Companies founded by a researcher at the UWM School of Freshwater Sciences and an alum of UWM each have been awarded $25,000 bridge grants by the UWM Research Foundation.
The Bridge Grant Program invests in new companies of UWM faculty, staff and students that have licensed intellectual property from the research foundation.
To date, the research foundation has provided bridge grants totaling $450,000 to 12 startups since the program began in 2021. The first 10 startups have collectively attracted an additional $15.5 million in grants and investments and have hired at least a dozen new employees.
The bridge grant program is funded by a Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Capital Catalyst grant and donors who matched the funds, including Bader Philanthropies, Clarios, Dennis and Sue Webb, and members of the UWMRF board of directors.
This year’s grants were awarded to:
Fluid Flow Experiences LLC. Founder Tom Hansen, a programmer/analyst and researcher at the UWM School of Freshwater Sciences, has developed the Immersive Fluid Flow Experience, a deeply interactive and scientifically accurate fluid flow simulation.
The display is a computer-simulated fluid flow model brightly projected on a large wall or screen. As people move about in front of the screen, casting life-size shadows on the wall, a webcam detects the shadows and the simulated fluid responds and flows around their shadows, creating an often complex and colorful series of spinning vortexes and eddy currents that tumble across the screen. The product is on the market for museum installations.
Hansen will use the grant to conduct further customer discovery and create marketing materials to explore temporary installations such as at trade shows, corporate events, weddings and receptions as well as permanent installations such as airports, lobbies, hospitals and entertainment arenas.
PerryMedical LLC. William Perry is the primary inventor and business founder of a new design for a bariatric lift device for medical workers. With a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from UWM, Perry has been instrumental in developing the project since its inception as a school initiative. The product is a device to help EMTs, nurses, home caregivers and others move people who weigh 400 to 1,000 pounds (referred to as bariatric patients) out of their beds.
One quarter of EMTs suffer a career-ending back injury within the first five years of their career. And despite only making up about 5% of a local ambulance calls, bariatric patients make up 25% of their serious employee injuries. With the bridge grant, the PerryMedical team will work on the creation and testing of a prototype, and obtaining early feedback from a local ambulance company. These milestones will help refine the product and tailor it to the initial customer segment.
