The University of Iowa College of Engineering has announced that the student business plan for a company named Nothsor Systems is the winner of its 2016-17 Hubert E. Storer Engineering Student Entrepreneurial Start-up Award. Nothsor Systems, an electronics development and manufacturing company that is devoted to designing products useful in robotics, hobbyist, and industrial settings, will receive $5,000 from the college to help advance the company's business.

The founders include Doron Tsachor, CEO, and Abram Nothnagle, president.  Both are seniors in electrical engineering at the University of Iowa and will graduate in May 2017.

Nothsor Systems' first product that spurred the company's creation is a solid state MOSFET switching board that was developed for the aeroponics/hydroponics industry. The product is a power control board that can run off of a generic microcontroller and is used to control various devices such as water pumps, high powered LEDs, etc.

"We have other products in the works such as specifically tailored hydroponics control boards and cost effective motor controllers for robotics," Nothnagle said. "Each product our company sells comes with detailed instructions and setup guides as well as example videos detailing common uses and implementations for our products. This offers us a competitive edge over similar products that only offer data sheets."

Tsachor noted the other core function of the company is to offer consulting and specific project solutions to customers, both individual hobbyists and large industries, who come to them with a problem to be solved, but no product to buy. "This helps us to design custom solutions for our customers, and to help our company determine product viability and desire in the market," he added.

Nothsor Systems currently is focused on selling high powered electronics components for collegiate robotics and hydroponics/ aeroponics grow operations.  Existing solutions in the market for robotics motor controllers are not high enough to sustain working competition robots, and current mechanical solutions for pump switching in hydroponics/ aeroponics break down rapidly.

Both Tsachor and Nothnagle indicated the company also is willing to partner with other start-up firms to develop electronic systems.

The annual Storer award, established in 2002 and funded by an endowed gift from the late College of Engineering alumnus Hubert E. "Bud" Storer (BS 1959 industrial engineering), currently provides $5,000 of initial financial support for a College of Engineering student technological business plan.  Storer was president, owner, and founder of Storer Equipment Company, Shreveport, LA.