MME grad student's entry wins UNL entrepreneurship competition

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Tom Frederick, a graduate student in mechanical engineering and applied sciences.
Tom Frederick, a graduate student in mechanical engineering and applied sciences.

A business co-founded by Tom Frederick, a graduate student in mechanical engineering and applied sciences, won a $50,000 prize on Tuesday in a UNL competition and could be headed for even bigger things.

Frederick and former fraternity brother Brock Smith were approached by an Omaha construction company that was seeking help to solve a costly problem: losing its construction equipment.

Frederick and Smith developed a device that can track construction equipment and entered it in the UNL New Venture Competition, which is a part of EntrepreneuringDays@UNL, an event sponsored by the Center for Entrepreneurship in the College of Business Administration.

That entry was chosen to receive the grand prize, which Frederick and Smith must use to finance their business – T&B Innovations LLC – and an entry in the Global New Venture competition, which will bring contestants from other colleges and universities to Embassy Suites in Lincoln on Thursday.

Alex Adams, a graduate student in mechanical engineering and applied mechanics, took second place and $1,500 prize in the Graduate Division. Adams’ entry , Rodeo Analytics, would provide video analysis of technical skills for the competitors in rodeos and horse shows with the goal of helping the competitors earn more prize money.



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