The graduate entrepreneurship program at San Diego State University was recently ranked 19th in the nation by Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review. Over 900 schools were evaluated on their academics, students, faculty, extracurricular activities, and outside experiences. SDSU was ranked alongside schools such as Babson College, USC, and the University of Illinois - Chicago.

Sanford B. Ehrlich, Ph.D., QUALCOMM Executive Director of Entrepreneurship of the EMC and Associate Professor of Management at SDSU, was recently recognized as one of the top professors of entrepreneurship in the nation by Fortune Small Business. Dr. Ehrlich was one of only eighteen professors to recieve this honor.

The Entrepreneurial Management Center was pleased to have Dr. Robert Beyster, founder of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), as its honored guest for the L. Robert Payne Distinguished Entrepreneur Lecture Series on Wednesday, September 26, 2007. Dr. Beyster spoke about "Unlocking the Power of Ownership" in a rare and special presentation. Beyster was joined by Tom Darcy, former CFO of SAIC, and Dr. Gangaram Singh, chair of the SDSU Department of Management, who helped facilitate the lecture, exploring the many facets of employee ownership including impacts on performance, motivation, participation, and culture. The lecture took place at the Aztec Athletic Center Auditorium at SDSU from 4:00 pm until 5:30 pm, with a reception immediately following.

On a regular basis, we will feature EMC Research Fellows in editions of the EMC e-Newsletter. The EMC Research Fellows program is the continued research, production, and dissemination of the latest information about the entrepreneurial process to businesses and decision-makers in the local business community. The EMC Research Fellows program is designed to encourage entrepreneurial research both within a faculty member's own discipline and across the various disciplines that directly influence the entrepreneurial process.

SDSU has been named by Fortune Small Business as one of the top entrepreneurship programs in the nation for undergraduates, joining prestigious universities such as The University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, The University of Michigan, and Babson College. San Diego State University was chosen by the magazine because it "has consistently pushed the boundaries of entrepreneurship education... it's one of the few undergraduate institutions that focus on biotech entrepreneurship."

   Lumedyne Technologies, formerly known as Omega Sensors, claimed the grand prize at the 24th annual Global Moot Corp Competition, held at the University of Texas at Austin on Saturday, May 5. Representing San Diego State University, the team beat out 34 others from schools such as UC-Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, and Carnegie Mellon.

   Lumedyne Technologies is an OEM supplier of market disruptive accelerometer technology. Applications include seismic imaging, navigation, industrial monitoring and more. The team consisted of Brad Chisum and Nick Rhea, with Alex DeNoble serving as the faculty adviser.

   Lumedyne Technologies began as a government spin-out from SPAWAR Systems Center. Chisum, a former SPAWAR engineer, enrolled in DeNoble’s course at SDSU to explore the technology’s commercial applications. He identified several promising avenues, so he decided to license the technology from SPAWAR and left to start the new company. Lumedyne Technologies subsequently received prototype financing from the San Diego-based Center for Commercialization of Advanced Technologies (CCAT).

   “SDSU and the EMC create the perfect environment for any entrepreneur to develop their business,” said Chisum. “I have been allowed to use [Lumedyne Technologies] as my project for nearly every applicable class I have taken – essentially allowing me to 'practice' having the business and develop a solid strategy before making it into a reality. The feedback from the professors combined with the resources of the EMC gave our team the foundation we needed to succeed at Moot Corp and launch the business.”

   The SDSU team receives a prize package worth $100,000: 1) $25,000 in cash; 2) the Austin Technology Incubator Launch Package worth $25,000 featuring a one year membership which includes strategic business consulting services and mentoring from a team of industry experts, office space, and access to discounted legal, accounting, and businesses services from top tier providers; 3) prosecution of the first American patent by Ropes & Gray worth $25,000; and 4) consulting with the McCombs School of Business entrepreneurship faculty worth $25,000. The winning team also opened the NASDAQ Stock Market on August 10 and their name appeared in an ad in the June 6 edition of Red Herring.