Podcasts about innovation center

At the beginning of May, the National Institutes of Health, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, announced a plan to develop a universal vaccine platform. Think: a single shot for flu or COVID-19 that would last years, maybe a lifetime. The plan—called Generation Gold Standard—has a reported budget of $500 million, and a tight deadline. But will it work? And where does the science on this actually stand? In this live broadcast, Hosts Flora Lichtman and Ira Flatow talk with epidemiologist Michael Osterholm and vaccine researcher Ted Ross.Guests: Michael Osterholm is Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Dr. Ted Ross is the global director of vaccine research at the Cleveland Clinic's Florida Research and Innovation Center in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Transcript will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

In Episode 55, Destiny Smith, Workforce Manager; Rachael Lusco, Curriculum Development Manager; and John Mullins, Senior Project Coordinator, join podcast host Houston Blackwood to discuss their roles at the ACCS Innovation Center and the meaningful impact of their work.The team reflects on their diverse backgrounds and unique journeys to the Innovation Center, each bringing valuable expertise from different industries. Together, they explore the challenges and adaptability required in their roles, particularly in course development, filming, collaboration, and scheduling.They also emphasize the importance of flexibility and teamwork, from working closely with instructors and students to orchestrating hands-on course experiences that empower learners. Plus, they have some fun answering questions about their work and their vibrant personalities! Tune in to discover how this dynamic team is making waves in Alabama's workforce development, creating opportunities for students, and helping to build a brighter future for the state!

Send us a textWe all have an inherent capacity for creativity, but queerness and creativity have a special connection. This week In the Den, Sara sits down with creativity coach Liz Heichelbech to discuss how to explore, claim, and live our own authentic lives.  Navigating true self-expression in the often challenging waters of cultural and societal norms and expectations can be a powerful catalyst for creativity. Sara and Liz dive into how creativity shapes our stories, what power art holds in the coming out process, and why queerness and imagination are so deeply connected.Special Guest: Liz HeichelbechLiz Heichelbech is a creativity coach, educator, author, and artist. Originally a professional contemporary and classical dancer, she earned her BFA in Fine Arts Studies from the University of Arizona, and a Masters in Education from Lesley University. She holds Massachusetts state teaching certifications in Dance, Theatre, and English, and taught in the Weston Public School district for over 20 years. She was a creative collaborator in her role as Instructional Coach for five years at Weston Middle School, and was the facilitator for Weston Secondary New Teacher Mentor Program for ten years. Liz was the former artistic director of Women's Improv Group Boston. She has taught creative workshops at Tucson Medical Center, Rainbow Lifelong Learning, Weston Arts and Innovation Center, Waldron Center for the Performing Arts, Bloomington Council on Aging, and with Joy Point Solutions. She is a recent graduate of the Martha Beck Wayfinder Life Coaching Program, and is a member of the Creativity Coaching Association. Liz' first novel, Chopin in Kentucky, was published by Bluemoose Books in 2023, and she is currently at work on the sequel, Lost and Found at the Canary Cafe. Her first adult coloring and creativity workbook, Start Where You Art, was published by Literary Kitchen in 2024. Liz believes in the restorative power of creative play in writing and the fine and performing arts. She knows well how to help others access, respond, and transform their ideas, feelings, desires, and dreams. Using a blend of life coaching techniques, personal inquiry, and guided, process-oriented creative structures, Liz is on a mission to inspire others and help them align with their most essential selves.Links from the Show:Liz's website: https://www.creativeincites.com/  Join Mama Dragons here: www.mamadragons.org In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you. Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at www.mamadragons.org. Support the showConnect with Mama Dragons:WebsiteInstagramFacebookDonate to this podcast

Rethinking Core Banking — From the Inside Out In this special GFTN Japan edition of Couchonomics with Arjun, we welcome Mayoran Rajendra, Managing Director and Head of the Asia Innovation Center at SMBC — one of Japan's largest financial institutions.We discuss how his team is re-engineering the core of corporate banking using generative AI, automation, and agentic infrastructure — not just adding on shiny tools, but rebuilding from within.

Stories we're covering this week:• The polls are open and early voting is underway in Mansfield• Innovation hub breaks ground in Mansfield• State representative receives community feedback after school voucher vote• Local organization offers seminar to benefit local veterans• Clergy invite you to gather on National Day of Prayer• In Sports, FIFA considers MansfieldIn the Features Section:• Angel Biasatti tells us about the benefits of getting outdoors in Methodist Mansfield News to Know• Brian Certain serves up an elegant collision of Kentucky's finest spirit with France's royal raspberry liqueur in this week's Cocktail of the WeekAnd, in the talk segment, we will learn about a new innovation hub coming to Mansfield with Sellmark CEO James Sellers and Senior Construction Manager Brent Johnson. Plus, your chance to win a $25 gift card to a Mansfield restaurant of your choice with our Mansfield Trivia Question, courtesy of Joe Jenkins Insurance.

In Episode 53, hosts Houston Blackwood and Kaliah Dozier sit down with Jake Bonds, Senior Vice President of Shoal Engineering, to dive into the workforce development challenges facing Alabama's surveying industry. Together, they discuss the growing demand for survey technicians and how the collaboration with the Innovation Center, driven by the Skills for Success Land Survey Technician course, is working to bridge that gap.Explore how technology is transforming the profession, discover the qualities of the ideal candidate, and learn about the career pathways and hands-on training that are shaping the future of surveying. Get inspired as we highlight innovative tools like 3D-printed boats and drones, showcasing how these technologies are engaging students and offering a glimpse into the bright future of surveying.This episode offers an inside look at the exciting efforts underway to tackle workforce shortages and equip Alabama's surveying industry with the skilled professionals it needs. Industry partnerships, such as this one, play a critical role in building a diverse, skilled workforce to help the industry thrive!

Alrededor de un centenar de empresarios se han reunido en el Cuartel de Artillería de Murcia en el ‘Innovation Day' de Telefónica, una jornada donde la compañía ha expuesto a empresas y administraciones las últimas novedades tecnológicas y de innovación del mercado, que presentaron en su día en el Mobile World Congress de Barcelona.Un ejemplo es el trabajo del Innovation Center de Barcelona. Ellos trabajan con Telefónica con drones que se pueden utilizar en logística, por ejemplo, para trasladar órganos a otras comunidades o para ayudar en emergencias. Además, Ana Echegaray, gerente de Salud y Servicios Sociales de Telefónica, indica los usos que tiene en la asistencia sanitaria. Otro de los usos son los trámites telemáticos con la Administración. Diego Lara ha presentado la Oficina Virtual de Atención al Ciudadano de la Comunidad Autónoma, que está empezando a funcionar con algunos trámites, como duplicados de certificados. Jordi Giné, el director de Grandes Empresas y Administraciones Públicas de Telefónica en Territorio Este, indica que en Murcia hay un tejido industrial potente y se debe al impulso que se realiza desde lo público.

Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about the Innovation Center and Hansen Foundation   Listen Here

EnWave Corporation CEO Brent Charleton joined Steve Darling from Proactive to announce the company has signed a commercial license agreement with Hokkai Yamato Foods Japan, a leading producer of processed foods such as soups, furikake, and ochazuke. As part of the agreement, Hokkai Yamato has acquired a 10kW Radiant Energy Vacuum (REV™) machine to drive product development and support early-stage commercial production in Japan. This license grants Hokkai Yamato exclusive rights to use EnWave's patented REV™ technology for the production of various food products within Japan. In return, Hokkai Yamato will pay royalties to EnWave, consistent with existing licensing agreements. EnWave will work closely with Hokkai Yamato to optimize product development and ensure long-term commercial success. In addition to expanding its presence in the Japanese food sector, EnWave has also signed a master service agreement with BioTechnique, a U.S.-based pharmaceutical contract manufacturer. This agreement lays the groundwork for BioTechnique to evaluate EnWave's REV™ dehydration technology as a potential alternative to freeze-drying in biopharmaceutical applications. As part of the collaboration, BioTechnique will conduct paid testing of several liquid pharmaceutical products, drying them in vials using pilot-scale REV™ machinery at EnWave's Innovation Center in Delta, British Columbia. If the results prove successful, BioTechnique may choose to acquire its own REV™ equipment to provide dehydration services directly to its network of leading pharmaceutical clients. #proactiveinvestors #enwavecorporation #tsxv #enw #DehydrationTech #VacuumMicrowave #RoyaltyBusinessModel #BluechipClients #FoodTech #BusinessNews #Investing #CEOInterview #Peru #Spain #Blueberry #Snacks #Royalties #TradeMission

In Episode 51, podcast hosts Houston Blackwood and Julie Frizzell sit down with Sandie Dutton, the Registrar Manager for the Innovation Center. Sandie opens up about her journey—from her initial plan of being a stay-at-home mom to her impactful career in education and workforce development.Listen in as Sandie shares how her personal experiences, including supporting her children's educational paths, sparked her passion for community college programs. She also reflects on the growth of the Innovation Center, a team she's been a part of almost from the start, and the transformative work being done.With a focus on continuous improvement, Sandie's positive attitude shines through. Join us as we celebrate the Innovation Center's success and the dedicated team members, like Sandie, who make it all possible. This episode offers an inside look at the heart of the Innovation Center and its mission to empower Alabama's workforce through Skills for Success!

Welcome to another episode of Entrepreneur Weekly with Alan Taylor who is at the SheTech Event 2025 took place at the Mountain America Expo Center, featuring insights from Ryan Starks of the Governor's Office for Economic Opportunity. He highlighted Utah's strong economic environment, praised community support for training future leaders, and discussed efforts to mentor students. The office focuses on business growth, entrepreneurship, and tourism, contributing to job creation and household tax relief. John Bradshaw, host of the Venture Capital Podcast, joined the event to promote opportunities for women. Drawing from his experiences of having nine nieces and his childhood interests, he emphasized breaking traditional gender roles. He encouraged young girls to explore diverse paths and shared details about his software company, Codebase.com, which is committed to creating opportunities for future generations. Jerry Henley leads the Utah Innovation Fund, managing a $30 million fund that invests around $250,000 in promising university startups across Utah. The state aims to boost its entrepreneurial ecosystem with a planned 225,000 square foot Innovation Center to support over 300 startups. Henley is optimistic about engaging more local entrepreneurs. The fund's team, under Executive Director Jeff Moss, is notably diverse, with four out of six members being women. Kat Kennedy from Kickstart Fund joined Alan to discuss a STEM education and entrepreneurship event that encouraged hands-on technology creation. Alan shared a personal story about nurturing young people's risk-taking and resilience. The event also focused on women's challenges in entrepreneurship and the need for supportive environments. Overall, it highlighted the importance of practical experience in developing future leaders in technology and business. McKay Christensen, CEO of Thanksgiving Point, discussed the organization's mission to empower children through confidence-building STEM programs. He highlighted the significant disparity in STEM career pursuits based on socioeconomic status in Utah: 31% of children from high-income households pursue STEM careers compared to only 7% from low-income backgrounds. To support disadvantaged youth, Thanksgiving Point provides free access to its science centers for families receiving public assistance like WIC or SNAP, aiming to spark interest and confidence in STEM. Tara Rosander shared her experiences at the recent SheTech event attended by over 3,000 girls. She emphasized the importance of mentorship with a 3 to 1 mentor-to-girl ratio, suggesting more frequent events to expand their impact. Tara recounted a success story of a girl who, after attending SheTech, pursued a STEM degree and received five job offers after presenting at an event. She expressed pride in how the program empowers future generations. [00:00:00] Ryan Starks – Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity . [00:07:23] John Bradshaw – Venture Capital Podcast [00:11:28] Jerry Henley – Utah Innovation Fund [00:19:18] Kat Kennedy – Kickstart Fund [00:26:21] McKay Christensen – CEO of Thanksgiving Point [00:34:51] Tara Rosander – Managing Director of Exceed Consulting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of the Friends in Beauty Podcast, I sat down with Dr. Shuting Hu, an award-winning cosmetic scientist and the Founder of Acaderma, a skincare brand rooted in cutting-edge research and innovation. As one of the youngest scientists to receive the prestigious IFSCC Henry Maso Award, Dr. Hu has dedicated her career to developing novel natural ingredients, pioneering sustainable beauty solutions, and bridging the gap between science and skincare.Dr. Hu turned down a faculty position to launch her own Research & Innovation Center and was later selected as the first entrepreneur from Asia to join the Sephora Accelerate Program, where she developed Acaderma into a game-changing science-backed skincare brand.Join us as we discuss:

