Medical Mart Architects Chosen - LMN Architects of Seattle: Cleveland.com

I feel this is a great choice, and its great to see continuing progress.

Repost from Cleveland.com:

LMN Architects of Seattle chosen by Cuyahoga County and MMPI Inc. to design medical mart and convention center in Cleveland

By Steven Litt, The Plain Dealer

LMN ArchitectsA 2003 rendering shows a proposal made that year by LMN Architects for a renovation of the Cleveland Convention Center.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Patience has paid off for LMN Architects. Today, the Seattle-based architecture firm will be named conceptual designer of what Cleveland hopes will be the nation's first medical mart, plus a rebuilt Cleveland convention center. The firm has sought on and off for 11 years to design a new convention center in Cleveland. 

Jeffrey Appelbaum, an attorney hired by Cuyahoga County to assist the project, said he will announce at a meeting of the Cuyahoga County Commissioners that the county and MMPI Inc. of Chicago made the choice to go with LMN over two other finalists for the project.

MMPI is the county's private partner in the project to build the medical mart, a year-round showroom for medical devices, and to rebuild the outmoded, substandard convention center.

The decision marks a major milestone for the long-delayed project. The medical mart has been under discussion in Cleveland since 2005.

The project will be funded with help from $425 million in revenue from a 20-year, quarter cent increase in the county sales tax, imposed by the commissioners in 2007.

The Cleveland facility, scheduled to open in 2013, is in a race with facilities proposed in New York and Nashville, scheduled to open in 2013 and in about 18 months, respectively.

According to an agreement between the county and MMPI, negotiated by Appelbaum and approved by both parties in January, design work on the medical mart and convention center will begin swiftly once the site for the project is under control.

County Adminstrator Jim McCafferty said earlier this week that the county is in the final stages of negotiating the acquisition of several privately owned properties west of Mall B, where the medical mart will be located. The facility will connect underground to the rebuilt convention center, under Malls B and C.

LMN has been involved in discussions over the future of Cleveland's convention center for 11 years and has worked on at least two other major efforts to envision how the city's convention center, located below Malls B and C downtown, could be rebuilt in place.

The decision to hire LMN means that Valerio Dewalt Train, the Chicago architecture firm originally hired by MMPI to conduct due diligence in earlier stages of the project, will not get the big job, Appelbaum said.

LMN ArchitectsA model built in 2000 shows a proposal made by LMN Architects for the renovation of the Cleveland Convention Center. The center's roof, which doubles as the surface of the downtown Mall, would have been supported by catenary cables strung from towers on either side of the Mall.The decision also means that LMN will be in a position to realize millions of dollars of fees from one of the biggest design jobs in recent Cleveland history.

Appelbaum said he wouldn't name a specific figure until details had been negotiated with the firm, but offered to give an order of magnitude later today.

LMN is an award-winning firm known primarily in the Pacific Northwest and California for designing new or renovated convention centers and public assembly spaces such as Benaroya Hall, home of the Seattle Symphony.

The firm designed the recently completed eastern section of the Vancouver Convention Center, which is adjacent to the more widely recognized Canada Place convention center featured in broadcast coverage of the winter Olympics. That building, which features a white, tent-like roof, was designed by the leading Canadian architect Eberhard Zeidler.

As conceptual architect, LMN will handle the first two phases of a three-step design process.

First come schematic and design development drawings, which will bring the design to roughly two thirds completion.

At that point, Appelbaum said, a design-build contractor will hire a separate "architect of record" to bring the design to 100 percent completion.

Under this arrangement, LMN will be responsible to MMPI and the county, ensuring greater control over the quality of the final product, Appelbaum said.

The architect of record will be responsible for completing the highly detailed final blueprints from which the project will be built and will answer directly to the design-build contractor.

Appelbaum said the county and MMPI have issued a request-for-qualifications notification for the design-builder, and have received at least eight applications.

