Contact: Bob Ratliff
A Starkville computer software manufacturer that developed from Mississippi State University research is receiving an international award.
On Friday [June 11], MPI Software Technology Inc. will accept the 1999 Research Parks Company of the Year Award from the Association of University Research-Related Parks at the organization's annual meeting in Madison, Wis.
A non-profit organization of nearly 300 research parks and technology incubators in the United States and 31 other countries, the association works to promote university-industry relations by fostering the transfer of technology from universities to the private sector.
MPI Software is a tenant of the Starkville-based Mississippi Research and Technology Park's Business Incubator Program, which is co-sponsored by the Oktibbeha County Economic Development Authority, MSU, Tennessee Valley Authority, and the state of Mississippi.
OCEDA executive director John Rucker said MPI has become "an internationally recognized leader" in specialized software production. "The award reflects the high-tech skills and the business support available to employers in this area," he added.
Led by Anthony Skjellum of MSU, the company--a research park tenant since 1996--produces software for message passing interface (MPI) applications.
"The software enables customers to boost computing power by linking clusters of desktop computers, servers and embedded processors to work together on the same applications," said Skjellum, an associate professor of computer science.
"In just 3 years, we built a customer base on every continent but Antarctica and expect sales to reach $1 million this year," he added.
Skjellum credits the efforts of his staff--which has grown from two in 1996 to 15 today-in ensuring the company's success. "Our employees, many of whom are MSU graduates, have the skills to work with a lot of high-tech companies in this country and overseas," he said.