Tech Speaker Series Returns! New Technology Resources to Grow Your Business

“New Advanced Technology Resources to Grow Your Business”

Tuesday, December 11

8:30 - 9:30 a.m. (networking & refreshments follow)

Did you know that within Winston-Salem’s Piedmont Triad Research Park some of the most advanced equipment and resources in the Southeast are now being made available to entire community? Our next Tech Speaker Series event on Tuesday, December 11 at 8:30 a.m. in Wake Forest Biotech Place will tell you all about it! Do you quickly need a prototype for a new product? Or access to cutting-edge medical research equipment? Come learn about what is available and how these items can help take your business to the next level.

Speakers

• Eric Tomlinson, DSc, PhD; President, Piedmont Triad Research Park and Chief Innovation Officer, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
• Luke Burnett, PhD; Chief Science Officer, Keranetics
• Tom Clarkson, Associate Director, Entrepreneurship; Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
• Carol Strohecker, PhD; Director, Center for Design Innovation

Wake Forest Biotech Place

575 N. Patterson Avenue

Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Map

Hosted by the Tech Council of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce.  Free and open to the public though registration is required.  Learn more and register.

Title Sponsor

·               Cook Medical

Series Sponsors:

·               B/E Aerospace
       Kilpatrick Townsend
    Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

Food Sponsor  

          Gallins Foods

Tech Briefing iBook

The Winston-Salem Chamber's Tech Briefing convened designers of airplane seats, clothing, medical devices, solar cells, beet juice, mobile apps, and more. See them on an iBook created by Josh Tan (or choose the .pdf).

Read more and view iBook. 

Forsyth Tech Shows Off Transportation Technology Center

Forsyth Technical Community College showed off its new Transportation Technology Center at 4255 N. Patterson Ave. to the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce’s Technology & Innovation Series Tuesday.

Using funds from a $15.7 million Forsyth County bond issue, the school converted the old Pinebrook Shopping Center into a 139,000-square-foot facility with dozens of classrooms and computer laboratories and open bays for teaching all aspects of transportation technology.

The new center will “create jobs for the people in this community,” said Dr. Gary Green, Forsyth Tech president. He said the long-term vision was to provide “all transportation technologies.”

Green listed five programs as currently available:

• Automotive Systems Technology.
• Collision Repair and Refinishing Technology including sheet metal and new finishes)
• Heavy Equipment and Transportation Technology for large trucks and over-the-road tractors.
• Recreational Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technology.
• The Richard Childress Race Car Technology program. This center will feed students into the $6 billion auto racing industry.

Students are on three levels – in certificate programs to meet the specific state certification  requirements of automotive sub-specialties  diploma and two-year associate degrees. The campus also has English and math and other traditional college classes – many of which are transferable to a four-year college degree and various remedial programs such as English as a Second Language.

Graduates will find good jobs at auto dealerships, trucking companies, RV dealerships and other sites. The school has sophisticated computer equipment to check whether auto realignment on repaired cars meet factory specifications or what a car will look like after repainting.  Special painting booths enable state-of-the art repainting of cars, and one instructor said that such auto painters typically make more than $100,000 a year.

Chris Harvey, Technical Training Manager for Southeastern Toyota, a five-state region including the Carolinas, said Toyota is partnering with Forsyth Tech. “We have to start  with good people,” he said, and backing the program at Forsyth Tech will assure a supply of technicians for the 20 Toyota dealerships in the area.

“The students get the necessary skills to get a job,” Harvey said.

He said that Forsyth Tech was one of the only T10 level certified programs in the Southeast. Many of the cars in the shops at the school were Toyotas.

Joseph Sakowski from Snap-On Tools said his company was also a partner with Forsyth Tech, and serves as an East Coast train-the-trainer site for Snap-on.

U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-5^th) also was present and gave brief remarks.

Don't Miss Winston-Salem's 11th Annual Tech Briefing Sept. 20

During the Olympics this summer, you might have read news stories about athletes drinking beet juice to increase their performance, and maybe even describing it as tasting like “sweet dirt.”  Well before the Olympics, Wake Forest University had commissioned the development of a good-tasting beet juice. Daniel Kim-Shapiro, physicist and director of Wake Forest’s Translational Science Center, will offer beet juice samples for tasting after his talk at the 11^th annual Tech Briefing on September 20.

Kim-Shapiro, will share how Wake Forest researchers have shown that drinking beet juice can increase blood flow to the brain in older adults. Such a finding could hold potential for combating the progress of dementia in patients. Plus he has other news about how the main ingredient in beet juice – nitrate – has other good benefits for humans.

“The goal of the Tech Briefing is to inform and excite our community about local companies and institutions that are creating innovative technologies, designs and products here in Winston-Salem,” said Bret Marchant of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce. “The presenters are the entrepreneurs, designers and researchers who are helping to transform our local economy.”

