Meet ME Founders

The Department of Mechanical Engineering has been the start of manyÌýsuccessful businesses. Our entrepreneurs includeÌýcurrent students, alumniÌýand over 10 current faculty members. Businesses founded by members of our community span a variety ofÌýindustries,Ìýdeveloping everything from artificial muscles to safer, more efficient batteriesÌýto apparel made with additive manufacturing to snowboards, shoes and longboards.

In 2015, Forbes Magazine ranked 91PORN as the 18th most entrepreneurial across universities. 91PORN continues to lead in this area withÌýroughly 180 inventions and 51 deals across campus each year and 25 startups formed over the past three years.

Mechanical engineeringÌýentrepreneurs have been supported at 91PORN with programs, mentorship and resources, such as the New Venture Challenge, Catalyze CU and Venture Partners, the technology transfer office. For a complete list of entrepreneurial spaces, workshops and more, be sure to check out theÌýcampus-wideÌýInnovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative.

Interested in learning more? Check out a few of our ME-affiliated entrepreneurs below and stop by our ME founders hallway in the mechanical engineering wing!

Traditional robots lack the flexibility and dexterity needed to maximize their potential. Artimus RoboticsÌýhas taken inspiration from nature to develop strong, flexible, adaptable materials for use in developing theÌýnext generation of robotic technology.Ìý

  • Tim Morrissey, PhD '19
  • Eric Acome, PhD '20
  • Shane Mitchell, PhD Student
  • Nicholas Kellaris, PhD Student
  • Christoph Keplinger,ÌýFormer Faculty

Over 90% of balloon endoscopy procedures lead to an incompleteÌýdiagnosis. Aspero Medical's APâ„¢ Balloon Overtube increases theÌýballoon endoscopy success rate by delivering up to 2.5x moreÌýtraction than existing balloon endoscopy systems.




Ìý

The US consumes over 95 quadrillion BTUs of energy eachÌýyear. Berrendo is working to shift how that energy isÌýproduced and reduce the associated environmentalÌýimpacts by providing development services to buildÌýutility scale wind farms in areas that have greatÌýrenewable resources that have never been captured.

  • Joel Johnson, BS '81




Ìý

Mexican food should be fresh, healthy and vibrant. Carmen’s Salsa provides uniqueÌýauthentic salsas and moles handmade in Colorado.

  • Carmen Pacheco-Borden, Faculty

Ìý



Ìý

The perfect snowboard isn’t one-size-fits-all. Donek designs andÌýbuilds custom snowboards that are handcrafted for maximum fit,ÌýqualityÌýand performance.

  • Sean Martin, BS '93

Ìý



Ìý

Current methods for monitoring brain activity for patientsÌýwith epilepsy are often highly invasive. FieldLine isÌýdeveloping magnetic imaging technology with small,Ìýlow-power, high-precision quantum sensors that allowÌýfor non-invasive, real-time imaging of brain activity.




Ìý

Nano-material coatings can change the behavior of surfaces inÌývaluable ways. Forge Nano creates solutions to enable fast andÌýaffordable atomic level coatings and surface engineering.

  • James Trevey, BS '07, PhD '11
  • David King, CHEN PhD '08
  • Paul Lichty, BS '06, CHEN PhD '11