Konneker Medal for Commercialization and Entrepreneurship

David Wilhelm is a natural born entrepreneur, team-builder, and friend of the underdog.

Today, he is the co-founder and Chair of HGR Energy, a company that is developing solar and battery storage projects in places like Algeria, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Zambia, The Gambia, and Botswana.

HGR Energy is a spin-off of Hecate Energy, which Wilhelm joined as a start-up in 2013. Later this year, if all goes as expected, Hecate Energy will be a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ exchange.

In the fall of 1991, when all the big names took a pass, Wilhelm went down to Little Rock, Arkansas to manage the campaign of a long-shot presidential candidate named Bill Clinton. After he won, then President Clinton named Wilhelm the Chair of the Democratic National Committee, the youngest person ever to assume that post.

Prior to getting into the campaign management business, Wilhelm, while still in his twenties, turned a little-known public interest group called Citizens for Tax Justice into a major player in the 1980s battle over federal tax return, and a major thorn in the side of large corporations that evaded taxation.

Noting that there was virtually no venture capital going into businesses located in Central Appalachia and the American Midwest, Wilhelm started two funds targeting investment opportunities in those regions. One of those funds, Adena Ventures, helped catalyze the strong entrepreneurial ecosystem in and around his alma mater, Ohio University, where he was the long-time Co-Chair (along with its namesake) of the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service.

Wilhelm has real degrees from Ohio University and Harvard University and honorary ones from Ohio University, the University of Charleston, and Wheeling Jesuit University. He has taught at the University of Chicago, Harvard University, DePaul University, and the University of Akron.

He and his wife, Degee--who is an attorney and elections observer working mainly in Eastern Europe--reside in downtown Nashville, and are the proud parents of two fine gentlemen, Luke and Logan. Wilhelm’s father was a refugee from post-war Germany, and his mother was from a small central Illinois town to where his father emigrated, thanks to the sponsorship of a local farm family and the Brethren Church.

An internationally acclaimed surgeon, inventor, and entrepreneur, Dr. Frank Papay is the recipient of the 2024 Konneker Medal for Commercialization and Entrepreneurship. A proud OHIO alumnus, Papay is renowned for his pioneering work in facial reconstruction, including leading the Cleveland Clinic’s first full-face transplant. With over 40 years of professional achievement, more than two dozen medical patents, and a deep commitment to innovation in healthcare, Dr. Papay exemplifies the spirit of translational research and entrepreneurship. He continues to inspire future generations through his support of Ohio University and its students.

Jon J. Snyder is the Managing Director, Investor Relations for the Ohio Life Sciences Association, a non-profit trade association for the state.   He holds over 30 years of global management experience in biomedical and healthcare sales, marketing, and operations with significant experience in bringing new products into the marketplace.  His background covers company formation, business development, product development, intellectual property, market management, sales management, venture capital investment, and fundraising at start-up and Fortune 500 (Top 20) companies including Cyberonics (N/K/A LivaNova), Cardinal Health, Neuros Medical (founding CEO), Imalux, and STERIS, having raised $40 million in venture capital and strategic partner investment.   Snyder sits on several non-profit and for-profit boards.

He sits on the Boards of Ohio University’s College of Business Executive Advisory Board, OsteoDx, Anemed, Peloton Medical Devices, Lake County YMCA Governing Board, Tiffin University Board of Counselors, Lakeland Foundation (chair), Case Western Reserve University Research & Technology Commercialization Visiting Committee, University Hospitals Ventures’ Technology Validation Start-up Fund, Cleveland Stokes VA/APT Center Advisory Board and was previously an elected member of the Kirtland Local Schools Board of Education.
He is a recipient of two exclusive awards from Ohio University – the 2022 Medal of Merit and the 2024 Konneker Medal for Innovation and Commercialization.

Snyder enjoys family activities, recreational sports, is an avid Cleveland sports fan and frequent speaker/class lecturer.

After earning his Mechanical Engineering degree from Ohio University in 2002, Mike went to work for Crane Plastics, a Columbus-based manufacturer of original equipment (OEM) components serving many industries including building products, energy, transportation, and agriculture. While advancing within the organization, Mike earned his MBA from Ashland University. In 2009, Mike and his partners executed a management buyout of Crane Plastics, creating Engineered Profiles LLC in the process.

