"Innovation leads to business opportunities." Entrepreneur Design Contest (EDC) was first organized in 2007-08 by a group of graduate students at the College of Engineering at Boston University. It started out with the idea that young scientists and engineers, who work on cutting edge research, come across business opportunities before anyone else does. In the very first year of the contest, one of the competing teams started a company and secured funding for 18 months. EDC Board General Chair -- Rohit Kumar Rohit Kumar is a PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering at Boston University. He has worked in signal and image processing in the past and is currently working in the area of target tracking and sensor management. He co-founded and ran a learning center for XI and XII grade students between 1998-2000 in Mumbai. He has served as the president of Student Association of Graduate Engineers (07-08), chairman of Technology Entrepreneurship Night (08), and lead organizer of Entrepreneur Design Contest (07-08). He has also worked in the sponsors team of the 17th MIT $100K business plan competition. He is an avid sportsman, and has won numerous awards at college level. Sponsors Lead -- Erhan Ermis Erhan is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Boston University, with a research focus on automated video surveillance systems. He is the president of Student Association of Graduate Engineers and is involved in the organization of Consulting Group of Graduate Engineers as well as Boston University Grad Society. He is interested in applying his engineering training in business contexts, and had internships at various financial institutions in Brussels and London. Erhan is very passionate about soccer, both as a player and a spectator. Publicity Lead -- Caroline LaManna Caroline is currently in her 3rd year as a Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. candidate at Boston University. As a research fellow in a macromolecular chemistry laboratory, her work is dedicated to the development, characterization, and utilization of novel, synthetic vectors for directed gene delivery applications. Caroline received her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering (magna cum laude, 2006) from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. From 2006 to 2008, she served as secretary of the Student Association of Graduate Engineers at BU, and currently participates in entrepreneurial consulting as a member of the BU Health Care Entrepreneurship Program's Start-Up Group. Caroline hopes to focus her research intensive background towards a future career in technology transfer and biotechnology policy.
Contest Lead (Business) -- Alon Singer
Alon Singer is a 3rd year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University, where his primary research focus is in the field of DNA sequencing and nanotechnology. As an undergraduate at the Ben-Gurion University in Israel, he specialized in the field of Bioengineering.
While at the Ben-Gurion University, he conducted research focusing on combining biological filtration methods with physical approaches to filtration - which led to a number of publications as well as a patent for the prototype. This project won him the distinguished Makteshim award for best design of an engineering project. Additionally, Alon was responsible for the design and testing of a novel medical imaging device which has successfully enhanced lab research throughput in the field of endocrinology.
Alon has also consulted on various biomedical and engineering projects, including the design and application of an automated biomimetic system which mimics the kinetics that occur during osteoporosis treatment. Alon developed his leadership and management abilities as a field commander in the IDF, where he led soldiers through intense combat situations, as well as his work consulting to small professional teams working on technically challenging projects. Contest Lead (Technical) -- Dimitar Baronov Dimitar Baronov is a fifth year PhD student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in Boston University. His research interests include control laws for autonomous exploration, dynamics of information driven decision making, and control for nano imaging. Dimitar together with Nikko were the winners of the 2007-2008 EDC. Events Lead -- Xu (Nikko) Ning Nikko has got his PhD degree from Division of Systems Engineering at BU. He received his undergraduate degree from Tsinghua University, China, and his masters degree from Department of ECE at BU. He has previously briefly worked at ExxonMobil Corporate Strategic Research and Siemens Corporate Research. His doctoral research involves energy management in wireless sensor networks using operations research and statistical analysis techniques. He is also experienced in robotics and quantitative strategies in capital markets. Aside from his academic accomplishments, he specializes in product development and business analysis. He was the CEO of the team (with Dimitar Baronov) which won the First Prize in 2007-8 EDC. IT Lead -- Charles Parker Charles is in his 4th year as a Ph. D. student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is currently, and hopes to continue, designing instruments for spacecraft as a part of his dissertation. Charles has served as secretary to the Student Association of Graduate Engineers (SAGE) since May of 2008. Hobbies include music, particularly handbells, and designing and building home-brew electronics and robotics.  |
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