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Honor Roll


Upcoming Events

Dec. 1: Pre-Concert Reception
6:30 p.m., Chaney Library, Riggs Alumni Center
Invited guests will hear a presentation from Susie Farr, executive director of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in advance of the annual holiday concert. For more information call 301.405.1416.

Dec. 1: Holiday Concert
8 p.m., Delkelboum Concert Hall, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
Repeat performance Dec. 2, 3 p.m.
The Maryland Chorus, William Culverhouse, music director, celebrates the 40th anniversary of this annual holiday tradition with seasonal favorites and celebrated choruses from Handel's oratorios. The program will feature a tribute to Dr. Paul Traver, founder of the University of Maryland Chorus.

Dec. 19: Winter Commencement
7 p.m., Comcast Center


Helping Students Reach for the Stars
Pre-Seed Fund Jump Starts Student Companies

or young entrepreneurs, acquiring funding to launch that first venture is often an insurmountable hurdle. Maryland students have a new window of opportunity, however, opened by Warren Citrin, co-founder of Solipsys Corp. (now Raytheon Solipsys). With a gift of $250,000 to the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (MTECH), a unit of the A. James Clark School of Engineering, Citrin established the Impact Pre-Seed Fund, which offers grants in $500 to $5,000 increments, to students in the university's Hillman Entrepreneurs and Hinman CEOs programs.

"The purpose of the Impact Pre-Seed Fund is to encourage student entrepreneurs to innovate and think creatively about starting companies that have some positive influence on the world, while providing them with resources to execute on those ideas," says Citrin.

Senior computer engineering major Peter Orlicki, president and CEO of Impact Education, says receiving the first seed grant will really help push their project to market. A simple $250 toolkit, their MacroMEMS Educational Kit, is the first ever hands-on learning experience for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) that does not require the sterile environment of a cost-prohibitive clean room.

“This tool kit can expand opportunities for engineering students around the world to explore MEMS technologies and prepare to meet the growing demand for microelectronics in medical, communications, automotive and consumer electronics industries,” says Orlicki. A team of students in the Gemstone and Hinman CEOs programs developed the MacroMEMS kit based on the research of Maryland mechanical engineering professor Elizabeth Smela.

Warren Citrin with Peter Orlicki, first recipient of a Pre-Seed Fund grant
The Impact Pre-Seed Fund is administered by MTECH and encourages plans that address the environment, education, healthcare and other underserved markets or offer some form of positive impact. “It’s really up to these smart young kids to solve the world problems that are more monumental than anything we’ve ever faced,” says Citrin. “In many cases it may not require super high-tech solutions, just really clever solutions.”

Seed Fund Grants of $2,000 to $5,000 are awarded to thoroughly researched, well-developed plans, while Opportunity Assessment Grants of $500 to $1,000 are given to promising ideas that require further research to assess the opportunity. A mentor is assigned to each grant-winning company to oversee the use of the funds.

"It's inspiring for students to know their ideas can come to fruition," says Citrin. "The weakest link for student entrepreneurs has always been the funding. This makes things more possible."

The University of Maryland is recognized as a leader in entrepreneurship training. Its Hinman CEOs Program, the nation's first living-learning entrepreneurship initiative developed by engineering alumnus Brian Hinman ‘82, places entrepreneurial students from all academic disciplines in a unique living community to explore new ventures.

The Hillman Entrepreneurs Program, launched in 2006 by real estate developer David Hillman, is a collaborative, four-year, entrepreneurship scholarship program between the University of Maryland and Prince George’s Community College (PGCC). Students from any major can complete their bachelor’s degrees at Maryland after transferring from PGCC.


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Black Dots

Published by the University of Maryland 2007