---

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 21, 2006

PHILADELPHIA, PA. The premier Ivy League technological invention competition today announces its 2006 corporate sponsors. DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, and QVC, the leading electronic retailer and marketing powerhouse, along with the Bresslergroup, Science Center, Paramount Industries, and Lowenstein Sandler, PC have provided financial support, cash prizes, and together will donate significant legal, manufacturing, prototyping and marketing expertise to further the pursuit of tomorrow’s innovative technological solutions as sponsors of Weiss Tech House’s PennVention 2006 competition at the University of Pennsylvania.

"We are proud to be a pioneering sponsor of PennVention because we believe in the Weiss Tech House's mission of inspiring student inventors to explore their interests, develop their entrepreneurial spirit and create new technologies," said Marilyn Montross, Director of Vendor Relations for QVC. "We are so impressed with the high caliber of products unveiled at PennVention that we plan to air last year's winner of our Consumer Innovation Prize on QVC this spring."

The Weiss Tech House is a hub of innovation on Penn’s campus where students can access lab space, compete for capital, and establish connections with faculty and industry leaders to facilitate the creation, development and commercialization of their technological innovations. PennVention culminates in an event at which students showcase their inventions for a panel of distinguished innovators and venture capitalists.

Since its inception in 2003, the Weiss Tech House has helped launch several profitable products and business ventures, including last year's PennVention winners: a landmine sweeper designed to detonate landmines more safely and cheaply than any existing device, and a long-lasting orthopedic prosthesis for total hip arthroplasty.

"Our corporate sponsorships will help to catapult our student designed technologies into the market, potentially impacting the energy, information, defense, manufacturing, entertainment and medical industries." said Karl Ulrich, Faculty Director to the Weiss Tech House, and Professor of Operations and Information Management at Wharton.

The details of PennVention’s corporate sponsorships are in line with each company's expertise. Bresslergroup, a Philadelphia-based company offering innovative product solutions, will mentor PennVention finalists in integrated research, product design and development. DePuy, a leading designer, manufacturer, and distributor of orthopaedic devices will provide event capital and personalized mentoring services to all PennVention finalists. Paramount Industries, a prominent producer of product prototypes and tooling for companies in industries such as telecommunications, health care, toys and collectibles, will award Selective Laser Sintering services to the design that is most commercially promising and best lends itself to Rapid Prototyping. Lowenstein Sandler, PC, a nationally recognized full service law firm with offices in New Jersey and New York, will provide legal counsel to qualifying PennVention winners and assist in their strategic plans for business development. The Science Center, a 'venture ecosystem' that forms, funds, and manages early-stage life science and technology companies, will award six months of all-inclusive office space, services and amenities to the most easily commercialized product. QVC will award the $2,500 QVC Consumer Innovation Award which includes a consultation with a QVC buyer.

The PennVention 2006 final event will take place on April 7, 2006. For more information or a sneak peak at this year’s entries, contact Jenny Brennan at brennan.jenny@gmail.com.