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Technology summit held Monday at ETS
by David Campbell, Princeton Packet
December 20, 2005


LAWRENCE — Local innovation and entrepreneurship, not top-down governance from federal and state leaders, is needed to strengthen Central Jersey's economic future, Rep. Rush Holt (D-12) said at a technology summit held Monday at the Educational Testing Service campus on Rosedale Road.

"We can be the nation's leading hotbed of innovation," Rep. Holt said.

The "Einstein's Alley: Best Practices" conference Monday was the second such summit organized by Rep. Holt to promote regional cooperation with an eye to creating greater economic opportunity and innovation in Central Jersey. The first summit was held in 2003.
Gregory Olsen, founder and former president of West Windsor-based Sensors Unlimited, delivered the keynote address.

The Montgomery resident traveled to the International Space Station in October, making him the world's third private space explorer. His talk focused on the perseverance that he needed to pass the rigorous medical and fitness requirements for his 10-day space journey.

The panelists — Katherine O'Neill, executive director of Jumpstart New Jersey Angel Network, which invests in early-stage Mid-Atlantic tech companies; David Lenihan, co-founder, chairman and CEO of East Windsor-based health-plan software firm CareGain Inc.; and Kathleen Coviello of the state Economic Development Authority — discussed start-up and venture funding for new companies.

Ms. Coviello cited a need to "bridge the gap" in early-stage financing for new companies from startup to becoming financially viable — financing she said the EDA provides through a variety of programs.

Also giving an address was Gregory Kornhaber, who recently graduated from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and the Rutgers University Graduate School of the Molecular Biosciences. A recipient of a postdoctoral grant from the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology, he discussed how the grant has allowed him to conduct research into possible cures for Tay-Sachs and related diseases.

Martin Bierbaum, executive director of the Municipal Land Use Center at The College of New Jersey, called attendees at Monday's summit members of "the creative class" — highly educated and creative, and very mobile. He said an attractive quality of life is necessary to keep them in New Jersey, and he cited that as a goal of the center's smart-growth programs.

Martin Johnson, president and CEO of Isles Inc., a nonprofit community-development organization based in Trenton, described Isles as "social entrepreneurs," and cited the need to foster more self-reliant families and economically healthy communities.

He said the population of Mercer County is growing, while Trenton's is declining, and he described a troubling new trend in which whites are fleeing suburbs outside the cities and poverty is creeping outward in their wake. Meanwhile, the good jobs are moving away from regions where the affordable homes are.

"New Jersey will be the first state in the union to reach 100 percent build-out," Mr. Johnson said. "This will happen during our lifetimes. We're going to have to get into the trenches and contend."
He said people in the state are going to have to "bite the bullet" and accept that much more high-density development will be needed.

Another of the speakers was John Romanowich, president and CEO of Alexander Road-based SightLogix Inc., who described how his startup surveillance technology firm, which he founded in 2003, began as a great idea presented to select friends over dinner and has since grown into a highly competitive company.

Mr. Romanowich cited support from the local business and research community, and seed money from the EDA, as ingredients to his success.

Jeff Milanette, president of Innovative Partners Inc., a consulting firm that provides guidance to early-stage companies, discussed the importance of presenting coherent business plans to potential investors. He also said, "Persistence and perseverance are very important."

Maxine Ballen, founder, president and CEO of New Jersey Technology Council, said New Jersey is ranked second in the nation for economic and high-tech industry performance, but said productivity is slowing and research and development investments are falling. She said innovation is key to economic growth.

Kenneth Traub, president and CEO of American Bank Note Holographics Inc., described some of the benefits the state had to offer that led his firm to relocate this year to Robbinsville. They included funding and legislative support, affordable real estate, proximity to key markets and a strong labor pool, he said.

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