The James City County Business and Technology Incubator announced this week that Phenom Technologies, Inc., has received a $100,000 award from NASA through their Small Business Technology Transfer Program.

The grant is administered by the Office of Technology of the U.S. Small Business Administration. According to the SBA homepage, the grant program “ensures that the nation's small, high-tech, innovative businesses are a significant part of the federal government's research and development efforts.”

Phenom was founded in 2010 by two graduate students, Eric Spahr and Kevin Smith, and their Ph.D. advisor, Professor Gunter Luepke. The company’s goal is to commercialize new technology related to hydrogen energy and fuel cell technology.

According to Economic Development Authority (EDA) Chairman Tom Tingle, “We are pleased that JCCBTI has the opportunity to assist graduates of William & Mary in their post-graduate work.”

The James City County Business and Technology Incubator was founded by James City County and its EDA and is currently managed by the College of William & Mary. It offers its clients a wide range of services tailored to their business’ individual needs, including educational programs through the Mason School of Business; development of business and financial plans; access to local service providers; and introduction to financing and funding resources.

Current Incubator clients include American Eagle Flag & Flagpole, Beanbank Coffee, Breathe Healthy, Campus Massage, Colonial Coffee, and Court Record Solutions.

Entrepreneurs who would like to find out more about becoming an Incubator client should contact Bill Bean at 757-221-7825 or webean@wm.edu.

Water Volunteers Needed

The county is looking for volunteers who want to promote healthy waterways in the community by conducting field surveys in area streams.

Using the Virginia Save our Streams Muddy Bottom Method, volunteers look for environmentally sensitive insects and provide the data to the County’s Stormwater Division staff. Volunteers choose from a list of available sites and complete a sample three to four times per year.

A free training session will be held March 26 from 9 a.m. to noon. All equipment is provided. Pre-registration is required by phone, 757-259-1446, or e-mail, sdyba@james-city.va.us.

The data collection method is used by volunteer groups throughout the State and is approved by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. For information about Virginia Save our Streams monitoring and to watch a virtual training session, visit the organization’s website.

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