Paying it Forward

A few months ago, I blogged about how the spirit of generosity that started RTP is alive and well in the region’s business community and overall ethos. Late Tuesday, we got yet another example of what makes the Research Triangle region a special place.

Ryan Allis and Aaron Houghton, co-founders of iContact (which they started while still students at UNC-CH) announced donations to CED, the Southeast’s largest entrepreneurial support organization, totaling $270,000.

Ryan and Aaron recently sold iContact to Vocus, a publicly-traded provider of cloud-based marketing and PR software.

The two have been engaged with CED since they were students: they volunteered at CED events as undergrads and in later years, served as members of the CED Board of Directors. The donation was a way of making good on a stock pledge after they started the company in 2003.

(As the CED press release on the donation notes, the stock pledge program was “established in 1998 to encourage entrepreneurs to support the organization by identifying contributions that would be made at some point in the future at the time of a successful exit. Pledges are made by individuals who have benefited from CED’s programs and services, many of which are provided free or at reduced cost to early-stage entrepreneurs.”)

Startup Madness: ACC Tourney for University Startups

Guest post by Scott Kelly 

March Madness is in the air!  While we love college basketball here in the Triangle, we also love startups!

On March 14th (the day before March Madness), 19 of the best student entrepreneurial teams from ACC schools will converge in American Tobacco in a bracket style competition. At the end of the day, one team will emerge as the best student entrepreneur in the ACC and take home the $5,000 prize.

Check out the Startup Madness video below & join the Madness by registering here.

Summer Fun

Guest post by Stephanie Baber, Morehead Planetarium and Science Center

A few weeks ago, we provided a snapshot of some of the summer camps in the RTP area aimed at the “science attentive.” Here’s more info on one of the camps we noted: the Morehead Planetarium campus at Kestral Heights.

It’s that time of year again — time to choose summer camp experiences for your children. And there’s a new summer camp option for the children of RTP workers this year.

Morehead Planetarium and Science Center is expanding its popular science camps to a new RTP site at Kestrel Heights Charter School. Morehead Summer Science Camps provide a fun and educational way for children to spend their summer, with hands-on learning activities, science-themed crafts and outdoor recreation.

The new RTP site is conveniently located near the intersection of N.C. 54 and N.C. 55, perfect for busy parents who work in Research Triangle Park. Morehead offers one-week, full-day sessions from July 9 through Aug. 3, with drop-off beginning as early as 7:45 a.m. and pick-up continuing through 5:30 p.m.

Each camp session pairs a morning theme with a afternoon theme:

• Grades K-1“Dinosaur Detectives” and “Magic Tree House Explorers”"Aquatic Addresses” and “Bodies in Motion”
• Grades 2-3“Cricket Coding” and “Me and My Shadow”"Secret Formulas” and “Magic Tree House Researchers”
• Grades 4-5“Fizz! Bang! Boom!” and “Test Pilots”"LEGO Lab” and “Sky Searchers”
• Grades 6-8“Rocket Science” and “Moon, Mars and Beyond”"Astronomical Wonders” and “LEGO” Lab Challenge”

Morehead Summer Science Camps present science to kids in new and exciting ways. Camp curricula are developed by science educators at Morehead and presented by camp counselors who are science and education majors at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Registration for these camps is open now through Morehead’s website. And if you’re a Morehead member, you’re eligible for a $30 discount on each camp session.

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).

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).

Bus on Shoulder in the Triangle – 1st Road Test Complete!

Guest post by Brad Schulz, Triangle Transit Communications Officer

If you’re like me, you start your car already late for work. Once you’re finally on I-40, you lead foot it – hoping you can make up a few minutes and can get to the office on time if traffic will, for once, cooperate. But as sure as Murphy made a law, it doesn’t happen. Traffic slows to a crawl. You’re gripping the wheel and watching the minutes tick by, wondering what the boss will say when you finally get to work.

Now imagine this– as you’re stuck in that traffic you look in your rear view mirror and see a Triangle Transit bus on the shoulder. No, it’s not having mechanical problems. In fact, it’s the only thing moving as it pulls by you on the shoulder while you stay super glued in another congested weekday commute.  Suddenly you wish you were on the bus instead of mired in traffic.

Fantasy? Nope. It’s not a dream. Triangle Transit, the Regional Transportation Alliance and the NC Department of Transportation recently did just that – ran a road test of a full size transit bus on shoulder. If the planets align for weary travelers, North Carolina’s first bus on shoulder demonstration project could be a reality by summer.

Where would it run? It would operate westbound on I-40 between the Durham Freeway (NC 147) and the 15-501 Exit. Eastbound buses could travel on the shoulder between 15-501 and Page Road. If the NCDOT approves the plan, signs would clearly let drivers know they could see a bus beside them on the right.

