Adaptive Methods, PictureRx and Rubber Recovery Solutions are finalists for the Chattanooga Technology Council’s 2009 Early Innovator Award which will be presented on April 29 during the Chattanooga Area Chamber’s Spirit of Innovation Awards Luncheon.

Stefan Jacoby, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, will deliver the keynote address at the luncheon, which will also feature announcement of the recipient of the Kruesi Award for Innovation.

The Early Innovator Award honors emerging, technology-based companies that have produced a groundbreaking prototype product or software application with the potential for success in the marketplace.

Adaptive Methods has developed the Rapid Deployment Shelter System (RDSS), a portable shelter system ideal for humanitarian, military and disaster relief efforts. In transport, the RDSS is the size of a conventional shipping container. When expanded, the unit provides 400 square feet of rigid-walled shelter. The RDSS can be deployed by one person in fewer than two minutes. The technology behind the RDSS was licensed by Adaptive Methods from the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.

Chattanooga’s Enterprise Center has been instrumental in development of the shelter system. Keith Buckner is the vice president of manufacturing for Adaptive Methods.

PictureRx provides a solution to the problem of medication adherence and literacy by providing patients with a Pill Card which combines a patient-centered medication list that contains illustrated medication instructions.

In order to assist patients in using medications as prescribed, the Pill Card charts key pieces of information, including quantity of medication per dose, when the medication should be taken, and the condition being treated. PictureRx also provides a wallet-sized card for patients to carry. Dr. Dane and Sheila Boyington are co-owners of the company.

Rubber Recovery Solutions’ innovative machine and method for recycling used tires saves energy, reduces operational costs, and results in a high quality strip of tread rubber, free of metal. The process economically removes the tread, making it ready for grinding into high-value crumb rubber that can be used for rubberized asphalt, sports fields, landscaping mulch and more. Smaller processing plants located in small- to medium-sized communities reduce the need for large landfills and transportation costs to distant recycling plants and create a local supply of crumb rubber. The company is co-owned by Dr. Ed McMahon and Uwe Zitzow.

For more information about the luncheon or to make a reservation, call the Chamber at 423-763-4366.