Date: Apr 17, 2013 Author: Andrew Robinson Source: bizjournals (
click here to go to the source)
Dr. Mehdi Yazdanpanah, CEO and founder of NaugaNeedles LLC, has been named the U.S. Small Business Administration's 2013 Kentucky Small Business Person of the Year by the Kentucky District Office of the SBA.
Yazdanpanah discovered the technology to produce nanoneedles, tiny needle-like rods about 1/1,000 of the thickness of human hair. The miniature wires reflect light, conduct electricity and resist corrosion, and they can be used in biomedical applications, sensors, tools for semiconductor manufacturers and other applications, according to a news release.
Yazdanpanah trademarked the product and formed his company, NaugaNeedles LLC in 2007. The devices are being used by more than 150 research groups around the world. (For a recent Business First article on the company's exporting efforts, click here.)
The company now has 10 employees, as well as several consultants. It exports to nine counties and has averaged revenue growth of more than 200 percent in the last three years, according to a news release.
Small Business Person of the Year winners from 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam will gather in Washington, D.C., in June, when one of them will be selected as the National Small Business Person of the Year during National Small Business week, June 17 to 21.