An estimated 300 to 400 people are expected to attend this year’s briefing organized by the Tech Council of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce. Held 8:00 - 9:30 a.m. in the Benton Convention Center, it will open the Chamber’s Business and Innovation Expo. The Briefing is free and open to the public. Read more. 

Winston-Salem Chamber Hosts 11th Annual Tech Briefing

Begin your day at the Chamber’s Business Expo on Sept. 20 by attending the 11th Annual Tech Briefing – a fast-moving event that showcases some of the local companies and inventors that are helping to transform our economy.

Each presenter speaks for just five minutes about their innovative technologies, designs, and products – and they will leave you amazed at what is happening right here in Winston‐Salem. The Tech Briefing is free and open to the public, but we just ask that you register in advance. The Tech Briefing and Expo will be held in the Benton Convention Center. Read more and see our list of presenters!

Let’s Go Racing! – Transportation Technology in Winston-Salem

Technology & Innovation Series

Tuesday, October 2
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Forsyth Tech Transportation Technology Center
4255 North Patterson Avenue, Winston-Salem

Don’t miss this opportunity to visit and tour Forsyth Tech’s new, state-of-the-art Transportation Technology Center. As one of the premier centers of its kind in the country, the facility offers all of the computer labs, simulators and high-tech equipment needed for today’s highly complex, computer-controlled vehicles. A remarkable example of adaptive reuse, this modern LEED-eligible building is on the site of the former Pinebrook Shopping Center. It houses all of the college's Transportation Technology programs, including the Richard Childress Race Car Technology program. Plan to come early or stay afterwards for coffee and conversation. The event is free, but registration is required.

Register here.

Sponsored by: Cook Medical, B/E Aerospace, Kilpatrick Townsend and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

Winston-Salem Chamber Announces Tech Briefing Presenters

The Tech Council of the Winston‐Salem Chamber of Commerce announced 10 presenters for the 11th Annual Tech Briefing, which will open the Chamber’s Business & Innovation Expo on September 20, 8:00 a.m. at the Benton Convention Center.

2012 presenters include: B/E Aerospace; A better‐tasting beet juice from Wake Forest University’s Translational Science Center; Camel City Solar; Hanesbrands; MD Online Solutions; Orthovative Technologies; PMG Research; SnapCrowd; Technology Crops International; and the Laboratory for Complex Brain Networks at Wake Forest School of Medicine’s Department of Radiology.

The Tech Briefing is a fast‐moving event where each presenter speaks for five minutes about their innovative technologies, designs, and products. The Briefing provides a sampling of the local companies, researchers, and inventors that are helping to transform the economy and community.

The Tech Briefing is free and open to the public, though registration is required at www.winstonsalem.com/techbriefing.aspx. Read more.

Tech Council Event Provides Update on Area Research Parks

The Triad’s two research parks are booming, bringing in private companies and creating new jobs, according to panelists speaking Tuesday at the Winston-Salem Chamber’s Technology and Innovation Series, held at Wake Forest Biotech Place in the Piedmont Triad Research Park (PTRP).

Item: The Joint School of Nanotechnology and Nanoengineering at the Gateway University Research Park in Greensboro, which moved into its new building in December, is already running out of space with more students enrolled than expected, according to John Merrill, executive director of the park. The school and Gateway’s two campuses are joint projects of N.C. A&T State University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Item: Wake Forest University School of Medicine, which moved into Biotech Place in renovated R.J. Reynolds buildings in the PTRP earlier this year, is planning to use three more Reynolds buildings nearby, one for the Division of Public Health Sciences, according to Dr. Edward Abraham, dean.

Item: Carolina Liquid Chemistries, which looked at a wet lab launch pad in PTRP and moved in the next day, now has moved its headquarters – and 25 employees – to Biotech Place, said President Phil Shugart. The company makes automated blood chemistry analyzers. One can conduct up to 40 tests from one sample.

The company has a number of machines in development, some aimed at physician offices, some at small hospitals, some at commercial labs. They also are developing a toxicology system that will detect 22 drugs of abuse.

Nancy Johnston, executive director of the Piedmont Triad office of the N.C. Biotechnology Center, said “One of our goals is to grow jobs,” and one of the ways they do that is helping to commercialize new technologies developed at the research parks.

The schools have been concerned about the time that start-up companies spend raising money to keep going. Abraham said Wake Forest is developing an “accelerator” so the companies can focus on technology development rather than raising money.

Now, most inventions are commercialized through licensing to other companies, which often means the innovation, and the jobs it creates, go elsewhere. With the accelerator, it is hoped that most new jobs will stay in Winston-Salem, he said.