MMPI and the county will soon choose the contractor, Appelbaum said.

More Cold Storage Building News from PD

Repost from Cleveland.com:

Ruling on Cold Storage building opens up Inner Belt Bridge cost question

By Pat Galbincea, The Plain Dealer

John KuntzODOT acquired the Cleveland Cold Storage building by eminent domain.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Officials from the Ohio Department of Transportationknow for certain they will be starting construction of a new westbound Inner Belt Bridge in the spring of 2011.

What they don't know is how much they will have to pay to remove a vacant 82-year-old structure on West 14th Street that stands in the way of the bridge.

A decision by Cuyahoga Common Pleas Judge John O'Donnell on Tuesday negated the Oct. 26, 2009 sheriff's sale of the building, known as Cleveland Cold Storage, to Marketing Holdings LLC for $66,667 and returned ownership to Fred Finley.

Since ODOT filed for eminent domain of the building in January, the final price of the building will be determined in Cuyahoga County Probate Court. Finley's lawyers said that case should be resolved before the end of the year.

The problem is that liens totaling several million dollars have been filed against the property, including $638,000 in back property taxes. The court ruling allows creditors a chance to recover money from Finley.

It also means ODOT will be paying a higher price for the building than the amount it sold for in the sheriff's sale. The department has said the structure, with its large painted billboards, is worth about $400,000 but that the lease for the large billboards is valued at $4.1 million.

Last year, ODOT offered $4.5 million for the building and property. According to Finley, ODOT should have offered $7 million, which he said is the building's value had he gone forward with a proposal for a condominium and retail development. He planned that in 2004, when ODOT said it didn't need the building to complete the new bridge, but in 2005, he aborted those plans when ODOT changed its mind.

"We're looking for fair value in this compensation," said Kenneth Callahan, Finley's attorney. "The judge Tuesday agreed, saying creditors who have liens should receive fair compensation. Had the sheriff's sale gone through for $66,667, those creditors would have been wiped out.

"The property itself has considerable value to those creditors and Mr. Finley."

Stanley Gorom, the attorney for Marketing Holdings LLC, which is affiliated with the company that holds the billboards lease, would not comment on whether he would appeal O'Donnell's decision, other than to say "the real story here is that ODOT has filed its action to take the building."

If O'Donnell had allowed the sheriff's sale, ODOT could have saved millions in purchasing costs.

Ali Lehman, a spokeswoman for ODOT, said the department is not yet worried about the final cost to buy the building. ODOT can deposit money with the court and take possession of the building.

"We don't intend to postpone any work on the bridge," she said. "We don't foresee any issues starting that construction on time. The court's decision Tuesday is not impacting us yet. We'll just wait until Probate Court jurors decide the price . . . that's all we can say for now."

Innerbelt News: Cold Storage Building Update

Repost from wkyc.com

Cleveland: Owner of building needed for Innerbelt Bridge wins legal battle

by Tom Beres

CLEVELAND -- For now, Fred Finley gets to keep ownership of his Cold Storage building that's needed for the Innerbelt Bridge project. 

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John O'Donnell voided a sheriff's sale that would have let the state acquire the Cold Storage building faster and cheaper.
Finley and the state are far apart on what the building is worth.

Finley claims he spent milliions after the state told him years ago it did not need the building to build a new Innerbelt Bridge.

www.motionblurstudios.com

But the state later reversed itself and said it needed the building.

Finley owed back taxes and creditors, but claims it's because the state would not make him whole. The building was sold for just $66,000 at a sheriff's sale.

Finley sued to stop the sale. That's what O'Donnell's Tuesday ruling did.

Finley and the state were about $3 million apart in their view of a fair price.

Two Northeast Ohio members of Congress, Marcia Fudge and Dennis Kucinich, claimed the state was not treating Finley fairly.

Finley claims white property owners had their buildings bought with less headache and hassle. Finley is black.

Kucinich applauded the ruling.