Hristina Petrovska, the Food Systems Program Coordinator at the Food Innovation Center talks about the Life Enrichment classes that the Food Innovation Center is offering to the public and the upcoming Foodway Symposium.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode 50, ACCS Innovation Center's Chief of Operations, Julie Frizell, and Directors Houston Blackwood, Brandi Merrill, and Kaliah Dozier come together for a milestone podcast recording. This dynamic team reflects on the podcast's journey over the past year, from spontaneous brainstorming sessions to creating the format and landing on the perfect name.They share their favorite guests, standout episodes, and how these conversations have sparked growth for both the Innovation Center and community colleges across the state. Exciting changes are also announced, with new hosts bringing fresh energy and perspectives to the podcast. The team also discusses ideas like live recordings from community college labs and on-site at industry partner locations, along with ambitious goals for Skills for Success enrollments, completers, and courses offered.Join us as we celebrate 50 episodes of Innovation Unplugged! We look forward to an exciting future of authentic conversations about workforce development in Alabama.

How well is the U.S. health care system working, and what is being done to address its biggest challenges? In this episode, Dr. Liz Fowler, former Deputy Administrator and Director of the Innovation Center at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, discusses the progress and challenges of U.S. healthcare reform, emphasizing the impact of the ACA, the shift to value-based care, and the need for systemic innovation to improve access, affordability, and quality. While the ACA has expanded coverage and improved access for individuals with pre-existing conditions, high out-of-pocket costs, care denials, and inefficiencies persist. Dr. Fowler emphasizes the need for mandatory value-based payment models to drive systemic change, focusing on team-based care, predictive analytics, and home-based interventions. She notes that while CMS has the scale to implement reforms, Medicaid innovation remains complex due to state-by-state variations. Driven by real patient experiences, Dr. Fowler remains committed to improving health care access, affordability, and quality through government-led innovation. Tune in as Dr. Liz Fowler shares firsthand insights on the evolution of health care reform, the shift to value-based care, and the ongoing innovations shaping the future of Medicare and Medicaid! About CareQuest: CareQuest Institute for Oral Health is a national nonprofit dedicated to creating an oral health care system that is accessible, equitable, and integrated. Learn more about how their advocacy, philanthropy, research, and education are creating a better oral health system at carequest.org/turnonthelights Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. In close partnership woth Johns Hopkins and TriLink BioTechnologies, Jeff Coller, Ph.D. and Michelle Kim, Ph.D. have built a sandbox for RNA developers and aspirational RNA business builders to play in. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, we team up once again with Advancing RNA's Anna Rose Welch to learn about the venture, dubbed the Johns Hopkins University RNA Innovation Center. Anna Rose and I query Drs. Coller and Kim on how the Center came to be, what it has to offer, and how early-stage RNA explorers can benefit from the resource. Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Listen & Watch tab at bioprocessonline.com. Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: matt.pillar@lifescienceconnect.comFind Matt Pillar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewpillar/

This episode, recorded live at the Becker's Healthcare 9th Annual Health IT + Digital Health + RCM Annual Meeting: The Future of Business and Clinical Technologies, features Jasmine Bishop, Managing Director at MedStar Telehealth Innovation Center. Here, she explores the transformative impact of video-based consultations on urgent and outpatient care delivery. Bishop also delves into strategies for funding innovation to empower the next generation of telehealth advancements.

Season 4, Episode 32 - Flashback to the top 5 episodes of 2024.  Back on Episode 8, we dove into the entrepreneur side of the Poconos economy with the ESU Innovation Center. It houses companies that are getting beyond the startup stage and ramping up to full blown job creators and industry leaders around the Pocono Mountains. The ⁠ESU Innovation Center⁠ features 25 companies doing amazing things that will grow the economy here in the Poconos which was the focus of the ⁠ESU Economic Outlook Summit⁠ at ⁠Kalahari Resorts & Conventions⁠. The Poconos is a year-round destination for millions and with 24-hundred square miles of mountains, forests, lakes and rivers with historic downtowns and iconic family resorts, it's the perfect getaway for a weekend or an entire week. You can always find out more on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠PoconoMountains.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or watch ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pocono Television Network⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ streaming live 24/7.

This episode, recorded live at the Becker's Healthcare 9th Annual Health IT + Digital Health + RCM Annual Meeting: The Future of Business and Clinical Technologies, features Jasmine Bishop, Managing Director at MedStar Telehealth Innovation Center. Here, she explores the transformative impact of video-based consultations on urgent and outpatient care delivery. Bishop also delves into strategies for funding innovation to empower the next generation of telehealth advancements.

Dr. Greg Kleinheinz, director of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Environmental Research and Innovation Center, has overseen beach-water testing in Door County for more than 20 years. For the past five years, he's also worked with the County of Door on a well-testing program designed to learn what's in private-well drinking water. He goes over the cumulative results with Debra Fitzgerald, as well as the most recent testing results released a couple weeks ago. He talks about the hot spots for certain pollutants like nitrates, and what a new tracer program is turning up, and touches first upon how the data-driven beach-water testing program has evolved.

 In Episode 43, “Bridging The Gap: Empowering Local Leaders and Strengthening Communities with Mary Jackson” podcast hosts Kailah Dozier and Brandi Merrill dive deep into local government and community development with the Director of Community and Professional Development at the Alabama League of Municipalities. Mary shares her journey from Colorado to Alabama, discussing her background as a city clerk and her dedication to empowering local leaders. Learn about the League's initiatives and the partnership between the League and the Innovation Center to create a Skills for Success course specifically tailored for mayors and city officials that focuses on the training needed to lead a community forward.Discover how government agencies and community partners can work together to enhance cities and towns and explore innovative solutions to educate the youth and local leadership to cultivate the next generation of civic-minded changemakers. Whether you're a local official, community advocate, or simply interested in government, this episode offers a unique look at how Alabama's communities are growing and thriving!

On the latest Friday Morning Coffee episode, host Caitlin Malcuit discusses how intimate partner violence was a factor in Sylvia Plath's suicide and how it continues to be a major public health crisis. She also highlights a WBZ News story featuring Dr. Bharti Khurana, founder and director of the Trauma Imaging Research and Innovation Center, and her team's automated clinical decision support tool for Intimate Partner Violence Risk and Severity Prevention (AIRS). Author Emily Van Duyne then talks with Daniel Ford about her book Loving Sylvia Plath: A Reclamation. To learn more about Emily Van Duyne, follow her on Instagram.  Writer's Bone is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm, Authors for Voices of Color Auction, The Stacks Podcast, As Told To: The Ghostwriting Podcast, and The Shit No One Tells You About Writing. 

Magdalena is a Senior Director and Global InsurTech Innovation Leader at WTW's Insurance Consulting and Technology (ICT). She leads ICT's inorganic growth strategy as well as its interaction with the external insurtech ecosystem globally. She joined the firm as a Senior Economist at Watson Wyatt's Research and Innovation Center in 2005. She has 20+ years of experience in R&D and international strategy consulting and was WTW's Global Head of Research and Analytical Services. Magda holds a M.Sc. in math. Finance and a PhD in Quantitative Economics and Finance. She also holds a professional certificate on Innovation from the MIT Professional Education Program. For the past 10 years she has been solely focused on innovation and strategic consulting for the Insurance Industry, especially around digital transformation, advanced analytics, blockchain, emerging risks and #insurtech. She was among the first to publish and discuss blockchain in the context of insurance and has focused almost exclusively on helping the insurance industry to understand and deploy new technologies since 2014. She is a well-recognized thought leader in insurtech and the implications of new technologies for the risk transfer industry. She has been a prolific public speaker in the past 10 years and in the past couple of years alone, Magda has had over 100 public speaking engagements specific to insurtech and blockchain at various international conferences and summits. She has also published multiple articles, blogs, interviews and audio/visual media on the topic. She sees herself as a blockchain and technology governance crusader and devotes significant time to educational activities, ranging from workshops for executives to sessions at elementary schools and trainings to empower #womenintech. Her main areas of expertise include blockchain, technology and innovation, advanced analytics, MNC internationalization and innovation strategies, emerging markets, global governance, macroeconomic and socio-political risks.  Further, Magdalena has 14 years of teaching experience at European (Germany, UK) and Latin American universities. She also led many research projects for multilateral organizations on microinsurance, financial inclusion and innovation, including pre-2009 projects on alternative currencies. Highlights from the Show Note This episode is brought to you by The Future of Insurance thought leadership series, available globally from Amazon in print, Kindle and Audible audiobook. Follow the podcast at future-of-insurance.com/podcast for more details and other episodes. Music courtesy of Hyperbeat Music, available to stream or download on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music and more.

I talk with a VP!, Tonya Klingen is the Vice President and Head of the Siemens Energy Innovation Center, supporting the Americas Region, located in Orlando, Florida. In this role, she oversees all innovation activities related to programs.

