I was interviewed last month by "Business in the Morning", a local podcast. If you have a half-hour to spare, you might want to give it a listen. … [Read more...]
Advanced Manufacturing: Smart, Safe, Sustainable, and Surging!
November 26, 2013 by
In a way, Georgia Tech has always been about manufacturing. From our founding in 1885, we focused on educating young men (sorry, ladies! That took a little longer) in applying technology to machine shops, textile mills, and steam engines. We continued with that mission of “encouragement of industries and commerce” for eight decades. Then, in 1960, … [Read more...]
Happy Birthday, Tech Square!
October 31, 2013 by
I've been travelling a bit lately, visiting innovation communities in Austin, Portland, and Saõ Paulo. I've also had a chance to compare notes with venture capitalists and angel investors from all over the U.S. at the Venture Atlanta conference held last week, and with city planners in my role as a team leader for the Atlanta co(lab) conference in … [Read more...]
Pindrop Security Shoots for the Moon
June 24, 2013 by
A news article a couple of weeks ago announced an $11 million investment in one of our local startups, Pindrop Security. You can read it in the local Atlanta Business Chronicle or in USA Today. … [Read more...]
Crowdfunding
May 31, 2013 by
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last year or so, you've heard of crowdfunding. I know a lot of people who have participated in campaigns on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and more. I've backed a few myself. But that's been as a way to fund development of better iPhone peripherals, or an independent film, or even to convince a touring … [Read more...]
Social Engineering
April 30, 2013 by
A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to be invited to an internal lecture at Mailchimp, right across the parking lot from our AMAC team. (If you aren't familiar with Mailchimp, they rock! Great solution for any sort of email marketing or email list management. Better than Constant Contact, and local!) The speaker was Kevin Mitnick. … [Read more...]
Panasonic
January 2, 2013 by
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a safe, restful, and joyful holiday. Welcome back to what's sure to be an eventful 2013! I wanted to tell you a little about one of our newest neighbors in Centergy: Panasonic Automotive Systems (PAS). It's an interesting story about the power of place; EI2 and Georgia Tech play a critical role. … [Read more...]
Bem-vindo ao Brasil!
December 1, 2012 by
In October, I got a call from Yves Berthelot, our Vice Provost for International Affairs. He'd been invited to participate in a Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce economic development trip to Brazil, but he was going to be in Singapore at the time. He knew that I had a special interest in Brazil... would I like to go if he picked up the travel … [Read more...]
Here Come the MOOCs!
November 1, 2012 by
In EI2, we have lots of roles. Coaches. Consultants. Analysts. Service coordinators. Lots of things. But we can never forget that we work for a university. And universities are in trouble. I was able to spend part of two days last week with Rich de Millo, former Dean of the College of Computing, and now the director of Georgia Tech's … [Read more...]
Prizes in Economic Development
October 1, 2012 by
Some of you know that I was one of the original backers of the X PRIZE that awarded $10 million to the first private team to build and launch a piloted spacecraft to 100 kilometers above the earth's surface, twice within two weeks. As far back as my undergraduate days at Georgia Tech, I wrote a paper on the British Crown's establishment of a … [Read more...]