In 2010 Mike earned a master’s degree in Operational Excellence from Ohio State and was named President and CEO of Engineered Profiles in 2015. Mike and his team have overseen tremendous growth of the company. Today Engineered Profiles employs over 350 people across two manufacturing sites, which produce nearly 40 million components annually.

Mike and his wife, Dawn Davis, BSRS ’03, are the parents of three boys, all of whom are active in hockey. Mike also serves on the Board of Trustees for Lawrence Economic Development Corporation and supports numerous charitable organizations.

After earning his Chemical Engineering degree from Ohio University in 2004, Brian began his career at Crane Plastics initially focusing on compound and formulation development as a Materials Engineer.

In 2007, Brian led the development of an all polymerbased composite deck board, XLM Decking, which was sold through Crane Plastic’s decking division, TimberTech. In 2008, the XLM Decking product became the most successful product launch in Crane Plastic’s history.

In 2009, Crane Plastics sold the XLM product line to TimberTech; and as part of the deal, Brian accepted a position as Engineering Manager for TimberTech. Brian spent over three years at TimberTech focusing on new product development, where he led the development and launch of multiple new railing and decking products. While at TimberTech, Brian earned his MBA from Ashland University in 2010.

In 2012, Brian joined the Engineered Profiles Team as Director of Operations and earned a master’s degree in Operational Excellence from The Ohio State University in 2014. Brian has remained focused on operations management while at Engineered Profiles, overseeing significant improvements in all operational metrics. In 2019, he was named Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Brian and his wife, Erin Davis, are the parents of five children. Brian and Erin are active within their local church, St Andrew Parish, and support numerous local charitable organizations.

Adam is a 2004 graduate from OHIO where he obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration while majoring in accounting and management information systems.

Adam began his career with one of the Big Four accounting firms, KPMG LLP. He spent nine years working in the firm’s audit practice where he rose to the position of Senior Manager. He then joined Engineered Profiles as their Director of Finance (DOF). As the company’s DOF, he played a pivotal role in leading efforts to renegotiate the company’s borrowing terms, buy out minority and retiring shareholders, and purchase the company’s main operating facility, which set the company up for its growth initiatives. Due to his exceptional leadership and results-driven approach, Adam was quickly promoted to Chief Finance Officer (CFO).

As the CFO of Engineered Profiles, Adam demonstrated his versatility by leading the company’s information technology, human resources, and customer service departments. His expertise in driving improvements in financial strength and operational efficiency were instrumental in ensuring the company’s support departments could keep pace with the overall company’s rapid growth and innovation plans. The above-mentioned improvements were evident in the implementation of improved controls, hiring practices, process improvements, and leveraging the use of technology to improve the efficiency of the operations both within the support departments and in the company overall. Adam successfully oversaw the implementation of a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, as well as the transformation of the company’s invoices and expense report processes. In addition, he led the efforts to implement and expand the use of a cloud-based reporting, planning and analysis tool. This tool allows detailed financial and operational results to be shared across the organization resulting in the ability to create robust financial projection models.

Adam is a certified public accountant and is a member of both the OHIO School of Accountancy Advisory Council as well as a member of the Manufacturing Association of Plastic Processor’s Board of Directors, where he serves as Treasurer.

After earning his accounting degree from OHIO, Snyder first went to work for Deloitte (formerly Touche Ross in Columbus). In 1991, he used his knowledge, experience and entrepreneurship in founding a startup in the health care world. He also served as the only employee and sole proprietor. Today, 21st Century HealthCare has 500 employees and manufactures 5 billion doses of health supplements each year. In recognition of its outstanding efforts, 21st Century HealthCare earned a top brand designation by U.S. News and World Report in 2020. The company also publishes The Connection 21, a newsletter that is filled with important information on manufacturing, events, non-profit and employee updates, and wellness tips. In addition, 21st Century HealthCare supports non-profit organizations such as the American Heart Association and Rady’s Children’s Hospital.

Epp, a 2007 recipient of a bachelor’s degree in health services administration, worked as the first outside hire at CoverMyMeds, a successful health care information technology company. Following the acquisition of CoverMyMeds by McKesson in 2017, Epp was a founding team member with ScriptDrop and the company’s first paid employee. She has since advanced from being vice president of pharmaceutical sales to president and CEO of ScriptDrop, which is on a rapid growth trajectory. During the pandemic, Epp has committed ScriptDrop to providing patient-centric medication access.

Epp also is one of two co-founders of Go Get the World, a non-profit that embraces, encourages and empowers women who are working on their dreams. Epp had the vision of Go Get the World in high school and made it a reality in 2018, focusing on helping young women to achieve their goals.