"The Constitution is clear. No person shall be deprived of property without due process of law," Kucinich said late Tuesday. 

The state has filed to use eminent domain in probate court.

In probate court, a judge or jury would decide what the building is worth.

© 2010 WKYC-TV

Pediatric medical device group launches in Cleveland to spur development of children’s products

February 19, 2010 by Mary Vanac  

Updated 12:28 a.m., Feb. 19, 2010

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Tim Moran remembers hearing his prematurely born daughter scream in pain when the only available, excessively large airway mask was strapped to her head.

Years later, Moran, a medical device inventor who has helped commercialize and raise money for others’ devices, has started PediaWorks, a not-for-profit organization that will work with medical professionals to develop pediatric medical devices, spinning off for-profit companies to commercialize those devices.

“This is something that’s geared to the common good of pediatrics,” Moran said. “It’s a great mission that I’d like to see everybody in the medical device community get involved in.”

In this age of technological plenty, health care still needs pediatric medical devices in multiple specialties. Lacking devices made just for children, doctors modify adult devices, sometimes causing their tiny patients discomfort, pain or injury. Other times, the modified devices–most often used “off label” or for uses unapproved by regulators–fail to work properly. Some patients must wait for procedures or treatments until they have grown big enough to accept them.

Most for-profit corporations are unwilling to invest in developing pediatric devices because they see small market potential, insufficient insurance reimbursement, difficulties in getting clinical data for U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval and looming legal liabilities, said Steve Girouard, senior director of emerging technologies for Johnson & Johnson who also worked for Guidant and Cleveland Clinic.

“It’s doable,” Girouard said of PediaWorks. “The hardest part is getting the capitalistic forces, and the philanthropic and altruistic forces behind it. But I think there’s a path here.”

Moran formed PediaWorks late last year as a nonprofit organization so it could accept philanthropic money from big medical device makers and foundations. He plans to use the organization to gather ideas and develop devices, then create small, for-profit businesses to commercialize the devices. The small businesses would have access to federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants.

So far, though, the organization is short on cash–it’s raised just $30,000 through a grant from Cleveland’sCivic Innovation Lab, as well as support through the local trade group BioEnterprise. Instead, it’s relying on an extensive network of pediatric surgeons and specialists to supply the ideas, professionals at large device manufacturers who might allow their adult-sized products to be re-engineered for kids and engineering professionals to redesign the products or come up with new ones.

Moran is the only employee of PediaWorks, but Bob Johnson, leader of the medical devices team at BioEnterprise, and Dr. Fahd Khan, a senior neurosurgery resident at Case Western Reserve University andUniversity Hospitals Case Medical Center, as well as a biomedical innovation fellow at the Case Department of Biomedical Engineering, also lend a hand.

Moran has tapped into the Congenital Cardiovascular Interventional Study Consortium (CCISC), a group of international cardiologists who are sharing information about pediatric products, procedures and outcomes. He’s also working with UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford to identify unmet device needs. He works with the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford Research Institute to design, engineer and prototype the devices.

PediaWorks and its collaborators are working on four products:

1. A series of cardiac catheters that are designed for the size and anatomy of the pediatric heart (CCISC and the Clinic Children’s Hospital);
2. A simple device that would reduce the time it takes to remove a pediatric brain tumor to less than five minutes from 30 minutes, while also dramatically reducing brain trauma (UH Rainbow);
3. A portable, low-cost way to ensure clinicians can place endotracheal tubes as quickly and safely as possible (Case biomedical engineering students);
4. A method and device to verify central vein catheter placement without the need for X-rays (UH Rainbow).

The Center for Clinical Research and Technology at University Hospitals Case Medical Center is “very much behind the effort,” said Stephen Behm, the research center’s director of technology management. The center is providing access to UH clinicians and is working with PediaWorks to identify marketplace needs, Behm said.

In the future, the center expects to help PediaWorks design and conduct clinical trials, and help commercialize its products, he said.