Online behavioral advertising has raised privacy concerns due to its dependence on extensive tracking of individuals' behaviors and its potential to influence them. Those concerns have been often juxtaposed with the economic value consumers are expected to gain from receiving behaviorally targeted ads. Those purported economic benefits, however, have been more frequently hypothesized than empirically demonstrated. We present the results of two online experiments designed to assess some of the consumer welfare implications of behaviorally targeted advertising using a counterfactual approach. Study 1 finds that products in ads targeted to a sample of online participants were more relevant to them than randomly picked products but were also more likely to be associated with lower quality vendors and higher product prices compared to competing alternatives found among search results. Study 2 replicates the results of Study 1. Additionally, Study 2 finds the higher product relevance of products in targeted ads relative to randomly picked products to be driven by participants having previously searched for the advertised products. The results help evaluate claims about the direct economic benefits consumers may gain from behavioral advertising. About the speaker: Alessandro Acquisti is the Trustees Professor of Information Technology and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College. His research combines economics, behavioral research, and data mining to investigate the role of privacy in a digital society. His studies have promoted the revival of the economics of privacy, advanced the application of behavioral economics to the understanding of consumer privacy valuations and decision-making, and spearheaded the investigation of privacy and disclosures in social media.Alessandro has been the recipient of the PET Award for Outstanding Research in Privacy Enhancing Technologies, the IBM Best Academic Privacy Faculty Award, the IEEE Cybersecurity Award for Innovation, the Heinz College School of Information's Teaching Excellence Award, and numerous Best Paper awards. His studies have been published in journals across multiple disciplines, including Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Journal of Economic Literature, Management Science, Marketing Science, and Journal of Consumer Research. His research has been featured in global media outlets including the Economist, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, CNN, and 60 Minutes. His TED talks on privacy and human behaviour have been viewed over 1.5 million times.Alessandro is the director of the Privacy Economics Experiments (PeeX) Lab, the Chair of CMU Institutional Review Board (IRB), and the former faculty director of the CMU Digital Transformation and Innovation Center. He is an Andrew Carnegie Fellow (inaugural class), and has been a member of the Board of Regents of the National Library of Medicine and a member of the National Academies' Committee on public response to alerts and warnings using social media and associated privacy considerations. He has testified before the U.S. Senate and House committees and has consulted on issues related to privacy policy and consumer behavior with numerous agencies and organizations, including the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the European Commission.He has received a PhD from UC Berkeley and Master degrees from UC Berkeley, the London School of Economics, and Trinity College Dublin. He has held visiting positions at the Universities of Rome, Paris, and Freiburg (visiting professor); Harvard University (visiting scholar); University of Chicago (visiting fellow); Microsoft Research (visiting researcher); and Google (visiting scientist).His research interests include privacy, artificial intelligence, and Nutella. In a previous life, he has been a soundtrack composer and a motorcycle racer (USGPRU).

Sheri Marnell has a passion for helping other companies thrive, and she gets to do that every day in her role as the director of the St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center. The SCVBIC is an incubator for local companies that are looking to either get their business off the ground or grow their company before eventually graduating to their own space. One of the best parts about the center: almost all of the companies that graduate end up staying in the St. Croix Valley region.On this week's episode of St. Croix Stories, Sheri talks more about what the Business Innovation Center is, the ways in which it helps companies grow and thrive, and discusses some impressive statistics about startups in the St. Croix Valley area. To learn more about the St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center or to see if it might be a good fit for your young company, visit www.stcroixinnovation.org.Send a message to the hostFollow St. Croix Stories on Facebook and Instagram, and hear all episodes at stcroixstories.com.

If you were to go into the offices and homes of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and actor and Chicano Art collector Cheech Marin, you'd see a similar thread. They all contain art by Jimmy Longoria, a self-described Chicano street artist who has spent most of his career in Minnesota.The Innovation Center at 3M even had him create art from their products developed for window treatments, street signs and the like.For our series “Connect the Dots” we're asking community elders to share part of their life story and some of the lessons they've learned along the way about what matters in life. MPR's senior economics contributor Chris Farrell recently met with Jimmy Longoria and his wife in their retirement community home in Oak Park Heights to do just that.

Iris Shtein served as the Director of strategic partnerships at ARC innovation center at Sheba Hospital for 5 years, where she most recently led an AI initiative called LIV. This platform offers an interactive conversational interface with its users. Utilizing the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, LIV assists mental health professionals in diagnosing conditions such as PTSD, depression and anxiety. For more, you can follow the show on Instagram @GraceforimpactpodcastProduced by Peoples Media Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if your L&D team could shift from merely delivering training to truly driving your company's strategic goals? In this conversation, we talk with Lisa Christensen, McKinsey's Director of Learning and Innovation. Lisa takes a refreshingly strategic approach, asking not just how L&D can support learning but “To what end?” She shares how her focus on outcomes over output has reshaped McKinsey's approach to everything from people analytics to building a strong feedback culture.We also talk about why L&D should embrace experimentation, moving far beyond traditional course delivery to tackle big organizational challenges. Lisa makes the case for L&D to collaborate closely with People Analytics and Legal to ensure that learning initiatives aren't just reactive but strategically positioned for future growth. Her “no regrets” actions offer useful, bold steps for L&D leaders, inspiring us to see the function as a driver of both human and organizational transformation.You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...Why McKinsey's L&D team always starts with the question, "To what end?" [1:00]The risk of L&D focusing only on short-term skill needs [15:00]Collaboration with People Analytics transforming L&D's impact [18:00]L&D teams losing their value by sticking to outdated metrics [20:00]What it means for L&D to have an experimental mindset [31:00]How L&D leaders can ensure their department's stability and credibility [37:00]The “no regrets” actions every L&D team should consider right now [43:00]Resources & People MentionedOliver Wyman Report on Workforce FutureMcKinsey's Learning & Innovation Center of ExcellenceConnect with Lisa ChristensenConnect with Lisa Christensen on LinkedInConnect With Red Thread ResearchWebsite: Red Thread ResearchOn LinkedInOn FacebookOn TwitterSubscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

Episode 88. Eugene Yeo is a Professor at UC San Diego and is building a scientific ecosystem in San Diego. He runs the Innovation Center at Sanford Stem Cell Institute, is Scientific Director at the Sanford Consortium, Chief Scientist at the Sanford labs for Innovative Medicines, and Director of UC San Diego's Center for RNA Technologies and Therapeutics.

We usually reserve the word “wicked” for the worst things in life. But at Radford University, being a wicked student is a badge of honor. Every year, Paige Tan and Meg Konkel help students come up with creative solutions to life's messiest problems for the Wicked Festival. And: What if you could get 500 dollars for free? Only catch is, you have put it toward something that does good - something that leaves a positive impact. How would you spend the money? That's the challenge Chris Tweedt brought to his business ethics students. Later in the Show: From the long list of expenses to endless paperwork, starting a business can be a headache. That's where Norfolk State's Innovation Center comes in. Established in 2019, Akosua Acheamponmaa says the Innovation Center is all about helping early entrepreneurs in underserved communities make their business dreams come true. Plus: When Meg Michelsen was a kid, she used to collect fragrance samples from department stores and magazines. Now she studies sensory marketing, focusing on how brand names and product scents influence our buying habits.

