Lipscomb alumnus wins Global Venture Challenge
Chris Pepple |
Danny Norman (’04), along with teammates Brad Russell, Ned Morgan and William Ambrose, won the 2008 Global Venture Challenge held in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and received the grand prize of $25,000. Global Venture Challenge is an educational event fostering the entrepreneurial spirit by encouraging students to launch new technology-based businesses that create regional economic activity and improve the well-being of the world. The focus of this year’s event was energy.
Graduate school teams worked with industries, government and the investment community to develop innovative product ideas that can solve existing market needs and have the potential to become sustainable businesses. Team submissions were judged by experienced energy executives, venture capitalists, technologists, entrepreneurs and legal professionals. Norman’s team, named Team Volantis, competed against teams from all over the world, including teams from Oxford, Yale, University of Tokyo, Cal-Berkley and Cornell.
“Our technology is a patented super-water repellent nano-technology that will help reduce fuel costs for transoceanic shipping companies. Thus we are named Volantis, which is Greek for ‘The Flying Fish.’ Our team has resolved to use the prize money to obtain a license and perform testing. We believe this is the first of many successes for our team as we embark on an entrepreneurial journey,” said Norman. Norman graduated from Lipscomb University with a major in engineering mechanics. While at Lipscomb, he was a standout athlete on the tennis team. Norman is working toward his MBA at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
“Danny has done extremely well in the UT MBA program. His team’s winning entry in the Global Venture Challenge is quite an accomplishment. Lipscomb can be very proud of Danny and proud that we helped prepare him to be successful in grad school and in a technology-based entrepreneurship competition. The idea that he is working on with his team has great potential,” said Fred Gilliam, associate dean for the Raymond B. Jones School of Engineering.
“This is my first competition of this type. It was exciting to be a part of this event. Though I was part of a UT team, I am really proud to be a Lipscomb alum, also. They helped me get where I am today,” said Norman.