MF Fire: 2nd Place at National Competition, Featured in The Washington Post (VIDEO)

University of Maryland alumni-founded startup company MF Fire, which has been working to commercialize the 93% efficient, almost emission-free Mulciber wood stove, took second place in the national RECESS Pitch competition, held in Las Vegas in late May.

The young company was also recently featured in The Washington Post. The June 21 story by UMD journalism student Jennifer Hottle, “UM’s wood stove creators honored for innovation,” covered the history and growth of Mulciber and MF Fire–including their performance at RECESS–and explored how the unique stove could benefit both homeowners and the environment.

Fresh off of winning the $25,000 Energy Efficiency Track Prize and a People’s Choice Award in the MIT Clean Energy Prize competition, MF Fire founders Taylor Myers (B.S.’12 and M.S. ’14, fire protection engineering) and Ryan Fisher (B.S. ’12 and M.S. ’13, fire protection engineering) took the Mulciber stove to RECESS, where they went head-to-head with nine more of the country’s best college-based startup companies. The pair pitched their product to a panel of potential investors and mentors.

“[RECESS] provided us with an experience we would have not otherwise been exposed to,” says Myers, currently a doctoral student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. “[We] made connections with individuals [from] around the globe…We got the chance to meet with a number of experienced entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, including Priceline founder Scott Case.”

“The RECESS pitch competition was an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience,” adds Fisher. “This has been an incredible journey so far and we are excited about what is still ahead of us.”

Global Voice Hall, a web-based media startup, partnered with RECESS to produce videos about each finalist in the competition. Here, Myers explains how he became involved in fire protection engineering and entrepreneurship, and why the Mulciber Stove has an important role to play as the Environmental Protection Agency proposes new emissions regulations.

The RECESS Pitch competition was part of the RECESS Music & Ideas Campus Tour, which promoted entrepreneurship and innovation with a combination of daylong educational programs and evening concerts.

To learn more about the Mulciber wood stove and to follow MF Fire’s progress, visit:

mffire.com
facebook.com/MFFire
twitter.com/_MFFire

The Washington Post: “UM’s wood stove creators honored for innovation.”

Published June 25, 2014