Technology Council

Wegmans to start offering free antibiotics Wegmans Food Markets Inc. said it will begin offering free antibiotics during cough and cold season as it tries to compete for customers in a weak economy. The Rochester, N.Y.-based grocery chain with 72 stores said shoppers with one of its club cards will not be charged for generic oral antibiotic prescriptions through March 31. The program covers up to a 14-day supply of the generic oral antibiotics, including amoxicillin and cephalexin, among others.

Last night, in the old warehouse behind Oriole Park at Camden Yards, a select group of budding high-technology firms tried to break into the major leagues.The fledgling firms were gathered for the Maryland Incubator Company Showcase, an event designed to bring technology entrepreneurs into contact with potential investors."In the growth stage, companies need high visibility," said Jane Shaab, executive director of the Greater Baltimore Committee Technology Council, which helped sponsor the showcase.

When he assumed the president's seat at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County campus in 1992, Freeman A. Hrabowski III faced a double-barreled challenge sure to have given lesser souls the shakes.For one, legislators were in the midst of a series of deep state budget cuts brought on by the recession of the early 1990s. The result: Hrabowski and other presidents in the state system had to stir up ideas for new revenue to make up for a 20 percent reduction in state funding. The other quandary facing Hrabowski was a student body that seemed to him largely ill-prepared for the challenges of the emerging global economy.

MedImmune Inc., the fast-growing Gaithersburg biotechnology company, was named the high-technology firm of the year yesterday by the High Technology Council of Maryland, a Rockville trade group.The company, which has three Food and Drug Administration approved drugs on the market, was cited in the annual awards for its contributions to medical care, especially for premature infants, and its commitment to Maryland through a $50 million investment in a state-of-the art manufacturing plant. The plant is being built in Frederick and is expected to open by 2000.

About 3,500 Maryland companies -- more than half the technology companies in the state -- specialize in information technology and telecommunications, the state Department of Business and Economic Development said in a report released yesterday.The report was the result of a study on the status of technology in Maryland. Its findings will be used as a benchmark in future measures of technology growth.The $83,000 study, begun last year, was done in conjunction with the Greater Baltimore Committee Technology Council and the High Technology Council of Maryland.

It's hard running a company with a skeleton crew.Patrick Huddie and Wayne Moore, founders of Microcosm Inc., a Columbia scientific instruments company with nine workers, need to hire five employees quickly -- but the vacancies have gone unfilled for three months.There's stiff competition for the people Microcosm needs to hire: The 8,000 high technology companies around the state have about 15,000 job openings, according to the High Technology Council of Maryland.The bulk of those openings are in Howard County and its neighbors in the Baltimore-Washington corridor, the council says.

In a small laboratory in downtown Baltimore, you'll find a handful of scientists hot on the trail of developing what could one day emerge as the first vaccine for genital herpes. A prevention for the viral affliction has stumped medical and biotechnology researchers for years.The scientists are employed by entrepreneur Gary Calton and his start-up biotechnology firm AuRx Inc., which licensed the vaccine from the University of Maryland Medical Center and its inventor, Laure Aurelian, a professor of pharmacology.

The founder of a Gaithersburg-based information technology company has been named entrepreneur of the year, and a Rockville-based supplier to the semiconductor industry has been named company of the year by the Suburban Maryland High Technology Council, a technology industry trade group.Entrepreneur award-winner Robert Grimes is founder and president of Cyntergy, which provides information tracking services to the retail, food and hospitality industries.He was cited for his persistence in keeping the company alive through a tough start-up period.

For anyone who still doubts information has become one of the hottest commodities in America, consider this: Maryland's four fastest growing technology companies make their money by transmitting, analyzing or organizing information.Their revenue growth is "pretty good" in the understated words of one company executive. Yes, the company he works for has at least doubled its staff and its revenues every year since 1991. This year, Rapid Systems Solutions, which has 275 employees, is expected to have revenues of $30 million.

New positionsData Chromatics names Phoebus as controllerData Chromatics, a geographic information system and hardware and software integration firm based in Columbia, announced the appointment of Aimee L. Phoebus as controller.Formerly with Coyne & McClean as a staff accountant, she is a graduate of the University of Baltimore.UB appoints Rist to public affairs postUniversity of Baltimore has chosen Richard Rist as assistant director of corporate and public affairs for its Regional Economic Studies Program.

