Make Your Silence Heard: 2012 Ride of Silence

By Blanche Dean, Guest Blogger from Team MSFITS.

On May 16, 2012 at 7:00 PM, the Ride of Silence will begin in North America and roll across the globe. Cyclists will take to the roads in a silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. Although cyclists have a legal right to share the road with motorists (and the obligation to follow the same rules of the road as motorists), the motoring public often isn’t aware of these rights, and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves.

Please join Team MSFITS as they host the 7^th Annual RTP Ride of Silence starting and finishing at RTP Headquarters, 12 Davis Drive, RTP.  The Research Triangle Foundation has once again granted us permission to stage the ride at their facility and they are endorsing this ride.  The Durham Police Reserves will once again lead our procession, adding dignity and safety to our journey.

The Ride of Silence is a free ride, approximately 5 miles in length, that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph, wear helmets, follow the rules of the road and remain silent during the ride. There are no sponsors and no registration fees. The ride, which is held during National Bike Month, aims to raise the awareness of motorists, police and city officials that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways. The ride is also a chance to show respect for and honor the lives of those who have been killed or injured.

I know you’ve been out there riding and had things thrown at you, been “buzzed” by a motor vehicle trying to see how close they could get, been screamed at to get off the road, and worse.  You may have been injured and probably know someone or of someone who has died as a result of a motor vehicle/bicycle crash.  THIS is the ride to show your solidarity as a cycling community – to raise awareness and say “shame on you” to those who carelessly travel our roads without regard to life or limb.

We will supply black armbands to all cyclists to wear in memory of those who have been killed and red armbands to those cyclists who join us and are survivors of motor vehicle/bicycle accidents.  Please arrive early enough to prepare yourself and your bike to ride, to sign waivers, and participate in a tribute to cyclists before we head out at 7:00 sharp.  Read more »

May Food Truck Rodeo

Join us for the RTP Food Truck Rodeo
on
Thursday, May 17^th

Calling all Food Truck fans! Bring your friends, bring your colleagues, and come on out for RTP’s May Food Truck Rodeo.

Date: Thursday, May 17
Time: 11:30 AM -1:30 PM
Location: RTP Headquarters, 12 Davis Drive (Directions)

In honor of National Bike Month and Bike to Work Week, SmartCommute@rtp will be providing free gifts to anyone that rides their bike to the event and providing useful information on bicycle commuting.

Participating Food Trucks:

Pie Pushers
@piepushers

Only Burger
@onlyburger

The Parlour
@parlourdurham

Chirba Chirba Dumpling
@chirbachirba

Will and Pops
@willandpops

Olde North State BBQ
@ONSBBQ

As always, parking is limited so we strongly encourage carpooling, and of course, riding your bike to the event!

We look forward to seeing everyone!

AND save the date for next Food Truck Rodeo on Thursday, June 14^th!

Gear up for Bike Month: May 2012

Let’s face it: we live in an automobile-centric nation, and I don’t think I’d be surprising anyone in saying that the Triangle isn’t necessarily the ideal place to commute to and from work by bike.  However, that certainly doesn’t mean that it’s not possible to ride your bike to work; nor does it mean that the Triangle isn’t a bicycle friendly community. In fact, the town of Carrboro has received a silver designation for being a bicycle friendly community from the League of American Bicyclists; and Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh have all received bronze designations. Clearly, bicycle commuting in the Triangle is growing in popularity and amenities to support it are also growing.

For the month of May, the Triangle is celebrating Bike To Work Month, an entire month dedicated to encouraging and supporting one of the most economical and healthy ways of commuting. This month is an opportunity to celebrate the unique power of the bicycle and the many reasons people ride. Whether you bike to work or school; to save money or time; to preserve your health or the environment; to explore your community or get to your destination, biking can be one of the most rewarding modes of transportation. And if you’ve been thinking about starting to ride to work, but haven’t put your foot to the pedal yet, I hope you’ll use this month to give it a go.

There are lots of events going on in the Triangle to celebrate Bike to Work Month, including several events in RTP, sponsored by SmartCommute@rtp:

• Bicycle Community Basics – Lunch and Learn
  Thursday, May 10, 11:30AM-1PM
  RTP Headquarters, 12 Davis Dr.
  This seminar will cover the basics of commuting by bicycle, safe cycling, riding in traffic, crash avoidance, and cyclists’ rights and responsibilities. The course is open to anyone and both novice and experienced riders are welcome and encouraged to attend. Registration Required.

• Bike to Work Month After-Hours Social
  Tuesday, May 15, 5-7PM
  Serena, 5311 South Miami Blvd. Suite A
  Cyclists enjoy free appetizers, drinks, and giveaways.

• Ride of Silence
  Wednesday, May 16, 7PM
  RTP Headquarters, 12 Davis Dr.
  A silent procession to honor cyclists who’ve been killed or injured on public roadways. Organized by MS Fits and hosted by SmartCommute@rtp, this free ride that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph, wear helmets, follow the rules of the road and remain silent during the ride. Visit www.msfits.org/ride-of-silence.html for more information.

