Business concepts that could bring GPS tracking for pets or a hail "umbrella" for automobiles are among 18 semifinalists and finalists selected for the 2006 Donald W. Reynolds Governors Cup Business Plan competition.

The 12 undergraduate finalists and six graduate semifinalist teams from Oklahoma's colleges and universities were announced this week.

The contest will culminate with oral presentations April 7-8 at the Presbyterian Health Foundation Research Park Conference Center, with three winning teams in each division announced in an April 20 awards banquet.

The contest, which features more than $100,000 in prize money, is open to students from any Oklahoma college or university. The semifinalist and finalist teams selected this week earned a cash award of $1,000 each.

The winning team in each division will win a cash award of $20,000, with the second place team winning $10,000 and the third place team $5,000. The faculty adviser of each winning team wins $1,500, and the advisers of the second and third teams wins $1,000 each.

Undergraduate semifinalists

* APF, Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City campus: Faculty adviser, Joe Wilkie; students Sean E. Choete, team leader, and James D. Clanahan. APF proposes to offer what it claims is the industry's safest and most innovative GPS tracking technology for animals.

* Backhouse Professionals, Oklahoma State University-Tulsa: Faculty adviser, Eve Dobkins Ash; student Daniel Regan, team leader. Backhouse Professionals proposes a business to help blighted neighborhoods clean up and reinvent their image and help home owners generate a long-term positive cash flow.

* Cold Bottle Designs, Oklahoma State University: Faculty adviser, Tom Brown; students Joseph Pruitt, team leader, and Blake Ferrell. Cold Bottle Designs offers what it claims are environmentally friendly disposable bottles that provide up to 150 percent added insulation.

* Detect First Inc., OSU-Oklahoma City: Faculty adviser, Joe Wilkie; students Robert W. Kuester, team leader, and Bred Beesley. Detect First proposes to develop processes for production of next-generation infrared detection components used in military, biomedical, safety and quality control equipment.

* Enhanced Optics Inc., OSU-Oklahoma City: Faculty adviser, Joe Wilkie; students Dustin White, team leader, Cody Haddock and Brian Collier; Enhanced Optics provides an optic device called Accu-Shot for the U.S. Department of Defense and the law enforcement community.

* HopeLight Industries LLC, St. Gregory's University: Faculty adviser, Dr. Mayda Shorney; students Bart Ferrell, team leader, Mykala Terrel and Danya Neugent; HopeLight Industries offers an alternative to amputation for diabetics through a patented process that stimulates growth in dormant skin cells through exposure to laser wavelengths.

* Intellitech, OSU-Oklahoma City: faculty adviser, Joe Wilkie; student Jeffrey Johnson, team leader. Intellitech had developed what it calls an Electronic Personal Fitness Training Device, which is an iPod personal fitness trainer with a heart-rate monitor.

* IRR Tire Recyclers, University of Oklahoma: Faculty adviser, Dr. Lowell Busenitz; students Mark C. Taylor, team leader, Tim Thompson, George Hoch and Mahamma M. Salama. IRR Tire Recyclers uses a new technology to recycle tires more efficiently than traditional means.

* K&K Welding LLC, Rogers Sate University: Faculty adviser, Dana Gray; students Katherine Kuehn, team leader, Emily Wiswell, Lindsay Muller, Syed Rizwan, Shelli Hunter and Jessica Penn. K&K Welding plans to use state-of-the-art technology to deliver top-quality welding and fabrication services for the energy industry.

* Lecture Buddy, Oklahoma State University: Faculty adviser Robert A. Greve; students Adele Rehm, team leader, Tahara Etti-Williams, Ernesto Chavez, Daniel Lancaster and Juan Gil. Lecture Buddy has developed a wireless mechanism for students to provide anonymous lecture feedback in real time to the instructor during a class lecture.

* Sentinel Safety Solutions, Oral Roberts University: Faculty adviser Charles Atkins; students Andrew Marshall, team leader, Elizabeth Fadure, John O'Hanlan, Amsa Mangga, Joy Ndackson and Bradley Sheehan. Sentinel offers products designed to protect children from being accidentally left alone in a car or exiting a stroller without the parents' knowledge.

* Vaastek, Oral Roberts University: Faculty adviser Charles Atkins; students Pete Clinton, team leader, Jeremie Hamgy, Peter Maddux, Jacquelyn Brydon, Andrew Walters and Marcus Streater. Vaastek offers a suite of services using computerized voice recognition technology to provide solutions that would change the way the United States Postal System handles and processes mail.

Graduate finalists

* AT Technologies, University of Oklahoma: Faculty adviser Dr. Lowell Busenitz; students Andrea Bond, team leader, and Tim Stamps. AT Technologies uses a Positioning Assistance Device to perfect stereotactic head frame placement prior to Gamma Knife surgery.

* D.A.W.N., University of Oklahoma – Tulsa: Faculty adviser Hazem Refai; students Jered Marlow, team leader, Nicholas Agimudie, and John Cooper. D.A.W.N. proposes to use a fast deployable wireless network to provide high bandwidth wireless network capable of carrying voice, video and data traffic for emergency workers in times of a disaster.

* Hail No!, University of Tulsa: Faculty adviser Dr. George Vozikis; students Andrew Conway, team leader, Anthony Katic, Fares Beaimy and Jamie Dupree. The Hail No! Total Weather Defense System is a product that ensures users will be able to protect their vehicles from hail using a remotely activated and retractable car cover stored in a small case on the rear bumper.

* Improv!, Oklahoma City University: Faculty adviser Lynette Martin; students Zack Zuhdi, team leader, Matthew Foste, Stewart Day, Ihsane Bigaume and Adele Rehm. Improv! proposes using a software program that maintains a database of licensed drivers, insurance information, history and accident reports that can be used by insurance companies to track claims status.

* PreDent, University of Oklahoma: Faculty adviser Dr. Lowell Busenitz; students James Haddock, team leader, Isabel Chancellor and Mallory VanHorn. PreDent intends to market a vaccine for small animals that will help prevent gingivitis and periodontal disease.

* Valens Fuels, University of Oklahoma: Faculty adviser Dr. Lowell Busenitz; students Danny Ferguson, team leader, Oksana Odnovol, Hayden Ryan and Jan Eileen Rynda. Valens will create independent facilities for the production and distribution of Biodiesel, transforming waste oil into the fuel.

---

For further inquiries contact Stephanie Callaway.

OTD Resources

OTD News Archive

Contacts:

Norman Campus
One Partners Place
350 David L. Boren Boulevard, Suite 1510
Norman, Oklahoma 73072-7264

Tel: (405) 325-3800
Fax: (405) 325-7162

OU Health Sciences Center Campus
1000 Stanton L. Young Blvd.
R. M. Bird Library, Room 164
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73117-1208

Tel: (405) 271-7725
Fax: (405) 271-8651

OTD Annual Report