Moran already is talking with contract manufacturers who could make the devices.  “My goal for the organization is not to do any direct manufacturing,” he said, but to build a large enough product design portfolio and sales and marketing operation to make the organization and its spin-off companies sustainable.

Moran picked up the pediatric medical device thread more than a year ago. Previously, he founded, managed and raised a round of venture financing for CSF Therapeutics, a developer of devices to treat neurodegenerative diseases and a spin-off company from the Cleveland Clinic.

He also managed a financing round for Intelect Medical, another Clinic spin-off, and guided the market launch of Minimally Invasive Devices in Columbus. He’s also a co-inventor of PCT/US2008/012355–a device for increasing blood flow to the brain.

PediaWorks is one of a few recent efforts to fill the need for children’s medical devices. Acknowledging the problem, the FDA in 2007 announced a $2 million annual grant program to stimulate the development and marketing of medical devices for children. Late last year, the regulator made its first grants to pediatric medical device consortia in Ann Arbor, Mich., Boston and San Francisco.

Mechanical engineer Brad Slaker started DesignWise Medical in Minneapolis around the same time to do similar things using mostly volunteer medical and industrial professionals, and college students.

In 2007, the Institute for Pediatric Innovation in Cambridge, Mass., formed as a nonprofit to focus on improving health care for children. The institute soon put together a consortium of pediatric hospitals, including UH Rainbow, to help with its mission.

Girouard said the nonprofit aspect of PediaWorks invites product collaboration by big device makers. “I think there is potentially a willingness among the big medical device companies to provide access to technology and freedom to operate if there’s not a competitive threat.”

Products designed for pediatric markets eventually could cross over to minimally invasive surgery markets for adults. “If you design for pediatrics, you are inherently making smaller devices,” which could be used in adult microsurgery, Moran said. There’s a “sizable market share there.”

Ohio already has some natural synergies to help grow a pediatrics medical device practice. Well regarded hospitals including Akron Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center,Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus,  as well as Rainbow and Cleveland Clinic, all could contribute to such an effort. Plus, Cleveland has increasingly strong ties to OrthoPediatrics, an Indiana company that develops implants and therapies for children.

Girouard also said Cleveland is as likely a place as Minneapolis, a medical device powerhouse, to make devices for children or adults. “I think it may be a way that we can distinguish [Cleveland], grow a budding little device manufacturing core,” he said.

Chris Seper contributed to this report.

Cleveland State News - Board of Trustees 021610

SUMMARY OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING –

February 16, 2010

Major Actions Taken:

1.   Approved a resolution, which supports and endorses the passage of State Issue 1, proposing a state constitutional amendment that would authorize the State of Ohio to issue up to $700 million in bonds for the Third Frontier initiative to provide financial assistance for research, product innovation and commercialization of new products and services based on science and technology research and development that will ensure Ohio’s ability to create and compete for jobs and enhance the state’s economy.

2. Approved the revisions to the Personnel Policies and Bylaws of the Faculty of the College of Graduate Studies, Section 8.4.

3. Approved the award of tenure at the rank of Professor in the Department of Physics to Dr. George E. Walker, who was appointed Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies, effective January 1, 2010.

4. Approved a Joint Use Agreement between CSU and The Cleveland Institute of Art, in effect for 15 years, subject to changes deemed necessary by the Administration or required by the Chancellor, that will provide the University’s Art Department with scholarships, student and faculty advancement and enrichment programs, faculty summer residency, collaborative guest lecture series, and assist the University in establishing a Post-Baccalaureate Program in the Arts.

5. Accepted, with thanks, Gifts totaling $2,870,574 and Sponsored Program funds totaling $2,082,730 received by the Cleveland State University Foundation and the University during the period October 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009, and directed the President to use those Gifts and Sponsored Programs funds subject to their terms and conditions.