Lynn, D.O., is a former clinical faculty member of the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, starting in 1988. During his time at OHIO, he was well-respected with his patients, students, interns and residents. He provided clinical mentorship and research opportunities for students. Lynn continues to support OHIO by presenting to students in the Heritage College and College of Health Sciences and Professions at the Dublin campus regarding his groundbreaking research on sepsis. 

Lynn is a prolific inventor of successful medical devices and patient monitoring systems, and has filed over 100 patents, with almost 80 issued in the United States. His discoveries in sepsis research led to the development of data systems that show a number of different patterns of sepsis, allowing for better health outcomes. His patented tool, PatientStormTracker, detects dynamic transitions in sepsis using device and data analytics. Lynn is founder and president of Lyntek Medical Technologies, Inc., based in Columbus, Ohio, which is focused on developing new and improved medical technologies.

Schaaf, a 2010 graduate with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, developed, founded and launched imgur.com in 2009 while still a student at OHIO, with support from the Ohio University Innovation Center.

Imgur is an online image sharing platform and a community entertainment destination, now reaching 300 million people across the globe. The site ranks among the top 50 Internet properties in the United States and top 100 in the world. Schaaf has remained the founder and CEO of the company since the beginning. Imgur currently employs about 100 people, including many OHIO graduates.

Imgur has received many accolades, including Best Bootstrapped Business by TechCrunch in 2012 and 2014, and winner of the Webby Award for Best Social Media. The platform achieved 900 billion image views in 2015 alone.

Schaaf has also received many awards and accolades, including named to Forbes 30 Under 30 for four consecutive years (2013-2016) and to the San Francisco 40 Under 40 Class of 2017. Schaaf also was previously recognized with an OHIO Alumni Award, the Charles J. and Claire O. Ping Recent Graduate Award, in 2015.

Naishu Wang earned a doctoral degree in biological sciences from Ohio University in 1991, under the direction of Distinguished Professor Robert Hikida. She holds a medical degree from the Chongqing Medical University in China.

Dr. Wang founded Alfa Scientific Designs Inc. (ALFA) in 1996 and has grown the company to 96 employees to date. ALFA occupies a 40,000 square-foot research and manufacturing facility that is focused on the research and development of rapid, point-of-care (POC), in-vitro diagnostic medical devices. The company has developed more than 50 medical diagnostic devices, most of them with U.S. FDA 510(K) clearance and are European CE mark certified. In 2013, the company was awarded an Outstanding Service Award from Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics.

Dr. Wang’s inventions have been granted more than 27 patents by the United States Patent & Trademark Office. She received the National Leadership Award and California Businessman of the Year, National Republican Congressional Committee, in 2003. ALFA won the Minority-Owned Small Business of the Year in 2002 from the Small Business Administration, San Diego and Imperial Districts. Dr. Wang also serves as the Honorary Chairman of the Business Advisory Council, National Republican Congressional Committee, and has been a lifetime VIP member of America’s Registry of Outstanding Professionals since 2002.

Dr. Joye is a native Ohioan who received his Bachelor of Science degree from Westminster College in 1984. He received his Doctor of Osteopathy degree in 1988 from the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine at Ohio University, where he has been awarded their Medal of Merit for outstanding contributions to medicine. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency and Cardiovascular Diseases Fellowship at Allegheny General Hospital, where he served as Chief Fellow of the cardiology program. Dr. Joye is board certified in Cardiovascular Diseases, Interventional Cardiology, and Endovascular Medicine.

For the past 20+ years Dr. Joye has maintained a busy interventional practice in Northern California focused on complex coronary, structural heart, and endovascular procedures. Through his affiliation with El Camino Hospital he has served as founding Medical Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Labs, Research & Education, and the Structural Heart Program. Dr. Joye also served as Chief Medical Officer of the Fogarty Institute for Innovation, a not-for-profit accelerator for medical device development.

Dr. Joye has been active in research throughout his career and has published and lectured extensively across the U.S. and abroad. He is a founding Board Member of VIVA Physicians, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to endovascular research and education. He has been principal investigator of countless clinical trials and has pioneered numerous cutting-edge procedures to improve the lives of his patients. Dr. Joye has authored over 20 issued patents and has founded 3 medical device companies dedicated to minimally invasive therapies for peripheral arterial disease.

