Corridor NEWS RELEASES

Florida’s “Faces of Technology” Highlighted in florida.HIGH.TECH 2009

Magazine Offers Compelling Stories about Florida’s High Tech Corridor, its Researchers, Entrepreneurs and Technology Breakthroughs

Heathrow, Fla. (Feb. 12, 2009) –Central Florida’s most in-depth guide to the high tech community is taking a new approach in 2009, highlighting the “Faces of Technology” that are driving innovation in Florida, and expanding on those stories through a dedicated YouTube channel.

florida.HIGH.TECH 2009, an annual magazine published by the Maddux Business Report in partnership with the Florida High Tech Corridor Council, features a variety of compelling stories about high tech industry in the Corridor, including a recurring feature highlighting 15 “Faces of Technology,” hands-on technologists who are leading their industries.  Profilees include:

Carol Wideman – Co-Founder & CEO of Orlando-based Vcom3D Inc., a software development company that helps soldiers overseas communicate with locals via translating applications programmed onto iPods;

Dr. Kelly Smith – Chief Technical Officer of Pasteuria Bioscience Inc., a tenant company in the University of Florida’s Sid Martin Biotech Incubator that is producing commercially viable treatments for agricultural pests;

Jeff Cook –Manager of Launch Site Systems at Cape Canaveral’s Alliant Techsystems/ATK, an engineering firm that is producing the first-stage propulsion system for the new Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle;

Pat Lawman –CEO of Morphogenesis, a research company in Tampa Bay that is working to translate therapies used in treating canine cancer to human patients; and,

James Van Anda –Chief Technical Advisor of ICx Imaging Systems, an Apopka company using high tech sensory imaging for surveillance applications.

“We wanted to continue the success from last year’s magazine by putting a face on the extraordinarily diverse sectors of high tech industry simmering away in Florida’s High Tech Corridor,” said Randy Berridge, president of the Florida High Tech Corridor Council.  “These fascinating men and women are making technological breakthroughs with the potential to truly change entire industries, if not the world.  We are so proud that they call Florida’s High Tech Corridor home, and we salute their passion and commitment.”

Now, through the Faces of Technology YouTube channel, viewers can watch these dynamic individuals telling their own stories.  Each with an individual video, these professionals discuss how they are using technology to facilitate the growth and development of creativity in the region.

In addition to the Faces of Technology profiles, the magazine contains features on the numerous projects taking place at the Corridor’s world-class research universities – the University of Central Florida, the University of South Florida and the University of Florida, as well as an economic outlook for the state of Florida.

For eight years, the Maddux Business Report has published the magazine in partnership with the Florida High Tech Corridor Council, an economic development initiative of the University of Central Florida, the University of South Florida and the University of Florida.

Copies of the magazine are distributed to trade groups and professional associations listed in the magazine, as well as to sponsors and advertisers.  Corridor Council development groups distribute the magazine nationwide as they work to attract, retain and grow high tech industry in the region.  Copies are available through the Maddux Business Report for $5 to cover the cost of tax, shipping and handling.  To obtain a copy, contact Marcia Turner at Marcia@Maddux.com or (800) 226-4394.  The content is also available for download via http://www.floridahightech.com/resources/directory.html.

About FHTCC

The Florida High Tech Corridor Council (FHTCC) is an economic development initiative of the University of Central Florida (UCF), the University of South Florida (USF) and the University of Florida (UF) whose mission is to attract, retain and grow high tech industry and to help develop the workforce to support those industries in the 23-county Corridor.

A partnership involving more than 20 local and regional economic development organizations (EDOs) and 14 community colleges, the Council is co-chaired by the presidents of UCF, USF and UF.  The Council includes the presidents of two of the community colleges, the president of Florida Institute of Technology and representatives of high tech industry. 

The unique partnership has resulted in a strategic approach to high tech economic development that involves matching funds research, workforce development and a marketing program leveraging governmental, EDO and corporate budgets on a regional rather than local basis.

For more information, visit www.floridahightech.com.