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BackgrounderJanuary 27, 2004 Purdue Research Park companies awarded Indiana 21st Century fundsThe Indiana 21st Century Research and Technology Fund today (Tuesday, 1/27) awarded three high-tech companies from the Purdue Research Park grant money totaling more than $3.7 million. For more information about the proposals, visit the fund's Web site. Research Park companies receiving funds were: Arxan Technologies Inc. ($1,178,256) Arxan Technologies is developing Purdue University-licensed information technology that has emerged from Purdue's Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS), an academic research institute and a National Security Agency Center of Excellence in Information Assurance. In August 2003, the company secured $8.3 million in its second round of venture capital financing. Kenneth Minihan, a principal with the lead investor, Paladin Homeland Security Fund, said, "After an extensive review process, we found Arxan to be the technology leader in the anti-tamper software protection space. Arxan offers an innovative security technology that effectively secures sensitive government applications against tampering while avoiding the heavy costs and resources usually associated with these activities." Arxan's technology, EnforcIT™, fortifies software applications to protect their integrity, prevent unauthorized access, and prevent reverse engineering and code lifting. EnforcIT™ forms a complex web of small security units, or guards, that work to protect against unwanted tampering. The guards watch code and each other, forming complex networks that are different in every instance of the program. CONTACT: Eric Davis, vice president, Arxan Technologies, (765) 412-6661 (cell), (765) 775-1004, edavis@arxan.com; Robin Frank, director of public relations, Arxan Technologies, (415) 445-1350, ext. 57; rfrank@arxan.com. Company Web site
Griffin Analytical Technologies Inc. ($1,569,125) Griffin Analytical Technologies is developing Purdue-licensed technologies that, for the first time, enable mass spectrometers to be portable and capable of multidimensional mass analysis. The instruments are being produced to detect, identify and confirm potential chemical threats. Specific applications range from detection of explosives and chemical weapons to field-based environmental health and safety analysis. Griffin is completing development and commercialization of MINOTAUR, the first portable mass spectrometer based on Cylindrical Ion Trap (CIT) technology, that has the ability to detect trace concentrations of chemicals in complex matrixes and then confirm the presence of these chemicals through an additional process called multiple mass analyses. "Existing technology operates with a high rate of false alarms, which has led to diminished credibility," said Dennis Barket, Griffin's co-founder and president. "MINOTAUR's ability to confirm initial findings gives Griffin the competitive advantage, and it gives the instrument operator the confidence required to properly respond to an established chemical threat." CONTACT: Dennis Barket, (765) 775-1701, ext. 101, barket@griffinanalytical.com; Rob Donoho, vice president sales and marketing, (765) 775-1701, ext. 104.
gh LLC ($959,300) gh LLC recently added new features to its software designed to make print material easier to read for those with disabilities. In November 2003, the company launched the second version of its digital talking book software, called gh PLAYER™. The improved product combines a variety of accessibility features with affordability, said David Schleppenbach, gh's CEO and co-founder. "The gh PLAYER™ 2.0 is the most advanced software for digital talking books on the market," Schleppenbach said. "Great strides are being made in the disabilities industry to make learning more enjoyable for people who aren't able to read in traditional ways." Using a proprietary conversion process, gh creates digital talking books that allow people with print disabilities access to information. Print disabilities include visual impairments, learning disabilities, cognitive impairments, mobility impairments (i.e. people who cannot physically turn pages), those learning English and people with literacy problems. Viewed with the gh PLAYER™, a playback application, the company's digital talking books offer audio, text and images that work in concert with each other. CONTACT: Dave Schleppenbach, (765) 775-3776, engage@ghbraille.com; Brad Hosack, gh marketing, (866) MY-3-DOTS, info@ghbraille.com. Photo available at https://ftp.purdue.edu/pub/uns/gh.blindstudent.jpeg
Writer: Jeanine Phipps, media relations, Purdue Research Park, (765) 494-0748, jeanine@purdue.edu |