California homeowners face a complex puzzle in decarbonizing their homes: electrification without rooftop solar could increase bills due to expensive electricity, while installing solar first risks oversizing or underutilizing the system. Balto Energy, a startup founded by James Quazi, uses AI to analyze utility bills and recommend the most cost-effective clean energy strategy. In this episode, we discuss Balto's tool, its potential to empower contractors, and what California's situation reveals about the future of clean energy policy nationwide.(PDF transcript)(Active transcript)Text transcript:David RobertsHello everyone. This is Volts for September 13, 2024, "A tool that enables solar first home electrification." I'm your host, David Roberts. Californians who want to decarbonize their homes face something of a conundrum. If they electrify their cars and appliances without getting rooftop solar, they could end up paying higher overall bills thanks to California's notoriously expensive electricity and cheap natural gas. If they install rooftop solar before electrifying their cars and appliances, they could either undersize the system for their eventual needs or oversize it and over-produce and export solar power to the California grid. Thanks to California's recent NEM 3.0 decision on rooftop solar compensation, utilities pay much less for that exported rooftop solar power than they used to.The most economical strategy for most homeowners is likely to be some mix of electrification, batteries, and rooftop solar. The more a California homeowner stores and consumes their own cheap rooftop solar power, the more value they get out of that solar and the lower their total bills. It is a complex calculation, though, that most homeowners are in no position to make. That's where the startup Balto Energy comes in. Founder James Quazi, a longtime energy modeler and entrepreneur, has built a tool that can use a home's utility bills to create a model of its consumption patterns, predict what they will be as appliances are electrified, and recommend the maximally economical approach.It's part of a larger effort to help contractors and solar companies navigate a post-net-metering world. I'm excited to talk to Quazi about why his tool is needed and how it works, how it will empower contractors, and what California's present says about the future of clean energy policy in the rest of the country.With no further ado, James Quazi, welcome to Volts. Thank you so much for coming.James QuaziThank you for having me. That was a great intro.David RobertsThanks. So, you know, I sort of went over it a little quickly in the intro there. But let's talk a little bit about this conundrum for Californians who are trying to decarbonize. So, just by background — I don't even know if everyone's been following the California rooftop solar wars, I kind of assume everybody has — but just by way of background, California recently basically issued a new policy on rooftop solar, and the long and short of it is that they're going to compensate homeowners much less. It used to be that basically you could get paid the retail rate for your excess solar, and now they're just going to pay much, much less than that.On the surface, this really damages the economical case for solar for homeowners, they'll get compensated much less. This has resulted in a huge blow to the solar industry in California. There are solar companies shutting down, jobs being lost, etcetera, etcetera. So, talk a little bit about the conundrum and how you think about solving it.James QuaziYeah, so about a year ago, the net energy metering policy in California changed from NEM 2.0 to NEM 3.0, now called Net Billing Tariff. The difference is, as you mentioned, that now customers get paid on a schedule. Each hour per year is a different rate. But generally, you can think of it as between like $0.05 and $0.08 for exported energy, while imported energy for me in San Diego is between $0.38 and $0.52 an hour. So it degrades the value proposition for residential solar for a homeowner. For contractors, it's also proven really difficult. So in the past, it was really easy to have rule of thumb sizing or heuristics, or if you took annual energy over the last twelve months and you designed a system that produced around that same amount of energy, it was generally going to be a good value proposition for the homeowner.But now, what you need to understand is, like, how much of that solar production is actually coincident with the load on the house, because the export of energy is devalued.David RobertsRight. So, the economics now have shifted to make it so that, I mean, maybe this was true already, but more true now that the ideal thing for Californians with rooftop solar to do is to consume as much of the generated power as conceivably possible.James QuaziThat's absolutely correct. So, if you can think of it as, and I'm sure your listeners are familiar with the terminology, like LCOE. So, the cost of solar, residential rooftop solar, is somewhere between, let's say, $0.10 and $0.12 a kilowatt-hour to produce, whereas the retail rate is much higher depending on the IOU that you're a part of. To the extent that you can consume cheap on-site electricity, you are hugely benefited as a customer.David RobertsRight. So then the question becomes, well, there's a bunch of different ways of approaching this question, but from this sort of like, if I'm trying to sell solar, right, I need a little bit of a new pitch, right? Because before, with full retail compensation, it's kind of a no-brainer, you could make a lot of money, but now you can make a lot less money. So this changes the value proposition for solar. So, explain exactly how the sort of calculation shifts.James QuaziSure, I would actually reframe it a little bit in terms of, like, I believe so in the previous net metering paradigm. We often saw simple solar paybacks in the five to seven years. I believe that those paybacks are still available to homeowners, but it's just a different set of products and services than simply rooftop solar on the roof. So, I think our goal is to help retool the solar industries, to help look at a house as a whole, maybe converting a lot of the energy on site that we previously ignored, whether that's natural gas or gasoline, and then power that all with cheap onsite renewables, and that will drive the value proposition for that homeowner.David RobertsRight. It's still worthwhile getting solar, even maybe still a comparable payoff period, but a different approach. And basically, it's going to be a little bit more of a complicated approach. Right? Like, it's one thing just to stick solar on the roof. Like, how much energy do I use, let's stick that much solar on the roof. Pretty easy. Once you bring in the whole home, just the combinatorial, you know what I mean? Just the calculations get a lot more complicated.James QuaziFor sure. So, like, I think in two respects. One, it's more complicated for the contractor to feel confident in the system that they're proposing and the financial outcome for the homeowner. And then two, from a homeowner's perspective, it's more complicated to understand and digest and comprehend a suite of services that might include solar and a battery and a heat pump and an EV, than it is simply like panels on a roof. Our goal at Balto Energy is to sort of do the modeling and ingest the complexity and then deliver it in a way that's consumable for both a contractor and a homeowner.David RobertsRight. So, talk briefly about what your tool does. What is the outcome supposed to be? What is it trying to accomplish?James QuaziYeah, so our perspective on it is that oftentimes in the past, if you asked for a solar quote, you would get maybe one option, two options, or three options, max. Really, like, if I take my own house as an example, so I live in San Diego, I can fit up to 30 panels on the roof, which is constrained by roof geometry, area shading, what have you. So let's call it maybe 20 to 30 different flavors of solar systems that I could possibly engage in. If I layer on batteries, I could have 1, 2, 3, 4 batteries. And then EVs, one or two EVs, and heat pump or not heat pump, water heater or not water heater.And our first step in the process is to ingest an address and then interval bill data. So, we need hourly electric reads and daily gas.David RobertsAnd that, just to be clear, this is the sort of raw information that's going into the model?James QuaziYeah, that's correct.David RobertsIt's utility bills. And this, these are available from the utility. There's no, it's not difficult to get this information.James QuaziSomewhat loaded question. It should be available. I just finished listening to your podcast on "Free the energy data." I have —David RobertsThat's why I ask. I'm wondering how straightforward it is to get the raw data that you need.James QuaziI would say that having been in this industry for 20 years, it's much easier now than it has ever been before. That being the case, there are still hurdles. There's a lot of missing intervals. There's patchwork to be done. There are services that provide synthetic intervals. It's not as clean of a dataset as I would ideally like, but it's generally like the authorization, and there are a couple of third-party companies now that do it and are making it easier.David RobertsIs it notably easier in California than it is in other states? Different in California than in other states? Or is this just a utility by utility thing across the country?James QuaziOur focus is in California right now. So, I have the most depth and experience there for this problem. Even within California and the IOUs, it is utility by utility.David RobertsSo are you restricted geographically where you can sell your product based on the utilities, whether you can get these to utility information or not?James QuaziOur position is that to accurately model a home's energy use and consumption profiles, you need two things. One is you need a physics-based model of the building, and then you need to be able to calibrate that with what is actually happening in the home. I've done a lot of energy modeling, auditing, that sort of thing. I think the one definitive thing that I've learned is that the best site observed data is actually bills. It will help you ferret out how people use their home, what their preferences are, and is actually the ground truth data.So, our position as a company is because we want to be able to confidently project — like, let's say if I converted a gas furnace to a heat pump, and I want to know on an hourly basis, what is the energy input to that system. To do that accurately, I believe that you need interval data.David RobertsSo you are in some sense beholden to utilities here or dependent on utilities to be forthcoming?James QuaziYeah, I think, unfortunately. And then to "Free the energy data" podcast. Yes, this is true, and it is being in some ways held hostage, and that's not great for the industry. I would say that our success rate right now is like, it's significant enough that we see this as somewhat of a hurdle, but not a deal breaker.David RobertsRight, right. So, I mean, getting utility bills seems straightforward enough. You just ask the homeowner and they give them to you. But when you say a physics-based model of the house, you have to go do that in person. Can you construct that from publicly available data?James QuaziYes, you can. We've done this in several iterations in the past. So, the background engine that does this is an NREL product called EnergyPlus. And it has, let's say, a full set of data requirements, which you can imagine has a lot of physical attributes of the specific house. And what we do ourselves and through partners, is comb, let's say, permit record databases and MLS listings. And we can get close enough with that set of information to build the first model. And then it's really, in comparing that model to the billing data, what's actually happening on an hourly basis, that allows us to calibrate it.David RobertsInteresting. So, you don't have to do a site visit to do any of this, really. You could theoretically do all of this modeling remotely?James QuaziYep. Everything like roof geometry, shading, building modeling, tariff engines, all the things that are sort of the processes to get to an output, can be done remotely.David RobertsAll right. And so, you put all this information into the model, and then what is the model supposed to do? And here's a question I had also: Am I the homeowner, interacting with this model in any way, or is the model a tool for contractors?James QuaziOur plan, at the very start, we're working with a set of contractors, and we're in Napa and Sonoma to start, most notably Northern Pacific. Our plan is to deliver a tool to a solar contractor that they can use to propose a wide range of solutions that a homeowner might want. I think that this will become a customer-facing tool or exploratory tool in the future, but we are definitely starting with solar contractors.David RobertsInteresting. Yeah, because one of the questions I had about this is just that I'm sure I'm not telling you anything as someone who's worked in energy for a long time, but just like, people are pretty lazy, and the way people make decisions about appliances and stuff like that is generally to ignore it until it breaks and then go to Home Depot. So, like this comprehensive, long-term, holistic planning, I'm just like, wondering, like, how many homeowners are really that committed?James QuaziSo, let me give you an idea of, like, what the output of the tool is, then where I see this going. So, you know, back to my house, 30 panels, batteries, EV's, all the things. What we want to do is expand the solution set for all possible outcomes for that house. So, if I permutate those things, it ends up being a set of maybe like a couple hundred to a thousand different individual pathways. It could be 28 panels —David RobertsAnd these are like mixes of the number of panels, the number of batteries, what kind of appliances, that kind of thing.James QuaziThat's absolutely correct. And then what we've created is sort of a decision-making framework that allows you to search that space for the thing that's right for you. At first, contextualized in one of three goal seeks. So the first one being a very standard solar approach, which is "Deliver me the best financial outcome." The second one, which we're seeing a sort of increasing adoption around, is like, "Yeah, I want a great financial outcome, but I also want to power this set of critical loads or my entire house through an outage of this duration. And I'm not cost-sensitive around that."So, like, if I need to add a battery or two batteries and it provides that service, that's fine. And then the third one is a sort of immersion. Ten years ago, when I was in the solar industry, it was like there was a time when we thought we had to deliver day one savings to get adoption. And it turned out there was a segment of the population, mostly retirees or people that were about to retire, who, let's say, had a $150 utility bill. And they're like, "You know, saving money isn't as important to me as, you know, I experienced the grid cost is volatile, but always volatile in the upward direction.And if you are going to put on the system and it has a 20-year lifespan, can you lock in this $150 for 20 years? And I don't experience any increase in costs." So those are starting points. I will say that I think there's more out there. So, there are a segment of customers that could be interested in just like the environmental outcome, and there's ways to calculate that based on grid dynamics. That's where we're starting, and I think we'll kind of learn our way into the solution.David RobertsRight, so you can tweak the model depending on what your goals are, depending on what your aims are. And I guess one of the questions I had about it is, like, in California at least, grid electricity is so expensive and natural gas is so cheap, and solar compensation is now so low, that it seems like the most economical outcome for homeowners is always going to be to electrify all your appliances and put a bunch of rooftop solar to power your appliances. It seems like that's always going to be the cheapest outcome, is it not? And that's also always going to be the most environmentally preferable outcome, right?Because it's zero carbon. In other words, what if I, as a contractor, just came to you and said, "Look, I can do all these complicated calculations, but trust me, you want to electrify all your appliances and put rooftop solar on your roof. That's what it's going to end up showing you." Does it ever show otherwise?James QuaziSo, if we were to implement generalized or rules of thumb, I think that would be a good one. What I have seen is there are time when your're roof constrained, so you might not have the roof capacity to power all the things, and then you'd want to make better decisions. To the extent that you have vast plains of south-facing, west-facing roof area, we want to make sure that we're installing the right amount of solar and batteries. So, I think that there's an optimization problem there. But, I think you're right in the sense that to the extent that you can self-consume a ton of energy that you generated on-site, that will be the best outcome for you.David RobertsSo then, if I'm a homeowner and I run this model, or a contractor comes to me and runs this model, and the outcome of the model is the most economical approach for you, the homeowner, is to buy a heat pump, buy a heat pump water heater, buy an induction stove, et cetera, buy a bunch of batteries and put a bunch of rooftop solar on the roof. On the one hand, I might believe, I might find it perfectly plausible that that is the end state that will yield the lowest ongoing operating costs for my house. But on the other hand, that's a daunting upfront investment. Do you know what I mean?In a sense, if I'm a homeowner and a contractor comes to me, he's like, "I'm selling solar. And by the way, I have this fancy tool that shows me that you also need to buy a bunch of other stuff from me." I guess I'm just a little suspicious.James QuaziI think the intent of the tool is to allow a homeowner to make the best decision for them. To the extent that the best decision is, in fact, a larger PV system, more batteries, maybe a heat pump, and all of those things in aggregate end up being expensive directionally , but have great payback. I think that hits on like sort of the second vein of Balto. So the first is like, how do we create a decision framework and compute engine to give you the scenarios and help you make a decision? Once you've made a decision —David RobertsWill the model also crank out a preferred order of operations for that? You know what I mean? Not just like an end state that would be best, but like, what steps in what order are economical?James QuaziThis is getting back to the solar-led electrification vision for this. Our position is that solar and storage should lead always , and we should be building 20 or 25-year products for the future energy consumption. The tool is there to say, can we share a vision of the future and what applies and things you'll be engaged in, whether that's EVs or heat pumps or whatever. Once we have that, can we build 25-year renewable infrastructure on site to support those things over time? We think that there are interesting ways. And I'll touch on the financing in a little bit about how to transact this and make it consistent.David RobertsYeah, I want to get to the financing in a minute, but before I leave this question. So, why always solar and batteries first? Or put it this way, why shouldn't I put a little bit of solar and batteries on, enough to power my current appliances? And then, you know, when I switch out my furnace for a heat pump, just stick a couple more solar panels on the roof. Why not do it incrementally like that?James QuaziYes, I myself have a background, and then we've got some deep partnerships with contractors. They are not a fan of that approach for a number of reasons. One is if I take a five-kilowatt system and then I append a three-kilowatt system on later, that is not the cost of an eight-kilowatt system. It's much more costly.David RobertsBecause just coming out to the site again and all—James QuaziRedesign, permitting. Yeah, all the things. And then separately, depending on the time lag between system one and system two, there are at times, compatibility issues with modules that make it more difficult. I think solar's gotten inexpensive enough where if you were going to engage in one of maybe the three big electrification projects, which would be EV, heat pump, heat pump water heater, I mean, you should be sizing for at bare minimum that. And I would argue for the whole thing if that's what you intend to do, on day one. And then if you're doing other things, let's say that have a more de minimis impact on your meter or your electrical consumption, like a stove, then maybe it's fine to wait.But to the extent that, like, you're considering solar and storage and one of the other things, I think it makes a lot of sense to size appropriately for future loads.David RobertsSo, you would say to any homeowner contemplating solar that the financially smartest thing to do is to size a system for your projected total need in the future, not your current need.James QuaziYeah, no, I feel strongly that that is the case. I will take myself as an example again. I have an EV. I am considering a heat pump. I have a tankless hot water heater that is in a closet and is not easily replaceable with a heat pump water heater given form factor. But given those things, I did size the PV to the anticipated heat pump. Even if that doesn't happen on day one, it might happen on year one, three, five, or seven, right?David RobertsSo, are you not then, while you have the solar that's oversized for your current needs, are you not sort of financially losing out in the interim, in the meantime?James QuaziSo, I think that again, the export value for solar today directionally is much lower. So, there is some value, it's not a lot. I would categorize it as you're not optimizing the system today.David RobertsSuboptimal, then let's see.James QuaziBut I think that what you're really doing is putting together the infrastructure to adopt more products in the future.David RobertsRight. A contractor comes to me as a homeowner, says, "Let's look at how much solar you will need once you've electrified your home," basically, and install that amount. Do you envision these same contractors who are trying to sell solar, selling these other things to homeowners as well? Sort of like offering, like moving beyond solar to offer kind of total home electrification packages type of things.James QuaziI think