Tech and Biotech: Bjorksten|bit 7 -- Adding a sweet side to its bees-ness Madison product development firm Bjorksten|bit 7 wanted to get the word out that it offers more than just design, engineering and prototyping services. But it didn't want to hand out pens or zip drives or the usual widgets. So it took a rather unorthodox, sweet step to create that message.

Rockwell acquires Chinese maker of medium voltage drives Rockwell Automation Inc. said Tuesday it has agreed to buy the assets of the medium voltage drives business of China-based Harbin Jiuzhou Electric Co. Ltd. for about $83 million.

Executive Q&A: Michael Williamson is investing in Wisconsin Michael Williamson holds the keys to $80 billion, money that more than half a million people are counting on to pay their bills when they retire.

State certifies eight start-ups for investor tax credits Eight start-up companies have been certified as qualified new business ventures by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., the agency said.  

Business start-ups will make their pitches to investors Gener8tor, a Milwaukee group formed in February to accelerate start-ups, said Wednesday it will hold its first launch day on Aug. 23 for five start-up companies.  

Chicago micro grid launches with locally developed energy storage system A ZBB Energy Corp. energy storage system has been installed and commissioned in Chicago as part of a micro grid demonstration project.  

VictorySpark affiliates with Global Accelerator Network VictorySpark Inc., which makes investments in young, military veteran-owned businesses, has become the first veteran-oriented group to affiliate with the Global Accelerator Network.  

Business travel flying high in Madison area Business travel is on the rise in the Madison area, enough that some travel agents say it is back to 2008 levels, before recession-related cutbacks.

Building a work force: Sullivan to recommend encouraging immigration to help fill jobs gap Wisconsin will need to become more immigrant-friendly if the state's economy is going to keep pace with employer needs in the coming decades, says a prominent business executive who heads Gov. Scott Walker's initiative for work force development.  

Medical College to join gene-sequencing partnership The Medical College of Wisconsin has signed a collaboration agreement with Transgenomic Inc. that calls for the school to provide sophisticated gene-sequencing services for one of the company's products.  

Cow manure is focus of biofuel research The race to create a better, less controversial biofuel has spawned plenty of research into a variety of potential new sources - including switchgrass, cornstalks and algae.  

Joint venture set for developing medical devices Bjorksten|bit7, Madison, has entered a joint venture with Granite MEDSystems, Mequon. The two companies will work together to develop medical devices for clients.

Madison ranked No. 1 for young adults in Kiplinger's Personal Finance survey Madison was ranked the No. 1 U.S. city for young adults by Kiplinger's Personal Finance on a new list of the top five best cities for young adults. The magazine said Madison was an "educated, tech-savvy city" with many recent college graduates who help foster an "entrepreneurial community" for start-up companies.

Venture capital firm raises $70 million for new fund, investor says Madison-based venture capital firm Venture Investors has received commitments of $70 million for its fifth venture capital fund, according to an investor in the fund.  

U.S. Forest Products Lab to open nanomaterials plant The U.S. Forest Products Laboratory, in Madison, says it's opening a $1.7 million pilot plant that will support an emerging market for wood products derived from nanotechnology.  

Honam and ZBB to continue battery partnership Honam Petrochemical Co. and ZBB Energy Corp. are in discussions on ramping up manufacturing of EnerStore zinc bromide batteries.  

Stem cell pioneer Thomson, UW researchers receive $2.2 million grant Stem cell pioneer James Thomson and two other University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have received a $2.2 million, two-year federal grant that is part of an initiative to improve the process for predicting whether potential new drugs are safe in humans.  

Medical College licenses acid reflux device from Somna Therapeutics The Medical College of Wisconsin said Wednesday it has completed a licensing agreement with a start-up that is developing a device for patients with severe acid reflux.  

Wisconsin angel investment leader tapped for national public policy campaign Wisconsin Angel Network Director Zach Brandon has been selected by the national Angel Capital Association to be the vice chair of the organization's public policy committee.

Printed photonic crystal mirrors shrink on-chip lasers down to size Electrical engineers at The University of Texas at Arlington and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have devised a new laser for on-chip optical connections that could give computers a huge boost in speed and energy efficiency. The team published its findings on July 22, 2012 in Nature Photonics.

Tech and Biotech: An innovation award for Bruker AXS A machine developed by Bruker AXS, Fitchburg, has won an R&D 100 award.  

$300,000 grant to boost veterans' start-ups The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. said Tuesday it will give a $300,000 grant to VictorySpark Inc., a group that will make investments in young, veteran-owned businesses.

Most U.S. research funding in Wisconsin goes to academia, not industry Federal research dollars coming into Wisconsin flow overwhelmingly into academia rather than industry, a National Science Foundation report shows.  

Yahoo raids Google's ranks for its latest CEO SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Yahoo has hired longtime Google executive Marissa Mayer as its next CEO in the Internet company's latest attempt to burnish its image and revive its financial growth after years of often-demoralizing upheaval.  

Angels will trump crowd funding Congress and the president were well-intended when they created the JOBS Act in April to help young companies raise capital, but their new law is probably not going to have much of an impact on job creation.  

Kohler Center at Marquette sharpens focus on startups The Kohler Center for Entrepreneurship at Marquette University   advises students to find out who their customers are and what those customers want before offering a product.