6. Approved a Joint Use Agreement between CSU and The Playhouse Square Foundation, in effect for 15 years, subject to changes deemed necessary by the Administration or required by the Chancellor, that will provide the University’s performing arts department with the use of the Allen Theatre complex for classes, rehearsals and performances; and authorizes the Administration to complete the negotiation and execution of the Agreement.

7. Approved and delegated to the Officers of the Board of Trustees the review and approval of the final lease with the First Church United Methodist for the K-12 school that would be operated by the Cleveland Municipal School District in conjunction with the University as currently being negotiated.  The school will be run in the building vacated by First Methodist at 3000 Euclid Avenue.

8. Approved a one-year extension of the Men’s Basketball Coach’s contract based upon the Coach’s performance review and terms of his employment contract as amended.

9. Approved the teaching assignment for President Emeritus and Trustees’ Professor for the Academic Year 2010-2011.

New $35 Million Development Ready for Midtown

Now we know the real reason the The Politician was moved to CSU.
Great news for the slow to develop Midtown area. The HealthLine is continuing to pay off.

Repost from Cleveland.com:

$35 million mixed-use development proposed for Midtown Cleveland site

By Michelle Jarboe, The Plain Dealer 

February 22, 2010, 3:44PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Architect and real estate investor Richard Bowen hopes to build medical offices, homes, stores and restaurants on former industrial property in Cleveland's Midtown neighborhood.

Through Shaker Associates LLC, Bowen has signed an agreement to buy 1.78 acres just south of Chester Avenue, near the Dunham Tavern Museum. The city of Cleveland is seeking a state grant of more than $190,000 to cover an environmental analysis of the site, which has been used for welding, auto repair and a range of manufacturing.

Bowen, president and owner of Richard L. Bowen + Associates of Cleveland, envisions a $35 million project on the property. The development could include a 70,000-square-foot medical office building, 150 homes for seniors, 14,000 square feet of retail and two restaurants. According to the state grant application, the project would produce 245 jobs and $1.3 million in annual property tax revenues for Cleveland.

Faced with the fragile economy, few developers are launching projects in Northeast Ohio and across the country. But a handful of investors are positioning themselves along Euclid Avenue and planning for the recovery. Developers including Fred Geis, who is planning a tech center at Euclid and East 69th Street, are banking on the revamped road, the HealthLine bus route between University Circle and downtown, and proximity to the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals.

"Now's really the time to do it," said David Bowen, who works at his father's firm. "The banks aren't really lending a lot of money, but we'd rather be ready for the market than be behind the market."

He would not identify potential occupants for the medical office building, saying only that local, national and international companies are interested in Midtown.

Last year, Cuyahoga County funded an engineering firm's study of the site, using $4,000 in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency brownfield redevelopment funds. M.A.K. Leasing of North Carolina owns the property, which was occupied from 1979 to 2007 by Key Gas Components, a maker of metal parts such as valves and fittings.

The state grant, $191,947 from the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund, would cover the second half of the environmental assessment, including soil sampling and an asbestos survey. The tests will illustrate the potential costs and safety hurdles of redeveloping the property. If the grant comes through, the environmental assessment might be finished in the fall.

MidTown Cleveland Inc., the non-profit community development group that represents the area, is supporting the state grant application. MidTown assistant director Jeff Pesler described the project as preliminary and said the group has not fully vetted the proposal. MidTown wants to create a mixed-use district, but the group previously has expressed concern about senior housing developments, which often involve tax credits.

David Bowen said the Key Gas Components site is just the first part of his father's plan. Richard Bowen hopes to acquire nearby land along Euclid from the city of Cleveland's land bank. Early project designs show an 84-unit residential building, with 25,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, on that property.

Tracey Nichols, economic development director for the city of Cleveland, said Midtown has the potential to become "a really interesting neighborhood for our community."

"Having a mixed-use development in that area certainly fits in," she said.

