ColdQuanta Joins 8th Continent Incubator
Today's attempts to unlock the power behind ultracold atoms have the same potential as laser technology did in the early ‘60s that spawned thousands of applications and new businesses.ColdQuanta, a University of Colorado startup company and now a member of the Colorado School of Mines' 8th Continent Aerospace Business Incubator, is selling the world's first commercial device to produce ultracold atoms.
"When atoms are cooled to just above absolute zero degrees Kelvin (-460??F), a state of frictionless matter known as Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) is created that can be used to dramatically increase the performance of devices such as gyroscopes, accelerometers, gravimeters and magnetometers," said ColdQuanta President Rainer Kunz. "Ultracold atoms have disruptive implications for industrial applications ranging from spacecraft and submarine navigation, to geology and healthcare."
Research is in full swing at dozens of world-class laboratories to deliver BEC breakthroughs. ColdQuanta's founders – Mr. Kunz, Professors Dana Anderson, Jakob Reichel and Nobel Laureate Ted Hänsch – created ColdQuanta to commercialize ultracold and BEC devices that will facilitate the production of BEC and development of applications. The first device released by the company, the RuBECi™ developed by Dr. Anderson and his team, cuts researchers' time and costs by more than half when producing BEC. Two of the RuBECi??Ultracold Matter Cells have been sold already, one to a federal research lab and the other to the University of Rochester, one of the world's leading centers for optical research.
The theory was first proposed by Satyendra Bose and extended by Albert Einstein in the mid 1920s. But the actual production of ultracold atoms was not achieved until 1995 when University of Colorado scientists Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman produced the first gaseous condensate, resulting in a 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics.
"With potential uses as varied and commonplace as today's laser, the business potential for BEC is overwhelming," said 8th Continent Project Director Burke Fort. "Facilitating the commercialization of this technology by supporting ColdQuanta is what the 8th Continent Project is all about."
"Today, ColdQuanta offers the elementary tool to develop applications that we know will have a profound affect on many different industries," said Eric Gricus, who was recently appointed Space Program Manager for the 8th Continent Aerospace Business Incubator. "The 8th Continent Incubator will help ColdQuanta to accelerate these opportunities by facilitating customer, partner and investor relationships, and by establishing connections with advisors and service providers."
The 8th Continent Aerospace Business Incubator is supported by a grant from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International trade matched by the Colorado School of Mines, the law firm Townsend and Townsend and Crew, and Metzger Associates Media Relations. Incubator management and advisory services are sourced through the Boulder Innovation Center (BIC) and include access to BIC's and 8th Continent's Funding Network partners Rocky Mountain Venture Capital Association, the Keiretsu Forum, Rockies Venture Club, TechStars and individual investors.
About the 8th Continent Project
Based in Golden, the Colorado School of Mines' 8th Continent Project is the world's most comprehensive effort to integrate space technology and resources into the global economy. 8th Continent provides the infrastructure and resources to solve a wide range of challenges from global warming to renewable energy development. Located in the home of the most concentrated entrepreneurial, investor and aerospace talent in the world, 8th Continent brings space down to earth with the industry's first trade association, incubator, funding network and research hub, all working together to develop the next generation of space business ventures. More information can be found at www.8cproject.com.
About ColdQuanta, Inc.
ColdQuanta's mission is to focus on the development of BEC-generating devices and systems, making them accessible to a wide range of research, educational and industrial institutions. The release of ColdQuanta's RuBECi will enable the company to pursue its strategy of cultivating and expanding the development and markets of new applications for ultracold atoms and BEC technology. For more information, please go to www.coldquanta.com.
SOURCE: ColdQuanta, Inc.