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UCI A UCI Applied Innovation Publication

MAY 2016

Table of Contents | 1THE COVECURRENTS UCI

Editors In Chief: Matt Bailey and Nick MiedeManaging Editor: Vanessa ChavezEvents: Cambria ShockleyCove Share Startup Feature: Ameihia TuringanFaculty Spotlight: Xiomara MelendezEiR Spotlight: Vanessa ChavezITG Feature: Tina Mai

IN THIS ISSUE

LEADERSHIP LETTER

Don Beall Chairman Founders Advisory Board

PAST TIDES

Tech In Motion: VR/AR Demo Night

UCI Applied Innovation & OCTANe’s Firsty

Blackstone LaunchPad Lunacy: Customer Pitch

Blackstone LaunchPad Lunacy: Shark Tank Pitch

Entrepreneurs Workshop

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

The Sweet Taste of Entrepreneurship

Stivii promotes a healthy lifestyle by incorporating the stevia plant in products.

ITG FEATURE

Meet the Invention Transfer Group

The Invention Transfer Group (ITG) is a crucial component of the technology transfer process on campus.

2 3

9

15

13

20

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT

Ramesh Jain

EIR SPOTLIGHT

Charles Gropper

Carina Reisin

2 | Leadership Letter Past Tides | 3UCITHE COVE

FOUNDERS LETTER

From my perspective, the most exciting aspect of UCI Applied Innovation and the Cove is the focus on bringing together innovators, entrepreneurs and the corporate community. Since corporate partnerships serve to benefit not only university researchers, but the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, I’m looking forward to seeing growth in this area as UCI Applied Innovation continues to evolve. Resources and expertise in the corporate community play a crucial role in bringing UCI intellectual capital to market. Whether licensing technology, sponsoring research, or acquiring startups, the corporate

community is essential to a thriving ecosystem of innovation. Fortunately, Orange County has a very strong corporate community and UCI brings a wealth of world-class technology from all points across its various schools, centers, and institutions. UCI Applied Innovation is well-positioned to act as a conduit, connecting UCI innovators, including great faculty, postdocs, and students, together with the business community to identify those areas with business development potential. The result should be a more vibrant business landscape benefitting the local region and beyond.

Don Beall Chairman Founders Advisory Board

PAST TIDES

4 | Past Tides Past Tides | 5UCITHE COVE

Tech in Motion’s Immersive Technology Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality (VR/AR) Demo Night featured local companies that are revolutionizing the tech industry. The audience, comprised of Tech in Motion members and VR/AR enthusiasts, convened at the Cove to demo a variety of immersive technology products. The event drew a big crowd. Nicole Torretta from Jobspring Partners noted, “This is the largest event ever hosted in the [Tech In Motion] Orange County chapter”.

April 7

Firsty, an OCTANe program that focuses on networking and relationship-building, held a networking event co-sponsored by UCI Applied Innovation at the Cove. The event brought together 200 people in the Orange County technology ecosystem, including executive leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, venture capitalists, academia, and strategic advisors. “We’re hoping to achieve a location where people can come and network with

other like-minded tech people, where they can learn about OCTANe and learn about the Cove,” said Jennifer Syfers, the events manager at OCTANe.

UC Irvine Graduate Professional Success- Biomedical Sciences (UCI-GPS BIOMED) co-sponsored the event with UCI Applied Innovation. UCI-GPS BIOMED prepares graduate students for diverse careers

and empowers them to become skilled scientists and professionals. Firsty connects entrepreneurs and executives to UCI undergraduate and graduate students. Dan Tran, a fourth year UCI Business Economics undergraduate said, “It’s a really good way for students like myself [to] get into the professional business world and mingle.”

PAST TIDES Tech In Motion: VR/AR Demo NightMarch 31

PAST TIDES UCI Applied Innovation & OCTANe’s FirstyApril 7

COMPANIES THAT PARTICIPATED IN THE EVENT

360Heros Specializes in 360 degree VR video technology and created the first VR media management software

Bipolar ID Pioneered the very first VR sports experience and first-person POV VR

HTML Fusion Works with entrepreneurs, ideas, and mixed reality environments

Immersive Drives immersive and interactive VR experiences with Entertainment next-generation technology

MERIDIAN VR Integrates native advertising and commerce applications with AR experiences

Monster VR Specializes in website VR, 360, and being community-driven

Next VR Enables the transmission of live and long-form VR content in broadcast quality

OSSIC Focuses on fully-immersive audio hardware and software

SubPac Provides “the Physical Dimension of Sound” and augments media content with low frequencies

6 | Past Tides Past Tides | 7UCITHE COVE

The concluding event for UCI Blackstone LaunchPad’s March Madness pitch competition brought together the final four teams: Detective Fish, Sol Sisters, Newport Flips, and RePo Therapeutics. The teams competed for the 1st place $2,500 prize, 2nd place $1,500 prize, and 3rd place $1,000 prize.