• Bike to Work Month Breakfast Social
  Friday, May 18, 7-9AM
  RTP Headquarters, 12 Davis Dr.
  Cyclists enjoy a free continental breakfast and giveaways.

For a complete list of the Bike to Work Month events occuring Triangle-wide, visit GoTriangle. And for more information and resources on biking in the RTP area, visit SmartCommute.org.

RTP: Diverse and Growing

It’s that time of year again…RTP Directory time!  I know I know, that totally flopped, and a directory is only so exciting on the surface, BUT, the aggregation of the data tells a great story.  Check this out…

Number of Companies

• Holding steady at 170+

Employment Increase

• Between early 2011 and 2012, RTP added about 1400 full-time employees, with total employment now well over 39,000
• We’re getting a better handle on contract workers and estimate that including those, the Park’s population is closer to 43,000-44,000.  

Industry breakdown

• About half of RTP companies (45%) fall in the Biotech/Life Sciences category (which includes Ag-bio). These companies represent 23% of RTP employment. Many of our start-ups and early stage companies fall into the Life Sciences category as well.
• The second largest category is Information Technology, with 18% of companies representing 49% of RTP employment.
• RTP is home to 17 Scientific Associations and Institutes
• Other companies classify themselves as either Materials Sciences & Engineering, Clean & Green Technologies, Financial and Insurance Activities, Business and Professional Services, Other Service Providers.

 Size breakdown

• 43% of companies have fewer than 10 employees
• 88% of companies have fewer than 250 employees
• The median company size in RTP is 10.5 employees
• More than 75 companies in RTP are located in one of the 5 incubators/accelerators

 LEED development

• 8 buildings in RTP are LEED certified and 5 are LEED registered
• Several projects under construction will seek LEED

 Patents/Trademarks

• Through the end of 2011, RTP companies have been issued 3,549 patents and 1,854 trademarks

As you can see, the Park continues to grow and the companies that call RTP home continue to do amazing things!  If you’d like to read up on who’s who in RTP, visit our website and click on the RTP Directory promo button in the bottom right hand corner.

Give a Book. Change a Life.

Community Outreach@rtp will be running a book drive from April 19 to May 15, and we need your new and gently used children’s books!

Books in the home are the single biggest predictor of academic success – yet more than half of our country’s low-income children do not own a single book, setting them up to struggle in school and to perpetuate the cycle of poverty.

The books we collect will be donated to Books on Break, a program to enable Durham’s low-income children to select up to ten books to take home and keep at the end of the school year.  These books will help arrest the summer slide that plagues low-income children and that contributes to the achievement gap.

There are a few easy ways to participate:

• Between now and May 15^th, simply drop your book donations in the specially marked bins located at RTP Headquarters, 12 Davis Drive (and at the Food Truck Rodeo on the 19^th).  Your company may be hosting drop off bins as well.

• If you don’t have gently used books at home to donate, please consider purchasing new books.  To make it even easier, buy books from Books on Break’s Amazon wish list and have them shipped directly to the RTP Headquarters:  http://amzn.com/w/1HQGXBNUBPF0X
  OR
  Stop by the Regulator Bookshop on Ninth Street in Durham and purchase a new book to donate to Books on Break; you’ll receive a 20% discount.

We need books for elementary school children (1^st through 6^th grade), from picture books to chapter books.  And we are grateful for both new books and gently used books that your kids may have outgrown.

Books on Break is a joint project of Community Outreach@rtp (a committee of the RTP Owners and Tenants Assocation), Book Harvest and Durham Public Schools.

To learn more, please visit www.bookharvestnc.org and www.rtp.org/community. And if you’d like to host a drop off location at your office, we have sign templates and flyers available at www.rtp.org/community.

Thank you for helping Triangle kids experience the joy of book ownership this summer!

The Earth Day Celebration Roundup

April has easily become a month dedicated to increased awareness and activity in the arena of sustainability, and Earth Day is right around the corner (April 22^nd).  Over the next few weeks, many companies are putting together events for their employees to help engage and educate them on ways they can improve the planet.  Companies like IBM, Cisco, and BASF are inviting organizations to share some of the great information they have on ways employees can help the planet.  For example, SmartCommute@rtp will be providing information on ways employees can green up their commutes.

Of course, even if your company isn’t offering an event, there are still lots of ways to celebrate Earth Day, right here in RTP.

RTP Earth Day GetConnected Event
If you haven’t already heard, RTP will be hosting its very own Earth Day Celebration in conjunction with the Triangle Green Business Challenge Kickoff on April 23, from 4pm to 6:30pm at the RTP Headquarters.  This event will include food, beverages, raffles, and guest speakers.  (You can register here.)  You’ll likely be hearing more about this event in the coming days.