Pidwell (BSEE ’69, MS ’70) has been a partner with Alloy Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, since January 1996. His investment activities are concentrated in the computer software industry, primarily with companies addressing enterprise information management, the internet, or software-as-a-service (SaaS, cloud computing) related fields. He currently is on the Board of Directors of Xactly Corp., as well as one privately held corporation.

In 1986, Pidwell founded Rasna Corp., a mechanical design automation software company, and was CEO until 1995 when the firm was acquired by Parametric Technology Corp. Prior to Rasna, he was president and general manager of the Mil-Spec Computer Division of Rolm Corp. He was employed at Rolm from the company’s early startup for 15 years. With more than 2,500 employees and $1.2 billion in annual revenue, the company was acquired in 1985 by IBM.

Pidwell has been a faculty member, lecturer or student mentor with the Stanford University Graduate School of Business for the past 20 years. He is currently a member of the Ohio University Board of Trustees, a trustee emeritus of the Ohio University Foundation and a member of the dean’s advisory council for the university’s Russ College of Engineering and Technology. Recently, he has been involved in developing the Ohio University C-Suite, a campus-wide hub for student entrepreneurship, social and public innovation and creative endeavors.

Pidwell is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Ohio University Russ College of Engineering Academy of Distinguished Graduates, and the College of Business Award for Achievement in Business. He holds degrees in electrical engineering and industrial and systems engineering from Ohio University, and has completed three years of study at Stanford University on a PhD in engineering economic systems.

Painter (BS ’93) is a founding partner at Razor’s Edge Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund focused on investing in technologies and businesses that deliver direct, meaningful impact to the U.S. defense and intelligence community. He actively mentors and advises venture-backed companies in Silicon Valley, the Rocky Mountain Region and the Mid- Atlantic while serving on the Board of Directors for Mersive Technologies, Wireless Registry, Zoomdata, Hawkeye 360, AELIUS Exploitation Technologies and LoudounSTEAM, a non-profit he founded in 2015. He is also a special advisor to the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command. Painter is a 12-year veteran of the U.S. Army and Army National Guard.

In tandem with the founding of Razor’s Edge, Painter was the executive director for strategy and innovation at Raytheon-Blackbird Technologies and served as the director of venture investing for Raytheon’s Intelligence and Information Systems Business Unit on behalf of the Advanced Concepts and Technologies Division. During his eight years at the company, Painter crafted and managed several classified, special access programs supporting both technology development and foreign and domestic intelligence operations for Intelligence Community and Department of Defense partners.

Before joining Raytheon-Blackbird Technologies, Painter was chief technologist for Google Federal and simultaneously a product manager for Google Geo supporting humanitarian assistance and disaster response activities worldwide. Prior to Google, he was the director of technology assessment at In-Q-Tel, the strategic venture capital firm of the U.S. Intelligence Community. His work with the firm includes leading over two dozen investments, most notably Keyhole, now Google Earth, and @Last Software, now Google SketchUp. His entrepreneurial experience also includes founding and exiting Encompass Technologies, Inc., a K-12 desktop mapping company created to enhance geography in the classroom.

Painter, who earned a bachelor’s degree in geography and computer science from Ohio University, is currently a fellow with the university’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs. To engage his expertise with technology commercialization entrepreneurial services provider program TechGROWTH Ohio, part of the Voinovich School, Painter was recently named to the evaluation and selection committee of the newly awarded Ohio Third Frontier Technology Validation and Start-up Fund.

Ohio University alumnus Jake Sigal has launched two successful startup companies, Livio and Tome. Both focus on digital audio, consumer electronics and internet-connected products. He has been awarded 11 U.S. patents for his innovations, which include a wireless internet radio system, a portable media player for digital content and various integrated automotive technologies.

Livio’s high-profile products, developed by Sigal, have included standalone internet radio collaborations with NPR and Pandora, and the Livio Connect software that facilitated the integration of mobile apps and vehicle hardware systems. Ford Motor Company acquired Livio in 2013.

Tome Software launched in 2014 and works with established companies to develop internet-connected products within the growing “Internet of Things” tech industry.

Sigal earned undergraduate and master’s degrees in industrial and systems engineering from the Russ College of Engineering and Technology. In 2014, Ohio University awarded him the Charles J. and Claire O. Ping Recent Graduate Award for his achievements. He has earned numerous industry honors, including the Automotive Leadership Up and Coming Award from the Detroit Free Press, and has been a semifinalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Sigal, whose companies are based in metro Detroit, frequently returns to the Athens campus where he once performed with the Marching 110. He enjoys speaking to Russ College students and other young entrepreneurs about the technology commercialization and business fields. He also actively mentors new startup companies in Detroit through the Techstars business accelerator program.

