Celebrate Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day

Alexander Calder, Chat-Mobile (Cat Mobile), 1966 Painted sheet metal and steel wire 20 x 26 x 26 inches. Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. The Leonard and Ruth Horwich Family Loan (EL1995.10). © 2011 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo by Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago.

Ever wonder how science affects art — and vice versa? Through June 17, 2012, the Nasher Museum presents  ”Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy“ an exhibition of the works of modern sculptor Alexander Calder (1898-1976) and seven of his protégés that define space and explore form, balance, color and movement.

Photo by Dr. J Caldwell

To celebrate Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, the museum has teamed up with our local Society of Women Engineers (SWE) chapter to provide fun hands-on engineering-related activities for all ages on Thursday night, February 23, 2012.

The museum’s free admission on Thursday evenings will be in effect and as part of Corporate Sponsor Night,  anyone showing a business card or ID from a RTP company will be admitted into the Calder Special Exhibit for free.

Alexander Calder, Blue Among Yellow and Red, 1963. Painted sheet metal and steel wire 43 x 63 inches diameter. Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. The Leonard and Ruth Horwich Family Loan (EL1995). © 2011 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo by Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago.

Can’t make it Thursday? No worries — RTP is hosting another evening of science and art on April 26 during the NC Science Festival. Stay tuned to the blog for more details on that fun event.

Other interesting /helpful tidbits:

• Alexander Calder received an engineering degree from the Stevens Institute of Technology and took on various jobs, including as a hydraulics engineer and automotive engineer after graduation. It wasn’t  until 1923 that he began his art career. How’s that for left-brain/right brain skills?
• Corporate Sponsor Night is made possible by NetApp, Carolina Biological Supply Company, Parker and Otis, Sigma Xi –  The Scientific Research Society, Clinical Ambassador, American Scientist magazine, Tech Shop, and RTP.
• It’s also National Engineering Week.
• Learn and grab dinner. The Nasher Museum Café will also be open for dinner and/or a drink, from 5-8 PM (café closes at 9 PM).

A Home for RTP’s Founding Universities

Archie K Davis

If you drive down T.W. Alexander in the Park, you’ll likely see signs noting that you’re on the TUCASI campus. While the acronym isn’t immediately discernible, TUCASI stands for The Triangle Universities Center for Advanced Studies, Incorporated and was the first model through which RTP and the Research Triangle Foundation sought to strategically support the founding universities — Duke, UNC-CH and NC State — and to ensure they had a permanent home in the Park.

TUCASI was the brain-child of Archie Davis, one of the Park’s founders. Mr. Davis was the person who went around the state in 1958-59 and convinced citizens and companies from all 100 counties in North Carolina to donate funds toward the creation of an economic development strategy that would ultimately become RTP. Mr. Davis was also committed to the idea that what makes RTP special is our relationship with the founding universities. He wanted to make sure they always had a place in the Park and that the Park/Foundation could continue to support collaboration among the three.

Summer already?

For most, February 13 is a day to confirm dinner reservations or take advantage of express, overnight shipping to ensure Valentine’s Day goes off without a hitch. For some parents in the Research Triangle region, February 13 — at least for this year — marks the date on which many summer camp registration sites open.

Luckily, for the “science attentive” and/or their children, there is a range of options for making productive use of summer vacation while learning how to put science into practice….& many close to RTP.

In full disclosure, this is not an inclusive list by any means — it’s a bit Durham/Chapel Hill centric since that’s where my commuting trail places me and geared toward the elementary school years since that’s where my family’s demographic lies. Carolina Parent has an awesome directory that covers the entire region (and non-science oriented camps).  Check it out for a more complete picture of all the region has to offer.

