From the Courant: <\/span><\/p>\n Freeman took classes at Hartford State Technical College before transferring to UConn in 1986, but he had to leave college because he couldn’t afford to stay. <\/span><\/em>He worked as a security guard, a land surveyor, and a public works employee. <\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n “Whatever I could to make money to get through school,” he said. He finally graduated in 1995.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Go here to\u00a0read the full article<\/a>, by Mara Lee.<\/span><\/p>\n ##<\/span><\/p>\n Also Featured in the Courant recently is Dura Biotech, the company\u00a0founded by UConn’s Eric Sirois. The article\u00a0highlights innovations in Connecticut. Sirois has developed a novel heart valve replacement, which could be ready for\u00a0animal testing later this year. From the article:<\/span><\/p>\n At the University of Connecticut, Eric Sirois recently graduated with a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering. He used academic ties, his background as a submariner and medical industry experience to create a heart valve, inserted using a catheter, that’s 40 percent smaller than valves now in use.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Sirois founded Dura Biotech in 2012 at the UConn Technology Incubator Program after working for several years in the lab of Wei Sun, a UConn professor. Sirois also had a class with Hadi Bozorgmanesh, an engineering professor who helps students spin off startup firms. Previously, Sirois had been a machinist’s mate, supervising the engine room of the USS Virginia submarine, based in Groton.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n![\"rohan[1]\"](\"http:\/\/d45h139.public.uconn.edu\/sites\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/rohan1.jpg\")
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