The event was a Shark Tank-style competition where the teams each had 3 minutes to pitch their businesses to a panel, followed by a 10-15 minute Q&A. During the Q&A, the teams were tasked with trying to get the best offer from the panel of “sharks”. The “sharks”

were John Lasko (CEO and Co-founder of VacciTech), Carter Wigell (CEO and Founder of Ideator), Bart Greenberg (President and Founder of Pivotal Law Firm), and Mary Huber (Partner and Sales and Business Development at Chicklabs).

The fictional currency that was used was called Zots, and each “shark” had 50,000 Zots to invest. The team with the best deal was RePo Therapeutics. They were given an offer of 25,000 Zot Bucks for 1% equity of the company. RePo Therapeutics did not get the most offered Zot Bucks compared to the business teams, but they had the best

deal because the “shark” would only receive 1% equity of the company. For receiving the best deal, RePo Therapeutics was the final champion of the Lunacy Event and won the grand prize of $2,500.

Carter Wigell from Ideator provided the cash prizes, and Bart Greenberg from Pivotal Law Firm awarded the first place $2,500 prize.

innovative pair of sunglasses with a wild side. And finally, Sol Sisters pitched their stylish line of UV-protected clothing.

“Everyone did a spectacular job, because these sales pitches were not easy and it was a unique approach to the normal pitch,” said the Assistant Director of UCI Blackstone LaunchPad Breanna Bremer.

After the judges’ careful deliberation, the competition concluded with Newport Flips and Repo Therapy set to compete for first and second in the final round while Sol Sisters and Detective Fish would be competing for third and fourth.

The Cove played host to UCI Blackstone LaunchPad Lunacy, a “March Madness” style competition where teams of budding entrepreneurs compete for prizes. Out of the 64 teams, the final four competed in the Customer Pitch round. In this round, the competitors gave their best sales pitches of their products to the judges, followed by a Q&A.

Detective Fish kicked off the competition, pitching their video game development company. Responsive Polymer Therapeutics or Repo Therapeutics pitched next with their idea of creating the next generation of antibiotic therapy with responsive polymers. Newport Flips brought to the table a new and

PAST TIDES Blackstone LaunchPad Lunacy: Customer PitchApril 11

PAST TIDES UCI Blackstone LaunchPad Lunacy: Shark Tank Pitch - Final RoundApril 11

8 | Past Tides Startup Spotlight | 9UCITHE COVE

that he is noticing growth in the areas of cyber security, wearable technology, and virtual reality and augmented reality.

After the panel, Matt Bresnahan, a biotech patent attorney, and Alvin Viray, Associate Director of the Invention Transfer Group (ITG), presented on the role of patents and licensing in business. Viray explained how ITG works and noted his fondness for startups, his “favorite to look at because they lead to local economic development.”

Rob Kornegay, Corporate and Securities Partner with Palo Alto-based law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, emceed this all-day workshop that focused on legal insights for companies of all sizes in the technology and life science industries. Kornegay, with the help of Zach Myers, Senior Associate of IP Counseling and Patents at WSGR’s San Diego office, led the majority of the presentations throughout the day on topics that ranged from forming and organizing a startup to the predicted valuation of a company. The event was also interspersed with breaks where the attendees networked with each other and the WSGR team.

After lunch, Kornegay led an investor panel discussion that included UCI Applied Innovation Executive Director Richard Sudek. The panelists offered insights and shared stories of what investors look for when they get involved with a startup. They discussed the rise of startups in the areas of the Internet of Things and semiconductors. Sudek added

PAST TIDES WSGR WorkshopApril 22

STARTUPSPOTLIGHT

10 | Startup Spotlight Startup Spotlight | 11UCITHE COVE

25% lower in calories with one-tenth of amount the sugar,” says Babooie. “You can’t even tell that there is no sugar inside the chocolate”. Along with the lack of sugar, the chocolates are made with actual fruit rather than artificial flavoring or juice powders. After extensive market research and product development, they officially launched their products in 2014.

