A startup company based on research by MSI PI Allison Hubel (professor, Mechanical Engineering) has won the MN Cup Grand Prize. The MN Cup is hosted by the Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship at the Carlson School of Management and supports entrepreneurs in Minnesota as they start their new ventures. The winning company, BlueCube Bio, is developing a new method of preserving biological cells that can be used for cell-therapy disease treatments.
The Grand Prize runner-up, CounterFlow Technology, is co-led by MSI PI Vinod Srinivasan (professor, Mechanical Engineering). The company is developing a new, more efficient spray nozzle that could lead to reduced carbon emissions in many industries.
Professor Hubel uses MSI resources for research into cell and tissue preservation. Professor Srinivasan is performing computational studies on the atomization of shear-thinning fluids and studying a counterflow nozzle geometry.
A story about these startups appears on the OVPR’s Inquiry blog: UMN Startup BlueCube Bio Takes MN Cup Grand Prize.