OptiGrate Named Finalist for International Award

ATHENS, Ohio – OptiGrate, a graduate of the UCF Business Incubation Program of Orlando, has been named a finalist for the National Business Incubation Association’s 2014 Outstanding Incubator Graduate award in the technology category. The winner of the prestigious award will be announced May 20 at NBIA’s 28th International Conference on Business Incubation in New Orleans. OptiGrate pioneered and successfully brought to market a breakthrough method to produce unique volume Bragg grating based optical filters. Starting with the raw material of sand (silica), OptiGrate’s proprietary method produces a piece of glass in which the molecules are aligned to create a volume Bragg grating filter for a laser beam. The silica, with a mixture of additives formed in a special process, creates an image in the glass like a hologram which filters the laser light. The result is better optical filters, better beam direction and better lasers that perform with complete stability, pure frequency or color at any temperature and in any environment with absolute diffraction efficiency exceeding 99 percent. Established in 1999, OptiGrate entered the UCF Business Incubator in 2000. Incubator staff guided the founder - Dr. Leon Glebov, a UCF faculty member and Russian émigré, through the technology transfer and licensing process with the University and provided assistance with market analysis, identification and pursuit of funding opportunities, contract negotiation guidance and introduction to key industry experts. Resolution of ownership and management team issues, as well as other legal issues, were addressed through introductions to highly qualified intellectual property and corporate attorneys. Very importantly, the incubator provided non-university, dedicated space for R&D and early manufacturing that enabled OptiGrate staff to carry out their groundbreaking research and critical production. Business incubation programs like the UCF Business Incubation Program catalyze the process of starting and growing companies by providing entrepreneurs with the expertise, networks and tools they need to make their ventures successful. NBIA estimates that in 2011 alone, North American incubators assisted about 49,000 start-up companies that provided full-time employment for nearly 200,000 workers and generated annual revenue of almost $15 billion. Approximately 7,000 business incubators operate worldwide. The National Business Incubation Association is the world's leading organization advancing business incubation and entrepreneurship. Each year, the NBIA Incubation Awards honor the business incubation programs, graduates and client companies that exemplify the best of the industry.