Dr. Jayesh Doshi, president and CEO of eSpin Technologies, announced that his company has won a $2 million Advanced Technology Program (ATP) award from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

According to Doshi, eSpin Technologies won the ATP award because of its groundbreaking work in developing a way to mass-produce nanofibers.

Nanofibers are polymeric fibers that are less than 1/1000th the diameter of a human hair. Nanofibers have applications in a wide range of industries including aerospace, filtration, and biotechnology, but a complete exploration of how nanofibers might be used has been limited because they could only be produced in small quantities until eSpin Technologies developed its process.

Doshi said, "By creating a way to produce nanofibers in large numbers, we are opening the door to the creation of products that have never been available to the world market before."

Housed at the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce's Business Development Center for the last three years, eSpin Technologies has grown from Doshi and an idea to a company with 11 employees and more than 30 customers including a number of Fortune Fifty companies in a range of high tech fields.

Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, Tom Edd Wilson said, "I congratulate eSpin Technologies. The Chamber has supported the company through our business incubation program because we believed so strongly in its potential to grow jobs and investment in the Chattanooga region. We are so pleased that eSpin Technologies is now in a position to realize that potential."

According to Doshi, he will leverage the $2 million award to implement a three-year plan to design, build, and demonstrate a high-speed machine for low-cost spinning of nanofibers. The ATP funding will enable eSpin to develop a lower-cost, higher-volume process than would otherwise be possible. The new technology could provide a platform for many applications, offering cost, performance, health, and environmental benefits.

`"During the past year Dr. Doshi has been very persistent in working to secure the capital necessary to grow eSpin and provide leadership in the emerging field of nanotechnology," said Mayor Bob Corker. "We are excited about eSpin's success and believe that by creating an environment where similar companies thrive and grow Chattanooga will prosper. We congratulate Dr. Doshi on securing this important award and are very proud to have such a well respected high-tech company in our City."

Doshi said, "I envision that eSpin Technologies will become a thriving business with hundreds of employees."

"I am very proud of eSpin and congratulate Dr. Doshi on receiving funding which will provide a cutting edge technology company in our community the tools it needs to grow," said County Executive Claude Ramsey. "Dr. Doshi's strong business model and his great enthusiasm certainly stood out among the many companies competing for this award... and I am very appreciative of the great representation he and the employees of eSpin provided for Chattanooga."