Making ideas work in:
Advanced materials
Alternative energy
Business intelligence
Franchising
Healthcare
Hospitality
Nanotechnology
Online training
Water remediation
Making ideas work.
Fostering business development by leveraging CMU's intellectual, technological, and material resources.
At CMU-RC, we partner with people who want to develop their ideas and grow their businesses—from entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 companies. Our clients run the gamut from students and alumni exploring new ideas in food, healthcare, and energy; to entrepreneurs and start-up businesses that need facilities, technology, and business support to put their ideas to work; to major corporations seeking advanced analytics to make sound strategic decisions for their future. If you have an idea, we're here to help you make it work.
From soup to nanotechnology, we make ideas work.
Prism Analytical Technologies, Inc.
Prism Analytical Technologies, Inc. is a recognized leader in the development and deployment of ambient air testing methodologies for Fortune 100 companies and environmental consultants across North America, South America, and Europe. Devoted to the chemical identification and analysis of contaminants in the air, Prism employs science-based technologies and wide range of air testing support to help clients solve indoor air quality, process control, industrial, and environmental challenges.
Prism's latest development is Home Air CheckTM, a revolutionary indoor air quality assessment that is used specifically to test for airborne chemicals and actively growing mold in residential properties. Using sophisticated, proprietary analysis methodologies, Prism's team of highly trained, advanced-degreed Analytical Chemists can determine from a single air sample the level of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the home air, as well as the level of Mold Volatile Organic Compounds (MVOCs), or actively growing mold, within the walls or carpeting of the home. From the chemical fingerprint of the home, Prism can then predict the sources of VOC contamination, giving the homeowner actionable information to use in locating and removing the offending sources, and thereby improving the overall home air quality.
Gun Glyder
Safely transporting a firearm to and from a hunter’s location is a crucial part of the sport of hunting. Brackets, also known as a mounts, have the ability to hold a gun boot which protects the firearm. The problem is that conventional gun mounts that attach on to ATVs are made specifically for a certain brand of ATV, only carry certain gun boots, and do not have a full suspension. The solution is a more versatile gun mount that Moeller Innovations LLC has developed.
Moeller Innovations LLC provides hunters with a product that safely transports their choice of firearm on an ATV while keeping their optics zeroed in using any brand of ATV or gun boot. By using the world’s only gun case mount with full suspension Moeller Innovations provides hunters with the relief of knowing that their firearm will be protected because the Gun Glyder absorbs most of the shock while maintaining its original condition and scope accuracy.
For more information, visit www.gunglyder.com or watch this demonstration
Natural Resource Generation (NRG)
Natural Resource Generation (NRG) is an alternative energy company seeking ways to provide free, clean, green, efficient energy to consumers in a way that will protect our environment. Our product of design is an energy harvesting floor tile that is able to harness mechanical energy that is wasted by humans each and every day. The energy being presented is that which is generated by the most basic human function; walking. NRGmat is a product that, upon implementation in the correct areas, will be able to capture the energy that is generated by the simple walking motion of people. When placed in areas expected to receive high levels of foot traffic, NRGmat will gather that energy, manipulate it into useable electricity, and finally channel to a location that will be able to use it as a power source. The power generated will be able to be stored and used for later use.
At Natural Resource Generation our mission is to bring free, clean, green energy to societies of the world by turning once wasted human output into electricity. Our goal is to make an impact in the alternative energy market, driven through generating electricity from everyday people going about their normal routines. Energy generated from the people for the people, which in turn will become a self-sustainable system.
Point Hope Energy
Think of using your recycled cooking oil to power your truck, boat, car or maybe even your lawnmower. Last summer CMU-RC was a scale-up location for the innovative biodiesel technology of CMU-RC tenant Point Hope Energy. The mini-plant takes vegetable oil discarded by campus cafeterias and uses it to power campus mowers and lawn equipment. The mini-plant is designed to demonstrate that the commercial version of the technology provides a step-change cost reduction in producing biodiesel along with a much lower environmental footprint.
Point Hope Energy came to CMU last fall, with a promising idea in need of a home and is now set up in a high-tech facility at CMU-RC, connected to a team of faculty and graduate chemistry students, and is commercializing the technology. The CMU-RC team is there with Point Hopel to help smooth the process, provide business development support, and bring this innovative idea to a market ripe for affordable sources of clean energy.
Bardic Wells
Ever quaffed a glass of mead? If not, you’re missing out on an ancient European tradition and one of Michigan’s most promising new food products. Brainchild of Steve Haystead, a Michigan beekeeper known for his honey and bee’s wax, mead is a hearty, honey-based libation and the ancestor of all fermented drinks. Haystead’s new venture, Bardic Wells Meadery, is Michigan’s first meadery—producing almost a dozen varieties of therapeutic mead from raw, unfiltered honey from Haystead’s organically managed hives. It’s tasty. It’s healthy. And it offers a honey of a chance for Haystead to expand from beekeeper to brew master. Already on select shelves in places like Whole Foods, Haystead owes his early success to a fabulous brew of high quality ingredients crafted with patience. And while Haystead works his craft, we’re working ours—designing a business plan, exploring financing, investigating buy vs. lease options, vetting potential partners, and helping with marketing and advertising. That kind of responsive and targeted support is helping Bardic Wells move from a basement brewery into a 10,000sf state-of-the-art mead-making facility—all in less than six months.
The Spa Bath Company
Some of our best ideas come from the creative minds of CMU alums. Take Art Sills, for example. His design for a barrier-free residential bathtub gives new hope to elderly and physically impaired people who want to remain in their homes, despite physical limitations. Built to fit in the space of a traditional tub, SpaBath’s patented design allows bathers to enter with no barrier, and then raise the tub wall for a deep immersion bath—complete with contoured seat and therapeutic air jets. To ensure this life-changing idea found its market, we connected Art with a team of CMU MBA students that helped him develop a business plan and then followed up with business acceleration services, engineering resources, franchising assistance, contract and legal negotiations, and more. We linked SpaBath with an outstanding COO and chief engineer who is overseeing and speeding the development process. And we helped the firm secure startup funding. Sure, Art’s an alumnus, but the truth is, we’d do the same for anyone with such a promising idea.
Michelle's Miracle
Michelle's Miracle, Inc. specializes in nutraceutical products using cherries, America’s “Super Fruit”. Cherries contain powerful antioxidants which provide the distinctive red color of the fruit and may hold the key to many of its health-promoting qualities.
Michelle’s Miracle has developed a product line that utilizes one of America’s Super-Fruits, that encompasses a variety of health benefits, and offers quality tart cherry nutraceuticals for consumers. Instead of sourcing exotic berries from halfway around the world, Americans can find powerful nutrient rich cherries grown in Michigan.
Selestial Soap
It Shouldn’t Cost More to Live Green…is the guiding force behind Selestial Soap. Developed as a safe and effective product for consumers looking for laundry alternatives that are truly green, Selestial Soap is a natural laundry detergent formulated from all natural ingredients. With years of experience in the cleaning and laundry business behind them, Ruth Smith and Jim Legato developed Selestial Soap because they wanted to use environmentally friendly products that really worked, but didn’t believe those products should cost extra.
Wild Game Soup
It's no surprise that some of our most creative startups are borne in the minds of innovative and enterprising CMU students. Our relationship with CMU's Labelle Entrepreneurship College provides a pathway for student businesses like Wild Game Soup—brainchild of entrepreneurial studies' senior Cason Thorsby. After his business plan won a university award,Thorsby came to us to develop his culinary concepts, and today we're providing the facilities, resources, and flexibility he needs to get his ideas to market.