Worldwide Student Wins Launch Your Venture Competition

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Sensatek licenses patented technology to manufacture ceramic sensors that wirelessly measures the health of gas turbines, predicting failure before it happens and letting operators know that maintenance should be done. Owners of gas turbines will see lower costs, resulting in savings that may be measured in the millions of dollars. Dr. Mark Ricklick, Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach Campus, serves as an advisor to the company.
Soto, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and candidate for an M.S. in Aeronautics at Embry-Riddle Worldwide, competed in the third annual TREP Expo hosted by the university’s Center for Entrepreneurship. As part of TREP Expo, 15 teams of student-led ventures qualified for the semi-final round, presenting their ventures to the public and a panel of judges.  From the semi-finals, four student-led teams advanced to Launch Your Venture based on the judging criteria of market viability, innovativeness and wow factor.
“We’re incredibly grateful to represent Embry-Riddle at the 2017 Florida Venture Forum Collegiate Business Plan Competition,” said Soto, who as the winner also received the sponsorship as one of the in-kind services provided by the Center for Entrepreneurship and MicaPlex partners. “We’re also very grateful to our alumni in providing real-world insight that has made a world of difference in our perspective in revolutionizing the gas turbine industry.” 
The four teams were given more than $18,000 in prize money sponsored by the university President’s Office and in-kind prizes such as hour-long consultations on IT support, early-stage venture funding, accounting, intellectual property, marketing and more provided by MicaPlex partners and Embry-Riddle professionals.
The top companies were:
Second place ($5,000) –  Embedded Control Designs LLC, founded by Daytona Beach Campus graduate and now master’s student Michael Campobasso and Shane Stebler, a Daytona Beach Campus graduate, produces drones equipped with a unique communication architecture – swarm technology — that empowers farmers who need ...

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