Ph.D. candidate, part-time faculty member win $10,000 Top Gun prize
The Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development (MCED) and the University of Maine announced the winners of the Top Gun Showcase.
Nadir Yildirim, a graduate of UMaine’s innovation engineering program and a Ph.D. candidate in forest resources; and Simin Khosravani, a part-time faculty member in the UMaine Department of Mathematics & Statistics, were awarded a $10,000 cash prize for the Orono-based company Revolution Research Inc.
The company uses cutting-edge technology to develop eco-friendly products for the construction and packaging industries made from locally supplied and bio-based materials, according to the MCED news release.
Revolution Research is a spin-off company of UMaine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center where Yildirim conducts his research.
Six participants from the Bangor, Rockport and Portland Top Gun classes, representing the first- and second-place finishers from their respective regional pitch-off events, competed for the $10,000 cash prize sponsored by the Maine Technology Institute, as well as an in-kind prize from Microsoft valued at more than $120,000 to the highest-scoring tech company.
Entrepreneurs presented five-minute pitches to a panel of judges followed by a brief question-and-answer period. Scoring was based on presentation, innovation and feasibility.
The Microsoft BizSpark prize was awarded to Chuck Benton of Team AR, which developed an app using augmented reality technology to project property boundaries into a smart phone camera view.
Top Gun is an annual program for competitively selected entrepreneurs that combines mentoring with high-impact weekly gatherings around the state. Since beginning in 2009, Top Gun has helped 135 entrepreneurs accelerate their businesses.
The MCED news release is online.