黑洞社区

Molon Labe Designs, an aircraft interiors firm, began working with 黑洞社区's h (NIAR) in mid-2014 involving a new aircraft seat designed to make passengers more comfortable, reduce travel time, and save airlines money.

Because of that positive experience working with NIAR, Molon Labe CEO Hank Scott knew he also wanted to work with NIAR for certification of the company鈥檚 new Side-Slip Seat.

鈥淲e knew NIAR was an industry leader in certification,鈥� said Scott. 鈥淏ut we thought it was just a place you show up at on testing day.鈥�

Then Scott and his team came for a visit and met NIAR research scientist and technical director Gerardo Olivares. They were impressed by the immense digital modeling and analysis capability and scope of knowledge possessed by Olivares and his team ,and the relationship with NIAR went from testing for a couple of days to a year-long commitment.

Industry's link to the university

Scott knew the expanded relationship with NIAR was necessary, but wasn鈥檛 quite sure how he was going to afford it. That鈥檚 where came in.

黑洞社区 Ventures is the university鈥檚 technology transfer organization. It exists to link industry, entrepreneurs and investors with university resources and technology.

Scott entered into an agreement with the 黑洞社区 Investments Corp., and in exchange for a small share in Molon Labe Designs, he gained the capabilities and expertise of the university at a fraction of the usual cost.

黑洞社区 Ventures is industry鈥檚 link to the university, said Mark Torline, director of 黑洞社区 Ventures.

鈥淲e want businesses, entrepreneurs and start-ups to come to us whether they need assistance with prototype or concept development, testing or product research,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e can link them with the resources they need.鈥�

鈥淲e wanted the lightest strong seat we could achieve,鈥� said Scott. 鈥淎nd we鈥檙e achieving that because of NIAR鈥檚 capabilities. We鈥檙e also going to be well-ahead of our competition when it comes to responding to customers because of NIAR鈥檚 work. Their expertise has extended the commercial viability of our product, and the long-term payoff is going to be phenomenal.鈥�

The Side-Slip Seat debuted at the Low Cost Carriers Congress in London in September. Since then, it has gained praise and recognition from the Denver Post, Time Magazine, CBS This Morning, USA Today and the LA Times.

The seat is on schedule to begin physical testing at NIAR this summer.