Entrepreneurship News

Incubating an Eco-Business
December 14, 2012

Residents in Upstate New York spend a higher percentage of their income on heating costs than any other region in the United States. Most can't afford to or just won't invest a mere $50 in small electrical upgrades that will improve efficiency, even if the LED light bulbs, power strips, or space heaters would pay for themselves in savings within just five months. Tristan Morris M.E.M.'13 went searching for a solution to this problem for his undergraduate engineering thesis at Cornell University and found what later became the basis for a startup, Cirquility, that he launched through the Tuck School of Business' Barris Incubator Program over the summer.

Visionaries in Technology: George Whitesides
December 14, 2012

For the inaugural event of Thayer's Visionaries in Technology series, Harvard Professor of Chemistry Dr. George Whitesides discusses what he considers one of the world's toughest jobs: Leading the Office of Naval Research, which entails listening to endless grant proposals and deciding what projects deserve funding. Former ONR head Fred Saalfeld came up with a strategy, known as the Saalfeld criterion, says Whitesides: "He'd stop people after the first three minutes and say, 'Assume all these lies you've told me will work as well as you say. Assume I give you all the money you ask for and more. Then the question is who cares?' If they could answer the question, they'd get the money."

Warm Up, Cook, Recharge: A Smart Tool Born of Hurricane Sandy Aftermath
November 10, 2012 | The Daily Beast

It was originally meant for hikers, but the BioLite CampStove [co-founded by Jonathan Cedar ’03 and Jonathan den Hartog ’03 Th’05], which converts wood-burning fire into electricity to charge cellphones, could revolutionize disaster relief.

Dead Phone Battery? Just Burn Something.
November 6, 2012 | The New York Times

After Hurricane Sandy knocked out power in the Northeast, BioLite, co-founded by Jonathan Cedar ’03 and Jonathan den Hartog ’03 Th’05, stepped in to help out with a a $130 camp stove that doubles as a power source.

Alumnus creates textbook alternative
October 9, 2012 | The Dartmouth

Ariel Diaz ’02 Th’04 is offering students across the country an alternative to buying costly textbooks every term through his new startup, Boundless.com.

A Storage Solution Is in the Air
October 1, 2012 | The New York Times

SustainX Inc.—founded in 2007 by Professor Charles Hutchinson and engineering students Dax Kepshire Th'06, '09, Ben Bollinger '04 Th'04, '08, and Troy McBride Th'01—is set to build a pilot isothermal plant capable of storing and releasing up to two megawatts of power.

SustainX gets 11 new patents for energy storage
September 6, 2012 | Mass High Tech

SustainX Inc.—founded by Professor Charles Hutchinson and engineering students Dax Kepshire Th'06, '09, Ben Bollinger '04 Th'04, '08, and Troy McBride Th'01—announced Thursday that it has been issued 11 patents related to its constant-temperature compressed air technology.

Upstart Announces a New Way to Invest In a Recent College Grad
August 9, 2012 | Dartmouth Now

The Boston Globe (and others) reports that former Google executive Dave Girouard ’88, Thayer ’89, has founded a new Silicon Valley company that offers an unusual investment opportunity.

It’s the problem, stupid!
August 7, 2012 | Nature Biotechnology

Professor Tillman Gerngross makes the case that the world's most exciting, groundbreaking technology is pointless if it is unable to address an urgent and relevant need.

Getting By, Getting Ahead: Start-Up Entrepreneur Brings High-Tech Talent To Rural N.H.
July 10, 2012 | New Hampshire Public Radio

In some ways, Professor Tillman Gerngross is the father of the Upper Valley’s biotech community. Originally from Austria, Gerngross came here in the late 1990s to be a professor of bioengineering at Dartmouth.