Robert Young, President
Biodiesel. Not to be confused with biofuels or ethanol, it’s a domestic, renewable fuel for diesel engines derived from natural oils like soybean oil. It’s a key part of the $5 billion alternative fuel market designed to reduce U.S. and global dependence on traditional fossil fuels, improve air quality and reduce the carbon footprint. Biodiesel use is accelerating faster than any other alternative fuel due to its use of non-food feedstocks and the minimal need to alter diesel engines or fuel delivery infrastructure, 
and regardless of what is used - chicken fat, pork and other animal fats, soy, waste restaurant grease or vegetable oil - it must meet certain specifications.
Enter a company that reveals if biodiesel meets the required specs: Paradigm Sensors, founded by our Featured Entrepreneur, Paradigm Sensors President Robert Young.
This was not Young’s first entrepreneurial foray: having developed seven patented sensor devices for handheld patient monitors, he was a natural to guide the development of Paradigm Sensors’ handheld biodiesel analyzer. Prior experience in start-ups allowed him to quickly guide the transfer of technology from Marquette University to Paradigm Sensors and put together an exceptional team of talented individuals to accomplish the mission of the company.
The analyzer, called the i-SPEC Q-100, was named one of the most significant technology products of 2008 by R&D Magazine. The i-SPEC Q-100 analyzer uses impedance spectroscopy to assess the chemical content of biodiesel, including glycerin, acid number, blend percentage and methanol. Marquette University’s College of Engineering developed the technology for the analyzer. It’s Paradigm Sensors’ first commercially available product.
Awards keep coming, too: remember the MIT Club of Wisconsin event at the Country Springs Hotel on March 13th? Paradigm Sensors won the Small Company Technology Achievement Award from the MIT Club of Wisconsin that day.
Paradigm Sensors was featured in Biodiesel Magazine’s January, 2009 issue. Check it out by clicking on the magazine cover to the left.
The analyzer finds a ready market all over the globe. There are distributors in India, Japan, Brazil and Singapore, and they’re developing a whole network of distributors worldwide.
Katherine Nelson, Paradigm’s Director of Marketing, notes: "It [the analyzer] is well-received all over the world because different regions of the world use different seed stock to make biodiesel. Our handheld devices are valuable because people blend feedstocks and can measure their blend percent and quality."
The American Lung Association is a member of the Wisconsin Biodiesel Association because they know how emissions are cut by using biodiesel. School district buses use it, cabs and city buses too.
Paradigm Sensors resides in Milwaukee’s 30th Street Corridor, due in part to a strong commitment to giving back to the community. Tax credits provided by the State have also helped.
"Many people in this community, angel investors in Milwaukee and programs from the Governor, have been very beneficial in helping this green company get where it is today,” said Nelson.
Robert Young received his undergraduate from Oklahoma State University and his MBA from Central Michigan University. He is also a former US Army officer in the Airborne Infantry. Robert currently serves as Chair of Marquette University’s Industrial Advisory Board for the College of Engineering Management.
Check out the Paradigm Sensors website here!