Event

  • Governor’s Celebration of Innovation Awards 2020

    November 4, 2020 FreeFall5g

    Governor’s Celebration of Innovation Awards

    The Arizona Technology Council and Arizona Commerce Authority honors technology leaders and innovators from across the state with the 17th annual Governor’s Celebration of Innovation Awards.

    For 2020, the awards program and tech showcase will be virtual due to the pandemic.

    AGENDA

    TICKETS

    4:00 – 5:00 PM | Virtual Tech Showcase | Networking Rooms
    5:00 – 5:15 PM | Opening Remarks
    5:15 – 5:45 PM | Keynote Speaker
    5:45 – 7:30 PM | Sponsor Remarks and Awards Presentations
    VISIT HERE to purchase early-bird tickets for the November 4 virtual event. Early-bird ticket prices end on Friday, October 2.

    Early-bird tickets:  Members: $50  |  Non-Members: $75
    After October 2:      Members: $75  |  Non-Members: $100

     

    WINNERS AND FINALISTS FOR THE 2020 GCOI AWARDS ANNOUNCED

    Honoring the leaders and visionaries making critical contributions to technology, bioscience and education throughout the state of Arizona, the Arizona Technology Council and the Arizona Commerce Authority have announced winners of the Future Innovators of the Year and Teacher of the Year awards, as well as individual and company award finalists for the 2020 Governor’s Celebration of Innovation Awards. The winners will be honored during GCOI, which will take place during a live virtual event on Wednesday, November 4 from 4 to 7:30 p.m.

     

     

    MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!
    Vote for the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award winner by Friday, October 16.

     

    BARBARA BARRETT
    Secretary of the
    United States Air Force
    BRUCE WRIGHT
    UA Tech Parks Founder and
    Principal of B Wright Consulting
    DON SLAGER
    Chief Executive Officer
    Republic Services Inc.
    FLETCHER McCUSKER
    Chief Executive Officer
    UA Venture Capital

     

     


    Sponsorship Opportunities:

    GCOI sponsorship packages range in price from $2,500 – $25,000.
    Contact events@aztechcouncil.org for more information.

    About the Virtual Tech Showcase:

    Arizona is emerging as one of the fastest-growing tech hubs in the nation. Arizona may be a young state, but it is the grit and personality of the local technology companies and vendors that set it apart. There is no better place on earth to launch and scale innovative ideas that tackle the toughest tech challenges. Featuring award finalists, sponsors and partners, the Tech Showcase will include over 50 companies virtually showcasing their innovations, culture and future here in Arizona. Invite your staff and colleagues to experience and enjoy Arizona’s exciting the tech community.

    PRESENTING SPONSORS

     

    PARTNER SPONSORS

      Pacific Office Automation  |  Wallace, Plese + Dreher  | Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | brightguest | KEO Marketing | TGen | R3EWaste | Castelazo Content | PADT | Expedient | Iron Mountain

     

    AWARD SPONSORS

     

     

    LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD SPONSOR


    Location

    Virtual Event
    Virtual Event
    ,

    Date

    Wednesday November 4, 2020

    Time

    4:00 PM – 7:30 PM

    Cost

    • AZTC Member – $50
    • Non AZTC Member $75

    REGISTER

  • Capitalizing on the growth of 5G wireless networks – Arizona Daily Star

    May 19, 2020 FreeFall5g Media, News

    Tucson startups team up to capitalize on the growth of 5G wireless networks

    Written By David Wichner | May 18th, 2020

    FreeStar5G Antenna - FreeFall 5G

    Two Tucson-based technology startups backed by local venture capital have created a spinoff company to capitalize on the explosive growth of 5G wireless, the emerging ultra-fast mobile broadband standard.

     

    FreeFall Aerospace and Electronic Design and Development Corp., or ED2, have formed FreeFall 5G to combine FreeFall’s advanced antenna technology with ED2’s 5G communications capabilities.

     

    UAVenture Capital, a Tucson-based firm that invests exclusively in University of Arizona science and technology, announced an undisclosed investment in FreeFall Aerospace in 2018.

     

    DVI Equity Partners, the technology investment arm of Tucson’s Diamond Ventures, led an initial venture capital round for ED2 last year with a $2.6 million investment.

     

    FreeFall Aerospace, founded by UA astronomy professor Chris Walker and NASA veteran Doug Stetson, has demonstrated an ultra-lightweight inflatable satellite antenna, steerable balloon-borne communications, and low-cost fixed and mobile ground-based systems.

     

    ED2, led by former Raytheon engineer and tech entrepreneur Sergio Cardona, is developing new, low-power devices for 5G based on millimeter-wave technology and has already rolled out 5G signal filters and repeaters.

     

    FreeFall and ED2 have been working together to combine the technologies since 2018, said Alex Rodriguez, chief operating officer of FreeFall Aerospace and now CEO of FreeFall 5G.

     

    ED2’s use of the FreeFall Aerospace antenna concept led to a prototype unveiled at 5G Mobile World Congress in Los Angeles last fall, and that system will now be further developed for commercial demonstration this summer, the company said.

     

    The company’s FreeStar5G antenna has greater range and flexibility than any 5G antenna system currently on the market, yet it draws significantly less power and is about the size of a desktop computer, the company says.

     

    “It is clearly a disruptive antenna technology,” Rodriguez said. “We believe we will be state-of-the-art in terms of extended range — we have exceptional millimeter-wave coverage — and (range) is a huge gap in the industry right now.”

     

    UAVenture Capital founder and CEO Fletcher McCusker said in a news release he believes the FreeStar5G antenna will “revolutionize” 5G communications.

    “Based on what we all felt was a game-changing technology for 5G, it made sense to form a spinoff to operationalize the antenna,” added Bob Griffin, managing partner at DV Equity Partners.

     

    For now, FreeFall 5G is operating with shared resources and staff under a shared-services agreement that will give FreeFall 5G the technical and business support it needs from both companies, Rodriguez said.

    FreeFall Aerospace has 10 full-time employees plus several part-time and technical consultants on its staff, while ED2 has 13 employees, he said.

     

    “(It’s) amazing that two small companies, from Tucson, Arizona, can transform the way 5G communication gets rolled out and by default make us a 5G technology region,” ED2’s Cardona said.

     

    FreeFall will soon move into a larger facility with room for expansion, Rodriguez said.

     

    Read the original article here at the Arizona Daily Star.