Tall Ship Festival Finds Sponsor in Rattled Port Authority

Repost from Crain's Cleveland:

Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority to sponsor Tall Ships Festival

By JAY MILLER
1:58 pm, February 17, 2010

The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority has approved spending $157,000 on two separate efforts to burnish the beleaguered agency's tarnished image.

It also faced more than 30 African-American and minority contractors angry because they believe they've been denied the opportunity to work on projects financed by the Port Authority.

The port's board of directors by unanimous vote approved spending $75,000 to sponsor the Tall Ships Festival in Northeast Ohio. The festival is part of a series of sailing races by what is expected to be a group of 30 replicas of 18th and 19th century sailing ships. The ships will be docked at the Port of Cleveland from July 7-11.

The board also approved an $82,000 contract for 2010 with Lesic & Camper Communications. The public relations firm has been hired to manage the agency's external communications.

The Port Authority has drawn close scrutiny since president Adam Wasserman left under pressure last November. It has cut its budget and reduced the scope of activities since Mr. Wasserman's departure.

The organization eliminated a communications director job and three other positions in December to cut costs.

Today, it also saw a stepped-up effort by the Black Contractors Association to get its members more work on projects financed by the Port Authority.

Black Contractors president Norman Edwards labeled as “totally unacceptable” the agency's efforts to encourage the hiring of minority subcontractors by developers and contractors whose projects receive lower-cost financing through the Port Authority. Mr. Edwards contended that prime contractors favor a small group of contractors that, he said, are “front companies” that are minority-owned in name only,

Contractor Al Lewis said when he goes to meetings for potential subcontractors, he and other minority contractors “get the ‘business development tour' and you never hear anything” from the prime contractors about future work.

Port board chairman Steven Williams pledged to review subcontractor lists for authority-financed projects and to take a list of qualified minority contractors to meetings with the developer and prime contractor on the Flats East Bank mixed-use project, which recently won Port Authority financing.

34th CIFF's Website Is Live

34th CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL’S (CIFF) WEBSITE IS LIVE Let’s Go.  The 34th CIFF’s website is now live.  Visit www.clevelandfilm.org to see our newly redesigned film description pages and to learn what will be on screen at this year’s CIFF, March 18 – 28, 2010 at Tower City Cinemas.  Be sure to check back for program updates between now and March 28th. The CIFF is thrilled to announce our CIFF iPhone App.  Search for films, get screening times, view program details, watch the 34th CIFF trailer; it’s like having the CIFF in your pocket! Click here to download our FREE iPhone App.  Special thanks to FORM for designing the CIFF iPhone App.    Tickets go on sale to members only on Friday, February 26th and to the general public on Friday, March 5th.  Not a member?  Become one here or call 216.623.3456 x10.  Ticket prices for most films are $10 per film for CIFF members and $12 for non-members.  Tickets will be available online at www.clevelandfilm.org, by telephone (1.877.304.FILM), at the CIFF store in the lobby of Tower City Cinemas, or by mail using the Program Guide order form. Program Guides will be available throughout the region, including all Dollar Bank locations, the week of March 1st.

Legislative Action: 10th District and State - 0217l10

February 16, 2010 In this MegaVote for Ohio's 10th Congressional District: Recent Congressional Votes Senate: Cloture Motion, Nomination of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board Upcoming Congressional Bills Senate: Jobs for Main Street Act Editor's Note: The Senate and House are in recess until Monday, February 22, 2010.

Recent Senate Votes

Cloture Motion, Nomination of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board - Vote Rejected (52-33, 15 Not Voting) The Senate rejected this motion to move forward on the nomination of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board. Sen. George Voinovich voted NO......send e-mail or see bio Sen. Sherrod Brown voted YES......send e-mail or see bio

Upcoming Votes

Jobs for Main Street Act - H.R.2847 The Senate will vote on proceeding with this House-passed jobs bill following the President’s Day recess.