As the Stivii products entered the market, Babooie decided to return to UCI in Fall 2014 for his MBA. While Babooie lives in Los Angeles, he chose UCI over other business schools because it is a “very dynamic and innovative program”. As a Fully Employed MBA candidate, he attends the program part-time which allows him to focus on his business. Babooie describes the Mentorship Program as one of his most beneficial experiences as an MBA candidate. The program paired him with Dan Jenkins, a Cove Expert-in-Residence and UCI Blackstone LaunchPad Venture Advisor. Coincidentally, the two met a year earlier at UCI Blackstone LaunchPad where they discussed Babooie’s challenges and ways to maximize retail traction. The pair even conducted “field reconnaissance” by visiting a supermarket where the Stivii chocolates are sold at. “Since we were already acquainted, we decided to focus all of our energies on fine-tuning his business strategy, crafting his pitch deck and initiating the process of fundraising,” says Jenkins. Jenkins helped Babooie refine Stivii’s branding, packaging, channel strategy, in-store merchandising, and storytelling.

For Maxim Babooie, UCI has played a pivotal role in his experience as an entrepreneur. After graduating in 2012 with a degree in Business Economics, Babooie turned to entrepreneurship after a conversation with his father. They talked about the stevia plant, a South American herb that functions as a natural and zero-calorie sugar substitute. “My father has a background in nutritional and natural supplements and [after our conversation] we started doing some market research,” says Babooie. As a result of the research, the pair discovered how much sugar is found in everyday foods and how it contributes to diabetes and obesity. This illumination sparked the idea for their nutraceutical company, Stivii Corporation. “The timing was right with me graduating and trying to find out what I wanted to do next,” says Babooie.

The Babooies founded Stivii Corporation in April 2012. Their goal with Stivii is to promote a healthy lifestyle and mitigate diabetes and obesity by incorporating the stevia plant in their products. To make “the world’s sweet tooth a little smarter”, Stivii offers portable mini sweeteners as well as an array of Stevia sweetened dark chocolates in flavors from blueberry almond to pomegranate. “[The Stevia extract] makes our dark chocolates

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT The Sweet Taste of Entrepreneurship

The timing was right with me graduating and trying to find out what

I wanted to do next.

12 | Startup Spotlight Faculty Spotlight | 13UCITHE COVE

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT

the business community, he has grown tremendously as an entrepreneur and hopes to grow Stivii into a national brand in the future. “UCI provides resources for the entrepreneur, which when you are starting out, is pretty much the biggest factor in your ability to move forward. Just being in this environment, I have the opportunity to work with talented people, advisors, and mentors,” says Babooie. “I look forward to my next year here at UCI and being able to interact with new people and companies at the Cove.”

To learn more about Stivii please visit stivii.com.

Orange County and UCI now truly have a focused technology ecosystem headquartered at the Cove, a big

improvement from a year ago. Now, budding entrepreneurs can get started at the LaunchPad, graduate to the Cove, move into

formal offices at the Cove and then out on their own. There was always a chasm that students had to cross after graduating from

UCI and/or the LaunchPad. The next step was never as clear as it is now. Whereas before an entrepreneur’s dream might

have died upon graduation, it can now continue through The Cove’s supportive ecosystem.

–Dan Jenkins, Cove EiR and Blackstone LaunchPad Venture Advisor: Consumer Products

“We’re always talking, he’s always just an email or phone call away. He’s extended his hand pretty much with everything I needed from questions to guidance,” says Babooie. During the mentorship program period, the two had bi-weekly meetings at the Cove. Jenkins also connected Babooie to investors and food industry experts in the Cove ecosystem. “Maxim is energetic, passionate and coachable, which allowed us to collaborate easily,” says Jenkins. “He is a focused entrepreneur with the passion and determination necessary to launch a successful start-up.”

Babooie will graduate with his MBA in 2017 and is leaning toward strategy and entrepreneurship as his emphases. Through

Dan Jenkins and Maxim Babooie at the TechCoast Angels Celebration of Entrepreneurship event. Stivii was one of twelve startups selected to pitch amongst 120 applicants.

