News

Business plan award for Durham mirror scientists

(29 October 2004)

A team from Durham University Physics Department has won a top prize in Blueprint, the region's first Universities Business Planning competition, for their company idea to produce superior lightweight mirrors for gamma-ray telescopes.

The project, MirraTech, came second in the overall finals on 28 October after winnng the Durham University stage in June.

Their combined prizes bring them a £7,000 cash boost and a full year's tenancy of the Incubator Unit at NetPArk, the new knowledge-based business complex in County Durham.

MirraTech was launched by Dr Joy McKenny, when she was a PhD student, research fellow Ian Latham and lecturer Dr Paula Chadwick. Their business plan is based on a vacuum forming technique for making mirrors from aluminium that are lighter, more robust and more reflective that glass. Their initial niche market is in telescopes, but the technology could be diversified into decorative purposes or solar power systems.

The regional winners were a team from Northumbria University. Their business scheme, called Musa, is a service that helps more than 100 artists in the region to get their work into alterntaive locations and to secure sales and commissions.

All five of the north east universities competed in Blueprint which drew more than 140 business projects from 450 students.Support in the form of prizemoney, free consultancy and other sponsorship came from nearly 20 companies and business organisations. It was co-ordinated by Prof Max Robinson, the Durham-based Director of Enterprise Education for the North East Centre for Scientific Enterprise (NECSE). The whole competition has been declared a resounding success by NECSE Director Professor Brian Tanner, who is now urging the region's students to prepare their projects for the 2005 Blueprint.

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Further information : www.blueprintfinal.co.uk.