Ben Franklin TechCelerator Awards $10,000 in Virtual Pitch Contest

Patent-pending medical content system NotePro earns first-place prize of $5,000.

Ben Franklin TechCelerator @ State College awarded three early-stage startup teams parts of a $10,000 prize during their final virtual pitch event. This year’s winners pitched innovative technologies in the medical, augmented reality (AR), and electrical markets to the panel of judges.

Dr. Christine Weikert and the NotePro team won the first-place prize of $5,000. NotePro’s patent-pending medical content system allows clinicians to simplify the note-taking process within electronic medical records through an add-on interface to existing medical record systems. The interface saves clinicians time logging information, enabling them to spend more time with patients, and becomes a part of patients’ permanent medical records.

Startups Xora and eVOxS tied for the second-place prize, winning $2,500 each. Penn State students Royce D’Souza and Greg Costeas with Xora developed a platform that allows users to create AR applications for 3D designs. Meanwhile, Roman Engel-Herbert, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at Penn State, and the team at eVOxS developed a method for implementing oxide-thin film materials into the production of new electrical devices.

“This is one of the first times in years that we’ve had three cash prizes,” TechCelerator Program Director Bob Dornich said. “Personally, I am honored to have worked with everyone in this cohort. The group represented an exciting mix of emerging products and services. Congratulations to all.”

All teams completed an intensive, virtual, 10-week startup boot camp prior to pitching their business concepts. Other final pitches included My Healthy Globe, a platform that facilitates rapid engagement in communities to assess health issues and solutions, and HydroSapient, a model for predicting soil moisture, stream flow, and water temperature.

To view more Penn State-affiliated startups, visit StartupNavigator.psu.edu. To view more Penn State technologies in development, visit IPNavigator.psu.edu.

About Ben Franklin TechCelerator @ State College

A partnership with Invent Penn State, Ben Franklin TechCelerator @ State College offers startup accelerators and entrepreneurial training for regional entrepreneurs, students, faculty members, and small business owners. The innovative program contributes to an entrepreneurial climate, increases technology transfer opportunities, and helps develop a robust startup culture around State College, Penn State, and the surrounding area.  https://cnp.benfranklin.org/techcelerator-at-state-college