iMedia

Now for a completely different take on manufacturing

When an action as simple as tracing an object in the air can result in a manufactured piece of furniture, the wall separating virtual and physical reality becomes a little less relevant. Reality is not just augmented, but in a sense, created.

Atoms are the new bits - Open source manufacturing

FREE innovation seminar at EKU

Planet Eureka will be conducting a free innovation training program Feb 9 at EKU, according to the Innovation and Commercialization Center at the school.

These programs are open to all entrepreneurs, managers, new product and multi-disciplinary teams, inventors and innovators in our area from any walk of life - independent, corporate/company, university, lab, etc. Seating is limited and reservations are required.

Contact R. Gary Marshall, Eastern ICC at gary.marshall@eku.edu or 859-622-8577.

Growing Kentucky's future in Space

Pictured in two of the three images here is the 21 meter tracking antenna as viewed from the ground control room at the brand new Morehead State University Space Sciences Center yesterday. One of only a handful of undergraduate centers devoted solely to the space sciences, the center represents an enormous investment in the future of Kentucky.

It features a sizable anechoic chamber and several large clean rooms that are nearing completion, a digital star theater hosting tours of the universe incorporating the latest astronomical data, classroom and fabricating facilities too numerous to mention, and ample room for all to grow.

Here, a complete range of astronautical instruction and engineering can be accomplished.

Like the exploration the ocean depths or the pursuit of an edge in any environment, the systematic and risky exploration of frontiers produces unexpected insight. And space exploration has proved incredibly beneficial in that regard, spinning off technologies like novel resins used materials science that are able to withstand extreme heat, nanotubes deployed in biosensor applications, and air purification technologies that can kill airborne pathogens and preserve food. Each of these and many more discoveries can be traced to a willingness to prepare for and take risks in the harsh vacuum of space.

For for Kentucky, the benefits are wonderfully suggestive. Thanks to the vision and skill of a handful of people, the investment you see - and many more you don't - represents a new possibility - an entirely new industry in the commonwealth that can design, fabricate, test and fly the science and technology needed in space, and in doing so, shape the young minds that will make discoveries unimagined.

It's wonderfully suggestive because in the waning days of the 18th century, Kentucky was known as the frontier. In the 21st century, it can be again.

Innovation and Etrepreneurship conference to focus on Kentucky initiatives, talent

The Kentucky Science and Engineering Foundation has posted information about the sixth annual Innovation and Entrepreneurship conference, which will take place April 6 at Lexington's Marriott Griffin Gate Resort.

This year’s conference will bring together distinguished speakers, tech-based economic development practitioners, innovators, and entrepreneurs. The conference will focus on opportunities for innovation, the state’s initiatives for entrepreneurship and economic development, and building science and engineering talent to grow local initiatives. The agenda (currently under development) will include key presentations, technology showcases (table tops), poster presentations, and more.

The conference is open to anyone from universities, the business community, state and local leaders, and students who are interested in technology-driven innovation, high-tech growth, university-business engagement, and job opportunities.

Online registration will open in February.

Top tech in 2010

Augmented reality could be a $714m industry by 2014, according to information in this BBC story on the technology and its uses. It could find its place among the top ten tech concepts you should be aware of for 2010.

"Shoot for the Moon, not the tops of trees"

The new book Googled: The End of the World as We Know it, demonstrates that innovation is by its nature unpredictable and powerful. Christian Science Monitor :

Ken Auletta, an author and a longtime columnist for the The New Yorker, documents the meteoric rise of Google from its humble beginnings through its multibillion-dollar profits in his latest book, Googled: The End of the World as We Know It. As the latter half of the title suggests, Auletta’s work is more than just a history of Google and a biography of its principals. It is rather a tripartite inspection of modern technological innovation, the decline of traditional media (print journalism, music CDs, etc.) and its revenue stream (advertising sales), and the ways in which Google serves as a flash point for many of the successes and controversies surrounding the Digital Age.

The unofficial motto of the organization known for its unorthodox workplace and tens of billions in revenue is "shoot for the moon, not the tops of trees." Just as Google rose to challenge Microsoft and its business, the company's ambition and size doesn't make it invincible either, but it does show just how one well executed breakthrough innovation can change everything.

Paul Saffo: U.S. entering "creator economy"

In the latest BusinessWeek innovation podcast, futurist Paul Saffo describes the emerging creator economy and traces its origins to the crushing success of the consumer economy. It's brief, so have a listen.

Steinbeck's economic theory

What would John Steinbeck have to do with the current economic malaise? Plenty, if Justin Wolfers is be believed. From agency theory to behavioral economics, economics is finally coming to grips with human desire.        

Wayne

Kentucky Innovation: Commercializing 3D Scanning and Nanotechnologies

From visualization technologies to nano-templates, participants at the April 2009 Kentucky Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference describe the technologies that they hope to commercialize.