Wegmans to start offering free antibiotics Wegmans Food Markets Inc. said it will begin offering free antibiotics during cough and cold season as it tries to compete for customers in a weak economy. The Rochester, N.Y.-based grocery chain with 72 stores said shoppers with one of its club cards will not be charged for generic oral antibiotic prescriptions through March 31. The program covers up to a 14-day supply of the generic oral antibiotics, including amoxicillin and cephalexin, among others.

XPERTECHS, a convergent technology company, will be host for the Microsoft Across America Truck at its 20th Anniversary Celebration and Customer Appreciation Day, to be held from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday at Linden Hall, 4765 Dorsey Hall Drive, Ellicott City. The 42-foot truck is equipped with innovations from Microsoft, HP, Intel and others. Live demonstrations of Windows 2008 and Vista are also available. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Information: 410-884-0225.

Lt. Gen. Charles E. Croom Jr., director of the Defense Information Systems Agency, will speak at the BWI Business Partnership's Signature Breakfast, to be held at 7:30 a.m. April 16 at the Marriott BWI Airport, 1743 West Nursery Road, Linthicum. He will discuss his agency's planned move to new headquarters at Fort Meade, and participate in a ground-breaking for the 1.2 million-square-foot facility after the presentation. DISA is expected to bring more than 4,000 workers to Fort Meade by 2010.

Laura Chaney and her 15-year-old granddaughter gazed intently at the computer screen, mesmerized by the way the Microsoft Excel program could add and average numbers. "See, you just click on that funny looking `E' (Sigma)," Lynn Karr, who directs the Carroll Technology Council, instructed them. "Now, hit enter. You just added those three rows together. Isn't that cool?" "Oh, my goodness!" Chaney said. "Now I know how to do math on here," said Megan Jones, Chaney's granddaughter. Megan, who suffers from bipolar and attention-deficit disorders, has recently realized her math abilities but never had a computer to help solve complex equations.

County closings for Thanksgiving Carroll County government offices will be closed Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving. Public libraries will close at 5 p.m. Wednesday and be closed Thursday. Public schools will be closed tomorrow through Friday for parent conferences, professional time for teachers and the holiday. Senior centers will be closed Thursday and Friday. Northern Landfill and the Recycling Center will be closed Thursday. Rape crisis service selling poinsettias Rape Crisis Intervention Service of Carroll County is holding its annual poinsettia sale fundraiser through tomorrow.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. announced yesterday the appointment of nine new members to a state technology commission he created in 2003, bolstering by six the group's size and filling three vacant positions. Dubbed the "Pappas Commission" - after its chairman George F. Pappas, a patent attorney at Baltimore law firm Venable LLP - the organization has been given the task of assessing and improving Maryland's technology business climate. In its first report last year, the group took a broad look at the sector and made recommendations such as increasing pension fund investments in private equities and hiring a chief technology officer - goals toward which the state is making slow progress.

Penny Lewandowski, a tireless technology advocate before and after the dot-com bubble burst, will step down as executive director of the Greater Baltimore Technology Council in May to take a position with a Michigan foundation that helps entrepreneurs develop new businesses. "It is disappointing to lose a friend and co-worker who's done such a good job, but you know, she's left us in pretty good shape," said Mark Wesker, chairman of the council, which has the singular goal of helping the area's tech community grow.

Technology Council to hold celebration in Westminster The Carroll Technology Council will launch the new Carroll Tech Council with an awareness celebration from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Carroll Arts Center in downtown Westminster. Entertainment will include the introduction of "Computers and Music" in a demonstration as jazz musician Eric Byrd jams with a computer. Bear, the mold-sniffing dog, will demonstrate the use of animals in the detection of mold. Carroll County schools will display the "Rookie Driver," the robot designed and built to compete in a complex ability contest.

Chamber plans luncheon for Feb. 12, chance to network The Carroll County Chamber of Commerce has announced its monthly meetings. A member luncheon will be held at noon Feb. 12 at Wilhelm Ltd. Caterers. Mark Ripper will discuss "Making Your Web site ADA Accessible." Topics will include Web site design for those with limited vision and hearing, as well as other physical handicaps. The cost is $18, and reservations are required by Feb. 5. The Connections After Hours networking opportunity and business card exchange will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 17 at Century High School, 355 Ronsdale Road near Winfield.

Robert G. Templin Jr., president of Northern Virginia Community College, will be the speaker at Harford Community College's 45th commencement ceremony at 11 a.m. May 17 in a tent on the campus library lawn. Templin's collegiate experience began at Harford Community College, where he received an associate's degree in 1967, followed by a bachelor's degree in political science from Towson University in 1969. He received a master's degree in international relations from Georgetown University, followed by a doctorate in adult and community college education from North Carolina State University.