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November 21, 2016 | Tom Ballard

Latest Alex Adams start-up captures top prize in “Fall Vol Court” competition

Vol Court 2A University of Tennessee UT) student we met several years ago just captured the top position in the “Fall Vol Court” final pitch competition. Alex Adams bested 18 others who pitched in the event last week.

His idea is something named GeoAir which gives a faster, more precise way to identify mold in fields by using a drone to take airborne samples of the field. That data is used to create a heat map, which identifies mold hot spots. This information allows growers to spot treat the areas instead of the entire crop, saving time, money and crop production.

We first met Adams in early 2013 when his start-up named Xada took second place in the “Spring Vol Court” event. You can read about that start-up and its evolution here.

Second place went to Taylor King’s ReInvent, an upcycling company that helps people take recyclable materials and transform them into works of art with the help of a local artist. Third place went to Christopher Ruel who pitched Prometheus Group LLC, a consultancy that focuses on risk management and travel security.

The twice-a-year “Vol Court,” hosted by UT’s Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation ester, is open to UT students, faculty and staff as well as members of the local community. It’s made possible through sponsorship from Cirrus Insight, the UT Research Foundation, Launch Tennessee, PYA, Morehous Legal Group, the IT Company, Hard Knox Pizzeria, Three Roots Capital and Funding Sage.

To learn more, read the official news release (vol-court-2016-final vol-court-2016-final).


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