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October 12, 2006
[LSU
NEWS]
Engensus, the first private comprehensive hurricane
engineering firm in America, was named winner
of the "New Venture Business Plan" competition
today at the annual BizTech Expo's Top 100 Private
Companies Luncheon. LSU's E.J. Ourso College of
Business and the Baton Rouge Business Report sponsored
the competition.
Using similar principles as the established field
of earthquake engineering, Engensus will offer
a unique combination of interdisciplinary services,
including civil, structural, wind and forensic
engineering, as well as consulting for coastal
processes, vulnerability analysis and hurricane
risk-mitigation. The company is targeting those
vulnerable to hurricanes - in business, industry,
insurance, architecture, government and emergency
planning.
Highlighting the venture's timeliness, the National
Science Board recently released a draft report
calling for major national investments in hurricane
science and engineering.
The Engensus management team, composed of Joey
Coco, Sam Amoroso and Marc Levitan, credit LSU
for the company's foundation.
"Many of the ideas leading to the establishment
of the firm have their origins in research and
academic programs at the LSU Hurricane Center
and the Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering at LSU. These organizations developed
the concepts and established curricula in hurricane
engineering," according to an Engensus news
release.
Coco is a licensed engineer with a degree in
civil engineering and an MBA from LSU. Amoroso,
a licensed engineer with a degree in civil engineering
from LSU, is pursuing his doctoral degree from
LSU on the topic of wind effects on petrochemical
structures. Levitan holds a doctorate and has
more than 20 years' experience in research, education
and consulting in wind, hurricane and structural
engineering. He is the LSU Hurricane Center director
and an endowed civil and environmental engineering
associate professor at LSU.
"We are establishing and branding an entirely
new field of engineering. Engensus is committed
to Baton Rouge and will work closely with LSU
to retain graduates trained in the latest applications
of hurricane engineering," the team members
said in their presentation for the judges.
The competition was open to all entrepreneurs
in the 10-parish capital region. A panel of judges
evaluated each team based on a written business
plan, a 30-minute oral and PowerPoint presentation
and a question-and-answer session. The winning
company must launch within six months. Two other
start-up companies were named finalists.
NanoMat Technologies was founded by Challa Kumar
of LSU's CAMD and Carola Leuschner of the Pennington
Center. They are joined with Craig Stevens, CAMD
assitant director, to target cancer hospitals
and diagnostic companies that provide MRI scans
to breast and prostate cancer patients. This nanotechnology
company plans to market its patent-pending contrast
agent for MRI, LHRH-SPION, a non-toxic chemical
product that specifically attaches to cancer cells
when injected in the body, making cancer cells
highly visible in MRI scans. This will provide
earlier detection with the exact location of primary
and metastasized cancer, which may revolutionize
treatments and reduce the number of cancer deaths.
RigIt Safe, founded by brothers Justin and Josh
Langlois, will target companies in the material-handling
industry to offer on-site personnel safety training,
as well as inspection, testing and certification
of the material-handling equipment. RigIt Safe's
services may help companies to obtain a safer
work environment with potentially reduced injuries
and insurance premiums. In conjunction with its
safety services, the company sells material-handling
equipment, including rigging products, hydraulic
and industrial hoses and hydraulic adapters
The winner becomes a complimentary tenant of
the E. J. Ourso College's Louisiana Business and
Technology Center, or LBTC, along with business
supplies, furniture and equipment. Local business
sponsors will provide free professional services
including accounting, legal and graphic-design
consultation. The total expected benefits are
$25,000. The LBTC is nationally recognized as
a top-performing business incubator.
For more information on the competition, call
the LBTC at 225-578-4842.
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