech Corridor Council (FHTCC), UF proudly pledged $2
million to the FHTCC Matching Funds Research Program to foster applied
research between the partner universities and their high tech industry
partners.

Two funding programs are available that provide matching funds to
Corridor industry partners for research programs with UF: a General
Solicitation grant targeted to companies of all sizes in the Corridor, and
a SBIR/STTR Phase II Solicitation grant for companies in the Corridor
with less than 500 employees who are recipients of an SBIR or STTR
Phase I award.

For additional information, visit: http://www.fhtcc.ufl.edu or contact
Erik Sander, sander@ufl.edu, (352) 392-6000.

Kennedy Space Center Reorganizes With NASA

For additional information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/news/releases/2005/release-
20051006-2.html

Volusia/Flagler Virtual Entrepreneur Center Launched

The Volusia/Flagler Higher Education Consortium has launched the
Volusia/Flagler Virtual Entrepreneur Center (VeC), a Web portal
designed to provide access to local, regional and national Web resources
for entrepreneurs to use in starting and growing businesses.

The Consortium is comprised of Daytona Beach Community College,
University of Central Florida Research & Commercialization, Bethune
Cookman College, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Stetson
University. Primary funding was provided by the Florida High Tech
Corridor Council.

For additional information and to utilize the site, visit http://vfvec.org.

Central Florida Optics Industry Featured in Florida Trend

Central Florida’s Optics and Photonics Industry is featured in the
November 2005 issue of Florida Trend magazine. The article highlights
optics and photonics companies in the Corridor, as well as UCF’s Center
for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL), and general
information such as industry salaries and workforce statistics.

To view the article, visit http://www.floridatrend.com/issue/default.asp?
s=9. If you do not have a user name and password for Florida Trend,
sign-up is free.

SAIC Receives Egyptian Armed Forces Training Center Contract

The Training Authority of the Egyptian Armed Forces has awarded
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) a contract for
Helicopter and Air Defense Upgrade (HADU) training enhancements for
two existing Egyptian Armed Forces Combat Training Centers.

The upgrade will consist of adding new equipment for both Apache and
Gazelle helicopters, thus enabling the armed forces with the ability to
provide global positioning system tracking and laser-based weapon
engagement simulation training. The work upgrade will be performed at
SAIC in San Diego, Calif.; the Inter-Coastal Electronics facility in Mesa,
Ariz.; and, the OSI Defense Systems facility in Orlando.
 

For additional information, visit:
http://www.saic.com/news/2005/oct/07.html.

Haemacure Plans Biotech Manufacturing Facility in Sarasota

Haemacure, a Canadian company that develops biological adhesives,
biomaterials and surgical devices for surgical wound care, has
announced plans to establish its Hemasseel® manufacturing facility in
Sarasota.

At the new facility, Haemacure will utilize a new sterile, single-use
bioprocessing technology to manufacture their two all-human products,
Hemaseel Thrombin and Hemaseel HMN fibrin sealant. Thrombin is a
stand-alone product that is used with other biological material for
internal surgery, much like a band-aid for organs and tissue. HMN fibrin
sealant is a biological glue also used in internal surgery that is made up
of two human blood plasma proteins, Thrombin as mentioned above,
and Fibrinogen.

The facility will be located adjacent to the Sarasota-Bradenton
International Airport and will consist of approximately 50,000 square
feet for production, mechanical rooms, storage, shipping, offices and
laboratories.

 For more information, visit:http://www.haemacure.com/en/index.html

Sinmat, Inc. Receives R&D 100 Award

For additional information, visit: http://www.sinmat.com/pages/1/index.htm

Corridor County and City Portals Receive Best of the Web Awards

Congratulations to Orange and Seminole Counties for being awarded
third place and named a finalist, respectively, in the County Portal
category for the Center for Digital Government’s 2005 Best of the Web
award. Also, congratulations to Tampa for a third place award in the
City Portal category.

The Best of the Web awards recognize innovative portals where
governmental and educational entities are presented as a single face to their respective publics.