Promoting student interest in science, technology, engineering and math

When Stephen Susalka went searching for mentors last year to coach 9-to 14-year-olds for a robotics initiative that culminated with a competition last December, he found a lot of support from co-workers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

The goal behind the initiative, tied to the international FIRST LEGO League Robotics tournament, is promoting science, technology, engineering and math knowledge and learning as possible careers for students.

“I work closely with the chamber, and one of the things we recognized is we’re not turning out enough STEM-interested students. And you lose them at middle school,” Susalka says. “So we wanted to provide a STEM learning experience that would engage those students.” Read more.

Technology Series Returns May 22 at Biotech Place

The Chamber's Technology and Innovation Series returns with an exciting opportunity for you to visit and learn about Biotech Place, the newest building in the Piedmont Triad Research Park. Join us on May 22 at 9:00am and hear from an outstanding panel of experts who will be discussing how this building and PTRP’s future plans complement Greensboro’s Gateway University Research Park and additional efforts across North Carolina. This event is free and open to the public, though registration is required. Learn more and register.

Winston Salem slips in Milken Institute Tech Ranking

The loss of Dell Inc. has caused the Winston-Salem MSA (consisting of Davie, Forsyth, Stokes and Yadkin counties) to slip to 164 up only 1 place versus it's ranking in 2003 at 165 in the Milken Institute rankings of top performing technology metro areas.   In more recent years, Winston-Salem climbed all the way to 92nd place reflecting economic growth and the Dell plant at its peak in 2009.  High unemployment also contributed to Winston-Salem's lower rankings according to the Milken Institute. 

"This year's ranking clearly reflects the loss of the Dell jobs", says Gayle Anderson, president of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce.  However, Anderson anticipates improved rankings as a result of Caterpillar and continued growth in the Research Park.  See story.

Forsyth Tech Key to Landing Caterpillar

Forsyth Tech’s offer to train workers for Caterpillar Inc. was the key element in landing the huge plant.

“That is what sold Caterpillar on Winston-Salem,” said Rusty Davis, operations manager of the 850,000-square-foot plant nearing completion on Union Cross Road.

In a talk to the Tech Council’s Technology and Innovation Series, Davis listed a number of “project drivers” that were under consideration as the company chose from among several sites.

He said that 57 percent of the contractors who built the $426 million plant were from the Triad and 70 percent in all were from North Carolina. The company also plans on using local service providers once the facility is in operation. The plant will employ about 500 people with a payroll of $19 million.

“We’re no Dell,” he told a crowd of about 200 people at the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts. “We’ll be here for a long period of time and hopefully we can grow.”

The plant will build front wheels and rear axles for the mammoth trucks that can carry 1.3 million pounds fully loaded and move at speeds of up to 42 miles an hour. The axles themselves weigh 100,000 pounds and for now will be shipped by truck from the plant.

The plant will be LEED certified, using geothermal heating and cooling, solar panels to heat water, extensive skylights to cut down on electric lighting and numerous other green initiatives.

Davis pledged that the plant would quickly become part of the community, already sponsoring the “coin-toss kid” at Wake Forest football games.”

Caterpillar's Winston-Salem Operations Manager to Speak at Chamber Technology & Innovation Series on November 10

Rusty Davis, the operations manager at Caterpillar’s new Winston-Salem facility, will speak about the innovative products that will be made here in Winston-Salem at the Chamber’s Technology and Innovation Series on Thursday, November 10, 8:30 am at the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts. This event is free and open to the public, though registration is required. Learn more and register today!

Stantec Repurposes Shipping Containers, Other Innovators Highlighted at Chamber Tech Briefing

Tens of thousands of shipping containers are piled up, rusting, all over the country because it is cheaper to make new containers abroad than ship the old ones back. But at Thursday’s 10th annual Technology Briefing, Randal L. Pool, managing principal of Stantec, presented a whole series of possibilities for reusing the containers. The company is already planning and hopes to open soon a removable restaurant for the sidewalk near New York’s Flatiron Building made from one container. Pool showed sketches of how containers might be used for first responder housing at the scene of a disaster, or as temporary shelter for up to 16 refugees. They might be clustered to provide housing for many families following a large-scale disaster. The presentation produced excited murmurs from the crowd of more than 300 who attended the briefing.


The September 15th  Winston-Salem Journal article covered information about some of the other eight presenters at the briefing and their stories of technology and innovation

Tech Briefing is Tomorrow - Don't Miss It!

The 10th Annual Technology Briefing is tomorrow, September 15, 8:00 a.m. at the Benton Convention Center. The event is free, but please register online to ensure your seat and a nametag. Plan to stay afterward for networking, refreshments and to meet and talk with the presenters. And then visit the Business & Innovation Expo, also at the Benton Convention Center.

