06/25/04

Two High-Tech Companies Join techcenter@UMBC

BALTIMORE, MD (June 25, 2004) - Technology companies Blue Wave Semiconductors and Applied Sciences now call techcenter@UMBC home. Blue Wave is a high-tech start-up involved with optoelectronic materials and devices with initial focus on the ultraviolet spectrum. The company has acquired a license with the University of Maryland College Park on advanced semiconductor materials and devices for detection and monitoring of ultraviolet light. Blue Wave has won an SBIR Phase II award in the amount of $500,000 for the commercialization of UV detector technology. The company also provides wafer heating products and processing solutions to the semiconductor research and development community and the federal government.

“UMBC provided an excellent location coupled with strong business advisory services that are very beneficial to the growth of Blue Wave,” says R.D. Vispute, CEO.

Applied Sciences, LLC, is a research and development firm that specializes in electro optical sensor development. “techcenter@UMBC was attractive to us for several reasons, including location and special facility capabilities,” said David Silcott, Applied Sciences Managing Director. The Applied Sciences development team has developed a real-time biological aerosol sensor that is being applied towards counter-terrorism and biological defense applications.

“We are pleased to welcome Blue Wave Semiconductors and Applied Sciences to techcenter@UMBC,” said Walt Schulz, techcenter@UMBC Director. “Both companies possess synergistic qualities for collaborations with UMBC and strengthen techcenter@UMBC's growing high-technology cluster.”

“Baltimore County is a great place to nurture new ideas and discovery,” stated David S. Iannucci, Executive Director, Baltimore County Department of Economic Development. “The techcenter@UMBC offers a work environment that brings together academic and private sector thinking to commercialize leading edge technologies.”

About techcenter@UMBC: UMBC's technology incubator, founded in 1989, was expanded in 1996 when UMBC purchased the 30-acre five-building Lockheed Martin Research Lab facility site and renamed it techcenter@UMBC. The Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO), with the help of $5 million in state funding, acquired the building and converted it from a single-use to multi-use facility.

Phase II is bwtech@UMBC, a 41-acre research and technology community being developed by the international commercial real estate firm Grosvenor in collaboration with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). bwtech@UMBC has a total development capacity of up to 330,000 square feet of office and laboratory space. The park will ultimately comprise five new state-of-the-art buildings occupied by research and technology firms. The firms have access to university expertise, students, technology, programs and facilities.

“Graduates” of techcenter@UMBC are eligible to locate at bwtech@UMBC. One building at bwtech@UMBC is currently occupied by RWD Technologies, and a second building is under construction for delivery in summer 2004. The new building is designed for either office or wet lab space.

The companies at techcenter@UMBC and bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park provide a total of about 500 jobs, including more than 30 UMBC students. The companies work closely with 40 UMBC faculty and staff. techcenter@UMBC has successfully helped several companies acquire Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), TEDCO and Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) funding. For more information about techcenter@UMBC, including a list of current companies and graduates, see the website at www.umbc.edu/techcenter.