News & Events

Press release

March 9, 2009

Award-Winning Graduate Students Work with Linc On “Light Therapy” Business Plans

A graduate student team from the Lighting Research Center (LRC) including Dan Wang, Xin Zhang, and Rosa Capó was awarded a $3,000 honorable mention prize by the Rensselaer Class of ’51 Entrepreneurship Fund for its idea for a patent-pending light therapy technology. The team proposed SmartShades, a light therapy technology to help people overcome the effects of jet lag when traveling across several time zones. The concept is a kit that includes software, microprocessor, and dark glasses.

(L-R) Rosa Capo, Xin Zhang, Dan Wang

As the students move forward with their plans, they will work with the Lighting Technology Greenhouse, a collaborative effort between the Lighting Research Center, the world’s leading independent authority on lighting science and technology, and Linc, a not-for-profit corporation designed to offer business assistance and networking opportunities with investors.

The Rensselaer Class of ’51 Entrepreneurship Fund was established to help transform student ideas into successful ventures. The annual competition is designed to encourage undergraduate and graduate students to pursue early development of entrepreneurial ideas. To qualify for the Class of ’51 Entrepreneurship Fund, entrants must articulate a clear statement of the opportunity and resulting ideas with supporting data; describe how their solution addresses a problem; provide enough details to demonstrate that the solution is feasible and sustainable; and included diagrams and sketches to illustrate their points. For more information regarding competition details and to view video interviews with prior winners, go to: www.eship.rpi.edu/classof51.html.