This is your chance to learn about exciting local companies and how their technologies are laying the foundation for future economic growth in our community. This year’s presenters are: Cook Medical; Inmar; NanoMedica; OnceLogix; Paragon Noise Barriers; Small Footprint/Treks in the City; Stantec; Verbal Victor; and Virginia Tech/WFU School of Biomedical Engineering.

The Tech Briefing is brought to you by the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Cook Medical, Kilpatrick Townsend, Piedmont Angel Network, Targacept, and Wake Forest School of Medicine Office of Technology Asset Management. Learn more and register.

Wake Forest School of Medicine is Part of Toyota’s New Research Initiative for Auto Safety

Wake Forest School of Medicine is one of six leading research institutions across the country to be chosen by Toyota’s Collaborative Safety Research Center (CSRC) to enhance the development, testing and implementation of new automotive safety innovations. Joel Stitzel Jr., Ph.D., an associate professor of biomedical engineering at Wake Forest, is the principal investigator.

Toyota’s CSRC announced the partnerships today at the 2011 Toyota Safety Technology Seminar at the Toyota Technical Center in Ann Arbor. The new projects will research vehicle safety subjects ranging from driver education and collision mitigation to accident reconstruction and enhanced crash data analysis. Read more here.

Learn more about Dr. Stitzel's research when he presents at the Chamber of Commerce's 10th Annual Technology Briefing -- 8:00 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, at the Benton Convention Center.

Chamber Announces Presenters for Its 10th Annual Technology Briefing

The Technology Council of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the companies who will present at 10th Annual Technology Briefing on September 15, 8:00 a.m. at the Benton Convention Center. The 2011 presenters are: Cook Medical; NanoMedica; OnceLogix; Paragon Noise Barriers; SkinDeep FX; Small Footprint/Treks in the City; Stantec; Verbal Victor; and Virginia Tech/WFU School of Biomedical Engineering.

The Technology Briefing is free to attend and open to the public, though registration is required at www.winstonsalem.com/techbriefing.aspx.

For the first time ever, this year’s Technology Briefing will open the Chamber’s Triad Business and Innovation Expo, an annual tradeshow that features almost 200 local business exhibitors and attracts over 2,000 visitors.

Presented by Cook Medical, the Technology Briefing is sponsored by Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, Targacept, and Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s Office of Technology Asset Management. Video production will be provided by Spotlight Media. Read More.

NanoMedica to Present at Tech Briefing on September 15th

Doing more with less is frequently associated with corporate downsizing, budget cuts and many ramifications of the ailing economy.  How refreshing to find a company that is growing and innovating while doing more with less.  Winston-Salem based NanoMedica is an early stage biotechnology company focused on a reduction that everyone can appreciate… reducing the cost of drug discovery. Their mission is to help biopharmaceutical customers “discover more with less” – more useful compounds with less material, time and money. Useful compounds include new chemical probes of cellular function, ultrasensitive diagnostic reagents and target-directed molecules for studying and treating disease processes. Of particular interest are ligands (substance binding molecules) designed to specifically recognize and modulate cellular targets and pathways involved in the onset and progression of cancer. Their trademarked  “Lab-on-Bead™” technology allows nanoscale detection and characterization at the single-molecule level using thousands to millions of times less material than conventional methods – in short, discovering more with less™.
NanoMedica will present at the Chamber of Commerce Tech Briefing on September 15th.  The event will begin at 8 a.m at the Benton Convention Center.  Other technology companies presenting their latest ideas and innovations include:  Cook Medical; OnceLogix; Paragon Noise Barriers; SkinDeep FX; Small Footprint/Treks in the City; Stantec; Verbal Victor; and Virginia Tech/Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering.  For more information about the Tech Briefing:  http://www.winstonsalem.com/techbriefing.aspx

Nominate YOUR Innovation for Cook Medical Innovation Award!

Do you have an innovative product, service, concept or procedure? The third annual Cook Medical Innovation Award, presented by Cook Medical in partnership with the Chamber, recognizes outstanding locally-developed and novel technologies. Submit your ideas by August 15. The winner will be recognized at the Chamber’s Annual Meeting luncheon on November 30 and presented a unique award designed by a local artist. Click here for details and nomination form.

Tech Series to Feature Research Park Updates!

The 2011 Technology and Innovation Series continues on Thursday, June 9, 8:30 am at the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts with a discussion entitled: The Research Park and Downtown Connection: Developing a Work/Live/Play Community in the Heart of Winston-Salem! This event will feature the latest news and plans happening in the Park, along with a discussion about how our downtown’s revitalization can help attract and retain the workforce needed for the Park’s long-term success. Read more and register.