Top Innovators: Nanocel Inc.

Dustin Miller and Daniel Rossi, co-founders

By Steve Reno | November 2010 | FROM THE PRINT EDITION

Washington state is full of large data centers operated by the likes of Google and Microsoft. And just like your laptop or home computer, these data centers need to stay cool to keep running. In fact, keeping data centers cool is one of the biggest problems the industry faces. The cost of powering infrastructure to cool data centers exceeds the cost of powering the data centers themselves.

Nanocel Inc. is working to fix that. Its heat sinks are made from plastic, which makes them cheaper and more durable than those made of copper or silicon. Fluid inside the heat sink allows it to direct cooling to “hot spots” on the surface of a microprocessor. The technology makes it easy to quickly prototype new cooling devices, reducing roadblocks to innovation.

Co-founders Dustin Miller and Daniel Rossi won the $25,000 grand prize at the University of Washington Business Plan Competition in 2009 with their innovation. The company was also a semifinalist in the 2010 Cleantech Open. Miller, the company’s chief technology officer, was one of the UW’s top five innovators in 2008, with 15 invention disclosures and seven patent applications.