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Get the most interesting and important stories from the 51精品视频.Aeronics and uTranslated, startups developed at the 51精品视频, are two of the 40 Best University Startups 2017, according to the .
At the council's聽University Startups Conference and Demo Day earlier this spring, the 51精品视频 students and alumni from Aeronics and uTranslated learned how their companies fit into聽economic growth trends.
鈥淲e discussed how local and national policy has the potential to influence new economic development in the 51精品视频sburgh region, and the state and nation as a whole,鈥 said Aeronics CEO Blake Dube (ENGR 鈥17) of meetings held with the staff of several Pennsylvania congress members. 鈥淭he discussion was honest and meaningful, and I got the sense that there is a real desire to continue the upward trend of entrepreneurship and innovation in 51精品视频sburgh and the surrounding region.鈥
鈥淪tudent entrepreneurship is accelerating at 51精品视频, and we are both stimulating and meeting that demand with more experiential resources and programs,鈥 said Greg Coticchia, director of the student accelerator, where both Aeronics and uTranslated were nurtured along the way.
A breath of fresh 'aer'
Then a junior, in summer 2015, Dube was researching gas storage problems in the Hypothetical Materials Lab of ,聽an assistant professor of chemical and petroleum engineering in the 51精品视频鈥檚 .聽Dube noticed a lack of research on oxygen storage and wondered how he could contribute to this field. Partnering with Wilmer, he wanted to improve a device that is commonly used by people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other respiratory illnesses聽鈥 the oxygen tank.
With Wilmer聽acting as an advisor, Dube created the mediPOD, a tank that increases the storage efficiency of oxygen. Imagine the difference between a can of soda and a 2-liter bottle 鈥 that鈥檚 roughly the difference between the mediPOD and a standard tank.
鈥淥ur idea was to make something that wasn鈥檛 so big and bulky, that wasn鈥檛 so potentially dangerous, that made a lower impact on the patient鈥檚 life, and the easiest way to do that is to try to make something that鈥檚 smaller, lighter weight and lower pressure, which is what we鈥檝e done here,鈥 said Dube.
The device became the basis of their startup , whose staff also includes engineering PhD student Alec Kaija and recent graduate Mark Spitz (EDUC 鈥17).
Since the mediPOD was introduced, Dube has heard from others with family members who struggle with their traditional oxygen tanks.
鈥淛ust since starting the idea, I鈥檝e gotten neighbors and even competition judges who have come out and contacted us and said, 鈥楬ey, my relative has [COPD], and they are very interested in [the mediPOD]. This could really benefit them,鈥欌 he said.
Since graduating, Dube now focuses聽solely on his duties as CEO of Aeronics and on plans to obtain approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the innovation.
The language of business
A whiteboard on wheels acts as a door between and the other startups headquartered in cubicles at the shared office space at East Liberty's聽. Behind that whiteboard, CEO John Frazier (GSPIA 鈥15) and Nicole Xu (GSPIA 鈥16) continue to translate what was once a pitch into a fluent business.
uTranslated鈥檚 origins trace back to the 51精品视频 鈥檚 2015 Startup Blitz. Frazier and Xu, along with Lujing Gao (GSPIA 鈥16) attended separately and formed a team at the event.
Prior to enrolling at the University, Frazier had taught in Hong Kong, Xu had been a financial analyst and Gao, who has since left the company, had been employed as a translator. Drawing from their international experiences, they created a pitch for uTranslated, a platform with verified English and Chinese translators at prices that are more reasonable than those for similar services.
The team was awarded first place and $2,500 at Startup Blitz. The monetary prize was contingent on uTranslated鈥檚 participation in Blast Furnace, which eventually led the now-51精品视频 alumni Frazier and Xu to continue the business at聽AlphaLab.
uTranslated鈥檚 offerings have found a niche in subtitling and business and marketing communications, including ad campaigns, brochures and websites.
Aeronics and uTranslated both credit the Innovation Institute with their success.
鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing to see just in over a year, [the Innovation Institute鈥檚] become this bustling, well done and very well iterated approach to cultivating entrepreneurship within 51精品视频,鈥 Frazier said.