• Morehead Planetarium: For those who attended the Food Truck rodeo last week, this is old news, but…the Planetarium will be expanding its traditional options held at UNC with a new camps just outside RTP at Kestral Heights (very close to the Hwy 54/55 intersection just west of RTP). Options include subjects ranging from dinosaurs, aquatic life, bodies in motion, the Magic Treehouse, LEGO, and rocket science.
• Duke School: While not all of the Duke School programs are science oriented, they do take the school’s tradition of project-based learning to a new level of fun. Science-oriented camps include dinosaurs, a science Olympiad challenge, an ipad apps Bootcamp, a CSI forensic science track, one focused on building LEGO Mindstorms NXT Robotics systems, one that looks at science in action, and even a space camp for the younger set (ages 4-5).
• Museum of Life + Sciences: ML+S also has two campus options to choose from — the museum itself near Northgate in Durham or at Rashkis Elementary School in Chapel Hill. Their offerings include an Eco Science one that lets students look at food chemistry, what’s involved in LEED building and recycling. Others involve oceanography, leveraging the wildlife that lives at the museum to explore farm animals and more, and even one that lets campers know what it’s like to run a museum. (Registration is still only available for members at this point, but will open to the general public on February 22).
• Marbles Kids Museum: For those in Raleigh, Marbles has an extensive schedule of possibilities. In addition to several of the above tracks listed, they have a magic one (which gets a gold star for name creativity - Abra-Kid-Dabra), an inventors challenge that includes exciting team projects, games and team-building exercises, and a science sleuth one that looks at common “myths” through hands-on science fun (hmmm, future Mythbusters in the making).

What Drives RTP Companies?

One of the greatest assets of RTP is its companies. With more than 170 of them employing more than 38,000 full-time workers, they range from the 1-2 person start-ups to campuses with thousands. They represent a vast array of cutting edge technology that works to resolve some of the world’s most pressing problems or to create the next best app/device/tool to increase productivity in a range of disciplines. In short, they all do pretty neat stuff.

Recently, as I was trying to get a sense of industry trends and issues most critical to our companies,

I found blogs by the leaders of two of RTP’s
I’ll be on the look out for other examples, but in the meantime, here is a glimpse of what GSK and  Cisco see on the horizon:companies that give a sense of the challenges facing their companies and their ideas to address them.

• GSK’s Triple Solution: The first is a blog that Deidre Connelly, GSK’s President, Pharmaceuticals NA posted for the British American Business Council. Within the blog, she notes  GSK’s approach to prevention, intervention and innovation to help the people of the world “do more, feel better, and live longer.” She references an article by GSK CEO Andrew Witty in which he discusses how the company — and entire industry — must better “harness intellectual diversity and unleash creativity” to develop drugs more efficiently but also its need to apply that ability to innovate to reconsider its business model.

• Using the Network to Drive Innovation: In this blog post/video, Cisco CEO, John Chambers suggests that mobility and connectivity will push content and drive innovation. He also notes the importance of bringing together diverse groups to tackle today’s and future problems. Nothing how smart networks have fundamentally changed the way people live — not only how we work and play, but how we address issues like healthcare and how we collaborate to innovate and discover more. He notes how innovation must be enabled by technology and operational excellence if it is to be effective.

What the Future Holds for Gen Z

When the Institute for Emerging Issues at NC State was established twenty years ago, the idea was to “put ideas into action and to ensure the state’s future success.” In the preceding years, the annual Emerging Issues forum has brought to light issues and changing dynamics that potentially create greater opportunity for North Carolina’s continued competitiveness or pose challenges to that vision. Through the forums, the state’s leadership and citizens have examined issues ranging from tax policy to creativity and from energy and the environment to healthcare.

This year’s forum promises to be equally thought provoking. On Monday and Tuesday of next week, people from around the state will gather at the Raleigh Convention Center to listen to insights into the challenges that face Gen Z — that cadre born between 1990-2000 who have come of age not knowing what life before Google was like and who (as reported in a recent Cisco poll) would rather lose their purse or wallet than their smartphone device. (And many of whom — I would wager– wouldn’t know what I am referring to when I note that Obi Wan looks a lot different with brown hair in the current Star Wars movie….).

