Case School of Engineering professor wins $75,000 in North Coast Nanotechnology Business Idea Competition
David Schiraldi has been working on AeroClay technology for five years
November 1, 2005 | For more information: Laura M. Massie (216)-368-4442
For David Schiraldi, the award of $75,000 was a "pleasant surprise." His early stage company, AeroClay, won the monetary first prize in the second annual North Coast Nanotechnology Business Idea Competition October 21, besting two other Cleveland-area semifinalists for the award. An additional $75,000 was awarded to Keystone Nano, a medical imaging and drug delivery company based at Penn State University in State College, Pa., in the International Nanotechnology Business Idea Competition. The competitions concluded Cleveland's NANO Week, a weeklong series of events and programs organized by NorTech's Nano-Network, and were held at Case Western Reserve University.
Schiraldi, an associate professor of macromolecular science and engineering at the Case School of Engineering had spent five years of researching and working on a technique for freeze drying clay to develop a lightweight product to be used in packaging materials or other products.
"Winning the North Coast competition was a pleasant surprise because the other companies were exceptional," said Schiraldi, who has taught at Case for nearly four years. "But I'm very happy and grateful for the honor - and the startup funding, of course. I considered myself a long shot in the competition because we were the least far along in the process of forming a company around the idea."
AeroClay is the name Schiraldi has given the product he developed by freeze-drying clay. The resulting material is 98 percent air and 2 percent clay, and, according to Schiraldi, making it biodegradable, and therefore, environmentally friendly. AeroClay can be adapted for all kinds of uses, including packaging materials (potentially replacing those annoying polystyrene packing peanuts) or even by covering the AeroClay in a polymer to create lightweight parts for automobiles or other products.
"Every single thing we want to do with AeroClay has to do with weight," he said. "We use different polymers for different applications but in AeroClay's case, we want to be able to adapt it for every day uses."
Since Schiraldi is the company's only employee right now, he said that the money will be used to hire a market development employee who can help transform his idea into a business. After the announcement was publicized in local media following the competition, Schiraldi reported that he has already received calls from several venture capital firms interested in helping his business get off the ground.
Thirteen semifinalists were chosen by a panel of judges from venture capital firms, corporations and nanotechnology researchers. The judges then chose six finalists to compete for the $75,000 first prize. The finalists made presentations to the panel and only two first-place winners were named. No second- or third-place prizes were given. Organizers of the competition included three Case programs: The Institute for Management and Engineering (TiME); the Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Program (STEP); and InTICE, the Institute for Technology Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship; and NorTech's Nano-Network.
Sponsors of the competition included ASM International, Nanofilm Ltd., Ferro Corporation, Case, Forest City Enterprises, The Partnerships for Innovation Program of the National Science Foundation and the Joseph P. and Nancy F. Keithley Foundation.
"The local entrants went toe-to-toe with the rest of the world," said Gary Wnek, co-director of the Institute for Management and Engineering. "Their presentations were excellent."
About Case Western Reserve University
Case is among the nation's leading research institutions. Founded in 1826
and shaped by the unique merger of the Case Institute of Technology and Western
Reserve University, Case is distinguished by its strengths in education, research,
service, and experiential learning. Located in Cleveland, Case offers nationally
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