Purdue News

May 15, 2003 Contact: Dee Reed, Marketing Coordinator, Rose-Hulman Ventures, (812) 244-4051, dee.reed@rhventures.org; Dennis Barket, President, Griffin Analytical Technologies, (765) 775-1701, barket@griffinanalytical.com Rose-Hulman Ventures Invests in Griffin Analytical Technologies Terre Haute, IN--Rose-Hulman Ventures, a technology-based business incubator, education, and product development center, is investing $500,000 in Griffin Analytical Technologies, Inc. Griffin, located in the Purdue Research Park in West Layfette, Indiana, is licensing proprietary Purdue technology to deliver a miniaturized mass spectrometer (MMS) to the analytical instrumentation market. Fingerprints are useful markers used to identify people; similarly, chemicals can be identified by patterns detected by mass spectrometers. Griffin is commercializing the first miniature mass spectrometer that is capable of performing highly selective analysis in a portable package. Mass spectrometry provides identification and quantification of chemical targets for many markets including academic research, pharmaceutical, biotechnological, environmental, consumer product, and petroleum industries. Griffin is focused on expanding mass spectrometry into the areas of defense and homeland security. Griffin's MMS has garnered attention from the military as a field portable chemical detector. This interest has led to $800,000 in Small Business Innovation Research grants from the United States Army. Rose-Hulman Ventures is working with Griffin to help develop the technology from the prototype stage to a commercialized product ready for the marketplace. Rose-Hulman Ventures will lend expertise in specific areas such as manufacturability, performance optimization, minimization of power consumption, and production cost reduction. "We are excited to utilize the in-kind services at Rose-Hulman Ventures," said Griffin president Dennis Barket. "We felt the potential of Griffin would best be realized by partnering with Rose-Hulman Ventures who can help us reach the market quickly." This is the first miniature mass spectrometer that does not sacrifice performance. "Our technology will create new markets where previously price, capability and size prohibited customers the luxury of using mass spectrometry as a chemical analysis tool," added Barket. Jim Eifert, president of Rose-Hulman Ventures said, "The partnership involving Rose-Hulman Ventures, Purdue University and Griffin is an excellent example of the kind of synergies that can be realized between academia and private sectors industry. We are very pleased to contribute engineering effort to the commercialization of products that incorporate the exciting new technologies leveraging from Purdue's laboratories through Griffin Analytical Technologies." About Rose-Hulman Ventures Rose-Hulman Ventures is creating economic growth and career opportunities for technical professionals in Indiana. In 1999, the Lilly Endowment, Inc. awarded a $29.7 million grant to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology to establish Rose-Hulman Ventures. The Lilly Endowment, Inc. awarded a $24.9 million grant in 2002 to build upon the success of programs at Rose-Hulman Ventures to expand educational and professional practice experiences for Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology students and faculty. For the fourth consecutive year, U.S. News and World Report magazine ranked Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology No. 1 among all colleges and universities that offer the master's as the top degree in engineering. For more information, visit, www.rhventures.org About Griffin Analytical Technologies, Inc. Griffin Analytical Technologies, Inc. is committed to providing the scientific community with portable, affordable, and functional chemical analysis instrumentation. Established in 2001, Griffin is licensing proprietary Purdue University technology to deliver a miniaturized mass spectrometer to the analytical instrumentation market. For more information visit, www.griffinanalytical.com About Purdue Research Park Established in 1961, Purdue Research Park is two miles north of Purdue's West Lafayette campus and is home to the largest university-affiliated, state-of-the-art business incubator facility in the nation. The companies in the park employ more than 2,200 people. For more information visit, www.purdue.edu/Research/gateways/