Ryan Quinn's company creates 3D-printed organ models for medical researchers and biomedical companies.
(Jan. 17, 2018) -- Meet Ryan Quinn ’15. He’s an entrepreneur who found his calling at UTSA.
In his senior year as a student in the College of Business, Quinn participated in the $100K Student Technology Venture Competition, which is held annually by the UTSA Center for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship. The competition challenges engineering and business students to develop a technology and write a business plan that successfully creates a new company around that product.
“The competition was probably one of the most valuable experiences I gained from UTSA,” Quinn said. “It was a great push to make me follow through with everything I had learned so far.”
Quinn worked with a group of biomedical engineering students to create a device that removed, applied, stored and cleaned contact lenses. The company he and his classmates founded, Eye-Matic, won first prize at the spring 2015 competition. Initially, Quinn had plans to continue with the product and the company, but the market took a different turn.
“It was a great learning experience,” he said. “It’s important to learn that not every company is a home run. It was an innovative product, but the eye industry is turning toward throw-away contact lenses.”
It was Eye-Matic, however, that introduced Quinn to the world of 3D printing. He and his teammates had used the innovative technology in UTSA’s laboratories, and after Quinn graduated in May 2015 he began to see untapped potential in the market.
“I invested in a couple thousand dollars-worth of 3D printing technology and started operating a company out of my laundry room,” he said.
Since then, Quinn has given his company a name: SiMMo3D. He and his colleagues create affordable 3D-printed organ models for medical researchers and biomedical companies.
“These models help doctors visualize a surgery before they’re about to do it. They help biomedical engineers plan a device more accurately with a highly specific 3D model of an organ,” Quinn said.
Since its founding, Quinn’s company has played an impactful role in the training of countless medical professionals and the planning of several surgeries through its partnerships with medical technology companies like Stryker Corp. and Medtronic.
SiMMo3D has also graduated out of Quinn’s laundry room and into a proper office at the Temple Health and Bioscience District in Temple, Texas, where the UTSA alumnus is continuing to grow his business and look for new opportunities and potential investors.
“I still draw on things I’ve learned at UTSA every day,” Quinn said. “I know none of this would have been possible without those learning experiences. Right now, this is such an exciting time, and I can’t wait for what’s next.”
Do you know a Roadrunner who is achieving great things? Email us at social@utsa.edu so that we may consider your suggestion for our next installment of Meet a Roadrunner.
Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
Día en la Sombrilla, formerly Fiesta UTSA, is a festival hosted each spring as a part of Fiesta® San Antonio events. Sponsored by Roadrunner Productions, the event features music, food, confetti, games, event t-shirts, and more.
Sombrilla Plaza, Main CampusCovidence is a systematic & scoping review tool used to streamline the process of screening and reviewing articles. Using this software, research teams can easily import studies, perform automatic deduplication, and extract data using templates. This workshop will show attendees how to start a review in Covidence, add collaborators, and get started on screening.
Virtual (Zoom)In this workshop, attendees will be introduced to Pandas, a Python tool for working with data easily. It makes it simple to organize and analyze information when data is organized and categorized, like spreadsheets or tables.
Group Spot B, John Peace LibraryEach fall and spring semester, students convene at the Main Campus at UTSA with booths, ideas and prototypes. A crowd of judges, local organizations, students, faculty and sponsors walk around and talk to the students about their projects and ask questions. Students get the real-life experience of "pitching" their project with hopes of getting funding or support to move to the next level.
UTSA Convocation Center, Main CampusJoin the doctoral candidates for the Doctoral Conferreal Ceremony and celebrate their accomplishments.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusCelebrate the graduates from the Carlos Alvarez College of Business, College of Education and Human Development, Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design and University College.
AlamodomeCelebrate the graduates from the College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and College of Sciences.
AlamodomeThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.