Two start-up teams from the Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship are racking up a string of successes--and some nice cash prizes, too. At the Stuart Clark Investment Challenge held in Winnipeg, Canada, Sonas LLC took second place and $10,000 for their presentation of a business concept based on a technology that uses acoustic waves to precisely identify any liquid in sealed containers. Sonas had previously competed at the University of Cincinnati's Spirit of Enterprise, where they won the trade show competition.

A grand new tradition began last month, with the presentation of the first-ever Jim Warsaw and Annalee Thurston Award at a festive dinner gala during the BNP Paribas Open in southern California. Created to honor the legacies of Jim Warsaw and Annalee Thurston, the award recognizes individuals, female or male, who have created and advanced opportunities for women in the business of sport. Its first recipient was Stacey Allaster, chairwoman and CEO of the Women's Tennis Association, who has led the way in securing equal prize money for male and female tennis players.

Solar energy has been around for decades. Why isn't it more widely used? PhD candidates Matthew Metzger and Jesse King looked for answers by examining influences on new product development in the solar industry. Recently, they were invited by the Green Product Design Network to present their investigations at a poster session associated with the second annual UO Graduate Student Research Forum. (Do you work in the solar energy industry? Matthew and Jesse want to hear from you.