ANN ARBOR ? The New Enterprise Forum will honor the three entrepreneurs who nurtured HandyLab through its acquisition as the NEF Entrepreneurs of 2009 on Feb. 18 at the Holiday Inn North.

Honored will be:

Kalyan Handique is now VP of R&D Systems Development at Becton Dickinson (BD) Diagnostic Systems. He played a pivotal role in forming the vision, the core technical team, as well as envisioning the positive, vibrant culture of HandyLab. He served as the CTO and a board member for HandyLab, which he co-founded in 2000 during his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at University of Michigan. Kalyan received his Bachelors in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in India. He is the author of numerous journal articles, such as in Science, as well as the inventor of over 50 patents and patent applications.

? Sundaresh (Sundu) Brahmasandra was a key member of the interdisciplinary team at the University of Michigan that demonstrated fundamental feasibility of the technology that formed the basis for the founding of HandyLab. Sundu co-founded HandyLab in 2000 and served as its VP of Product Development. He led invention of novel technologies for nucleic acid preparation and detection enabling the development of the world leading Jaguar? Platform for molecular diagnostics. Sundu holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from U-M and his research has been published in leading peer reviewed journals such as Science, Electrophoresis, and Sensors and Actuators.

? Jeff Williams was President and CEO of HandyLab from 20042009. At HandyLab, he led the growth and venture financing of the company, ultimately resulting in a sale to Becton, Dickinson & Company for $275 million in November 2009. He was previously President and CEO of Genomic Solutions Inc., an Ann Arbor-based life science products company he co-founded in 1997 and led theough a period of rapid growth culminating in an IPO on NASDAQ in 2000 and merger with Harvard Biosciences, Inc. in late 2002. Jeff has held various executive and management level positions in several bioscience companies, including IRIS and Boehringer Mannheim. He received a BS in Biology (summa cum laude) from Alma College and an MBA with High Distinction from The University of Michigan.

More Awards:

Additional NEF Awards for our 2009 entrepreneurs will include:

Best Presentation

Best Technology

Best Business Model

Showcase Presentation:

This month’s NEF Showcase Presenters will be John Harding of Current Motor Company, which is designing and building electric-powered motor scooters, and Robert Fulk and Susanna Tellschow of Inventure Enterprises, which provides an integrated system for background checks on individuals that interfaces directly with FBI, police, and other databases.

Event Information:

Location: Holiday Inn North Campus, 3600 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor

When: Registration & networking 5:00 p.m.; program begins at 5:45 p.m.

Cost: Free to NEF members, $25 for non-members, $5 for students

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