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT The Sweet Taste of Entrepreneurship

14 | Faculty Spotlight ITG Feature | 15UCITHE COVE

Web because photos are connected to other photos through implicit links. Jain envisions that Krumbs will change the way we communicate at the personal and organizational level. Entrepreneurship has become more than a passion to Jain, he loves seeing his research put into practice to solve real world problems. “Now it is almost impossible for me not to be involved in at least one company,” he says.

Jain believes that the Cove is something that is needed here at UCI. It can aid faculty by helping them turn their research into real-world applications and it can be beneficial to younger students who want to start a company but don’t have the adequate resources or knowledge to do so. “This is why I love the concept of the Cove…this could be truly transformative at the university,” says Jain.

Jain has conducted research in experiential computing, multimedia information systems, machine vision, and intelligent systems. Despite co-authoring more than 450 research papers, Jain felt like his work was somehow incomplete. He eventually turned to entrepreneurship and founded his first company in Michigan. This experience was very fulfilling because it enabled Jain to turn his research and proposals into real practices. Since then, he has co-founded, managed, and turned several companies over to professional management.

Currently, Jain is co-founder of the visual web company Krumbs. His inspiration behind Krumbs stems from his visual information research and changes in communication. As younger generations like to use visual information over text, Jain believes that Krumbs is the perfect way for people to capture and send micro-reports about the things they see and experience. Krumbs is developing an early version of the Visual

As a professor and entrepreneur, Ramesh Jain enjoys using his research to solve real- world problems. Jain was introduced as the first professor in the UCI Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences in 2005. He obtained his Bachelor’s in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and then went on to complete his Ph.D. in Computer Science at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. After obtaining his Ph.D, he became a computer science professor and founder of the artificial intelligence and visual computing labs at the University of Michigan and UC San Diego. Jain decided to become a professor because he wanted to do research. “I knew that research was going to be my passion, I wanted to do research, particularly design things that would be useful to people,” says Jain.

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT Ramesh Jain

ITG FEATURE

16 | ITG Feature ITG Feature | 17UCITHE COVE

We were able to give Noemi that training and she got accepted! I came in one day and there she was in the office. She saw me from across the Cove and couldn’t contain herself. She just came running over to me saying “Doug, guess what, guess what?!” She couldn’t wait to tell me that she got into I-Corps and thanked us so much for all the help we gave.

4. What is one piece of advice you’d like to give to student innovators?

Believe in your idea and show enthusiasm. If you don’t, no one else will.

5. What is an interesting fact about yourself that not many people know about?

I worked on the set of the old TV show, “Bonanza”, as a ranch hand. I also held another job back when I was a teenager where I took people sailing!

2. What is your specific role in ITG?

I am the Senior Licensing Officer so I manage over 250 invention portfolios in engineering, physical sciences, and computer science.

3. What has been your favorite memory of working with ITG or UCI Applied Innovation so far?

Well, I had a really fun experience just a few weeks ago. One of the researchers we were working with, Dr. Noemi Bonessio, is a very enthusiastic, exuberant, Italian inventor. We have been helping her prepare her technology to get into the I-Corps (Innovation Corps) Program, an NSF national program where you get a $50,000 grant to pursue the commercialization part of your technology. You normally need to have NSF funding in order to be eligible for that, but there’s a pathway where if you take some training through UCI Applied Innovation and you successfully pass, you can become eligible.

Doug Crawford, Senior Licensing Officer

1. What is your educational and professional background? How did you come to work for ITG?

I graduated from UC Berkeley back in 1986 with a BA in Physics before I got my MBA in Finance at St. Mary’s College in 1996. Throughout those years, I was the Principal Researcher in plasma physics and technology transfer at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. I went on to become Marketing Director at ReEnergize in the Bay area. After gaining experience as a Licensing Officer for UC Berkeley and later the UC Office of the President, I finally became the Senior Licensing Officer for Engineering and Physical Sciences with ITG at UCI Applied Innovation.

at Structural BioInformatics back in 2000 and finally joined the Invention Transfer Group as the Associate Director in 2003.


I am the Interim Associate Director for the Engineering and Physical Sciences group with the Office of Technology Alliances (OTA). For specific duties, I review new invention disclosures for patentability and commercial viability, and connect with industry for licensing opportunities. I also draft and negotiate agreements for UCI’s latest company spinoffs and startups.