there's going to be a couple of different flavors, and we'll see what sorts out. In San Diego, one of the biggest residential installers actually has historically had a heat pump division of their company. That's probably not the norm. I do see a lot of solar installers — I mean, certainly, a solar installer is now installing storage by default. A lot of them install EV chargers. I've seen some interest in heat pump water heaters as the installation is quite a bit easier than heat pumps, HVAC. So, I think that we'll see some adoption of product over time.I do believe that the heat pump is probably the one thing that is a set of expertise that is probably different than what solar providers have in-house. What they can do, and we anticipate doing, is a lot of pre-wiring work. It's taken as an industry axiom that HVAC products get replaced when they break. To the extent that that infrastructure, whether it's a 240 circuit to the existing furnace location, is not in place, it's very likely that the existing thing gets replaced with something very similar, and then we're locked into this pattern for 15 years.So, we're very interested in, again, sizing appropriately, but then also doing some of the pre-work that allows these things to be adopted.David RobertsTrey, interesting. And so, from your perspective, you're going to put the tool in the hands of contractors, and then to some extent, the contractors are going to figure out exactly how best to use it and what kind of packages to offer and stuff like that. Is Balto out being a contractor, like running this, interacting with homeowners?James QuaziNo, we are not. So, what we're doing is providing a toolset, which is computational tools, finance tools that allow existing contractors today to be more effective.David RobertsGot it. And so, talk about the financial side of this. So, I'm guessing I'm borderline illiterate when it comes to money issues. But I'm guessing that part of the promise of this is that if you can more accurately and reliably project future energy needs in a home, you're going to have an easier time financing the sort of oversized solar system that you want in anticipation of those loads. Is that right? Part of this is like giving confidence to financial institutions to finance these things, right?James QuaziYeah, that's exactly right. So, I would say that the first step is having a shared vision of what the future of this home looks like. So, what are the appliances that are on the list and off the list? EVs, whatever the case is. And then, from past learnings at Solar City and Dandelion, really what you have to do is package it in a way that people can experience the savings at the same rate as they chunk off the capital cost of these projects. And then, in terms of energy savings over time and confidence, I think the goal there is, and we could think of it as if you were getting a loan.One factor in the loan might be your debt-to-income ratio. How much debt do you have, and can you actually service this loan over time? And our position is, to the extent that these suite of products actually lowers your obligations to pay, so your utility bills, that should be factored into any financial product as well. Does that make sense?David RobertsYeah. So, it's almost like future income increases, almost like.James QuaziYeah, so if I had, like, if my obligations to pay a loan provider were $1,000 a month, just randomly, and I made x amount of income, if the obligation was less, if it was $500 a month, given all these energy savings, I would have a greater ability to pay back that loan, and that should be factored in.David RobertsOh, I see, I see. So, is the idea here just for this tool you've created to give confidence to homeowners who are going to banks and stuff, or are you getting in the finance game at all?James QuaziOur intention is to provide the financing for it as well. I mean, like, I think any time we're trying to make the process as seamless as possible. So, it's sort of like a one-stop shop in terms of assessing what's right, what's the best fit for you in terms of these projects, and then packaging it in a way that — we're hoping it incentivizes people to do more sooner, but to the extent that they want to do things over time, it is also like a flexible facility that allows you to adopt a heat pump water heater in year three, if that's what you want.David RobertsSo the contractors are the ones offering the homeowners this sort of financing package?James QuaziYep, that's correct.David RobertsRight. And the contractors are able to do it because they have this information from your tool that gives them confidence?James QuaziHand in glove.David RobertsRight. So, just having gone over all this, let's rewind and just imagine I'm a homeowner, and a contractor knocks on my door. What do you envision the contractor sort of like, what is the homeowner facing pitch from the contractor? Because there's a lot of complicated stuff going on behind the scenes for the contractor. What is the homeowner hearing? What is the pitch to the homeowner?James QuaziYeah, we see it as a stepwise process. So, because our go-to market is through solar contractors, the first step is to say, if I were any other solar contractor, and you called me for a solar and potentially storage system, what I would have done is looked at your current electrical bills and size the system this way, and this is what... "You want a five kilowatt solar array and one battery, 110 kilowatt hour battery." The next step is to say, "Hey, listen, we're actually in that world. We're only looking at one of probably three silos of energy that you're using."So, we're ignoring the natural gas side of the bill. We're ignoring everything that's happening at the pump. But, if we look at your energy spend holistically, here are a suite of options that are available to you. And this is the differential sort of financial outcome versus just a solar system, versus, like, resiliency versus bill stability kind of thing.David RobertsSo, the idea here is, I go to the contractor and say, "Hey, I've been thinking about solar and battery," and the contractor says to me, "Well, hey, what about this larger package? You could have even bigger savings, and you could have resilience," and stuff like this. So, it's a little bit like an upsell for a contractor.James QuaziYeah, I mean, I would think of it as like, being able to more holistically address energy spend. Like, that's our goal, is to say, "It's not just one flavor that we're dealing with. We're looking at the entire house and things, and we want the best solution for you."David RobertsIt makes me wonder how long it will be before homeowners think that way, or if they ever will. Because homeowners just think of products as separate products. I don't know that a lot of homeowners, especially outside our world, even sort of think of the home as a system, right? With certain energetic inputs and outputs that should be dealt with as a holistic system. Like, that's just — I'm not even sure homeowners are at all accustomed to thinking that way.James QuaziI wonder if I myself am, like, blinded by sort of a friend group or whatever the case is. But I would say that, like, I don't know of a lot of people that aren't at least considering an EV, right? Even if they're not, like, actively join in. But it's like, "Hey, listen, this is actually a real option." I don't think that heat pumps are very far behind that curve. It's interesting, like when people, like historically, when people inquire about solar, we often times have thought of that as they want bill savings. But I am not entirely sure that that is the reason.David RobertsDo we know? Have we done surveys and polls? I'm so curious. I would also assume, just out of a sort of, I guess, a low, like a background degree of cynicism, that that's going to be the dominant motivation. But is it? Like, I don't feel confident about that at all.James QuaziWell, I don't either. My belief is that bill savings are part of a decision-making process, but probably very rarely the primary driver. And that is the thing. And even if you look at, like, the funnel conversion metrics of, like, the solar industry as a whole, it's just like, for every hundred people that inquire, single-digit people actually do the things. And our perspective is like, you know, they're getting stuck somewhere in the process. And it's oftentimes with questions that cannot be answered, and that's when they stall out. And that is our reason for expanding the set to everything that's possible in your home and letting you search that, because we think we'll figure out what are the motivations. I think that there's a strong cohort of people that are just anti-utility.David RobertsThat's a piece of it. There's an environmental piece of it. There's a sort of independence, anti-utility piece of it. There's a vague mix. There's just social contagion, there's just peer pressure. You see it around you. It's the whole stew of motivations. I'd love to understand that better. So, I mean, it kind of seems like what you'd want is for your tool to be in the hands of everybody involved in any of those products. Do you know what I mean? Like, if I want an EV and I go to the car dealership, you know, it'd be cool if the car dealer could say to me, "Hey, you know, save even more money if you threw in a heat pump with this and a solar panel."You know, like if, or the heat pump, people are like, "Hey, throw in an EV and solar panels." Like, it'd be nice if homeowners confronted the idea of total electrification everywhere they looked, right? I mean, that'd be ideal.James QuaziYeah, 100%. I really think that's the vision, and that's where we're going. I think the entry point into a lot of this stuff will be varied. Like, it will be through an EV at the start, or a broken furnace that gets replaced by a heat pump or whatever the case is. I think our goal is to engage homeowners in a way where we have a persistent bill connection. I think that this is why that episode resonated so much with me. If we have an address and a persistent daily, hourly, monthly, whatever the case is, bill connection, you can drive insights over time to a homeowner at very meaningful times to intercept them.Right now, I think this business, like solar in general, is very transactional. We think of it as like, we get leads in the top of the funnel, we set them at this rate, we convert them at this rate, we install them. It's a 30% gross margin, and then that's the end. Whereas, I don't believe that that's the way the products will be adopted and people will have to, I mean, internally we call it energy literacy. Like, how do I start to understand the problem and the solutions?David RobertsRight. So, in the same way, you sort of have a financial advisor, you could have like a home advisor, basically. A home energy advisor.James QuaziAnd we also think it's got to be low impact, so it can't be like, "Hey, you've got to go do this detailed sort of appliance audit or whatever the case is." So it's bills and address, and then, you know, this is a great state of change problem where utility rates are constantly changing, prices of products are changing, incentives are changing, and there's always a chance to message. I very viscerally feel this in the sense that, like, when I took four years off and then reengaged with the industry, I was like, "Wow, we like, crossed the threshold, like, the point of no return, where electrification now makes sense for everyone," and I had missed it, and this is the only thing I'd ever done.David RobertsYeah, I mean, it's moving so quickly. I will say, though, one thing I hear from, you know, and there's been articles written about this. It's just like, it's all out there from people who have tried to do this total electrification thing. It's just incredibly difficult, just incredibly difficult to synchronize everything and arrange everything. And so, in that context, the idea of having a kind of home advisor where, like, your hot water heater breaks and you just call your home advisor, you figure out, like, what's the right approach here, what's the economical approach, where to look, what kind of thing to get?A lot of people would very much welcome having one of those, I feel like.James QuaziAnd I think that this speaks to the general funnel conversion in the industry, but generally, a lead comes in, and then what we're trying to do is furiously convert them to a sale and install as quickly as possible, hopefully within 30 days, hopefully in one set. And I just don't believe that that's the way that people will consume products. It will be through a bunch of different experiences over time. And I think that's a meaningful difference. Like, you know, we're in such a rush to do all the things. Like, I'm in a rush to do all the things at once, but I think we have to also meet people where they are and, like, engage them in some way over time so they can make a decision, so they can make another decision.David RobertsI hope it changes because, honestly, like, you know, I've thought about solar. Ten years ago, we did one of those sort of, like, online audit things, and it was like, "No, you're too shaded." But I think it's just changed since then. Uh, just like, what's possible. But, like, I know that if I got a solar contractor and sat down at a table with that person, that they would just be sweaty and desperate, you know what I mean? To sell me just like it, exactly like I feel at the auto dealership, which is just like, "Ew," kind of uncomfortable, you know what I mean?And rushed and don't feel like I have a full sense of all the pieces in play, and that I can't trust the person I'm talking to, to help me out, you know what I mean? I'm sort of, like, adversarial. I hate that whole model, you know what I mean? And just like, I would be, I don't know how representative I am, but I'd be inclined to spend more money if I just had a person who was like, had the big picture, had the model, had the data in hand, said, "You know, like whenever you're ready, this is the right first step."Just like a better environment for homeowners to deal with these things and think about these things.James QuaziYeah, no, I get it. I feel very similarly. I totally understand from the other perspective, like solar sales reps are expensive and they're hired to do one thing. I just don't know that it's the way that most people want to adopt the things.David RobertsYeah, I can't believe that it's going to go to truly, truly mass penetration running on this model. It's going to have to evolve into something else. As we near the end here, let's pull the camera back a little bit and talk about the Agile Electrification project. My understanding basically is that the NEM 3.0 decision in California threw the solar contracting world into a bit of a tizzy. And there are efforts now to organize and figure out how to move forward and how to help contractors and what the right approach for contractors is in this new world.So, tell us a little bit about what the Agile Electrification project is.James QuaziIt is an industry-sponsored project that's hosted at the Design and Innovation Center at UCSD. The genesis of it was a lot of, quite honestly, hammering around NEM 3.0. It was like if you read Canary or any of these publications, a lot of it is doom and gloom. This industry is down 70%.David RobertsYeah, there's a lot of "sky is falling" sentiment flying around.James QuaziYeah, I think there have been. And you know, a lot of people are like, "Hey, listen, a lot of the bad actors are going to get flushed out with this," which I believe. I also believe a lot of some good actors will go out of business. So this is like a real issue. In times of turmoil, there's oftentimes opportunity and there's a group of people, contractors, manufacturers, investors, who have come together in this venue where sometimes it would be competitive or driven by business interests and they're coming together to solve problems for the industry. So right now it's a series of three projects to expand from there.One is like energy modeling for the entire state of California. It's something that everyone needs. We want to do it and open source it. Another one that we touched on earlier is understanding customer motivations and understanding where they got stuck and how to unstick them, because our general sense is they want to save money. And I don't know if that's the primary motivation. And then the third one is around incentives and rebates and how to, like, it's a constantly evolving landscape and just staying on top of it is like a challenge and maybe a full-time job.So, it's how to open-source that aspect of it, and how to qualify people for rebates and make sure that they're up to date, make sure they're not over-allocated, and deliver that information to the people on the ground that are actually installing the systems.David RobertsRight. And so, I'm stuck on this point. I just wanted to reiterate one more time. So, it's your belief that, because I think this sort of popular belief is that the NEM 3.0 decision has radically reduced homeowner incentives to get solar power, that it's just not as worth it anymore to get solar power. What you're saying is, with the right holistic approach, solar power is as valuable as ever and just as worth getting as ever. Is that your position?James QuaziThat is my position, yes.David RobertsDo you think that that is widely, like solar contractors believe that, or are you having to sort of buck them up and convince them of that?James QuaziWell, I think we're in a stage right now where, I mean, we set up the simplest possible website, have done very little marketing. We've had directionally 75 to 100 contractors sign up and say they're interested. I believe that the contractors are looking for solutions. For sure. That is definitively true. I think they should believe this because it is true that there is a great value proposition in homeowners. I think the issue here, maybe the persistent issue that's undeniable, is that it's more complex. Describing the value proposition has become more complex. For sure. There's no way around that.So, we're trying to find ways to — I mean, the back-end compute engine is great. The real challenge is finding ways to deliver that information to customers in a way that's actionable.David RobertsFor sure. Final question then. A lot of this seems very Californian. The fears and the solutions and all of it seems sort of very customized to California's current circumstances. How applicable is all of this, do you think, outside of California? Would your model be helpful to a homeowner in, I don't know, like Arkansas?James QuaziYeah. So, I would take it in two flavors. One is, I think there's the expectation, for good reason, that these policies in California will get exported to other states. So, it will become hugely relevant soon.David RobertsYou mean rooftop solar compensation getting cut way back? It's already happened in a couple of other states. I mean, it's definitely a trend.James QuaziYeah. So, that's true. NEM 3.0, or like the difference between export energy valuation and import and parity, does not have to be true for this general value proposition to hold true. So, to that extent, I would say that it's portable anywhere. We chose to start in California because it is by far the biggest solar market. It accounts for about 50% of solar and there was a demonstrated need. I will say that it's a very complex problem to solve and it has geographic sides to it. So, as you move location, utilities change and their tariffs change and the way that they charge and weather changes.David RobertsThe information they make available.James QuaziExactly, exactly. So, we've tactically started it in California for those reasons and constrained it. But there's no reason why this shouldn't be applicable to, like, any other place.David RobertsRight. It's sort of interesting. The big fear, or I guess the thing that solar people used to say to utilities when warning them away from NEM 3.0, is like, "Look, if you cut compensation too much, we're just going to self-consume and then install more electric appliances and then slowly wean ourselves off the grid and then not need the grid anymore. And then you're losing customers." The much-fabled death spiral. It seems like you're organizing to make that real, to make that happen.James QuaziI have some thoughts on this. I really do think, and I don't know the answer, but at some point down the road, we're going to have a fork. That fork will be either we find a way to use essentially distribution resources to cooperate, and I think that is the best societal outcome, or we find that we can't cooperate and everyone has to be their own, like a little micro picogrid, and that we have to build the infrastructure to do it. And, you know, I think that it's probably more likely that that's going to happen, which is unfortunate, but I do think that, as always, the affluent will serve themselves first and make good decisions and the rest of the costs will be pushed on to everyone else. And actually, in my heart of hearts, what I think will happen is we'll find a way to cooperate, but only after we've sort of incurred a huge amount of pain.David RobertsThat sounds like the American approach that I know and love. We'll stumble through some disasters and then eventually get our act together.James QuaziYeah, you end up doing the right thing when you're forced to. So, I think that that's the way I see it happening.David RobertsAll right, well, cool. James, this is really interesting. I've been meaning to look into solar in California, how they're dealing with all this. And this is a really interesting approach. I mean, it's never funny. Until I sort of read about this, it never occurred to me, even though it's really obvious, that like, of course, electrifying your appliances and getting your battery and getting your solar panels are — that's like the same thing. You know what I mean? Like, that's all one. That's all one thing. Like I said, it's like a switch that kind of flips in your mind.You're like, "Oh, like, it's a holistic system." It would be interesting to try to train homeowners to think that way more. Thank you so much, James. Thanks for taking the time.James QuaziThank you. Appreciate it.David RobertsThank you for listening to Volts. It takes a village to make this podcast work. Shout out, especially to my super producer, Kyle McDonald, who makes my guests and I sound smart every week. And it is all supported entirely by listeners like you. So, if you value conversations like this, please consider joining our community of paid subscribers at volts.wtf. Or, leaving a nice review or telling a friend about Volts, or all three. Thanks so much, and I'll see you next time. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

