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Event Notices From November 1

MVCA To Celebrate Exits, Appoint Board Nov. 15: Celebrating "A Year of Exits", the Michigan Venture Capital Association will hold its annual awards dinner for its members and guests Nov. 15 in Ann Arbor.  The statewide membership organization will honor several Michigan venture firms as well as venture capital recipient companies for their successes. Included are MVCA "Michigan 100" Award winner Cerenis Therapeutics of Ann Arbor, for raising over $100 million in venture capital; Michigan's new venture firms: Huron River Ventures, Michigan Accelerator Fund Management, and Resonant Ventures; Multiple venture capital investment exits, both non-Michigan companies with Michigan venture investors and Michigan-based companies, LenSx Lasers (Venture Investors), Greenplum (EDF Ventures), ZyStor (Apjohn Ventures & Venture Investors), CardioMEMS (Arboretum Ventures), Ikano Therapeutics (Apjohn Ventures), Arbor Networks (EDF Ventures) and    HandyLab (EDF Ventures, Wolverine Venture Fund, Arboretum Ventures, Ardesta Capital, Dow Venture Capital). Jeff Williams, former CEO of HandyLab and current CEO of venture-backed Accuri Cytometers, was named MVCA Entrepreneur of the Year. The Michigan Venture Capital Association will also announce its 2011 Board of Directors: Ron Reed (Chairman), Managing Director, Seneca Partners;    Tom Kinnear (Vice-Chairman/Treasurer), Managing Director, Zell Lurie Institute at UM Ross School of Business; Tim Petersen (Vice Chairman/Chairman-Elect), Managing Director, Arboretum Ventures;  Uzma Ahmad (Board Secretary), Attorney, Dykema Gossett PLLC; Jim Adox, Managing Director, Venture Investors; Jeff Bocan, Managing Director, Beringea; Hugo Braun, Co-Founder, North Coast Technology Investors; Greg Main, President & CEO, Michigan Economic Development Corp.; John McIlwraith, Managing Director, Allos Ventures;  Chris Rizik, CEO & Fund Manager, Renaissance Venture Capital Fund;    Skip Simms, Managing Director, Ann Arbor Spark; Mina Sooch, partner, Triathlon Medical Ventures and Managing Director, Apjohn Ventures; Jody Vanderwel, President, Grand Angels; Ken Van Heel, Director, Alternative Investments & Venture Capital, Dow Chemical Co.; and Donald Walker, Managing Director, Arbor Partners.

Solid state lighting group returns with symposium: The Michigan Solid State Lighting Association will hold its second annual symposium from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10 at the University of Michigan-Dearborn's Fairlane Center North Building, 19000 Hubbard Drive in Dearborn. The free event features exhibits and speakers on a range of solid state lighting topics, including contract issues and solutions, Energy Star and solid-state lighting, energy optimization, a comparison of various lighting technologies, available public funding for LED projects and more. The MSSLA was formed in 2009 in response to the growing opportunity for next generation lighting companies in Michigan to have a positive impact on the local economy and the global environment. Since inception, the membership has grown to 23 members and includes manufacturers, consultants, designers, higher education, and government. More at www.mssla.org.

Battle Creek Unlimited, Project 20/20 To Host Downtown Transformation Event: Battle Creek Unlimited and Project 20/20 Monday announced the agenda and activities for the Community Forum on the Downtown Battle Creek Transformation. The community will receive a two year update on the Plan. Following the update, Project 20/20 will facilitate discussion groups to gain input and a deeper understanding of the Transformation's next steps. The event takes place on Wednesday, Nov. 10 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Burnham Brook, 200 W. Michigan Ave. in downtown Battle Creek. Doors open at 6 p.m. to the public. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early to view displays and enjoy refreshments. For space and food considerations, attendees must register at http://bctransformationforum2010.eventbrite.com. The speakers will each provide an update on the Transformation's four strategic pillars, including the rise of the area's food science industry, Kellogg's commitment to Battle Creek, integrated education and implementation of a strong downtown infrastructure. Battle Creek Unlimited representatives Karl Dehn and Jim Hettinger will provide an overall look at the Downtown Transformation's progress at the two year mark. Stephen Benoit, board member for the Global Food Protection Institute and International Food Protection Training Institute), will address the success of the growing food science and protection industry based in downtown Battle Creek. Susan Buckham of Covance will provide a look at the new facility and its goals for industry leadership and regional jobs. Battle Creek Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Linda Hicks will give an update on the Battle Creek Area Math and Science Center and the importance of STEM education. During the second half of the forum, Transformation stakeholders aim to gain input from forum attendees. Project 20/20 representatives will facilitate small discussion groups to gain ideas, feedback and understanding about the next steps of the five-year Downtown Transformation plan. In November 2008, Battle Creek Unlimited and private investors announced an $85 million project to revitalize downtown and establish Battle Creek as a national leader in food science. The ambitious plan leverages current and future investments in food science, Kellogg Co., education and infrastructure. More at www.bcunlimited.org/transformation or www.bcproject2020.com.

Technical communicators to meet: The Southeastern Michigan Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication presents the November STC/SM  Program Meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 17, hosted at Thomson Reuters in Dexter. The topic is the Annual STC International Technical Publications and Online Communications Competitions Traveling Exhibit. The event begins with registration, networking and refreshments at 6:30 p.m. and the program at 7 p.m. The cost is free for students, $5 for STC/SM members, $10 for STC members, $15 non-members of STC. E-mail your registration to register@stc-sm.org or register at the event. Thomson Reuters is at 7322 Newman Road in Dexter. More at www.stc-sm.org.

Compuware Execs Reveal Secrets to Peak Performance in the Cloud: The Detroit software and IT services provider Compuware Corp. (Nasdaq: CPWR) said Monday that its executives and cloud experts will take center stage at the 7th International Cloud Expo Conference in Santa Clara, Calif. to discuss performance in the cloud. Compuware will also showcase and demonstrate the new CloudSleuth site, which has moved out of beta and officially launched Monday. Cloud computing holds great promise and companies are anxious to evaluate and realize its business benefits. However, companies are also mindful of the potential business risks cloud computing poses and are grappling with how to manage the performance and availability of applications that are now dependent on services that cross organizational and geographic borders. To address this challenge Compuware will present the following sessions at CloudExpo: Global Perspectives on End-User Experience;  Borderless Applications: The Future of Performance in the Cloud;  Discerning Performance in a Complex Cloud  Deployment; Partnering with CloudSleuth for Fun and Profit; and Managing Performance in the Cloud.

Fisher/Unitech To Exhibit At Manufacturing Expo: Troy-based Fisher/Unitech said Monday that it will showcase SolidWorks 3D mechanical design software and the uPrint Personal 3D Printer at the AmCon Design & Contract Manufacturing Expo in Novi Nov. 9 and 10. The event is expected to draw 1,000 purchasing, engineering and production management level attendees who are directly involved in buying contract manufacturing and job shop services, in the automotive,  medical device, military and alternative energy technology industries. The show is free to attend and will be held at the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi. The Fisher/Unitech booth will be staffed with experts ready to demonstrate the SolidWorks family of design products including 3D CAD, design validation, product data management, and Documentation software.  See first-hand the uPrint Personal 3D Printer in action, which uses production-grade thermoplastic to produce 3D models for visualization, collaboration and functional testing. More at www.funtech.com.

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