Y50k Winners 2008
2008 Y50K Winners
This year’s competition has been a great success with some very high quality entries! We received a total of 30 submissions in the For-Profit and Social Entrepreneurship divisions, and we are announcing here the 8 Final Round winners, who competed with 16 First Round finalists in the ninth annual YES Y50K Final Round Presentations on Saturday, April 19. Congratulations to all the teams on your impressive effort and innovative ideas! Here are the results and the public summaries of the Final Round winning teams:
For-Profit
1st jetEye Technologies
The patent pending jetEye system reduces maintenance costs and increases the lifespan of jet engines. It consists of an engine mounted commodity eddy current sensor (ECS) connected to a custom data processing computer built from off the shelf components. The heart of the technology lies in our proprietary signal processing software. This software determines the vibration of each turbine or compressor blade from the incoming ECS data stream. The vibration parameters are then processed to determine the condition of the turbine blades. The jetEye system can detect fouling, wear, cracks, and manufacturing defects enabling dynamic maintenance scheduling. jetEye also interfaces with the Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) to automatically correct in-flight engine anomalies in real-time and to optimize engine operating parameters to minimize destructive blade resonances.
2nd Chromic Décor
Chromic Décor, LLC is redefining standard window shades and blinds. Utilizing material that can switch between dark and transparent states, our window coverings elegantly control the ambient light and temperature conditions in a room while maintaining the aesthetic appeal of traditional window coverings. Chromic Décor intends to address the need for improved energy efficiency in buildings by controlling solar heat gain in the summer and acting as an insulator in the winter, thereby reducing energy consumption through heating and cooling systems. Our products also improve ambient lighting and reduce glare, which promotes a more productive work environment by connecting interior spaces to the outdoors and natural light.
3rd OASYS
Osmotic Application Systems (OASYS), Inc. has developed a breakthrough desalination technology to address the growing global need for potable water. As a result of continued urban development, population growth, and global warming, industry analysts expect that by 2025 world demand for water will outstrip supply by 56 percent. The patented OASYS Forward Osmosis desalination and purification process offers companies and municipalities a novel treatment technology that can produce clean, drinkable water at significantly lower environmental and financial costs than existing industry alternatives.
HM Ideal Energy
Ideal Energy is a start-up electric power Company. It will install one small wind turbine on a customer’s property and sell the electricity generated to the owner/tenants at a price that is 10 percent lower than the utility rate. Ideal Energy will initially focus on dairy farms in the New York State market with headquarters in Buffalo, New York.
Social Entrepreneurship
1st CHWired
CHWired deploys user-friendly software applications over an inexpensive Wi-Fi network for rural community health workers in impoverished areas. Through this network, we connect these health workers to distant doctors and referral clinics to triage and treat patients, obtain training, share experiences, and collect health data.
2nd College Acceptance
College Acceptance is a nonprofit institution that brings college and graduate students into inner-city school districts to help high school students prepare for and apply to college. College Acceptance brings volunteers into classrooms during the school day and tailors its curriculum to meet teachers’ needs, departing from typical after-school programs to offer an innovative, inclusive approach to high school tutoring.
3rd Mangrove Partners
Mangrove Partners seeks to provide domestic microfinance institutions (MFIs) with liquidity to expand the breadth of their lending operations to low-income entrepreneurs. Mangrove channels funds from large institutions to community microlending organizations. By handling the complex and inefficient diligence process involved with investing in small and medium scale microlending organizations, Mangrove enhances the efficiency of capital allocation to underserved areas of the economy.
HM Easy Office
Easy Office is an early stage business service firm serving small non-profits. Its unique business model allows the firm to affordably provide services such as financial reporting, bookkeeping, and accounting. This social venture is run by a handful of Yale MBAs who saw the need and figured out a unique way to affordably serve small non-profits. The Company is currently serving four clients with plans to expand nationally over the next two years. Nationwide there are over 250,000 small NPs in need of the types of services Easy Office provides.
