Electricity may steadily displace gasoline for powering cars, and the University of Michigan is supporting this newer technology while shrinking its carbon cloud. Last month, six new electric car charging stations were installed in campus parking areas: the South Campus lot at Hoover and Greene streets, the Ann Street parking structure on the Medical Campus, and the North Campus lot on Murfin Street. "We have had requests from faculty, staff, and students about the opportunity to have these on campus," says Stephen Dolen, U-M's executive director of parking and transportation services. The stations are of the Level 2 (208-240 volts) variety. Faculty, staff, and students may use them free of charge, while the public need only pay the standard parking rates. The project was funded through a U.S. Department of Energy grant administered by the Clean Energy Coalition. Equipment and software costs were approximately $28,865, according to Dolen. The stations are quickly being utilized, Dolen says. Usage is recorded and the university is building future electric charging capacity into its plans. "For instance, in the new Wall Street parking structure that we'll be building, starting early next year, we're putting in the infrastructure to be able to add up to 30 EV (electric vehicle) stations in that building, if there is that kind of demand...We'll see how this works and what kind of usage [we're getting] and then consider expanding." Source: Stephen Dolen, U-M's executive director of parking and transportation services Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

Those who've given the cold shoulder to commuting by any means other than a car may want to get their blood flowing with getDowntown's "Conquer the Cold" winter commuting challenge. "We kind of want to give people the sense that you can dominate your commute so it's not just doing it, it's dominating it. It's approaching winter commuting with a sense of adventure and a sense of fun," says Nancy Shore, director of getDowntown. Employees using alternative means of transportation to get to work in downtown Ann Arbor can log their commutes online during the month of January. Qualifying trips are via bike, bus, and foot. Various badges of honor will go to the most ambitious commuters, and there is a $500 grand prize gift certificate to outdoor retailer Moosejaw. Participants can also post pictures and stories online, with the goal of "generally just trying to elevate the exposure of people that do do winter commuting, in both showing that it can be something that anybody can do, and also that it is something that is a little bit more hard core, and that people that are doing it should feel a little bit cooler than the rest of us," Shore says. Informational winter commuting warm-up events (with free drink coupons!) will be held at Sweetwater's coffee shop on Tues., Dec. 4 at 123 W. Washington, and Wed., Dec. 5 at the Kerrytown location. Bonus: you won't have to shovel your car out. Source: Nancy Shore, director of getDowntown Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

The people behind Thomson-Shore didn't view the recent recession as a problem as much as an opportunity. The Dexter-based printing company took the shrinking of its traditional business in hard economic times as a way to break into new markets, such as ebooks and print-on-demand jobs. "The recession, in many ways, was healthy for us," says Kevin Spall, president & CEO of Thomson-Shore. "We took that opportunity to look at what other products we could be offering." That philosophy has allowed the 40-year-old company to grow to just under 200 employees (and the occasional intern),  twenty of which were hired over the last year. The new staff is now handling a variety of jobs that are associated with the publishing industry. The business is now printing older books, such as the Bible. It's also offering digital printing and print-on-demand services, along with other publisher services. These new avenues have added up to a growing number of customers, mostly smaller clients looking for smaller orders of niche products. Thomson-Shore has invested close to $4 million in its operations, ranging from new technology and personnel development in the hopes of keeping its growth streak alive through the rebounding economy, too. Source: Kevin Spall, president & CEO of Thomson-Shore Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Start-ups from Ann Arbor and those with close ties to the college town did quite well at this year's Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. The top three finishers in this year's business plan competition all hailed from cities outside of Washtenaw County but they all have roots in the Ann Arbor area. Algal Scientific and nanoMAG (the first and second place finishers) both got their start in Ann Arbor before moving to Plymouth and Livonia, respectively. They both still work extensively with Ann Arbor SPARK. East Lansing-based InPore Technologies (the third place finisher) is headed up by Gerry Roston, a serial entrepreneur that calls Saline home. Steve LeBeau, president of nanoMAG, praised the folks at Ann Arbor SPARK and at Accelerate Michigan with preparing his start bio-tech firm to do so well at the competition and be ready to raise a significant amount of revenue. He expects his start-up will be able to leverage its $100,000 cash prize from Accelerate Michigan into a seven-figure angel round. "In the middle of this (competition) you're a venture capital fund saying, 'Send me a packet about what's going on,'" LeBeau says. "And you have a 12-page packet (prepared and peer-reviewed as part of the competition) to send them." Other top placers at the Accelerate Michigan calling Washtenaw County home include: - Eco-Fueling, the Saline-based business won the advanced transportation prize worth $25,000 for its fuel-efficiency technology built for diesel engines. - Ornicept, the Ann Arbor-based start-up won the alternative energy prize worth $25,000 for its technology that monitors bird activity so wind turbine developers can make informed decisions. - Protean Payment, the Tech Brewery-based company won the products and services award worth $25,000 for its software that can combine every creditcard in a consumer's wallet into one card. Source: Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition and Steve LeBeau, president of nanoMAG Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Start-ups coming out of the University of Michigan continue to dominate the student portion of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. U-M-based businesses took first and third places in this year's business plan competition earlier this month. Kymeira Advanced Materials won the top prize at Accelerate Michigan's student competition, worth $25,000 in seed capital. The University of Michigan spin-out is creating a family of new-to-the-world inorganic polymers. Its proprietary chemistry can acheive ceramic-like properties. Hope College-based Lemon Peel is developing a headband that fits comfortably around the ears and forehead and removes both the sound and light so people can sleep. SkySpecs, a start-up developed by University of Michigan students, took third place and the $10,000 in seed capital that comes with it. The 8-month-old company is developing unmanned aerial vehicles that use artificial intelligence to gather data in hazardous locations, such as collecting structural data in hard to reach places under bridges. ?"We were quite impressed with all the competitors there," says Danny Ellis, CEO of SkySpecs. "We were very satisfied to take third place against some stiff competition." SkySpecs will use all of its $10,000 price to build its first working prototype. It plans to complete a seed-capital round of fundraising from friends and family in early 2013. Ellis expects to go for a larger fundraising round later in 2013 and plans to use its success at Accelerate Michigan as a significant part of its pitch. Source: Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition and Danny Ellis, CEO of SkySpecs Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.