Watching startups go from an idea on paper to companies with full time employees and a facility of their own.


Don’t stop being a problem-solver. Always be on the look out to make anything easier, more efficient, faster, safer, more fun, etc. Oftentimes people who use a product or service suffer through its shortcomings and simply accept its failings and its weaknesses. Instead, view an underperforming technology as a challenge to come up with something new and improved. Be confident in your ability to recognize existing problems and solve them using your creativity and ingenuity.


I was the Coach for both the 2012 and 2013 Business Plan Competition first place winners, team Face2Face (2012 Campus-Wide Division Winner) and team Noregen (2013 Life Science Award Winner).

The Invention Transfer Group (ITG) is a crucial component of the technology transfer process on campus. ITG comprises a large part of the UCI Applied Innovation staff. Within ITG, the officers and directors focus either on Physical Sciences or Life Sciences.

This month, we had the pleasure of sitting down and talking with the Physical Sciences side of ITG.

Alvin Viray, Esq., Associate Director


I got my BS in Biology right here at UCI back in 1995 before moving on to take the USPTO (US Patent and Trademark Office) Bar in 2001. Quickly after, I got my J.D. at the University of San Diego and then took the California Bar in 2002 as well. I later became the IP (Intellectual Property) Counsel

ITG FEATURE Meet the Invention Transfer Group

18 | ITG Feature ITG Feature | 19UCITHE COVE


My role is to facilitate transfer of the University’s inventions for the benefit of the public.


I’ve only been here for a month so far so I don’t have a particular one yet, but just wait for it!


Be persistent.


I love soccer (I support the Liverpool FC, an English Premiere League soccer club). It’s sad because my 11 year old soccer-playing daughter is beginning to ignore me (concerning soccer tips and other areas in life).

Prior to ITG, I was a Postdoctoral Scientist investigating immunology of diabetes and use of retroviral vectors for cancer at UCI, Cedars-Sinai Hospital Los Angeles, and USC and then a Patent Attorney working with patent portfolios from many Southern California Institutions. I then became a Senior Licensing Officer at UCR for life science and engineering inventions and finally ended up here after getting attracted by the quality of ITG personnel, UCI faculty and Applied Innovation facilities.

Richard Tun, Ph.D., Esq., Senior Licensing Officer


I received both my B.S. in Biochemistry and Ph.D. in Immunology from Kings College, University of London. After that, I received my J.D. from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles.


I lived in Japan and Europe for over 3 years.


Watching startup companies make pitches to Tech Coast Angels and other VC groups here at the Cove.


Find good mentors; we have plenty here in the OC.

Michael Harpen, Licensing Officer


I have a B.S. in Chemical Engineering at the University of South Alabama and J.D. in Law at Louisiana State University. I got hired a couple years out of grad school after doing some related work abroad and elsewhere in the U.S.


I manage a subset of the intellectual property which the engineering and physical sciences schools submit to our office.

ITG FEATURE Meet the Invention Transfer Group

20 | EIR Spotlight EIR Spotlight | 21UCITHE COVE

When I heard about the EiR program, I realized it was an opportunity to do something similar at a bit of a higher level. It was an opportunity to work with people who had an interest, but not very much experience, in the medical device space. Whether it is designing a new product, gadget, system, or process, I could help them get through the regulatory or technical challenges. That’s what I was hoping for and that has been what I’ve encountered thus far through the EiR program.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s, so at the time the space program was very big. Because it was such a prominent aspect of my childhood, I did want to be an astronaut and go to space at the time. I wanted to see what it was like to have adventures and be separated from the rest of the world. Beyond that, I was pretty lucky because I fell into this field. I was introduced to this field of biomedical engineering when I was a freshman in college by someone who was examining a human skull under a microscope and wound up being my faculty advisor. I found this field when I was young and I’ve been lucky to be playing in this sandbox since.

Who or what has been your greatest inspiration in life? Explain.

There are a lot of people who have inspired me throughout my life, from when I was a kid through college. There were a lot of professors that impacted me during that time. But I’ve got to be honest. The “what” is a lot more powerful. I spent my entire career working with medical devices, mostly lifesaving and life supporting instrumentation. Working in the medical device field has been tremendously rewarding. Having the opportunity to work with this machine that we carry around, the human body, has been both challenging and rewarding.

