Tarleton student, advisors win Sly Innovation Award at TCU competition

Tarleton Students Wins Innovation Award

Tarleton Students Wins Innovation Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, April 25, 2017

STEPHENVILLE, Texas—Thomas Rudolph, a Fort Worth business major at Tarleton State University, is one of 18 top winners announced Monday in the TCU Neely Entrepreneurship Center 2017 Values and Ventures Competition.

Thomas and his faculty advisors, Assistant Professor Steven Gerhardt and Dr. Ceyhan Kilic, brought home the $2,500 Marjorie and James Sly Innovation Award in the unique competition that rewards plans for businesses that make a profit while making a difference.

Once up and running, Thomas’ company—TreeMendous Products—will produce innovative tree wraps that create viable micro-ecosystems, reducing water, energy and herbicide use by 75 to 90 percent. Thomas will donate the wraps, called Tree-Ps, to school and community gardens.

Tree-Ps are perfect for residential as well as large-scale agriculture and re-forestation projects, according to Thomas. They are self-sufficient, maintenance free and manageable with minimal effort.

The University of Iowa won the event’s grand prize of $25,000 for Health Tech Solutions, a company created to improve the organ transplant process by using HIPAA-compliant real-time software.

More than 50 university teams submitted plans in this year’s competition, with nearly $230,000 in cash and in-kind services awarded.

Since the competition started seven years ago, 230 teams have vied for nearly $400,000 in cash prizes and $850,000 in kind. At least 90 companies have launched.

Tarleton, a member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven educational experience marked by academic innovation and exemplary service, and dedicated to transforming students into tomorrow’s professional leaders. With campuses in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian and online, Tarleton engages with its communities to provide real-world learning experiences and to address societal needs while maintaining its core values of integrity, leadership, tradition, civility, excellence and service.

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Contact: Dr. Ceyhan Kilic, Assistant Professor of Marketing & Computer Information Systems
254-968-1797
[email protected]

A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of nearly 17,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. True to Tarleton’s values of excellence, integrity and respect, academic programs emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.
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