Entrepreneurs: Newsmakers

For more than a decade, Blue Microphones focused on a rarefied market. The Westlake Village (Calif.) audio equipment manufacturer made expensive analog microphones for professional recording studios and renowned artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, and Jay-Z.

Andrew Carle delights in what he calls “nana-technology,” electronic gizmos designed to improve the quality of life for the elderly and their caregivers. For the past eight years, he’s been researching the senior-care industry at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., where he serves as an executive-in-residence to students and faculty in the College of Health and Human Services. He’s also been advising companies that include Apple and Nintendo (7974:JP) about their devices.

For decades, nets and sprays have been the only effective methods for controlling the mosquitoes that cause malaria and dengue. Pilar Mateo thinks she can do better. The Spanish chemist has invented a way to embed pesticides in microcapsules stirred into house paints at her Valencia company, Inesfly. The insecticides are released from the paint slowly, remaining effective for two to four years, while sprays typically need to be reapplied at least every six months. “The paint acts like a vaccine for houses and buildings,” she says.