The conversation will force baby boomers and Gen Xers to think through ways to better integrate this upcoming generation into our workforce and will look at trends that will have significant impacts on the skills that they need — and may not need — to realize their goals.

Speakers from around the country include Robert Safian, Editor, Fast Company Magazine, Sally Jewell, President & CEO, REI, Ami Dar, Founder & Executive Director, Idealist.org, Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy, U.S. Navy, and Michael Crow, President, Arizona State University (I’m especially interested in President Crow’s comments; I’m a former Sun Devil (employee) and was living in Phoenix when he began transforming ASU into the New American University).

In addition, some of our best local thinkers — including former Governor Hunt, Mike Walden, Madhu Beriwal, Chancellor Woodson, President Ross,  and Ted Zoller — will be featured, as well as a great representation from the state’s high schools, community colleges and university system.

And most fun of all, IEI will award its Prize for Innovation during the conference. This year’s prize challenged both college and high school teams to come up with innovative ideas to increase North Carolina’s high school graduation rate. Videos of the finalist candidates are online. Voting started Monday and will close Monday, Feb 6 at 5 PM.

Registration closes this afternoon. If you weren’t able to sign up to join the discussion and fun, no worries — they’ll be live-streaming many of the talks. (And I’m sure #NCGenZ on Twitter will be busy).

Finally — kudos and thanks to Diane Cherry, Anita Brown Graham and all of the IEI staff for pulling together such a great program.

It Takes Both

Under Secretary Sanchez

While “research” is our first name, the companies in the Research Triangle Park recognize the important linkage between innovation and R&D and manufacturing and actually making “stuff.” This point was made quite clear during a recent visit to the Park by Undersecretary for International Trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Francisco Sanchez.

At a White House Business Council Roundtable co-hosted with the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, more than 25 representatives from companies and universities in the Research Triangle region—led by NC Department of Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco—came together to provide insights and ideas to the Undersecretary on ways the US Federal government can continue to help North Carolina companies make more and sell those goods to markets overseas.

Exports are a substantial part of the North Carolina economy and the ability to not only think up great products and therapies but produce them and sell them around the world will be key to our future competiveness (a side note and interesting factoid: if “exports”  were considered an industry, it would be our second largest in the State, producing sales of more than $31 billion annually).

One great example of this important relationship was illustrated by the experience of Protochips, an early-stage company that develops analytical tools for more targeted R&D of nano-scale materials, founded by a group of NC State grads. David Nackashi, the  company’s CEO and Co-founder, explained how his company gets excited about the cutting-edge ideas and technologies that Protochips is able to develop within the rich environment of the Research Triangle region. But, he gets even more excited when the company’s low-tech fax machine delivers new orders from customers in Japan and throughout the globe. He touted the great collaboration and programs within our region that allow his company to not only leverage the best of graduates and students of NC State and others around the region, but to work with the state and federal resources to  identify potential markets, make the connections and ultimately make the sale.

His comments echoed those of Beau Mills, the District Director for the Office of Congressman David Price, who noted that our state is a great model of how government, industry and academia work well together and how the partnerships that have grown over the years work to service the needs of not only well-established companies but small start-ups and new ones.

The entire roundtable discussion was a great testament to the talent and innovation in our state and region—and a great example of how the idea that started the Park—getting the public sector, academia and business to work towards an overall strategy—continues to create opportunity for North Carolina and businesses who call this state home.

Generosity of Spirit

Earlier this month I had the privilege of representing the Foundation at the International Affairs Council Citizen of the World Award dinner honoring Geomagic’s Ping Fu.

Geomagic (@Geomagic) has always been a favorite RTP company of mine given its work to leverage technology to change the way things are envisioned and made and to revolutionize medical treatments.