NorTech, Crain's Cleveland Business Announce 2010 Innovation Award Winners - dBusinessNews

CLEVELAND -- NorTech, in partnership with Crain's Cleveland Business, is pleased to announce the winners of its annual Innovation Awards program which honors the achievements of Northeast Ohio's most innovative organizations and leaders. This year, twelve winners have been selected to receive awards, representing innovations from a broad range of technology industries including bioscience; instruments, controls and electronics; advanced materials; information and communication technologies, and advanced energy. A panel of distinguished judges from across Northeast Ohio, representing academia, venture capital, private industry and economic development, selected this year's winners. "NorTech is pleased to showcase some of the most exciting innovations being developed and commercialized right here in Northeast Ohio," said Rebecca O. Bagley, President and CEO of NorTech. "We strongly believe that the innovations being honored this year will help advance existing technology industries and build new ones throughout our region." Award winners will be recognized during an evening ceremony on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 at LaCentre Conference and Banquet Facility in Westlake, Ohio. Mr. Harry Shimp, Operating Partner at Element Partners, a firm that invests in high growth companies in the energy and clean technology markets, will be the keynote speaker for the evening. More information about the event is available at: www.nortechinnovationawards.org. Below is a list of NorTech's 2010 Innovation Award winners and descriptions of their innovation.   ABS Materials, Inc. Osorb, A Glass Capable of VoC Separations and Remediations A shape changing glass capable of swelling to absorb eight times its weight in liquids. The technology can separate oil or drugs from water, eat chlorinated solvents and has the potential to revolutionize water treatment, drug recovery, and brown field clean ups worldwide. www.absmaterials.com   Parker Hannifin Hybrid Hydraulic Energy Recovery System The system replaces a vehicles' conventional transmission with a new power distribution unit that decouples the wheels from the engine operation to provide superior engine management. Engine optimization coupled with brake energy recovery, reduces carbon emissions, brake wear, and fuel consumption by up to 50% when applied to applications with high start and stop operations such as refuse, buses and delivery vehicles. www.parker.com   Cleveland State University, Fenn College of Engineering Wind Harnessing System for Urban and Low-Wind Speed Regions Wind tower capable of harnessing wind energy in urban and low wind speed regions, where the use of conventional wind tower systems are not feasible. This innovative design provides an opportunity for use of distributed wind harnessing systems in low wind speed areas where the conventional wind tower vendors have not been able to market their products. www.csuohio.edu   Kent Displays Reflex TM LCD Electronic Skins Reflex LCD Electronic Skins bring new levels of personalization and differentiation to a wide range of products. They are ultra thin, plastic displays that can be custom cut and conformed to another surface such as a cell phone or laptop computer case. They are reflective and require no power from the host device to retain an image. Electronic skins currently display eight different colors to match a user's mood, clothing, preference, or device status (e.g., new voice mail). www.kentdisplays.com   View Ray MRI Guided Radiation Therapy ViewRay is developing the world's first real-time MRI guided radiation therapy device to treat cancer patients. The Renaissance(TM) System technology will continuously image the patient in three dimensions during radiation therapy delivery. This real time imaging will control the delivery of the radiation therapy and record the dose delivered to the patient, allowing physicians to potentially reduce side effects and improve cure rates. www.viewray.com   Catacel Corp SSR TM Stackable Structural Reactor A catalyst-coated metal foil structure that enables the production of hydrogen gas with less consumption of fossil fuel and less greenhouse gas emission. SSR is a significant advancement in the production of hydrogen from natural gas. SSR can enable hydrogen plant operators to meet the increasing global demand for this essential gas while achieving favorable economic and environmental results. www.catacel.com   Tremont Electric nPower TM Personal Energy Generator (PEG) The nPower®PEG (Personal Energy Generator) can recharge handheld electronic devices through kinetic energy generated by the human body. nPower® technology