Two Women on the Edge

TWO YOUNG COMPANIES in the University of Central Florida (UCF) Incubator in Orlando are adding to the growing number of women-owned firms in the traditionally male-dominated field of high-tech engineering.

Yasmin Tirado-Chiodini founded Intelliorg Inc. (www.intelliorg.net) in 2001, specializing in information-pattern recognition, biometrics, modeling and simulation. She recently received a grant from the Hispanic Business Initiative Fund to help launch a new homeland security product. “We have a commitment to … technology that is socially beneficial,” says Tira-do- Chiodini, who also chairs the executive committee of the Homeland Security Industries Association Florida Chapter.

Productivity Apex Inc., founded by Mansooreh Mollaghasemi in 2001, provides simulation modeling, data mining, artificial intelligence and risk analysis. A Ph.D., she also teaches industrial engineering at UCF. Mollaghasemi received a UCF/NASA grant to simulate shuttle launch operations. She has designed software that evaluates next-generation reusable launch vehicles, expected to replace the space shuttle by 2010. More recently, the firm (www.productivityapex.com) is working on a simulation model for the Greater Orlando Airport Authority to determine the best emergency route to local hospitals based on traffic patterns.

Not Biting His Nails
“So what?” That’s Michael Weber’s response to what could be the declining popularity of acrylic nails. Weber, founder and president of ImagiNail Corp. in Largo, still sets his sights on the $10-billion global nail services market. The company (www.imaginail.com), founded in 2001, combines patented software with inkjet technology to create fine art images or cartoon art on fingernails. Weber says his firm has sold 145 systems to nail salons at $3,500 per unit.

Weber recently pitched for venture capital funding before the Central Florida Innovation Corp., but he declines to elaborate on the response other than predicting ‘big things’ for his company by year end. The media is not making his case any easier. Acrylic nails were disparaged as ‘plastic’ on a recent episode of HBO’s hit comedy Sex and the City. And some Tampa Bay salons stopped sculpting acrylic nails after several larger hospitals banned patient care staff from brandishing them. “They don’t want fingertip parts coming off in a patient,” says Weber. “Women say ‘this is so cool’” when images are put on natural nails, he adds.

Rechargeable Fatigues
Lakeland-based Solicore (www.solicore.com) has received a $750-million U.S. Army contract to develop rechargeable lithium polymer batteries integrated into a completely self-contained uniform, part of the military’s new Land Warrior program. The batteries will power a soldier’s technology needs, including communications and computer usage. They are ultra-thin and flexible, allowing for innovative shapes. “Our solid polymer technology safety and ability to deliver high-performance batteries are critical to this program,” says Craig R. Nelson, Solicore’s chief technology officer.

Digesting Success
Success stories head the agenda of the Tampa Bay Technology Forum (www.tbtf.org) annual meeting Nov. 19. Intuit Technology Solutions, formerly Blue Ocean Software, will be a headliner, says TBFT’s Michelle Bauer. In 2002, Russ Hobbs, Blue Ocean founder, sold his company to software giant Intuit for $177 million in cash. Forbes magazine ranked the purchase No. 4 on its ‘Biggest Acquisitions of 2002’ list.

Tech FYI
Four Tampa Bay companies are ranked among the world’s largest contract manufacturers by Electronic Business magazine: Jabil Circuit (www.jabil.com), No. 5; Reptron Manufacturing Services (www.reptron.com), No. 33; Sparton Corp. (www.sparton.com), No. 35; and Sypris Electronics (www.sypris.com), No. 36 … Tribridge Inc. (www.tribridge.com), a Tampa technology consulting firm, has acquired Tampa-based Integration Specialists Inc., a specialist in information security and network infrastructure services … MEDai (www.MEDai.com), in Orlando, received an award from the Association for Computing Machinery’s Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining’s KDD Cup 2003 Award for its predictive modeling technology for healthcare organizations … Hostway (www.hostway.com), a global web hosting company, has acquired Tampa’s Neutelligent, which remains a wholly-owned subsidiary.

Send tips, information and news releases related to technology to Melissa Wells at MADDUX BUSINESS REPORT, P.O. Box 202, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. Or by email: mwells@maddux.com