Pinkhassik is the leader of a three-person team that won the high-tech division of the executive summary round of the FedEx Institute Business Plan Competition.

The competition is a series of seminars and contests meant to give entrepreneurs a supportive environment to develop their business ideas. Organizers hope that contestants will go on to form real businesses.

Pinkhassik's team won the $1,000 division prize for its executive summary, or brief description, of a business based on a novel idea: using enzymes to turn cellulose, a material found in wood products, into hydrogen.

In turn, that hydrogen would power fuel cells that could supply energy to everything from handheld devices to homes, said Pinkhassik, 36, a Russian-born associate professor of chemistry at the University of Memphis, which controls the intellectual property for the hydrogen production concept.

The company's first product might be a compact hydrogen generator.

"Larger would be easier to manufacture, so we might aim at that segment," he said.

Team member Greg Frost Jr., 26, managing partner in a private equity firm based in Birmingham, Ala., said the technology could impact the world if it's brought to market.

"Obviously, this would send shock waves throughout the oil and gas companies throughout the world . . . because in essence, Eugene has found a technology that creates an alternative energy source for powering your home," he said.

Pinkhassik and his team plan to enter a separate contest for complete business plans. There is only one division, and the top prize is $25,000.

Pinkhassik has reason to hope for a win.

Last year he led a team to victory in both the executive summary contest and the full business plan competition for a business plan based on the idea of putting thin protective layers on the inside of copper pipes to protect them from corrosion.

Mark Darty, executive vice president of research and development at medical equipment maker Luminetx, served as a judge in this year's executive summary contest and said he found Pinkhassik's plan impressive.

"The technology is unique and it is reasonable to consider that it could be brought to the market in a reasonable amount of time and for a reasonable amount of cost," he said.

The third member of Pinkhassik's team is University of Memphis chemistry graduate student Samuel Tekobo.

Organizers also gave $1,000 prizes Thursday night to two other teams that won divisions of the executive summary contest.

In the high school division, Christian Brothers High School student Justin B. Lee, his older brother, Kenyon B. Lee, and their father, Jesse Lee, won for their proposal for an on-site document destruction service. The company, called ShredRx, would recycle the paper waste it created.

The family is already working toward making the business a reality, said Kenyon Lee, 32.

"It's going to be done regardless of this," he said. "If we win or not, we're trying to build an ongoing business for the family."

The Lees are black, and the firm could differentiate itself from competitors through certification as a minority-owned business, he said.

"It's an advantage for a company to do business with a firm with (this certification)," he said.

Justin Lee, 16, said he is in favor of keeping family control over the business.

"You can trust your family," he said.

And in the low-tech category, Sarah Petschonek and David Earnest won for a business that would give clients tips on how to improve their Web sites.

Both are third-year doctoral students in the industrial/organizational psychology program at the University of Memphis. The business, called Trio Web Consulting, would evaluate client Web sites based on aesthetics, usability and accessibility for people with visual impairments or other disabilities.

"We definitely plan to turn this into a real business, since it's generally a low capital investment necessary," said Earnest, 25.

And presence on the Internet would allow them to quickly expand their market.

"We're not limited by our region and our geography," said Petschonek, 24.