A common complaint about the media is that it doesn’t do enough to promote good news; it would rather focus on bad news and controversy.

I was invited to attend a Jan. 28 event at Imaging Systems Technology (IST), which was celebrating patent No. 50. I expected there would be quite a bit of media coverage — 50 patents is a big deal for just about any company, but especially for one that is a small firm here in Toledo.

After learning Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur was expected, and seeing the name cards for dignitaries who were invited, like Mayor Mike Bell, it was surprising when it became apparent myself and my husband, Miguel Roman, who was acting as my photographer, were “the” media and Kaptur was the only elected official.

As part of Kaptur’s comments, she said, “Thank you first for staying in Toledo, for believing in this region, for giving your lives to this region, in research and development in one of the highest tech fields that exists globally. You are really rare and you are crucial to us as we try to build a new future in this 21st century.”

Everyone from IST and Deep Springs Technology (DST) was proud of what they had accomplished. To describe it as amazing would be an understatement.

In addition to the many things they are working on, including military armor, IST created the first large touch screen in 1998 for a 42-inch plasma display and continues to lead in that market, making more than 30 different models.

As part of the celebration, awards were handed out in recognition; Kaptur was asked to present the awards. Donald K. Wedding was the first to receive an award and was given a flag that had been flown over the Capitol by Kaptur.

Oliver Strbik, James Butcher, Ed Peters, Jessica Davis, Robert Wenzlaff, Jeff Guy and Tricia Wedding received their awards to the applause of friends, family and guests.

Then Daniel Wedding II was honored with a “Young Inventors Award” for receiving his first patent, at 9 years old. He developed a unique design for a boomerang. That’s not only an accomplishment, it’s a testament to his parents and his grandfather, Donald K. Wedding, for inspiring such a love of technology and science.

Toledo Free Press posted a news brief Jan. 29 about Kaptur’s comments, patent No. 50 and DST receiving an invitation to participate in the Vehicle Armor Challenge sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the research and development office for the U.S. Department of Defense.

Vicki W. Kurtz, vice president of IST, said on Jan. 31 that IST was formed in 1997, DST in May of 2007 as a spinoff of IST to handle the structural applications of spheres.

“We love this city. It’s a great place to raise a family and you can live comfortably on a modest income,” Kurtz said.

The office of Mayor Bell was contacted Jan. 28 for a comment about IST and responded Feb. 2 via e-mail:

“IST has been a quiet success story, but to achieve a milestone of 50 patents in the company history is certainly remarkable,” said Toledo Mayor Michael P. Bell.  “It is the work of companies like IST and their spin-offs that contribute to technological advancements that demonstrate Northwest Ohio’s research and development capabilities are helping to reinvent our local economy.”

After I shared the news with Councilman D. Michael Collins, he contacted IST and toured its facilities. Collins is sponsoring a resolution to honor IST for its entrepreneurial accomplishments that should be before City Council on Feb. 22.

Journalist and novelist Pete Hamill once said, “The best newspapermen I know are those most thrilled by the daily pump of city room excitements; they long fondly for a ‘good murder;’ they pray that assassinations, wars, catastrophes break on their editions.”

It is exciting to be involved in a breaking news story, to shine a light on things people would prefer to keep in the dark. But good news can create just as many emotions —pride, joy, accomplishment. Just ask anyone from IST.

Toledo Free Press Web Editor Lisa Renee Ward operates the political blog GlassCityJungle.com.

Tags: D. Michael Collins, Glass City Jungle, Imaging Systems Technology, Lisa Renee Ward, Marcy Kaptur, Mike Bell, Shredding the Curtain

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 19th, 2011 at 6:22 am and is filed under Glass City Jungle, Opinion, Shredding the Curtain.
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Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur was onhand as Imaging Systems Technology (IST) celebrated obtaining patent No. 50 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office with an open house Jan. 28.

Carol Ann Wedding and Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur

“Most patents are filed by very large companies; we have a company here today that has been celebrating a threshold of 50 patents. It’s not a large company, it’s a home-grown company and it’s a credit to the intelligence, the dedication and the vision of the Wedding family and all of the people who have come to be part of the broader Wedding family,” Kaptur said.

“We know that innovation translates into real wealth, in the broadest sense and ultimately into jobs. That’s where America has to go and this firm of IST is helping to lead the way.”

As she thanked those present for staying in Toledo, she said, “You are really rare and you are crucial to us as we try to build a new future in this 21st century.”

Kaptur told Toledo Free Press, “Patents are critical to our economy; innovations equals patents which equals material wealth.”

Carol Ann Wedding, president of IST, took Toledo Free Press on a tour of the facility where several labs are located dealing with optics, electronics, materials processing and a production area where furnaces are located that create the hollow chambers.

A spinoff company of IST, Deep Springs Technology (DST) received notification on Jan. 11 it had been invited to participate in the DARPA Vehicle Armor Challenge. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is the research and development office for the U.S. Department of Defense.

The DARPA Vehicle Armor Challenge focuses on new armor concepts for military vehicles. DST stated in a release that during the next 6 months, DST will be delivering 10 armor panels based on the hollow shell technology to DARPA for testing and evaluation. The DST armor panels feature silicon carbide hollow shells developed by DST embedded in a metal matrix. The strong and lightweight design offers protection for current vehicles, as well as for future land, air, sea, and space platforms.

“Although hollow silicon carbide shells are new to DST, we have much experience fabricating hollow shells of other materials” said Oliver Strbik, Executive Vice President of DST in a press release.

Strbik told Toledo Free Press on Jan. 28 that much of the research they had done with silicon was based on what they had learned with creating other hollow shells from glass and other materials. He also said that no funding for research is provided for in the DARPA Armor Challenge, if they are selected as winners of this phase of the challenge, it could lead to a future contract award.

Steve Katich, chief of staff for Congresswoman Kaptur, said, “One federal investment in the research let Deep Springs invest in a half-million dollar furnace from Maumee’s Surface Combustion — a longtime Toledo-area company.  Deep Springs and IST are creating spin off in other Toledo area industries.”

Tags: Deep Springs Technology, Imaging Systems Technology, Marcy Kaptur, Military, technology

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 29th, 2011 at 8:09 am and is filed under Technology, Toledo Business Link.
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