FreeFall Aerospace awarded Innovator of the Year Startup Company!

Steve Zylstra, Doug Stetson, Sandra Watson

Steve Zylstra – CEO Arizona Technology Council, Doug Stetson – CEO FreeFall Aerospace, and Sandra Watson – CEO Arizona Commerce Authority. Photo by Tech Launch Arizona

Here’s a rundown of the winners announced Thursday night:

Innovator of the Year, Startup Company

FreeFall Aerospace Inc., a Tucson-based spinoff from the University of Arizona that provides an electronically-steerable inflatable antenna designed to revolutionize the way data moves from space to the ground.

As a startup company, this recognition of the value and potential of our technology is tremendously important and a real honor for all of us at FreeFall – employees, investors and partners.
– Doug Stetson, President & CEO of FreeFall Aerospace

Benchmark Academia Award

Louise Hecker, an associate professor in medicine for UA whose research background and training are rooted in regenerative biology and investigating mechanisms of tissue injury repair.

James C. Wyant, Fletcher McCusker, Doug Stetson, Louise Hecker

James C. Wyant, Fletcher McCusker, Doug Stetson, and Louise Hecker
Photo by Tech Launch Arizona

Innovator of the Year, Small Company:

Prime Solutions Group Inc., a Goodyear-based professional engineering services company with a focus on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technology.

Innovator of the Year, Large Company

AgJunction Inc., the Scottsdale-based precision agriculture technology company that invented autosteering technology for tractors.

MSS Business Transformational Leadership Award

Angel MedFlight Worldwide Air Ambulance, a Scottsdale-based medical air transportation company.

AccountabilIT Lifetime Achievement Award

James C. Wyant, professor emeritus of the James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences at UA.

Congratulations also to our investor Fletcher McCusker of UA Venture Capital who was awarded Ed Dennison Business Leader! Alex Rodriguez (FreeFall), Julie Bonner (FreeFall), Fletcher McCusker (UA Venture Capital), Doug Stetson (FreeFall), Darren Verebelyi (FreeFall) and Micheal Deitch (UA Venture Capital). Photo by Tech Launch Arizona.

Congratulations also to our investor Fletcher McCusker of UA Venture Capital who was awarded Ed Dennison Business Leader! Alex Rodriguez (FreeFall), Julie Bonner (FreeFall), Fletcher McCusker (UA Venture Capital), Doug Stetson (FreeFall), Darren Verebelyi (FreeFall) and Micheal Deitch (UA Venture Capital). Photo by Tech Launch Arizona.

Ed Denison Business Leader of the Year

Fletcher McCusker, CEO of UAVenture Capital, a Tucson-based investment fund designed to help finance UA-connected companies.

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Read more of this article By   – Reporter, Phoenix Business Journal

The awards recognize technology leaders and companies from around the state.

The Arizona Technology Council and the Arizona Commerce Authority recognized leaders in science and technology at the 16th annual Governor’s Celebration of Innovation Awards Thursday night in Phoenix.

Arizona-based companies and individuals were chosen as winners at the Phoenix Convention Center event for advancing the state’s business and technology ecosystem.

The annual showcase puts a spotlight on the state’s tech-focused Legislature, universities, startups and STEM talent, all of which makes the state “a national force for innovation.”

Steve Zylstra, President and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council