RTP Electronics Recycling Day
Environment@rtp will be hosting its annual Spring Electronics Recycling Drive on Wednesday, April 25th for RTP for employees to drop off unneeded household electronics for donation and/or recycling. Visit www.environmentrtp.org/news-events/electronics-recycling-events for more information on this free event.

Books on Break Book Drive
Community Outreach@rtp will be hosting its inaugural “Books on Break” book drive for elementary students.  Instead of disposing of those gently used books you have lying around, donate and allow them to be reused, the best form of recycling.  Visit www.rtp.org/community for more information.

And if that’s not enough, here’s my roundup of upcoming celebratory Earth Day Events around the Triangle for the whole family: Read more »

Sprucing Up for Spring in RTP

Many of us are gearing up right now for some spring cleaning. Around the Research Triangle Park, we’ve been doing some cleaning up of our own… in the form of improvements to our signage and landscaping. Some of these projects are fairly small, but put together they do a lot to enhance RTP’s character and appeal. Here are some examples:

First up is Davis Drive, one of RTP’s major roads. Back in the fall we began an effort to upgrade the landscaping along 4.4 miles of roadway, extending from the I-40 interchange to the southern RTP boundary near Morrisville. In the past few years, Davis Drive has been widened to accommodate more drivers, while development along the road has continued within RTP and further south. So it was a natural next step to give the road a fresh, greener look. The landscaping is strategically placed at the roadside along curves and near intersections such as NC 54 and Development Drive. There are also some plantings in road medians. The mix of trees, shrubs and groundcovers includes various types of magnolia, dogwood, winterberry, and juniper, among many other species.

New trees and shrubs take root along Davis Drive

Read more »

Think. Act. Breathe. 2012 Air Quality Awareness Season Begins

With April upon us, we’re all excited about the opportunity to be outdoors more.  Some of us look forward to dining al fresco, others enjoy biking to work, and some of us explore our RTP pedestrian trails, while others enjoy the rugged RTP mountain biking trail. But along with our warmer weather come concerns about our regional air quality.

The two biggest air quality problems in North Carolina are ground-level ozone (the main ingredient in “smog”) and particle pollution. Both pollutants are caused mainly by emissions from cars and trucks, and from the coal-burning power plants that supply most of our electricity.  Because hot, sunny conditions are needed for elevated ozone levels, ozone is only a problem during the warm-weather months. The ozone forecast season, when N.C. Division of Air Quality forecasts daily ozone levels, is April 1 to October 31.

For those of your working or passing through the Park, you may notice SmartCommute@rtp member employers posting informational signs letting Park  employees know what the Air Quality Forecast is for the day using the Air Quality Index (AQI). The AQI is a tool used to report levels of ozone, particles and other pollutants in the air to the public. The AQI scale is divided into five color-coded categories, each corresponding to a different level of health concern ranging from green (good) to purple (very unhealthy). Greater AQI values correspond to greater concentrations of air pollution and indicate greater health danger.

The air quality color codes are:

 
Even with cleaner cars and other new technology, our air could get worse as our population grows, endangering our health and reducing our quality of life. The good news is that by being mindful of our daily activities, we can make a few simple changes to help us all breathe easier. Read more »

Research Triangle Park is Alive with Wildlife

Research Triangle Park is home to over 38,000 full-time employees in over 170 diverse companies.  Most people are aware of its regional importance for research and development and its importance to North Carolina.  One thing people may not be as aware of is the flourishing wildlife within the Park.  In addition to the 38,000 employees, hundreds of plants and animals call the 7,000 acre campus home and coexist within RTP.

Male Bluebird in RTP

The Research Triangle Park is home to over 40 bluebird boxes, 8 duck boxes, 4 bat boxes, 2 purple martin houses, and this does not include the various boxes other companies have on their private campuses.  The boxes can be found all over the park off pedestrian trails we they are easily accessible. These houses provide homes for the unique and important species within the Park.  The wildlife box program has been active within the Park since 2005 and has helped shelter hundreds of birds and mammals since then.  Other than the wildlife box program there is also a butterfly garden within the Park at the RTP headquarters, a tree ID trail off of Davis drive, and an ongoing Park wildlife inventory.

Male and Female Bluebird

The main emphasis throughout the wildlife programs at this time of year is on wildlife boxes, notably the bluebird boxes.  Currently there are 40 bluebird boxes throughout the Park which are all available for adoption by RTP employees.  Employees adopt a Bluebird box (es) and monitor the boxes over the breeding season, from late March to August.  All of the data collected on nesting and reproductive habits is then collected and sent to NestWatch through Cornell University.  Cornell uses this data to look at reproductive success and species movement and work to develop better wildlife management for the birds.

Eastern bluebirds experienced a sharp decline in populations from the 1920s to 1970s due to pesticides and other manmade disturbances.  Since then bluebird box programs across the nation have worked amazingly well to bring back populations.  The story of the bluebird’s re-establishment is such an interesting success story, not only for the bird’s recovery, but also for the fact that it was primarily citizens who have worked to bring the birds back and not a specific agency or organization. Read more »

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).