Vol. 15, May 2011 - Michiana TechConnection
FOCUS ON
An initiative designed to create the crucial systems needed to support technology-based businesses is working to identify the people, funding and infrastructure that will be needed to equip the region with the framework for supporting innovative technologies arising out of the University of Notre Dame and other local institutions. This new initiative will help develop an information- and technology-based economy in the region. Read more …
FEATURES
The human side of TechConnecting
The human side of creating a supportive environment for high-tech ventures means more than having the right people available. It also means providing the structures that will allow them to connect in meaningful ways in the right place at the right time. Michiana TechConnection is working to create those structures. Read more …
Quicker diagnostics, alternative energy
Don’t let the phrase “start-up venture” fool you. The technologies currently under development arising from University of Notre Dame research are highly sophisticated ventures that could potentially impact multiple industries. Read more ...
COMPANY PROFILE
A company that works at the molecular level offers products that promise significant advances in a variety of industries, including medical diagnostics and research. But its founder, a biochemist who developed a groundbreaking chemical process for introducing stable isotopes into biomolecules, says he never envisioned himself as a businessman and entrepreneur.
Read more …
IN CONVERSATION
Pat McMahon, executive director of Project Future and director of the Michiana TechConnection
Recently South Bend ON had the opportunity to sit down with Pat McMahon, executive director of Project Future, to discuss in greater detail the Michiana TechConnection initiative. Nearly 18 months ago Project Future formed Michiana TechConnection, encompassing a group of business leaders from the community and across the U.S., as well as several key technology-based leaders from the University of Notre Dame. Read more …
MULTIMEDIA
Metronet: Business at the speed of light
St. Joe Valley Metronet — a fiber-optic infrastructure that connects businesses, research centers and institutions of higher education in our community — was launched by the private sector and the City of South Bend, which became the first U.S. city to install such a network in its underground traffic conduit. This puts South Bend on an even playing field with much larger cities when it comes to data connectivity. Click here.
EVENTS & HAPPENINGS
ND hosts May madness for chamber musicians
Out of 48 competing ensembles from across the nation and around the world, the Calidore String Quartet won the coveted Grand Prize of the 2011 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, held Friday, May 13, through Sunday, May 15.
Taking place at the University of Notre Dame, the competition featured performances throughout each day and was capped off with the Awards and Grand Prize Concert in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. More info here …
2nd Bike the Bend a success
The second annual Bike the Bend, a recreational ride through the streets of South Bend, Mishawaka and St. Joseph County, took place Sunday, May 15.
This year’s expanded route of up to 40 miles featured more neighborhoods and parks along a route with limited access for vehicular traffic. A festival was held in conjunction with the bike ride.
Tickets on sale for Blues & Ribs Fest
Tickets are on sale now for the first South Bend Blues & Ribs Fest on June 11, along the riverfront at Howard Park in downtown South Bend.
Sponsored by the South Bend Parks & Recreation Department and the Morris Performing Arts Center, the daylong concert will benefit Miracle Park, a proposed new park that would create handicapped-accessible recreational opportunities for youth with special needs. More info here …
Registration deadline nears for Sunburst participants
The online registration deadline is May 31, for the annual Sunburst Races, featuring five race-day running events from the College Football Hall of Fame to the 50-yard line of Notre Dame Stadium. The 27th annual Sunburst Races take place on June 4. More info here …
Red Table Plaza concerts return June 13-August 5
Who said lunch has to be boring? Grab lunch and head downtown for The Red Table Plaza Lunchtime Concert Series, a free eight-week concert series June 13 to August 5.
Live musicians will perform Mondays through Fridays 11:15 a.m. until 1:15 p.m., weather permitting, on the Wells Fargo Plaza located on the southwest corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Michigan Street. Food and beverages can be purchased from nearby downtown restaurants and eateries. More info here …
TECH PARK UPDATES
Resource center offers innovative services
A partnership that began with a common vision for innovation has led to the creation of a resource center offering a range of printing services that is unprecedented at most tech parks the size of Innovation Park at Notre Dame. In addition to the clients at Innovation Park, the Konica Minolta resource center offers its services to clients in the local business community. Read more …
NEWS & HEADLINES
South Bend receives Bicycle Friendly signage
A representative of the League of American Bicyclists on April 28 presented Mayor Stephen J. Luecke with official roadway signage designating South Bend as a Bicycle Friendly Community.
At the ceremony, Luecke also announced that the City of South Bend has surpassed the commitment in his 2007 State of the City address to add 50 miles of new bike routes by the end of 2011. More info here …
Mobile phone application wins business plan competition
Huddle Up, a mobile phone application that allows University of Notre Dame alumni to locate each other within a certain geographic range, is the winner of the 11th annual McCloskey Business Plan Competition, held April 14 and 15, at Notre Dame. More info here …
IU South Bend presents sustainability awards
A South Bend environmental firm and a long-time environmental activist/educator were among the winners of Indiana University South Bend’s 2011 Sustainability Awards announced on Earth Day (April 22).
The Community Business Award was given to Inovateus Solar; Diana Mendelsohn received the Community Individual Award; and Debbie Richards, IU South Bend’s director of purchasing and contracts, received the Campus Sustainability Award.
Read more …
Notre Dame creates sustainable energy center
The newly established Center for Sustainable Energy at Notre Dame (cSEND) serves as the primary campus hub through which to obtain information or seek advice on energy-related topics and issues.
The collaborations developed through cSEND with other departments, centers and institutes will create a “one-stop shop” — not only for the campus community but also for local, regional, national and international constituents in matters related to energy. More info here …
MIND director to receive Quantum Devices Award
Alan C. Seabaugh, who is a University of Notre Dame professor of electrical engineering, the Frank M. Freimann Director of the Midwest Institute for Nanoelectronics Discovery (MIND) and associate director of the Center for Nano Science and Technology, has been named the recipient of the 2011 Quantum Devices Award by the International Symposium on Compound Semiconductors. More info here …
INNOVATION IN GOVERNMENT
City’s IT staff cuts costs, delivers improved services
Recent innovations by the City of South Bend’s Information Technology division are the focus of a feature article by a magazine that covers technology issues for business, government and education.
The City of South Bend is saving about $6,000 annually by consolidating its data center with a storage area network and then by virtualizing most of its servers, according to an article in StateTech magazine. Read more ...