Business Model Competition Addresses Societal Impact, Fiscal Prudence

Student entrepreneurs at NJIT's annual New Business Model Competition had one word for the experienced judges this week: plastics.

It's the opposite of the revered 1967 film The Graduate, where a young Dustin Hoffman receives that single word of career advice from an accomplished friend of his parents. But it holds true, as plastics technology was a common theme to the student winners, all born decades after the movie debuted.

The contest began 14 years ago as a way for New Jersey Institute of Technology to encourage future business leaders whose ideas are commercially viable and socially responsible. The judges and sponsors represent NJIT entities including Martin Tuchman School of Management, New Jersey Innovation Acceleration Center and VentureLink, along with external investors including CapitalOne, Ellavoz Impact Capital and Wells Fargo.

This year, about 50 students and 25 unaffiliated community members applied, with seven students and eight community members reaching the final round. First prize in the student category went to ReFilament, a company by computer science major Anthony Caruso and computer engineering major John Holck, as they aim to produce and sell plastic filament for 3D printers using only recycled materials. Second prize went to doctoral student Jitendra Anil Kewalramani, who studies geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering, for his invention to remove microplastics from water by using ultrasound purification technology.

"We had no expectations to get as far as we did. We're very happy that we did," Caruso said. He and Holck are already talking to VentureLink manager Will Lutz about ways to get their business started. Caruso attended high school in Brick Township where he learned to use 3D printers. He then caught the business bug at NJIT in a course with Associate Professor Cesar Bandera, the Leir Chair for Entrepreneurship, who organized the business model event.

Kewalramani explained that existing methods of destroying the chemicals in plastic are only partially effective, are expensive to use and still leave behind dangerous material. "On the other hand, ultrasound is easy to operate, just requiring electricity and can break down PFAS completely into benign products," he stated. (PFAS is a scientific term for polyfluoroalkyl substances which are known as “forever chemicals.”)

The research already has interest from environmental engineers in the U.S. Department of Defense, Air Force, Navy and NASA, Kewalramani said. "Currently we are developing a field treatment trailer for an Air Force project in collaboration with [engineering firm] Tetra Tech," which has shown interest in licensing the technology, he noted.

Winners in the community category were Cass Severe, whose concept emphasizes societal reentry services for women released from prison, and Dawn Niles, who's building a mobile application to assist New Jersey residents participating in certified apprenticeship programs.
 
Severe's plan stood out for not trying to turn a profit. She is developing her plan, called Meet Her at the Gate, to become a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Severe, a former prisoner, said she changed her thinking after nearly losing custody of her son and then receiving help from outsiders upon her release. Now she wants to provide any services possible to women in similar situations. "When I came home, I didn't even know how to set up my email account," she observed. She attended Essex County College and then Rutgers-Newark, and said that made it easy for her to decide to compete in the NJIT event.

In addition to the new business founders, speakers at the event included university faculty and executives.

"This is the epitome of what NJIT stands for. I think NJIT is one of the most innovative, entrepreneurial campuses in America," said President Teik C. Lim, himself an engineer and inventor holding several patents related to noise reduction in luxury cars.

"There is a bigger question, why are you interested in innovation? The reason for that is that innovation is the driver of everything," added Interim Provost Atam Dhawan, who noted that many famous companies began on college campuses. An example is the former Sun Microsystems, which is now part of database giant Oracle. Its name "Sun" derived from Stanford University Network.

Oya Tukel, dean of Martin Tuchman School of Management, said innovation is vital to their mission. "We are a business school with very unique ambitions. We're a business school where innovation and entrepreneurship are in our DNA. It is in our vision statement." Being based at a polytechnic university, "We are in the best location to be able to take the ideas you generate and be able to make it impactful to society," which can apply even if some technologies do not yet have a mainstream use, or if some ideas are not yet technologically possible, she said.

Ellavoz Vice President Chris Ferry served as a judge in the student category. "I really enjoyed it. This was Ellavoz's first year participating and it won't be the last," he said. He invited several contestants to pitch at an Ellavoz event targeting angel investors in spring 2023, and said next year he intends to bring additional sponsors to NJIT's competition.