Winston Breeden started his product development career soon after college, when he helped develop and bring to market a patented adjustable bungee cord. This launched a consumer products career that helped him develop relationships with every hard parts retailer in North America and now sells into 40+ countries globally. After an eight year career at Highland Group Industries, he launched Winston Products LLC, which introduced its first patented product in 2005. Winston Products is a product development company that markets eight different consumer products brands that encompass 1500+ SKUs. Those brands include SmartStraps, (Tie downs), TowSmart (Towing ball and ball mounts), CargoSmart (Exterior car products), Swopt (Brooms and cleaning utensils), FlatCat (Golf accessories), Nature’s Way (Bird feeders), SmartDock (Smart phone holder) and Healthy Foods (Yonanas). Breeden is an alumnus of the Ohio University Scripps College of Communication.

Joseph Jachinowski has served as chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors for Mevion Medical Systems since 2009 and as the company’s president since 2012. Mevion developed the world’s first single-room proton therapy system for cancer therapy. This innovative product has made proton therapy a much more viable approach for treating cancer. Prior to joining Mevion, he served as CEO and president of Elekta North America, a leading supplier of radiation therapy equipment, from 2005 to 2009. Prior to Elekta, Jachinowski cofounded IMPAC Medical Systems and served as its president and CEO from 1990 through its initial public offering in 2002 and culminating in its sale to Elekta in 2005. IMPAC was the world’s leading supplier of information technology in the oncology field. Prior to IMPAC, Jachinowski worked at Varian Medical Systems Inc., where he was responsible for leading the team that developed their innovative linear accelerator products from 1983 to 1990. Jachinowski began his career at SJE Laboratories, a company he cofounded with former Ohio University professor Edmund O. Schweitzer. SJE (now SEL) created some of the first all-digital protection and control instruments for electric power systems. Jachinowski received a bachelors degree from Ohio University and a masters from Washington State University–Pullman both in electrical engineering.

Hawkins is the CEO of Lumos Pharma, which is developing a disease-modifying therapeutic for Creatine Transporter Deficiency, an inborn error of metabolism in patients that results in a severe form of autism. He has founded and/or led several biotechnology startup companies, including Pharmaco, id2, Covance Biotechnology Services and LabNow, and is a director in two publicly traded biopharma companies, SciCione Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Cytori Therapeutics. He is an elected member of the National Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame. Hawkins previously has been awarded Ohio University's Distinguished Business Achievement Award and was inducted into the Hall of Honor at the University of Texas at Austin, College of Natural Sciences.

Beale served on the faculty of the Russ College of Engineering and Technology at Ohio University from 1960 to 1974. In 1964, he created a new form of Stirling engine known as the Free-Piston Stirling Engine, which featured significant improvements in performance and simplicity.

He obtained a patent in 1971 and left the university in 1974 to found a start-up company, Sunpower, Inc., in Athens, Ohio. Over the years, Beale has received 26 patents for his work, and his company spun off two additional Athens technology firms, Stirling Technology, Inc. and Global Cooling, Inc. Sunpower recently was purchased and now is operated by Ametek, Inc.

Beale continues to work on new technologies. During his last years at Sunpower, he invented a new approach to a continuously variable transmission, upon which a second company, Beale Innovations, Inc., was founded. This technology is still in development, but has potential for improving the efficiency of cars, bicycles and motor-driven industrial equipment such as blowers and pumps.

John Kopchick is the Goll-Ohio Eminent Scholar and Professor of Molecular Biology in Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and Institute for Molecular Medicine and Aging. Kopchick and his group were the first to discover and characterize growth hormone receptor antagonists, which led to the development of an FDA-approved drug (Somavert®) for patients with acromegaly. The drug has benefited thousands of patients and has generated significant licensing income for the university.

David Scholl, an Ohio University alumnus, is the former president and CEO of Diagnostic Hybrids, Inc. Under his leadership, the Athens, Ohio company grew from a four-person startup to the Inc. 500 list, emerging as a world leader in cell- and monoclonal antibody-based diagnostics. Scholl is a current partner in the venture capital firm Athenian Venture Partners and a member of the Ohio University Board of Trustees and Foundation Board.