What is one piece of advice you would share with a new entrepreneur?

One piece of advice I would share with a new entrepreneur would be to have a really good idea but more importantly to build a really great team around themselves. A good idea is fundamental, but the great team is what will get you there. That is what will really help you become successful.

Why did you decide to become a Cove Expert-in-Residence?

From the time that I was introduced to the Cove Expert-in-Residence program, the concept stuck with me. It has always been a part of my plan to give back and educate. I wanted to work with 10-11 year olds initially in math and sciences to help mold them.

Charles Gropper

Charles Gropper is a Senior Engineering Executive who leads teams in bringing high quality, innovative Medical Devices to market on time and within budget. He successfully delivered over 20 new products and dozens of enhancements in the areas of pulmonology, cardiology, artificial organs, therapeutics and diagnostics for start-ups and companies with revenues of up to $500MM.

He identifies and implements strategies and processes to reduce costs, increase revenue, improve business practices and drive profitable growth. Charles builds, mentors, and encourages a team environment resulting in high levels of employee competence, confidence and customer satisfaction.

Charles has an entrepreneurial passion for engineering and product development with a proven ability to create design control systems and environments that are efficient and effective with a strategic, tactical, hands-on approach to accomplishing key objectives.

EIR SPOTLIGHT

EIR SPOTLIGHT

22 | EIR Spotlight EIR Spotlight | 23UCITHE COVE

what can be improved, and later talking to the physicians and getting their feedback. There is no greater fulfillment than seeing your product being used in real life, and especially in medicine, and I wish that feeling to every aspiring entrepreneur.

learn from them as well as to share my own experiences. It stands to provide a platform for sharing and combining the research and the ideas coming from the university with “real life” commercial experience, and exploring paths from research to technology to products. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the Cove tries to make it a more fun experience and improves tie-ins to our local community in general.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I always wanted to be a physician. I am still not quite sure why I didn’t become one. Probably because I was always better with physics than with biology. That said, I was missing this calling for a long time, until I managed to find a way to combine my two passions and to navigate my career to medical devices. I love the dynamics of developing new products and creating something, yet being involved in the medical field and contributing to improving human lives at the very fundamental level. One of my favorite experiences has always been, and still is, to attend surgeries and medical procedures involving products that I have developed. I love watching them being used on real patients, learning what works well and

on those you can control and make the best decisions you can make to stay relevant and be ready to catch your break when the time comes. As a second “free” advice, I would say – don’t underestimate the value of good education. Don’t assume that because Microsoft and Facebook were founded by “college dropouts”, this is the path to success. These are the exceptions. A good well-rounded education will not only give you the foundation to become successful, but will give you the tools and the confidence to change directions and adjust course along the way, which is so critical to many ventures (back to being patient…).

Why did you decide to become a Cove Expert-in-Residence?

Since my research days, I was always fascinated by the amount of interesting and cutting edge ideas swirling around in academia and research institutions. And yet, something seemed to be missing in the ability to tap into this sea of ideas and fish for the ones that can become commercially viable and become a basis for products and businesses in the foreseeable future. Cove’s EiR program interests me as one of the ways to get closer to the academic research and the people involved in it. I am happy to

She always strived to be very independent, have interest in her professional life and her career in mathematics and data analysis, and emphasized high quality education as key. This sounds much more obvious today than it was when she was growing up. She did all that while raising three kids during very difficult political times in Argentina, and eventually moved all the family to Israel, where I grew up. My mother is a very intellectual and spiritual person. Now that she is retired, she continues to advance her interests in classic and modern philosophy, history and politics by constantly attending lectures. She reads all the time. When she prepares a toast for some family gathering, it sounds like poetry, and all the family is always looking forward to hearing what she will say. I wish I was more well-rounded like her. Of course, my father deserves many credits for being totally supportive and carrying his share of the load.

What is one piece of advice you would share with a new entrepreneur?