produces significantly more usable power than any other alternative energy product of similar size. nPower® produces zero emissions and can be scaled for a multitude of applications for generating less than 1 watt to more than 100 kilowatts. www.greennpower.com   MesoCoat PComP Nanoengineered Cermets The patented PComP nanocomposite coatings provide higher performance at lower cost as compared to hard chrome and nickel plating or carbide thermal spray coatings in aerospace, oil and gas, and heavy equipment markets. In addition to wear and corrosion resistance, the many benefits of MesoCoat's technology include reduced cost, lower weight, improved ductility, improved adhesion, and reduced machining costs, as well as significantly reducing environmental, safety, and health liabilities. www.mesocoat.com   Akron Research Commercialization Corp Silver-based Pharmaceutical Candidates for Cystic Fibrosis A new pharmaceutical candidate, trade named Silvamist, is an inhaled drug that was developed to treat respiratory disorders and lung infections. This treatment is based on the use of a silver carbene complex which has shown efficacy as a broad spectrum therapy for patients with cystic fibrosis. It is particularly targeted towards antibiotic-resistant infections, and early stage research has shown that this product can treat lung infections where no conventional antibiotic can perform. www.uakron.edu   InSeT Systems, LLC Inertial Sensor Tracking System The system uses inertial technology to provide the most accurate location data available in underground and other GPS denied situations. The system utilizes miniature inertial devices combined with cutting edge software to control drift of the location data to provide location information accurate to a radius of 10 feet. The InSeT system will be marketed to underground mines in the U.S. first to help them comply with the MINER Act of 2006, then to other underground mines in both the U.S. and around the world. www.insetsystems.com NASA Glenn Research Center RF Telemetry System for Implantable Bio-MEMS Sensors The Radio Frequency (RF) Telemetry System for Implantable Bio-MEMS Sensors is a patented wireless system for real-time inductive powering and data collection from implantable sensors through electromagnetic coupling. Each sensor is made from bio-compatible materials and is powered without batteries. The newly licensed innovation has a novel design that mitigates infection risks and enhances monitoring. www.grc.nasa.gov   RSP Tooling Nozzle Design to Atomize Inconel 718 RSP Tooling has developed an innovative nozzle design that allows Inconel 718, a super alloy with very high strength at elevated temperatures, to be atomized and sprayed on a substrate to produce molds and dies. This technology has been shown to increase die life by 20 times compared to steel and has major advantages in jet engines versus traditional titanium. In addition to the economic benefits this technology reduces energy consumption, improves the properties of the material, and uses no machining fluids which reduce the environmental effects of machining. www.rsptooling.com For more information about the 2010 NorTech Innovation Award winners, please visit www.crainscleveland.com or www.nortechinnovationawards.org. About NorTech: NorTech is a non-profit technology-based economic development organization that champions growth in Northeast Ohio's high tech economy. NorTech marshals resources and forges collaborations to put economic growth on the fast-track by: accelerating technology development and moving innovations from the lab into the marketplace; driving growth in the region's high tech industries (with a current focus on Advanced Energy and Flexible Electronics); and expanding state and federal funding to support early-stage technology commercialization and industry building. www.nortech.org About Crain's Cleveland Business: For a quarter-century, Crain's Cleveland Business has been Northeast Ohio's leading source for weekly business news, analysis and commentary. Every Monday, its award-winning editorial staff reports on area companies, executives and business owners in manufacturing, finance, healthcare, real estate, higher education, government, non-profit, technology, small business, law and more. Crain's also holds a number of Awards Dinners such as 40 Under 40, Women Of Note, CFO of the Year and 20 In Their 20's, along with various business-focused breakfasts and lunches. www.crainscleveland.com Media Contact: Kelly South 216-241-8458 ksouth@nortech.org Source: NorTech CONTACT: Kelly South of NorTech, +1-216-241-8458, ksouth@nortech.org  Web Site: http://www.nortech.org/  http://www.nortechinnovationawards.org/  http://www.crainscleveland.com/