For additional information, visit: http://www.centerdigitalgov.com/bestof/?loc=36

Corridor People in the News

The Florida High Tech Corridor Council welcomes Captain Larry S.
McCracken as the newest member of the Council team joining us in an
advisory capacity. McCracken is commanding officer for NAVAIR Orlando
Training Systems Division, the principal research, development,
acquisition and product support for the Navy’s advanced training
technologies and modeling and simulation systems spanning all warfare
areas. Prior to his current role, McCracken has served as the
commanding officer of the VS-35 Blue Wolves, military deputy for
NAVAIR Propulsion and Power Engineering, and executive officer of the
Training Systems Division.

Danielle Weitlauf has recently attained the title of Certified Economic
Developer from the International Economic Development Council
(IEDC). Weitlauf is recognized as having achieved a level of excellence
in her understanding of the tools and programs used in economic
development.

Dr. Fredric Ham, Florida Tech professor of electrical engineering, was a
guest editor of a special issue of Neural Networks, the official journal of
the International, European and Japanese Neural Network Societies. Dr.
Ham is the Florida Tech representative for the Infrasound Consortium
for Applied Research.

Accolades

Chris Davis

Chris Davis, senior project manager for spaceport engineering and
technology at the Kennedy Space Center, is helping NASA determine
what caused a large chunk of insulation foam to break off the external
tank of the space shuttle Discovery. Davis received his master’s degree
in mechanical engineering from the University of Central Florida.

 

Did You Know?

The University of Florida now has a Web site for individuals and
corporations looking for current information on powerful gene therapies.
The Office of Technology Licensing has developed an innovative online
marketing tool featuring many of the gene therapies developed at the
university.

For additional information, visit:
http://www.rgp.ufl.edu/otl/genetherapies.html.

Calendar of Events

The following are events taking place across the Corridor’s 23-county region or the surrounding area, which readers may be interested in attending:

“Swing for the Fences: Seed Investing for
Entrepreneurs”
Presented by: The National Association of Seed and Venture
Funds and in partnership with the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers
Saturday, November 5 – Walt Disney World Swan and
Dolphin
For event information visit:
http://www.dcnteam.com/nasvf/asme-sem.nsf/register.

The CIO Speaks
Presented by: The American Electronics Association
Thursday, November 10 – UCF Technology Incubator
For event information visit:
http://www.aeanet.org/Events/fljs_tdc111005.asp.

2nd Annual Tampa Bay Technology Forum Industry
Achievement Awards Gala
Presented by: The Tampa Bay Technology Forum
Thursday, November 10 – Hyatt Regency, Tampa
For event information, visit: http://www.tbtf.org.

Florida Space 2005
Presented by: The Space Foundation
Tuesday, November 15 through Thursday, November 17 –
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
For event information or to register, visit:
http://floridaspace.org/information/index.cfm.

5th Annual Lean Management Solutions Conference
2005
Presented by: The Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE)
Sunday, December 4 through Thursday, December 8 –
Rosen Centre Hotel, Orlando
For event information or to register, visit:
http://www.leanmanagement.org.

Annual World Trade Regulatory Review
Presented by: The Space Coast World Trade Council
Tuesday, December 6 – Courtyard by Marriott, Cocoa Beach
For event information or to register, visit:
http://www.spacecoastworldtradecouncil.org.

Events Outside the Corridor

The Scripps/Oxford International Biotechnology
Conference
Presented by: The Biotechnology Industry Organization
Sunday, November 13 through Tuesday, November 15 –
The Breakers, Palm Beach

For event information, visit http://www.scripps.edu/florida/conference.

Photonics West Presented by: The International
Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE)
Saturday, January 21 through Thursday, January 26 –
San Jose Convention Center, San Jose, California

For event information, visit
http://spie.org/conferences/programs/06/pw.

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), the University of South Florida (www.usf.edu) and the University of Florida (www.ufl.edu). For more information visit our Web site at www.floridahightech.com, or contact one of the region's economic development partners listed at www.floridahightech.com/linkslibrary.

Florida High Tech Corridor Link Library

Visit the Florida High Tech Corridor link library (www.floridahightech.com)for a comprehensive list of FHTCC University Partners; Community Colleges; Economic Development Organizations; Technology Groups & Programs; Workforce Boards & Organizations; Technology Incubators & Venture Capital Organizations; and Industry Organizations.