Innovation Park at Notre Dame Announces New Client Companies

Early-Stage Companies Choose Innovation Park to Help Meet Critical Commercialization Needs

SOUTH BEND, Ind., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Four companies have committed to growing their businesses in the new Innovation Park at Notre Dame, the Park's president and CEO, David Brenner, announced today.  Representing a cross-section of industries with ties to the University of Notre Dame and Michiana, the companies have chosen the Park as a key partner in the rapid commercialization of their technologies and businesses.  All four companies have commenced operations in the Park.  

"We are pleased to welcome each of these exciting companies to Innovation Park," said Brenner.  "Their decision to work with the Park as they grow their businesses is a testament to the Park's ability to meet their needs through our array of resources, which include first-class space, amenities and access to our global network of marketplace experts and professional partners.  We look forward to doing everything possible to help these clients, and our future clients, achieve their commercialization milestones quickly and successfully."

The new Innovation Park clients are:

Emu Solutions, LLC

Emu Solutions is commercializing technologies that bridge the gap between memory and logic capabilities in computer systems, helping to address an increasingly common and critical issue for businesses and government.  As microprocessors have gotten faster, and as computer chip companies place more and more processors on a single "multi-core" chip, a bottleneck has developed that clogs the flow of data between processors and memory.  Emu is developing innovative solutions for reducing or eliminating the data bottleneck through their proprietary "Enhanced Memory Utilization (Emu)" hardware and software technology.  

Founded in 2004 by Notre Dame computer science and engineering professors Peter Kogge and Jay Brockman and California Institute of Technology researcher Ed Upchurch, Emu's technology has grown out of more than a decade of academic research, drawing on patents that Kogge and Brockman obtained through Notre Dame for their work in computer architecture and systems design.  

Emu's founders have made steady progress developing their business, and are now poised for significant growth.  After considering several other locations in Michiana, as well as California and Texas, they decided that Innovation Park was the best fit for their needs. 

"The state of the art facilities, no-nonsense 'let's get to work and make success' attitude, combined with the proximity to Notre Dame's campus made Innovation Park a clear choice for Emu Solutions," said Upchurch.  "As an independent business that is developing highly-proprietary technology, one of our greatest needs is for a private and secure work environment.  We appreciate that Innovation Park fulfills and respects this need."

The location across the street from campus was a key factor for Kogge and Brockman, where Brockman is also an associate dean at the College of Engineering. 

"Being so close to campus enables us to consider projects that take our core designs and extend them into new application areas, where the expertise of other university faculty can be beneficial," said Kogge.

All three founders are veterans of the business world.  Kogge worked for 25 years in IBM's Federal Systems Division, where he was the inventor on over three dozen patents, including the word's first multi-core processor.  Brockman came to Notre Dame after working for Intel Corporation, where he led a team that developed new memory products that were the forerunner to today's ubiquitous flash memory.  Upchurch, who currently serves as the company's interim CEO, has founded several successful start-up companies in the United States and Asia, and has served as an angel investor for other successful ventures. 

ALTAPURE, LLC

ALTAPURE provides patented, high-level sterilization and disinfection technology for large spaces and equipment.  The company's novel antiseptic aerosol technology prevents contamination by microorganisms that pose a threat to human health, particularly in health care settings and food processing facilities. ALTAPURE is headquartered in Tomahawk, Wis., with production facilities located in Elkhart, Ind., and sales operations in Indianapolis.

ALTAPURE requires 24/7 access to laboratory space to enhance and optimize its product within close proximity of its production facility and sales team.  Innovation Park at Notre Dame stepped up to help ALTAPURE meet this crucial need as the company looks to accelerate its production capacity due to increased demand for its product.

"When we were looking for a place near our production and sales facilities to help us complete assembly of our product, we had a very specific list of requirements for space and services," said Carl Ricciardi, President of ALTAPURE.  "Innovation Park was able to accommodate our needs perfectly.  We are eager to work with the Park in the coming months to find ways to help accelerate our production."

Learn more about the company at www.altapure.com.

Unlimited Juice, LLC

Unlimited Juice, LLC is currently commercializing patent-pending technology that allows for the retrofitting of existing portable consumer electronic devices with slim, environmentally-friendly solar power sources.  Housed in Innovation Park's Greenhouse space, the company is led by co-founder and CEO Landon Spitalnik, who is currently an MBA candidate at Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business.  The Greenhouse location provides Unlimited Juice with space for work, collaboration and access to Innovation Park's network of market experts and professional resources.

Spitalnik, who completed his undergraduate work at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, said Innovation Park was one of the key reasons he decided to pursue his MBA at Notre Dame.

"When choosing an MBA program, it was essential that I find a place conducive to the launch and continued growth of my business," said Spitalnik.  "The resources offered through Innovation Park at Notre Dame afford me just such an opportunity - a commercially-oriented environment to help identify and achieve key milestones that are vital to my company's success."

Learn more about Unlimited Juice at http://unlimited-juice.com.

Graham Allen Partners

Graham Allen Partners is a private holding company established to make investments in early-stage, high-growth businesses that will locate in the company's Innovation Park offices.  Led by principals who have spent their careers building and managing small, innovative businesses, Graham Allen Partners seeks to share its extensive experience with entrepreneurs to help transform their businesses into well-run, successful middle-market companies.

The company was founded and is managed by Tracy Graham, who has over 14 years of executive experience in the technology industry.  Graham, a Notre Dame alumnus, has led more than $80 million in technology related acquisitions and divestitures.  Prior to founding Graham Allen Partners, he co-founded GramTel, Inc., in partnership with The Jordan Company, a private equity firm headquartered in New York.  Graham served as President of GramTel, where he led the company to become the largest provider of managed data center services in the state of Indiana and the largest privately held provider in the Midwest.  In 2007, GramTel was sold to Cincinnati Bell, Inc.

Prior to founding GramTel, Graham founded Internet Services Management Group, Inc. where he led the company to become the second largest privately held Internet service provider in the United States.  

"Graham Allen Partners aims to build lasting businesses that contribute to the communities they serve," said Graham.  "We are thrilled to be able to partner with Innovation Park in this process.  As an experienced entrepreneur, I enthusiastically support the mission of the Park and believe that its resources will be a large asset to Graham Allen's operations."

About Innovation Park at Notre Dame

Innovation Park at Notre Dame connects innovators, market experts and capital providers to help transform innovations into viable marketplace ventures.  Located adjacent to the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., Innovation Park connects clients with key ingredients essential to commercial success.  The 55,000 square-foot facility is located just south of Notre Dame's campus and includes high-technology collaborative areas, fully-equipped conference rooms, build-to-suit office suites and dry and wet laboratory space. The Park is designed to serve a variety of businesses, including ventures with expected commercial applications from core University of Notre Dame research areas as well as ventures that can benefit from access to expertise and resources available through the Park.  Innovation Park is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization wholly owned by the University of Notre Dame.  For more information, visit www.innovationparknd.com.

SOURCE Innovation Park at Notre Dame