Model rocketry company wins UB entrepreneurship competition

By Kevin Manne

BUFFALO, N.Y. —  A consumer and educational model rocketry company that develops certified solid rocket motors, reusable motor hardware and avionics systems took first place April 16 at the University at Buffalo’s Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition (Panasci TEC).

Hosted by UB’s Startup and Innovation Collaboratory powered by Blackstone LaunchPad, the event brought together UB students from science, technology, business and other disciplines to maximize their potential and create viable businesses in Western New York.

The winning team, Arjun Kodial and Zyad Zahra, both undergraduates in computer engineering in the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; along with Zaid ElNasser, a chemistry undergraduate from Cornell University and mentor Larry Weibert, will receive $25,000 in startup capital and in-kind services valued at $40,000 for their company, LAZZCO Rocketry, which addresses persistent availability and access barriers while helping make hands-on rocketry more attainable for the next generation of engineers and scientists.

The company aims to expand rocket motor availability and flight reliability in the high-powered rocketry sector by prioritizing hobbyists and educational programs.

Kodial, Zahra and ElNasser became friends in middle school at Williamsville East, and their passion for rocketry took off during high school after they launched a model rocketry club. The idea for LAZZCO Rocketry emerged after meeting Larry Weibert from Upstate Research Rocketry Group and identifying a clear market opportunity: a shortage of available rocket motors for hobbyists and educational institutions.

Last year, Kodial and Zahra were audience members at the Panasci competition, which ignited their entrepreneurial journey. One year later, they’re winners — and the sky is the limit for their new company.

“Going through the Panasci competition process and working with mentors both at the CoLab and across the university has really opened my eyes to the opportunities available at the UB,” says Kodial. “It has shown me how far you can take an idea and turn it into something bigger and better.”

In addition to $25,000 in seed funding, the winning team will receive in-kind awards valued at $40,000 for business growth coaching from Atlas Alignment Growth Partners; legal services from Colligan Law LLP; accounting services from Lumsden & McCormick LLP; website development and creative agency services from ThreeSixty; Intellectual Property legal services from Stake; leadership development and team coaching from the UB School of Management’s Center for Leadership and Global Impact; and co-working space from the UB Office of Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships. 

In second place, from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, was Vaishali Maheshkar, a PhD student in computer science and engineering; Karthik Dantu, associate professor of computer science and engineering; and Charuvahan Adhivarahan, postdoctoral associate in computer science and engineering; along with Nicholas Stavinski, a PhD student in chemistry from the College of Arts and Sciences. The team will collect $10,000 for RecycleVision AI, a company that builds intelligent systems that improve plastic recycling by increasing sorting accuracy and reducing contamination using adaptive artificial intelligence. 

Amy Meisenzahl, a graduate student in the School of Management; and Henry Nowak, a JD/MBA student in the School of Law and School of Management, took the Audience Choice Award and $1,000 for Great Lakes Dried Fruit, a company that produces premium snacks made from locally sourced New York State apples.

And new this year, a $5,000 prize sponsored by the UB Office of Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships was awarded to EchoWell Health, an AI-guided ultrasound platform that enables patients to perform standardized breast scans at home using a wireless probe, for demonstrating outstanding technological innovation and effective integration. 

Panasci TEC provided coaching and mentoring to participants to prepare them for their pitches.

Selected from 53 first-round applications and 13 semifinalists, five teams of finalists delivered long-form presentations to judges and spectators on April 15. At the final event on April 16, they delivered 5-minute pitches, 43North style, to a panel of judges and other viewers, and were evaluated on how well they described the feasibility and marketability of their venture, proved the need for their product or service and presented potential sources of capital.

Other new ventures included AARM Technologies, a smart bandage for chronic wounds, and Schubert Medical Solutions,a device to ventilate patients in critical emergencies such as cardiac arrest.

In addition to the competition, organizers celebrated the future of entrepreneurship and innovation at UB through a series of special initiatives. Grounded in the spirit of “America the Entrepreneurial,” Panasci 2026 partnered with Right to Start (a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that seeks to expand entrepreneurial opportunity for all) to celebrate the values that make innovation possible: access, support, creativity and the freedom to build. Guests experienced firsthand how UB and the Western New York entrepreneurial ecosystem work together to create pathways for founders of all backgrounds and disciplines.

Thomas Murdock, clinical associate professor of entrepreneurship, UB School of Management; and Mercedes Wilson, influencer and media personality, served as masters of ceremony. Welcome remarks were given by Hadar Borden, director, UB Startup and Innovation Collaboratory powered by Blackstone LaunchPad, and the Western New York Prosperity Fellowship program.

Judges for the final presentations were Geoff Bocobo, MD ’23, lead health care SME / AI evaluation manager, Mercor; Colleen Heidinger, president, 43North; Charu Kalluri, EMBA ’17, product marketing and strategy leader (B2B SaaS); John Seman, serial life science entrepreneur and startup mentor; and Lauren Washington, senior associate director of startup ventures, UB Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships.

Rounding out the evening’s celebration of entrepreneurship, 13 individuals received the Luminary Award, which recognizes friends of UB’s Startup and Innovation Collaboratory who have contributed support and guidance to students in their entrepreneurial journey, and assisted with the development of the campus-based entrepreneurship center. They are: Mary Borgognoni, West Herr; Mike Canzoneri, BS ’09, Radical Ventures; Kristen Cronyn, Meet and Eat Charcuterie; Mike Gluck, Gluckworks; Dan Greco, Most Alive Inc., and Meet and Eat Charcuterie; Celine Krzan, MBA ’17, UB School of Management; Dori Marshall, BA ’92, MD ’97, John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital; Francesca Mesiah, MS ’87, Kaleida Health; Amy Monin, BA ’07, MBA ’10, UB Startup and Innovation Collaboratory; Tom Murdock, UB School of Management; Raghavan Nagaraja, BA ’05, Serotte Law; Whitney Singleton, BA ’18, Keep Up Radio LLC; and Kevin Siskar, BA ’12, Finta.

Panasci TEC was created in 2001 by the UB School of Management and the UB Office of Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships, and is funded with a $1 million endowment from the late Henry A. Panasci Jr. to facilitate and promote the commercialization of UB-generated technologies.