When would it run? Triangle Transit buses with trained operators could only use the shoulders when travel speeds are below 35 MPH in the main lanes, and buses could only travel up to 15 MPH faster than other vehicles. If there’s a car in the breakdown lane or an emergency on the shoulder, the bus driver can’t use it.

Has this worked in other places? Before you think we just dreamed this up, Minnesota’s Department of Transportation implemented the idea around 20 years ago, with nearly 300 shoulder-miles in use today. More than 10 states now use bus on shoulder lanes and no state has discontinued a bus on shoulder program once it began.

Minnesota's Bus on Shoulder System has been in place for nearly 20 years.

So what could it mean for me? Transit customers have shorter, more predictable and reliable travel times. If you’re a regular rider, your chances of missing a transfer would drop. The Minnesota experience has shown that riding the bus means you’ll spend less time fuming behind the wheel. With those stress-free extra minutes, you’ll have more time to read, catch up on that work you promised the boss, or surf the Web with Triangle Transit’s free Wi-Fi.

We’ll keep you posted on next steps and remember… the next time you’re stuck in traffic on I-40, just picture yourself in that bus riding around that gridlock. There you go… you’re already smiling.

Food Truck Rodeo on Thursday, February 9th!

 Please join us for the February Food Truck Rodeo in RTP!

Date: Thursday, February 9th
Time: 11:30 AM -1:30 PM
Location: RTP Headquarters, 12 Davis Drive (Directions)

Participating Food Trucks:
Pie Pushers Pizza Truck
Chirba Chirba Dumpling Truck
Only Burger Truck
Sunset Slush 

Tables & chairs will be provided.
As always, parking is limited so we strongly encourage carpooling.

We look forward to seeing everyone!

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.

CED on The State of the Entrepreneurial Economy of North Carolina

1,800 companies started.

40,560 jobs created.

$7.7 billion in capital invested.

This is the impact that entrepreneurs have had on the state of North Carolina in the past 20 years.

The “Starting Something: The State of the Entrepreneurial Economy of North Carolina, 1992-2011” report was presented last week at CED‘s Annual Meeting held at RTP Headquarters.  The data for the report was collected by, Maryann Feldman and Nichola Lowe, who are both professors at UNC-Chapel Hill, First Flight Venture Center, an RTP-based incubator, and CED.

Another important finding of the study is that the jobs created by these start-ups have stayed in North Carolina, which is key to the economic growth of the state.  Furthermore, while a majority of the VC funds that have invested in these start-ups are based in the Southeast, there have been investments made from international funds, as well as those based in Boston, NYC and California.

CED took on this initiative both to show the importance of entrepreneurs in our overall economy, but more importantly as a reminder of the various players and ingredients our region’s economy depends on to remain competitive.

At RTP, a central theme of our mission is to serve as an economic driver for the State of North Carolina and the Triangle Region.  It’s interesting to see the role the larger, more established companies in our region play — both as the sources of innovation and new companies and also as end-users or acquirers of some of the new ideas. We are proud to see these great innovators in the Triangle creating a thriving entrepreneurial community that is catching the attention of the nation.  This is what RTP is all about, folks.

For the presentation from CED’s annual meeting, click here.

For the press release, click here.

Envisioning RTP for Future Generations

A guest blog post by Bob Geolas, the new President & CEO of the Research Triangle Foundation

The Research Triangle Park in 1959

Growing up in North Carolina, I have always believed that our state was special, capable of achieving “big things” and destined to play a leading role on the global stage. It does not matter whether you were born and raised in North Carolina or moved here from somewhere else, we all seem to share this confidence in our state.

To me, this comes from our great Research Triangle Park and its history. A bold, even risky, proposition fifty years ago, North Carolina announced its intentions to build a cutting-edge research park in a scrub-pine forest in a state that ranked 49 out of 50. Despite all the challenges, it worked.

Today, RTP stands as a global brand, an innovation hot spot and economic engine for our country. Now, it is time for us to think big again for RTP and North Carolina. Throughout this year, we will begin launching a new development plan.

A vision for the Research Triangle Park of the future

This plan will embrace four principles:

• RTP should be highly collaborative – a place that brings people together in new dense, urban centers with amenities and services.
• RTP should be authentic to North Carolina -  representing modern design and quality work and living spaces.
• RTP should be inspiring - representing the excitement of the future in science, technology, arts and humanities.
• RTP should be accessible – affordable to new technology companies and those looking to grow and expand.

This will be an exciting time for our great Research Triangle Park and I am honored to represent such a special place. I hope you will join us as we begin to launch our next fifty years and the continued promise that is our destiny.