Patience, patience and patience… You cannot time success. There are many aspects involved in making a venture successful. All of them need to come together and you are only in control of a few of them. Focus

Prior to co-founding Novus, Carina carried the role of VP of Advanced Technologies & Engineering at Calhoun Vision and served in several key R&D leadership roles at Abbott Medical Optics. At Abbott, she led global research and development teams in the areas of ophthalmology. Her earlier experiences include research and development work in cutting-edge technology companies such as Corning where she brought new insight and expertise within the optics industry and led the development of advanced innovative systems. Carina is a co-inventor of 15 patents and has several publications to her credit. She holds a PhD in Physics from Technion - Israel Institute of Technology and a B.Sc. degree with distinction in Physics from Tel-Aviv University.

Carina is an EiR at UCLA and UCI; she offers her industry and startup experience to help guide and bolster entrepreneurial efforts across college campuses.

Who or what has been your greatest inspiration in life? Explain.

I had many different inspirations, but looking back, my mother was probably my biggest influence before I even knew it.

Carina Reisin

Carina Reisin is a technology executive with over 18 years of management experience and a track record of bringing to market a number of leading products. Her experience spans large multinational companies and entrepreneurial ventures. Recently, Carina co-founded Novus Medical Ventures to in-license and commercialize innovative medical device technologies from academic institutions and industry sources. Carina provides technology consulting services to companies and investors in the medical device sector.

EIR SPOTLIGHT

24 | Making Waves Making Waves | 25UCITHE COVE

MetaSeismic receives $50K NSF I-CORPS Program Award

“MetaSeismic is a high-performance metamaterial specifically designed for the seismic protection of buildings and bridges”, says the inventor Dr. Noemi Bonessio, an Asst. Project Scientist in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of California, Irvine.

“When installed within a structure, MetaSeismic is capable of absorbing and dissipating 90% of the vibration energy produced by a ground shaking, and drastically reducing the risk of structural damages”. This is an important step towards the need for increased seismic safety in the United States and around the world. In just Los Angeles and San Francisco over 50,000 residential homes and retail stores were recently required to undergo urgent seismic retrofit. “For the very first time, an architected material is developed to increase the resiliency of buildings and bridges to natural hazards” says Noemi.

Just a few months ago Noemi became a Cove Share member and received mentorship through the ZAP Program hosted by Michael Harpen and Doug Crawford at the UCI Applied Innovation. Thanks to the collaboration with the Cove Experts in Residence, Noemi was recently awarded $50K from the NSF I-Corps Program to investigate the potential commercialization of her invention. And MetaSeismic already started to generate interest from contractors in Southern California.

Cove Startup Resident Blossom closes $2 million Series A!

Blossom, a tenant here at the Cove, is impacting our environment and community. Manrique Brenes, CEO and Founder of Blossom, states “Blossom is the nest of water.”

Marnrique explains, “There are 20 million homes in the US that have a pressurized irrigation system and 40 to 50 globally. And that is important because if you look at water consumption, which is around $100 a month... half of that water is being used outdoors, most of the water is in the irrigation system and around 50 % is being wasted.”

Blossom is a system that programs itself a watering schedule for your lawn to prevent wasting water and money.

“We have raised total, so far, $4 million in funding. We have different type of investors, We have Angels, venture capitals, and we have the strategic,” said Brenes.

Recently, Blossom is working with a strategic investor that has approached them.

“[They have been] working a lot on the connected yard space and it’s been a great.”

Making Waves

Making Waves

Noemi Bonessio, PhD, PE Principal Investigator of MetaSeismic A metamaterial for the seismic protection of buildings.

Manrique Brenes CEO and Founder

THE COVE

DATE DAY TIME EVENT

5.04.16 WEDNESDAY 8:00 AM 1 MILLION CUPS

5.04.16 WEDNESDAY 11:30 AM JLAB’S IND APPLICATION SEMINAR

5.06.16 FRIDAY 6:00 PM BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION AWARD CEREMONY

5.07.16 SATURDAY 1:00 PM IEEE GAMESIG SHOWCASE

5.10.16 TUESDAY 11:30 AM CLEANTECHOC’S CAP & TRADE LUNCHEON


5.13.16 FRIDAY 12:00 PM LUNCH & LEARN

5.14.16 SATURDAY 2:00 PM ICS/M2CATALYST/OCTANE HACKATHON


5.18.16 WEDNESDAY 7:00 PM GIRLBOSS: PANEL OF FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS


5.24.16 TUESDAY 3:00 PM TRITECH X APPLIED INNOVATION’S SBIR WORKSHOP


5.25.16 WEDNESDAY 7:00 PM OC TECH HAPPY HOUR


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