MELBOURNE, Fla. - Sept. 3, 2008 -- Officials with Florida's Technological Research and Development Authority (TRDA) and the University of Florida, Gainesville have combined forces to present an Early Stage Company Showcase on Oct. 2, 2008 at the TRDA Business Innovation Center in Melbourne, Fla.

Taking place from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., the Showcase will feature six companies that have developed technologies with high potential for commercial growth and profitability. The University of Florida, Office of Technology Licensing, has identified two companies for the presentations and the TRDA Business Innovation Center will feature four of their incubator client companies.

The University of Florida companies include:

• SPG, LLC. - a company that is developing next-generation solar energy products
• WiOptix, Inc - a medical imaging company producing highly accurate 3-D miniature optic probes for early cancer diagnosis and imaging-guided surgery.

The TRDA companies are:

• SISOM - An exciting new way to make solar cells, batteries and LEDs by depositing nanoparticles on substrates, without expensive capital equipment
• Audigence - patented software that tunes cochlear implants and hearing aids for improved speech recognition  
• C2C, Inc. - a medical device company that is developing a portfolio of innovative medical devices for surgery
• NanoVision Technologies, Inc. - creating a network for collecting and delivering high quality "on-scene" weather information from hundreds of thousands of locations.  

Event registration and networking begins at 5:30 p.m. Company presentations will begin at 6 p.m. Networking with heavy hors d'hourves will follow the company presentations. The event is $50.00 per person. The TRDA Business Innovation Center is located at 1050 West NASA Blvd. in Melbourne, Fla.  To register, visit http://www.trda.org/.

About TRDA 

The TRDA Business Innovation Center helps start-up technology firms in Central Florida grow into financially viable, freestanding, high-growth companies. It offers clients access to intensive mentoring, modern office space, shared office resources, business services, professional development and training, investor networking and more for one monthly fee.

Launched in 1987, the TRDA is an agency of the state of Florida that leverages federal, state and private resources to develop and implement technology-based programs in four target areas:  education, business incubation, energy and technology transfer. Since its inception, the TRDA has leveraged tens of millions of dollars in funding to support its education and economic development programs. By infusing new technology into businesses and schools, the TRDA helps to strengthen the economy and education throughout the state and nation. For more information, visit http://www.trda.org/.

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