CALENDAR

Editor 's note: submit events, meetings, workshops and conferences at least one month in advance to cibm@news-gazette.com for inclusion in Mark Your Calendar.

Untitled < Jan Feb Mar >

February 11
Champaign County FIRST 8:30
Chamber Large Conference Room 1817 S. Neil St., Suite 201 Champaign

February 11
Chamber Ambassadors Meeting 4 p.m.
Chamber Large Conference Room 1817 S. Neil St., Suite 201 Champaign

February 16
Microsoft Excel 2007:Level 1 - Session 1 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Parkland Business Training 1315 N. Mattis, Champaign Prerequisite: Windows XP/Vista or equivalent knowledge. Deadline to sign up is Feb. 9. Class fee is $159, including book.

February 16
Starting your business in Illinois - Champaign 8:30 - 9 a.m., sign-in; 9 a.m. to noon, program
U of I Extension SBDC 1817 S. Neil St. (Illini Plaza), Suite 20, Champaign This workshop will explore reasons for starting your business, evaluating yourself and your idea, criteria for a home-based business, sources of funding, understanding your market, types of ownership and naming and registering your business.

February 17
First-Line Supervision 8 a.m. to 5:05 p.m.
Parkland Business Training 1315 N. Mattis, Champaign Deadline to sign up is Feb. 10. Class fee is $255. Learn how to make a successful transition from staff to supervisor; develop your own leadership style; establish a partnership with your boss; give feedback to improve performance; build a top-performing team; effectively manage time and stress; and motivating and counseling employees.

February 18
Agribusiness Council 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.
Chamber Large Conference Room 1817 S. Neil St., Suite 201 Champaign

February 18
Business After Hours 5 to 7 p.m.
Ramshaw Real Estate/Illini Plaza 1817 S. Neil St., Champaign Proceeds from the $5 per person donation at the door will help fund Chamber programs. The donation for non-members and guests is $8.

February 18
ATHENA Award Luncheon noon to 2 p.m.
Champaign Country Club 1211 S. Prospect Ave., Champaign For more information, call (217) 359-1791. The ATHENA Award honors an individual who demonstrates excellence, creativity and initiative in her business or profession; provides valuable service to the community; and assists women with reaching their full leadership potential. The 2010 ATHENA award recipient will be honored at a luncheon sponsored by Worden-Martin Inc.

February 18
Communication Derailed 8 a.m. to noon
Parkland Business Training 1315 N. Mattis, Champaign Join Cindy Guthrie as she unfolds the secrets to recognizing ineffective communication, improving communication and then practicing effective communication. Deadline to sign up is Feb. 11. Class fee is $125.

February 18
Innovators Improv on Sustainability 5-7 p.m.
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana What does sustainability mean to you? Have your say at the Innovators Improv. Come to this evening of exciting innovation conversation as guests take to the stage for a lightning round of enterprising ideas, artistic expressions, global discussion and fresh perspectives on sustainability.

February 19
Adobe Acrobat 9.0: Level 1 - Session 1 1 to 5 p.m.
Parkland Business Training 1315 N. Mattis, Champaign Second class is Feb. 26 Prerequisite: experience with computers and Microsoft Office applications. Deadline to sign up is Feb. 12. Class fee is $199, including book.

February 19
Introduction to Adobe InDesign CS3 (Mac) - Session 1 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Parkland Business Training, PC-C138 1315 N. Mattis, Champaign Second session is Feb. 26. Prerequisite: MAC OS or equivalent knowledge. Deadline to sign up is Feb. 12. Class fee is $199, not including the book.

February 19
Building Operator Certification - Level 1 - Session 1 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Parkland Business Training 1315 N. Mattis, Champaign Subsequent classes are: March 5 and 19, April 8, 9, 23 and May 7 and 21. All sessions are taught by MEEA instructors and require some out-of-class projects. Deadline to register is Feb. 12. Class fee is $1,250, which includes certification exams and books.

February 20
Development: Green Building Concepts and LEED Green Associate Exam Guide (Hybrid)
Parkland Business Training 1315 N. Mattis, Champaign Class continues through April 17. Contractors/subcontractors, architects, facility managers, building owners, city officials and community members who want to become LEED-accredited and sustainability-oriented will discover how to successfully achieve the highest understanding of current green building concepts and practices along with LEED requirements and processes. Participants receive a Certificate of Completion from Parkland College. Deadline to register is Feb. 12. Class fee is $1,235, not including the book.

February 23
Microsoft Access 2007: Level 2 - class 1 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Parkland Business Training 1315 N. Mattis, Champaign Class 2 is Feb. 25 at the same time. Prerequisite: Microsoft Access 2007 Level 1 or equivalent knowledge. Deadline to register is Feb. 16. Class fee is $159, which includes the book.

February 23
Finding a Grant for Your Nonprofit 6 to 8 p.m.
Parkland Business Training, HP-H120 1315 N. Mattis, Champaign Prerequisite: basic computer skills. Deadline to register is Feb. 16. Class fee is $45.

February 25
"Green-Collar" Jobs: Workforce Development in the New Economy 3 to 5 p.m.
Edgar County Extension Office 210 W. Washington, Paris Location will be determined upon the number of participants registered. No program fee.

INNOVATION > THE OUTER LIMITS February 2010

SFM Technology finds its niche

Company fills need other companies haven't

By Sarah Lohman
CIB Staff Writer

There is a move in the electronic device market to standardize the way electronic data is represented.

SFM Technology is there to help.

The company makes software that helps companies manage data about electrical and mechanical components of electrical devices, making the process more efficient.

The company is an offshoot of a University of Illinois research program and is funded by a Small Business Innovative Research grant from the National Science Foundation. The grant is allowing the company to develop the core technology of its data management software, allowing it to market it to a wider audience.

The company's founders began working with aviation and information technology systems producer Rockwell Collins before their company was founded. The company was formed when Rockwell needed more professional and commercial support for the software tools. About 70 of Rockwell Collins' designers now use SFM software developed specifically for their company. Rockwell will continue to evaluate their new software.

SFM Technology was founded by Jamie Stori, Placid Ferreira and Spencer Burton in 2005 to provide Rockwell Collins with that support, but through their work, the founders discovered a vacant niche.

"We identified what we thought to be an opportunity that wasn't being currently addressed by existing commercial software tools, particularly in the area of managing data related to electronic components and being able to share and exchange this data between CAD tools and the electrical and mechanical domain," Stori said.

In most companies that design electronic products, the company is made of two separate groups of people using separate software tools and focusing on different aspects of the design - the electrical and mechanical divisions, Stori said.

"It's becoming increasingly important that those two jobs be done concurrently, with a lot of communication back and forth," Stori said. "In general, the software tools that are commercially available haven't really supported that need very well."

Electrical components of electronic products are usually designed using a 2-D model because they are printed on flat layers that are stacked after they are printed. The mechanical components are designed using a 3-D model. SFM's software makes it easier to design those pieces so they fit together more compactly like they need to in cell phones.

Developers will still use the existing sources of component data they are familiar with, and SFM's software will supplement them by bringing those sources together into a "unified model," Stori said.

Stori said SFM's products have been first used in the aerospace and defense sector because those sectors have strict requirements that must be followed. That technology can be implemented into other products that have less strict guidelines.

Stori said SFM also does annual projects for PDES Inc., which is an organization that is developing standards for computer representations of product data. SFM is heavily involved in developing tools that are based on these standards for representing electronic data.

SFM just hired Charlie Arnold, a software developer, and Ferreira works for the company mainly as a consultant. The company's three full-time employees also work with students and consultants.