InnoVision Advisory Board Announces 2012 Award Recipients

Nov. 8, 2012 - PRLog -- The InnoVision Advisory Board announced the winners for the 2012 InnoVision Awards at the 14th annual InnoVision Awards Dinner held at TD Convention Center, Greenville, SC.  The keynote speaker for the event was Jason Berns, Director of Open Innovation at Under Armour®.

Ibrahim Janajreh Young Innovator Program sponsored by Michelin North America - Southside High School SAMTeam.  Tom Rogers, team leader, Carlos Brooks, Principal.  Team members Jacob Johnson, Amil Merchant, Lindsay Smythe, Samantha Speer, Michael Wang, Brendan Williams. Graduated SAMTeam students are Richard Li, Brenden Raulerson and Stephan Williams.

Innovation in Education Award sponsored by TechTronic Industries North America - Clemson University, Social Media Listening Center. The SMLC is designed to connect industry and academe through interdisciplinary pedagogy and research, and offers a platform for faculty and students to participate in courses, internships, and research that build applied knowledge of how to leverage social media to enable firm success and to better understand how online social media conversations relate to offline conversations.  

Technology Application Award sponsored by Immedion -
Milliken & Company has designed Concrete Cloth™, cement-impregnated cloth that is available in packages small enough for two men to carry, enabling installations in remote locations that trucks are unable to access. The cloth uses up to 95% less concrete than traditional applications, reducing transportation loads for installations, carbon dioxide emissions, and waste at a project’s end.

Small Enterprise Award sponsored by SCRA Technology Ventures -Vidistar, LLC designs and sells medical imaging reporting software for cardiology, vascular surgery/medicine, OB-GYN, and general medicine. VidiStar, LLC offers a new approach to processing cardiac nuclear stress studies by allowing users the ability to remotely process, interpret and read them over the Internet. Physicians, technicians, and administrators can gain efficiencies and improve report turnaround times to referring physicians by using VidiStar’s Internet PACS and Online reporting software.

Sustainability Award sponsored by Sealed Air Corporation - Climax Global Energy has developed proprietary, patented technology to convert non-recyclable waste plastics into a premium synthetic oil product, which can be refined into clean diesel, high-grade synthetic lubricants and commercial waxes. This technology is environmentally-friendly and is a sustainable fuel source.

Technology Development Award sponsored by St. Jude Medical - Proterra, Inc.  Proterra’s EcoRide™ is the world’s first full-size, fast-charge battery, electric bus capable of fully charging in under 10 minutes. Leveraging advanced lithium-titanate battery technology, it is up to 600% more efficient than a typical Diesel or CNG bus—resulting in tremendous operating-cost savings. The EcoRide™ achieves 22+ MPGe, and has the ability to run 300+ miles per day and 30+ miles per charge.

Community Service Award - Presented to Greenville County Library System implemented the Millennium integrated library system and Encore Synergy as its new library resource management software and discovery search solution. GCLS became the first public library in South Carolina to provide this fully integrated suite of products which includes the most complete discovery solution available for today’s libraries.

Dr. Charles Townes Individual Achievement Award sponsored by A.T. Locke - Presented to Steve Johnson, CEO of CreatiVasc.  With Creative Technologies, Inc. (1990-1999) and Concurrent Technologies Corporation (1999-2007), Steve worked with Fortune 100 companies scouting for new technologies to license.  Since joining Dr. Cull and the CreatiVasc management team, Steve Johnson has helped address the overwhelming need for innovative and easy to use vascular technologies that address the universal problems of kidney dialysis. The dialysis field has seen little innovation over the last 40 years and CreatiVasc is delivering a stream of innovative, easy-to-use vascular technologies that address the universal problems of kidney dialysis and dramatically improve dialysis patients' quality of life.

CreatiVasc devices have won a number of prestigious awards, including the 2006 History Channel “Invent Now” Innovation Award (out of 4,000+ entries), and CreatiVasc personnel have been recipients of three InnoVision Awards for Innovation, Technology Commercialization and Small Business Enterprise.

Steve Johnson’s guidance of CreatiVasc Medical, LLC  is thoughtful, deliberate and collaborative.  The sole reason for joining the CreatiVasc management team was to help make a difference in the lives of the growing population of patients suffering from End Stage Renal Disease, a disease that affects thousands in the Upstate area of South Carolina alone.

A champion of the underdog and entrepreneur, Johnson’s strengths in technology commercialization, IP management, new company start-ups, empathy, and interpersonal relationships are part of the reason that Steve Johnson is recognized as a leader in his field of expertise.  He has a proven record of forming and nurturing successful teams to deliver innovative products to the market place.