I have also enjoyed following the career of Ms. Fu who is a role model for women in science and a national thought leader in what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur and innovator. (She was also one of First Lady Obama’s guests at the 2010 State of Union address, is a member –with UNC-CH Chancellor Thorp – of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and has been a prominent figure with Start-up America Partnership).

But what struck me most about the dinner and Ms. Fu’s comments in accepting the award wasn’t so much the list of her accomplishments as a start-up and a leader in 3D imaging or that she was named a “Fast 50″ executive by Fast Company magazine and Entrebizneur of  the Year by Business Leader magazine. (Even the data points that Geomagic has attracted more than $8 million in capital from private and institutional investors, increased revenue by more than 2,000% during the last five years and has received millions of dollars in research innovation grants from NSF and NIST – while impressive – were not the most impactful.)

Rather, the message that Ms. Fu relayed — and the one I will remember for award dinners to come — was her emphasis on giving back. During her remarks, she described how after being “asked” to leave the People’s Republic of China, she came to this country to start anew. Unfortunately, the airfare to her final destination had increased, but thanks to the kindness of a total stranger who gave her $5 to make up the fare difference, she was able to attend an English as a second language program and begin her life in America…and a phenomenal career.

In her early endeavors and as she built Geomagic, she was guided by the idea that while the world is global, a company’s impact is first local. She stressed the importance that companies of all sizes give back to their communities and be an active part in them. In this vein, she noted Geomagic’s decision to expand and grow in the Research Triangle despite lower labor costs in other venues around the world for the talent the company needs. Echoing a quote she gave to an early news story announcing her role in the Start-up America campaign, that “It’s good will, and being a company that’s doing good things for society [that] will bring good things in return,”  she noted  how Geomagic is actively involved in all aspects of our regional community, from collecting unused soaps, shampoos and toiletries for the Durham Ronald MacDonald House to adopting a school to hosting school groups with an interest in engineering for an afternoon of 3D to
volunteering at Habitat for Humanity. They do this not because it’s a good thing to do, but because it’s the thing right thing to do.

Appropriately, she ended her comments at the IAC Dinner with the advice that when in doubt, we should all err on the “side of generosity.”

It struck me as more than a coincidence that she chose to use that term. Fifty three years ago, a group of visionaries were guided by the same principle in setting up the Research Triangle Park. As Professor Albert Link so aptly captured in his book detailing the founding of RTP – “A Generosity of Spirit” – the Park’s establishment was all about creating a highly ambitious “big bet” that served as a catalyst for aligning the region and state’s knowledge resources and business climate attributes to create jobs and opportunities for all of North Carolina.

As George Simpson (one of the first staff of RTP) noted, “There was a generosity of spirit that dominated from the beginning, and this was what enabled people to look beyond their own narrow interests for the benefit of the entire project.”

Whether creating a research park or providing the inspiration and passion to turn an idea into a start-up that has gained global recognition, the generosity of spirit lives on in the region. It’s what feeds the collaboration that fuels innovation…and what makes the Research Triangle such a unique place.

Importance of Investing

It was a busy week for the Research Triangle: in the span of five days, three Cabinet officials – Secretary of Education Duncan, Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano, and US Treasury Secretary Geithner came to see first-hand what happens when you combine more than 50 years of investments in education and knowledge creation with activities to spur and nurture economic growth.

During Secretary Geithner’s visit, the Foundation had the privilege of hosting a small roundtable discussion before he headed to Wilmington to tour the Corning facility. The discussion was a chance to show off the enormous range of activity in the Park and region and for the participants to share their thoughts on the state of the economy and actions that could be taken to raise business confidence with the Secretary. The regular suspects of long-standing information technology and biotech firms were well represented (with IBM, RedHat and Biogen idec), as well as some of the region’s start-ups such as Appia, SciQuest and Advanced Liquid Logic and relative new comer to the region, IEM. Also included in the mix were representatives from the industries that help make the R&D happen: Progress Energy, ShopBot Tools and the Daniele company. Finally, the discussion included representatives from academia (the UNC-System and Duke), as well as the venture community  (InterSouth, Hatteras Venture Partners) and our statewide business organizations (the North Carolina Chamber and the North Carolina Technology Association).

