Self-navigating ship startup wins prestigious Panasci prize

Buffalo Business First reported on Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition winner Buffalo Automation Group, led by a team of SEAS undergraduate students.

Buffalo Automation Group was co-founded by undergraduates Thiru Vikram and Alex Zhitelzeyf. Emilie Reynolds, a UB mechanical engineering student, was also a core Buffalo Automation Group team member who helped compete in the Panasci.

The company plans to build the world's first autonomous ship using technology and automation tools. It is seeking to raise a seed round this year to pay a growing team of developers and engineers.

Because of its Panasci win, the company will automatically become a semifinalist in this year's 43North competition.

Another UB team took second place in the competition. Shay Bioproducts, a precious metal retrieval unit used to recover and reuse pricey metals, includes Charles Jones and Mahmoud Kamal Ahmadi, both doctoral students in chemical and biological engineering; and Blaine Pfeifer, an associate professor of chemical and biological engineering.

Read the story here.