IEDC grant funding partnerships between Trine, area businesses

Trine University and Trine innovation 1 will assist two northeast Indiana small businesses with product development through a $50,000 grant provided by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC).

The IEDC’s Innovation Voucher Program, part of legislation signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb in 2019, provides grants to eligible small businesses to purchase research services from an Indiana higher education institution or other authorized research provider.

The grant will fund work-study opportunities for students conducting research as well as use of specialized equipment on the Trine University campus.

“This is a great example of leveraging Trine’s network and resources to impact our regional economy by advancing technology, while also incorporating real-world experiences into our undergraduate engineering programs,” said Jason Blume, executive director of Trine innovation 1.

A team of Trine innovation 1 staff and Trine biomedical and electrical engineering students will work with Apollo Dynamics, based in northeast Indiana, to produce a working prototype of its Sentry medical device. Sentry is designed to analyze tissue movement beneath the skin during physical activity, in order to prevent injuries such as ACL tears and Achilles tendon ruptures.

Kyle Craig, a 2015 mechanical engineering graduate from Trine, is developing the device based on his personal experience with chronic knee and ankle pain.

“I’m excited to see where this goes!” he said.

Trine students will perform experimentation on the Sentry prototype and do the bulk of the design for the first-generation model. The grant also cover the costs of using the university’s infrared spectrometer.

Another team of Trine innovation 1 staff, university students and faculty will work with Auburn-based Perpetual Industries to finalize and refine the design of its proprietary vertical axis wind turbine, The WindSilo. The WindSilo is designed to allow for faster spin speeds and greater energy output.

“We are very excited and honored to have the world-class engineering team at Trine University assisting us in this project,” Brent W. Bedford, CEO of Perpetual Industries Inc., said in a statement released in 2020. “Trine innovation 1 will provide unparalleled expertise to help us finalize our WindSilo design, allowing us to bring this very innovative green energy product to market.”

For more information on Perpetual Industries and the WindSilo project, please visit perpetualindustries.com/windsilo.html

Top photo:

Members of Perpetual Industries leadership team and the J. Kruse Education Center’s grant writer recently met with Trine Innovation 1’s project team, which is helping finalize and refine the design of its proprietary vertical axis wind turbine, The WindSilo. From left: Jeff Rhodes, Perpetual Industries advisor; Carl Dilley, Perpetual Industries director and COO; Brandy DePriest, Ph.D., J. Kruse Education Center grant writer; Jason Blume, executive director, Trine innovation 1; Tim Mayer, student research assistant; Joe Thompson, laboratory management and instructor; Timerson Downing III, project manager, Trine innovation 1; Jamie Canino, Ph.D., professor, Wade Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; and, via Zoom, Pavan Karra, Ph.D., assistant professor of mechanical engineering, Minnesota State University. Student research assistant Schuyler McNaughton is also part of the Trine innovation 1 team, but is not pictured. (Photos by Dean Orewiler)