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This week, we're continuing our mini-series with Little Green Light about how your nonprofit obtain and retain event sponsors for your fundraising events. Then we chat with Karen Boyd from the San Diego Policy and Innovation Center about how nonprofits can engage with AI tools, and set boundaries for using tools that were created using DEI best practices. In this episode, we mention a few resources you may want to check out! — Find Little Green Light's Free Resources: www.littlegreenlight.com/jenni — Karen's website: drkarenboyd.com — San Diego Policy and Innovation Center: sdrpic.org — Get my once-per-week email newsletter: nonprofitjenni.com/subscribe   Produced by Ben Hill Sound Music by Emily Summers ©2024 Nonprofit Jenni. All Rights Reserved.

In this episode, Monica Vajani at mHUB and Duane Mancini discuss her background at Abbott and Medtronic, carrying the bag, early adopters vs. laggers, mHUB, the next cohort of companies for their medtech accelerator, and so much more. Monica Vajani LinkedIn mHub Medtech Accelerator Application mHub LinkedIn mHub Website Duane Mancini LinkedIn Project Medtech LinkedIn Project Medtech Website

In Episode 29, “Empowering Communities: The Impact of Workforce Development with Deborah Foster and Britney McClung”, Houston Blackwood joins Career Coach and Coordinator of Career Programs from Jefferson State Community College's Workforce Development Team for a vibrant conversation surrounding workforce development and education.   Hear Deborah and Britney share their respective journeys to Jeff State and how their experiences tie into their roles within workforce education. Discover insights into the innovative initiatives and strategic efforts driving workforce development at Jefferson State forward. From managing a diverse range of programs across multiple campuses to fostering partnerships with K12 schools, they delve into the challenges and triumphs of preparing students for the evolving demands of today's workforce.   Tune in as they discuss the impact of Skills for Success courses through the Innovation Center and their commitment to empower communities and help students through education. Join us as we explore the transformative journey of workforce development! 

