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V O L . X X I N O. X X V I I I D E C E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 5 22 And of those, only two were from Maine: aizoOn USA (pronounced EYES'-on), pitching its Aramis cyber- security system, and Fiber Materials Inc., a Biddeford company touting a high-temperature high-strength carbon- fi ber composite as a product suitable for missile and space fl ight systems. Big deal? On the fi nal day of the event, in a telephone interview with Mainebiz, Dolci had fi rst-hand experi- ences to back up his gut feeling. " is is really a major event," he says, noting that as many as 1,200 repre- sentatives from more than 15 federal agencies attended the summit, includ- ing the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, National Science Foundation, Army, Navy, Air Force, NASA and the Special Operations Command and Defense reat Reduc- tion Agency. "Everyone is here with an interest to connect, not so much with large companies, but with the smaller innovative companies like ours. It's been three days of lots and lots of meetings for us." Produced by TechConnect and the National Security Technology Accelerator, the Dec. 1-3 event's giant carrot for participants was the $100 million the DoD awarded to NSTXL last April for rapid prototype funding of technologies and products suit- able for both the military and civil- ian purposes. Small innovators and non-traditional defense contractors are a prime target, and the Austin event was expressly designed to help them leapfrog the typically cumbersome and challenging acquisition process of the federal government to get a fair shot at those Pentagon dollars. P H O T O / R U S S D I L L I N G H A M Eyes on the future Lewiston consulting firm taps technology to make smarter factories, safer computer networks B y J a m e s M c C a r t h y A healthy smile is a powerful thing. It deserves Delta Dental, the nation's leading dental benefits provider. With the largest network of dentists nationwide, quick answers and personalized service, we make it easy to protect your smile and keep it healthy. www.NortheastDeltaDental.com F O C U S P H O T O / R U S S D I L L I N G H A M Rob Dolci, president of aizoOn USA in Lewiston, launched his technology consulting company a year ago to help its corporate clients create smarter factories, well-managed warehouses, seamless supply chains and safer, secure computer networks. ยป C O N T I N U E D F R O M C O V E R