Biz plan double-double win
For the second consecutive year, a team of
students from UIC's Liautaud Graduate School
of Business won the $10,000 first prize at a
graduate-school business plan contest.
A UIC team also took second-place honors in
the annual contest, sponsored by the Licensing
Foundation Inc., an educational arm of the
Licensing Executives Society, U.S.A. and
Canada Inc.
MBA candidates Kristin Ware (left to right)
and Jay Vijayan and graduate Kelly Liebl of
the Optimal Vision Corp. team won with a
proposal based on three university-owned
patents that advance the use of a non-surgical
vision correction technology for age-associated
presbyopia. Dr. Edward Yavitz, a practicing
ophthalmologist in Rockford, Ill., invented the
technology and donated his patents to UIC.
"Near-vision loss affects everyone over age
50 because the eye's lens loses its ability to
adjust," said Jay Vijayan. "Our mission is to be
the industry leader in marketing non-invasive
and affordable procedures for correcting
presbyopia. We believe our technology has
the potential to enhance the quality of life for
millions of patients."
MBA candidates Karen Tovey and Santhosh
Anand earned the $1,000 second-place prize
for their plan for Flow Diagnostics Inc., a
biomedical device company using imaging
technology to predict impending onset
of cardio and peripheral vascular disease.
The company is based on a universityowned
patent for a technology developed
by Thomas Royston, UIC professor of
mechanical and industrial engineering.
This is the first time that two teams
from one university made it to the finals,
according to Rod Shrader, the teams' faculty
adviser and founder of UIC's Technology
Ventures Program.
Winners were announced in May 2007 in
Atlanta. Entries were judged based on a
variety of factors, including attractiveness of
the venture, quality of the product/service
offered, market opportunity and investment
potential.
By Jeffron Boynes, UIC News Bureau