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: AEBr 2024 Summit Retrospective, published by Leo Arruda on August 7, 2024 on The Effective Altruism Forum. [Versão em português abaixo] This retrospective provides an overview of the AEBr 2024 Summit, highlighting successes and areas for improvement. We welcome your feedback and comments to help enhance future EA Brazil conferences. Bottom Line Up Front The AEBr Summit 2024 was a success. It had 220 attendees who felt welcome and satisfied, generating around 850 connections at a cost of $45.45 per attendee. Date: June 29, 2024 Venue: INOVA.USP, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. The first Brazilian national EA conference ~220 people attended (62% were new to EA) 36 speakers 24 sessions including talks, panels, meetups, and office hours 5 organizations represented at the Career fair Feedback survey results: A 9,1/10 likelihood to recommend score An average of 6,1 new connections per person Photos and video! The AEBr Summit Overview The AEBr Summit took place on June 29, 2024, at the University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. It was EA Brazil's first national meeting, with contributions from numerous experts and organizations aligned with Effective Altruism, primarily from the animal cause sector ( Sinergia animal, Animal Equality, Forum Animal, Mercy for Animals, Sea Shepherd and Sociedade Vegetariana Brasileira), as well as health and development organizations like Doebem, Associação Brasileira de Psicólogos Baseadas em Evidências and Impulso Gov. The primary goal was to expand and strengthen the Brazilian EA community by inviting both newcomers and experienced members to join together for a day of inspiring talks, workshops, and networking. The event was funded by the Centre for Effective Altruism and supported by the Innovation Center of the University of São Paulo ( INOVA USP). Delicious vegan meals were provided by Sociedade Vegetariana Brasileira (SVB), contributing to the event's success. The expectation was to bring together 200 people, so it was an accomplishment to register 255 applicants, with 220 attending, among speakers and volunteers. Highlights The event featured 220 attendees 36 speakers 40 very dedicated volunteers 26 sessions ( event program in Portuguese) 13 talks on the main causes of Effective Altruism. 7 workshops. 4 Q&A sessions with experts. 2 meet ups. 5 organizations represented at the Career fair Event photos and video (many thanks to Ivan Martucci for the professional editing). Based on the feedback responses from 60 attendees (27%): Average participant satisfaction: 9.2 out of 10 in Likelihood to Recommend. This is higher than the average for EA Global and EAGx. An average of 6,1 new connections per person. This is lower than most EAG and EAGx events, but the event lasted only one day. 46% of connections were considered potentially 'impactful' by the attendees (Note: assessing the impact of connections can be subjective). Team The AEBr Summit core team comprised Juana Maria, Leo Arruda, Ivan Martucci, and Adriana Arauzo. They were supported by Ollie Base and Arthur Malone from the CEA events team. The core team worked remotely except for some site visits. Two members of the team worked together in person in São Paulo during the final week. While remote work was effective, in-person collaboration proved significantly easier, especially since some members didn't know each other well beforehand. In hindsight, it would have been beneficial for the team to meet and work in person earlier, ideally two weeks in advance of the summit rather than just one. There were 40 volunteers divided into various roles: communication, logistics, food and catering, room supervision, speaker liaison, admissions, reception, and community health. Most volunteers were already engaged in the community, but a few were completely new. Special thanks to Ivan...

Part 2 - Host Neville James speaks with the Virgin Islands Energy Office Director Kyle Fleming. The territory will host the 2024 Electric Vehicle Summit, an informative symposium covering all aspects of an exciting transportation revolution. The EV summit, which is presented in partnership with EVNoire, will take place across both University of the Virgin Islands campuses, kicking off on St. Thomas on July 16 at the Innovation Center, and on St. Croix on July 19 at the Great Hall. The 2024 Electric Vehicle Summit is the best place to learn about key aspects of the Virgin Islands' strategy to enhance energy resilience and reduce carbon emissions.  

This episode starts our tour of Colorado foodpreneurs and our guide is Mike Gabel of Colorado State University. Mike runs the Food Innovation Center at the Spur campus, a brand new campus located in downtown Denver. The vision began ten years ago with the idea of creating a campus that would be open to aspiring college students – K through 12th grade – to come and observe a day in the life of a veterinarian, a food scientist or a water conservationist. The three big areas of the campus are food and agriculture, human and animal health and water conservation. The buildings are open to the public and all programs are behind glass so the touring groups get a true behind-the-scenes look at each profession. This was an opportunity for Mike to create a Food Innovation Center closely based on Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center, directed by our host Sarah Masoni. The Spur's FIC contains a commercial kitchen that serves as programming for the public, nutrition classes, events such as chef events, research and development and of course, product development for the foodpreneurs. Also, there are smaller labs; a meat lab and a dairy lab. Sarah Masoni has visited the CSU Spur campus and was incredibly impressed being able to watch veterinary operations in the animal science building and watching people learn to rice horses. Sarah was equally impressed with the architecture of the buildings, especially the water building. There is an historical link; the campus is positioned close to the Denver Stockyards where for a century people have come to buy and sell cattle and the stock show still is in existence. There are around 800,000 people attending this show and provide a perfect audience for Spur exposure to what food technology is being created in Colorado. Saying they “stole the idea from Oregon State”, Mike explains how the FIC utilizes expo events similar to OSU's FIC events to network with makers to extol the virtues of the FIC and tout the impressive list of equipment, mentors, scientists and connections they provide to help the entrepreneur be successful with their dream. Their last expo showcased 19 different makers and different brands that could be sampled and special times set aside for distributors and buyers to mix and mingle. One of the more fascinating future foodpreneurs is McKay, an eleven (or twelve?) year old maker who is learning to balance school life while scaling a product she has been working on for the last couple of years. Launching an official partnership with Naturally Boulder, https://www.naturallyboulder.org/, has been a boon to pushing Spur's mission. Naturally Boulder is an organization with a mission to bring together entrepreneurs, investors, brands, retailers and industry experts to make Colorado the best place to launch and scale natural products. This mutual networking and the ability to offer Spur's huge vault of technical resources to NB's expertise in regulation knowledge has paid great dividends. Spur's campus is as open to the public as possible, and keycard access for the 24-hour entrepreneurs is part of that open policy. Many of the programs are bi-lingual, a reflection of the Spanish-speaking population of the area. And you can't discuss Colorado's famous foods without acknowledging it's number one well-know product. Host Sarah Marshall did the research to discover it's Rocky Mountain Oysters. For the uninitiated, tune in to the interview and find out the answer to this paradox. You can contact Mike at Michael.Gabel@colostate.edu. Find out more about CSU's Spur campus at https://csuspur.org/. Our hosts: Twitter - @sarahmasoni and @spicymarshall, Instagram - @masoniandmarshall.

Fluent Fiction - Hungarian: Burnout and Breakthrough: A Summer Night's Journey to Balance Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.org/burnout-and-breakthrough-a-summer-nights-journey-to-balance Story Transcript:Hu: Forró nyári nap volt.En: It was a hot summer day.Hu: A napfény beáramlott az Innovatív Központ nagy üvegablakain.En: Sunlight streamed through the large glass windows of the Innovation Center.Hu: A levegőt a munka izgalma töltötte meg.En: The air was filled with the excitement of work.Hu: Színes post-it cetlik díszítették a falakat.En: Colorful post-it notes adorned the walls.Hu: Tech kütyük és közösségi munkaterületek mindenhol körülöttük.En: Tech gadgets and coworking spaces surrounded them everywhere.Hu: Gergely, a fiatal vállalkozó, az asztalánál ült.En: Gergely, the young entrepreneur, sat at his desk.Hu: Nyugodt arcát aggodalom futotta át.En: A look of concern crossed his calm face.Hu: Alacsony vérnyomása miatt szédült volt és könnyűnek érezte magát.En: He felt dizzy and lightheaded due to his low blood pressure.Hu: Gergely egész héten keményen dolgozott a bemutatóján.En: Gergely had been working hard on his presentation all week.Hu: Egy hete sem aludt jól.En: He hadn't slept well for a week.Hu: Tudta, hogy ma este János-nap lesz, és az udvaron már készítették a tábortüzet.En: He knew that tonight would be Saint John's Eve, and they were already preparing the bonfire in the yard.Hu: Mégis, a munka most fontosabb volt.En: Yet, work was more important now.Hu: Egy nagy befektető épp a városban volt, és Gergely mindenképpen meg akarta szerezni a támogatását mielőtt távozna.En: A major investor was in town, and Gergely was determined to secure his support before he left.Hu: Ott volt még egy másik dolog: Mariann.En: There was another thing: Mariann.Hu: Mariann volt az egyik kollégája, és Gergely titokban csodálta őt.En: Mariann was one of his colleagues, and Gergely secretly admired her.Hu: Mindig segítőkész és kedves volt vele.En: She was always helpful and kind to him.Hu: Gergely szerette volna megmutatni neki, hogy milyen keményen dolgozik, és talán... talán egyszer elmondhatná neki, mit érez.En: Gergely wanted to show her how hard he was working, and maybe... maybe one day he could tell her how he felt.Hu: Az idő közeledett.En: The time was approaching.Hu: Gergely készült az esti bemutatóra.En: Gergely was preparing for the evening presentation.Hu: De egyre inkább szédült.En: But he felt increasingly dizzy.Hu: Labilis lett volna, hogy pihenjen, de nem akarta elvesztegetni a lehetőséget.En: It would have been sensible to rest, but he didn't want to waste the opportunity.Hu: Gyorsan ivott egy kis vizet, és tovább dolgozott.En: He quickly drank some water and continued working.Hu: Este lett.En: Evening came.Hu: A tábortűz megvilágította az udvart, és az emberek összegyűltek.En: The bonfire lit up the yard, and people gathered around.Hu: Gergely elkezdte a prezentációját.En: Gergely started his presentation.Hu: Próbált nyugodtnak és összeszedettnek tűnni, de belül remegett.En: He tried to appear calm and collected, but inside he was trembling.Hu: Remegett a fáradságtól és az izgalomtól.En: Trembling from fatigue and excitement.Hu: Ahogy egyre jobban elveszett a szövegében, egy pillanatra hatalmas szédülés fogta el.En: As he increasingly lost himself in the text, a moment of intense dizziness overcame him.Hu: Minden elsötétült előtte, majd összeesett.En: Everything went dark before him, and he collapsed.Hu: A következő dolog, amire emlékezett, egy klinika fehér szobája volt.En: The next thing he remembered was a white room in a clinic.Hu: Az orvos fölé hajolt, és azonnal rászólt, hogy pihennie kell és figyelnie az egészségére.En: The doctor leaned over him and immediately told him that he needed to rest and pay attention to his health.Hu: Mariann ott állt az ágya mellett.En: Mariann was standing by his bed.Hu: Arcán aggodalom tükröződött.En: Concern reflected on her face.Hu: Érdeklődött iránta, és azt ajánlotta, hogy amikor majd jobban lesz, dolgozhatnának együtt szorosabban.En: She showed interest in him and suggested that once he felt better, they could work more closely together.Hu: Gergely mély levegőt vett.En: Gergely took a deep breath.Hu: Rádöbbent, hogy túlzottan hajtotta magát.En: He realized he had been driving himself too hard.Hu: Szüksége volt arra, hogy egyensúlyt találjon a munka és az élet között.En: He needed to find a balance between work and life.Hu: Azonban nem volt minden elveszve.En: However, not everything was lost.Hu: Lehetősége volt újrakezdeni.En: He had the opportunity to start anew.Hu: És most tudta, hogy van egy támogatói közössége is, akik segítenek neki, hogy elérje céljait.En: And now he knew he had a supportive community to help him achieve his goals.Hu: A következő napokban Gergely pihent, amennyit csak tudott.En: In the following days, Gergely rested as much as he could.Hu: Mariann gyakran meglátogatta, és közösen tervezgették a jövőt.En: Mariann often visited him, and they planned their future together.Hu: Most már világos volt számára, hogy nem csak az eredmény számít, hanem az út is, amit végigjár. És hogy az egészsége és a szerettei támogatása nélkül nem tudna sikeres lenni.En: It became clear to him that it wasn't just the result that mattered, but also the journey he took, and that without his health and the support of his loved ones, he couldn't be successful.Hu: Egy hét múlva, amikor visszatért az Innovatív Központba, új energiával és elhatározással dolgozott tovább.En: A week later, when he returned to the Innovation Center, he worked on with renewed energy and determination.Hu: Mariann oldalán biztos volt abban, hogy minden nehézséget legyőznek együtt.En: With Mariann by his side, he was certain they would overcome any difficulty together.Hu: Gergely megértette, hogy az igazi siker nem csak a célban rejlik, hanem abban is, hogy hogyan éri el azt, és milyen kapcsolatok épülnek közben.En: Gergely understood that true success wasn't just about the destination but also how he reached it and the relationships that were built along the way.Hu: Azon a nyáron, az Innovatív Központban, Gergely nem csak a startupját indította el sikeresen, hanem megtalálta az egyensúlyt az életében és a szerelemben is.En: That summer, at the Innovation Center, Gergely not only successfully launched his startup but also found balance in his life and love.Hu: A tábortűz emléke pedig örökre megmaradt benne.En: The memory of the bonfire would remain with him forever. Vocabulary Words:streamed: beáramlottadorned: díszítettékgadgets: kütyükcoworking: közösségi munkaterületekentrepreneur: vállalkozóconcern: aggodalomdizzy: szédültlightheaded: könnyűnek érezte magátinvestor: befektetődetermined: eltökéltsupport: támogatássecure: megszereznipresenting: bemutatósensible: racionálisfatigue: fáradságtrembling: remegclinic: klinikareflected: tükröződöttsuggested: ajánlottaopportunity: lehetőségrenewed: megújítottdetermination: eltökéltségovercome: legyőzsupportive: támogatóbalance: egyensúlysuccessful: sikeresdestination: célállomásrelationships: kapcsolatoklaunched: elindítottajourney: út