Below are excerpts of a blog posted by Victoria Suarez-Palomo, Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Business Affairs and Public Liaison. For the original/full blog please visit the Department of Treasury’s news section).

This week, I joined Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner on a trip to North Carolina where we saw firsthand how critical innovation is to our economy. He heard from business leaders and university presidents at the Research Triangle Park and visited Corning Incorporated’s optical fiber manufacturing plant in Wilmington.

At the Research Triangle Park, one of the country’s largest R&D centers, Secretary Geithner engaged in a discussion about accelerating economic growth, putting more Americans back to work, and helping U.S. companies compete in the global marketplace.

This trip was a reminder that we are a country that invents, creates, and builds things here – things the world needs.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Suarez-Palomo closed her blog by noting that the visit emphasized something the Research Triangle region has recognized for more than 50+ years: the importance of investing in a strong workforce and favorable business climate to ensure our economy leverages our vast knowledge assets and operates at its full potential to create opportunities for the people and businesses in North Carolina.

HTCE: Another take on fostering innovation

Last month, the International Economic Development Council held its annual gathering of the nation/world’s economic development practitioners in Charlotte. In addition to being able to show off all that North Carolina has done to target and guide its economic development efforts to create more and better jobs, it was also a chance to catch up with others around the globe engaged in technology-based economic development (a practice in which RTP takes pride in being one of the first-movers).

One such peer is High Tech Campus Eindhoven. HTCE, as it is often referred to, lives up to its tagline of being  “The brainiest square kilometer in the Netherlands.” Originally the home of the Philips Research Laboratories, the campus was opened to other technology companies in 2003. Based on the idea of creating an open innovation ecosystem, it is currently home to 100 companies, including global players such as IBM (also an RTP tenant — celebrating 100 years this year), Philips, NXP, and ASML, as well as numerous incubators, start-ups and SMEs. It is also home to renowned research institutions such as the Holst Centre and enjoys proximity to the Eindhoven University of Technology.

Sound familiar? We thought so – in as much as RTP shares similar attributes of working to concentrate its region’s intellectual resources in a concentrated area and works to spur connections between the area universities and our companies. We also have similar aspirations of figuring out how to create an environment that caters to both the large and small players of our region/state’s knowledge ecosystem — both in the built space as well as in celebrating our natural environment.

To read more about HTCE, visit their website or a recent article on their globalization efforts.

Measuring RTP’s Impact

Population growth in the Research Triangle region over time

RTP. The Research Triangle Park.  The Research Triangle Region.  The Triangle.  Raleigh-Durham. 

Call it what you will, but the Research Triangle Park is the brand upon which our region is built. 

If the Park’s founders hadn’t made the big bet to create the Research Triangle Park, the region would have likely succeeded due to the local universities, but it would be a different market than we enjoy today.

Have you ever wondered what the region would be like if RTP was never established?

We have. That’s why we’ve commissioned HR&A Advisors to undertake an economic impact analysis of the Park and its effect on the surrounding region. Our hope is to begin to understand the impact of the Park and make sure that our future efforts continue to enhance it.

They looked at the comprehensive economic impact of the Park throughout the region, looking at things like the economic and fiscal benefits generated within the Park, historical economic and demographic growth patterns, and the growth of what they have termed our “innovation cluster.”

We’re still crunching the number that are directly attributable to the Park, but here’s a preview of some of the data points they’ve uncovered. (The results are still preliminary–in other words, we still need to vet them and make sure our assumptions in creating the model are valid from various perspectives). Nevertheless, they do validate the strategy that was launched 52 years ago to marshal the region’s knowledge assets and natural resources to change the economic base of the region.

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