In this episode of the First Day Podcast, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D. is joined by Karen Boyd, Ph.D., Economist and Director of Research at the Policy and Innovation Center, and discuss the evolving intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and fundraising. She highlights the rapid advancements in AI technologies, emphasizing their potential to augment rather than replace human fundraisers. Addressing concerns around AI's capabilities and limitations, Boyd stresses the importance of understanding that AI tools are built on human-generated data, which inherently carries biases. She advocates for ethical use, urging fundraisers to leverage AI for tasks like initial draft writing and data analysis, thus freeing up time for more personalized donor interactions. Boyd underscores the concept of "moral imagination" as crucial in philanthropy, distinguishing human abilities from AI's computational processes. She discusses practical strategies for nonprofits, including careful consideration of AI's impact on donor privacy and the ethical implications of using AI-driven donor prospecting algorithms. Boyd encourages organizations to align AI policies with their missions to ensure transparency and ethical use of data. Ultimately, she positions AI as a powerful tool for enhancing efficiency in fundraising operations while reinforcing the irreplaceable role of human empathy and creativity in building meaningful donor relationships.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejects a case challenging the FDA's policies on mifepristone. Ascension says protected health data might have been exposed in its recent cyberattack. And the director of CMS' Innovation Center testifies before a Congressional subcommittee. That's coming up on today's episode of Gist Healthcare Daily. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, we hear about world-renowned universities offering courses and complete programs in entrepreneurship and innovation. Many students are drawn to these fields, choosing them as their academic and later professional focus. However, a central question remains in the minds of many: Is it possible to teach entrepreneurship? If so, how? What are the challenges involved? Have we witnessed successful experiences, and what is their success rate? We aim to answer all these questions in our upcoming episode with Dr. Hemin Latif, Ph.D., Director of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani, which is the first center dedicated to entrepreneurship at an Iraqi university. Dr. Hemin brings over 18 years of academic experience. After earning his PhD from Nottingham Trent University in the UK, he began lecturing there before returning to Iraq to teach at AUIS as part of its founding team. He has also headed the Engineering and Information Technology departments at different times. In addition to his current role as center director, Dr. Hemin applies the academic principles and teachings he provides to students to his own company, Agora Vision ئاگۆرا ڤیژن. The company's mission is to promote Kurdish literature by offering the first comprehensive platform of its kind for Kurdish audiobooks, which he is actively growing to achieve commercial success. View all of our episodes here: linktr.ee/tajaribpodcast Send us your guest suggestions here: hello@tajarib.show

Bob Thurman - Global VP, WIlson R&D & GM, Global Golf at Wilson - shares the process behind designing and producing high-quality sporting goods, from the classics to the ground-breaking new technologies.   He gives our listeners a behind-the-scenes tour of Wilson's famous Innovation Center, including the file cabinet that contains the specs for personalized golf clubs for everyone from Michael Jordan to Gerald Ford.   He also discusses his background in aerospace engineering and how it led him to his current career. As far as we know, he's the first guest on Navigating Sports Business to hold a patent (and he owns several)!   Details: 2:15 - Bob's engineering background 6:00 - Wilson's patents 13:50 - The R&D process 18:50 - Wilson Golf 19:45 - The Wilson Innovation Center 28:20 - Working with youth sports 30:05 - Rapid Fire Questions   Links: ARC'TERYX Brand Bob and Wilson's list of Patents   For more insights, visit our LinkedIn page or learn more about Navigate at https://nvgt.com/.

Season 4, Episode 8 - We recently introduced you to some of the folks at the Stourbridge Project in Honesdale – it's a business incubator with a coworking space, prototyping lab and in a Keystone Innovation Zone which means the tech startups are getting a hand up to build their businesses right here in the Pocono Mountains. And one of the biggest partners in that effort is some 50 miles away on the campus of East Stroudsburg University, it's the ESU Innovation Center and it features 25 companies doing amazing things that will grow the economy here in the Poconos which is the focus of this week's ESU Economic Outlook Summit at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions. The Poconos is a year-round destination for millions and with 2,400 square miles of mountains, forests, lakes and rivers with historic downtowns and iconic family resorts, it's the perfect getaway for a weekend or an entire week. You can always find out more on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠PoconoMountains.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or watch ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pocono Television Network⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ streaming live 24/7.

No cultivated meat company has raised more capital than UPSIDE Foods. In 2022, after having already raised about $200 million in previous rounds, the company raised another $400 million in a Series C round with a company valuation north of the coveted $1 billion unicorn status. No company in the space has garnered more media attention, both positive and critical, than UPSIDE Foods. No company has as much volume of cultivation capacity as UPSIDE Foods. No company is as old as UPSIDE Foods, as it was the first startup formed to take this technology out of academia and work to commercialize real meat grown slaughter-free. It's also one of the few companies in the world to have been granted regulatory approval to actually sell cultivated meat, which it did in the US. So it was only fitting that this conversation with UPSIDE CEO Uma Valeti take place in person inside the beating heart of UPSIDE's EPIC (Cultivated Meat Engineering, Production, and Innovation Center) cultivated meat pilot facility in Emeryville, California. I often say that I'm Uma Valeti's first biographer, since I profile him in Clean Meat, but I certainly won't be his last biographer, regardless of whether he succeeds or fails. And the last time I visited UPSIDE Foods, in 2017, when the company was still called Memphis Meats, and I got to enjoy their cultivated duck. At that time, they had only a handful of employees. Now, as 230 UPSIDE employees worked away in the dramatically nicer building that houses EPIC, I first got to enjoy four different cultivated chicken dishes. I tried both chicken that was FDA-approved and grown in smaller cultivators, and chicken that was yet to be FDA-approved, which was grown in 2,000-liter cultivators. Spoiler: they all tasted great, and were easily discerned from most plant-based chicken in scent, flavor, and texture. After the tasting, Uma and I sat down for this frank conversation in which we discussed UPSIDE's past, present, and future. That includes details about the scale and capability at which they currently sit, why they paused their plans for their vaunted Rubicon commercial facility in Illinois, what expansions they're planning on making at EPIC in California, what Uma thinks about the obituaries some journalists are writing for the cultivated meat industry, when he thinks cultivated meat will reach 1 percent market share in the total meat market, and much more.  In this conversation, you'll hear Uma elaborate on how the technology has gone from being decried as impossible to now possible, and what remains to be seen is whether it will now go from possible to inevitable.  It's a fascinating and revelatory conversation with a man who has served in many ways as a face for the cultivated meat movement for many years, even prior to founding this company. Discussed in this episode This episode is the eighth in our multi-part podcast series on cultivated meat. The previous seven episodes include Avant Meats, BlueNalu, Eat Just, Fork & Good, Mosa Meat, New Harvest, and Aleph Farms. Our past episode with New Harvest founder Jason Matheny. A 2013 Washington Post obituary for electric vehicles. Nine states are now phasing out gas cars by 2035, and so are automakers like GM. Uma and Paul both endorse the work of the Good Food Institute. You can see a clip of Paul tasting UPSIDE Foods' duck in 2017 here. Uma is profiled in Clean Meat, which has an updated 2024 paperback edition now out.  Tyson Foods pulled out of its investment in Beyond Meat. Paul couldn't recall the exact name in the live interview, but he was referring to Potemkin villages in Russia. More about Uma Valeti Dr. Uma Valeti is the CEO and Founder of UPSIDE Foods. Uma earned a degree in Cardiology from the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) in Pondicherry, India. After residencies at Wayne State and SUNY Buffalo, Uma completed three fellowships at the Mayo Clinic. He teaches Cardiovascular Medicine at Stanford University. In 2019, Uma was named a “Global Thinker of the Decade” by Foreign Policy magazine. He has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Aspen Ideas Festival, and SXSW.

The biggest reason to use VR in education is to tap into a student's emotional response through immersive experiences, argues Maya Georgieva, director of The New School's Innovation Center and a leading voice about where VR is headed. Hear her insights in this new interview. Find more details and show notes at: https://www.edsurge.com/news/2024-04-05-how-vr-can-be-an-empathy-machine-for-education

Join Andrew, Matt, Molly, and Sarah, and welcome the newest voices on the Team, Meera and Megan, in a lively episode from the studio at the 1819 Innovation Center. We delve into the creative and personal sides of medical education, discussing everything from a medical student Olympics to the hobbies that keep us balanced. Plus, we explore the groundbreaking topic of hand transplants and the ethics of organ donation. Tune in for a mix of insight, laughter, and medical curiosity that defines the UnsCripted Medicine Podcast. Connect with us and share your journey!