Monthly Archives: April 2009
Here are my notes from the Miracle Materials breakout session:Dr. Jim DangerfieldEVP of FPInnovationsWe found way to break apart cellulose and create nanocrystalline cellulose – 20nm long and 10nm wide. We have built a pilot plant with the ability to make one ton of nanocrystalline cellulose per day.We’ve used nanocrystalline cellulose to make paper. As you create nanocrystalline cellulose you can tune the color by getting the substance from different plant beginnings.We have looked at blending nanocrystalline cellulose with plastics and found that it increases strength 3000x times.It costs $100,000 per ton to produce nanocrystalline cellulose.Renewable wood construction may increase over the coming years as the energy invested into materials is counted in the overall cost structure of competing materials.We’ve advised on the construction of a 10-story wood building in Europe, we expect two demonstrations in Canada in the next 18mos., and we would expect there to be one in … Continue reading
Gifford Pinchot is the co-founder of Bainbridge Graduate Institute and is credited with creating the term “intrapreneur” and today brought up the term “ecopreneur”, and he is also an angel investor.Here are my notes from the session:He spoke about several social topics including Grameem Telecom, access to safe water, and the disappearing frontier forests (old growth).It’s no coincidence that the Naval War College’s predictions of where wars will be fought overlaps with those countries without access to safe drinking water.Defintion of Sustainability”Sustainability is meeting the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” – Brundtland Commision — 1987Rate of innovation in depressions is about six times that of the rate during boom times.Is it possible to do enough to avoid disaster?Jim Gosling saw microchips in hotel doors and got inspired to create. He proposed creating a gui-based remote control and he was … Continue reading
The senator spoke about smart grid technology and how it is top of mind for Obama and even appearing in Super Bowl ads. What does smart grid really mean for us?Here are my notes and key insights gathered from the Senator’s talk:Right now people turn on a switch or turn it off and the lack of intelligent power management places an increasing strain on the power system to manage demands. The power meters in our homes were invented before television.Power outages from shortages cost the country over $100 billion. The demand for power is projected to grow 40% in the next 20 years. Luckily Washington receives 70% of its power from hydropower, but this is projected to decline over time.We are fortunate to have smart grid related companies like Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories and iTron in Washington state, and utilities like Avista and Puget Sound Energy have been working on smart … Continue reading
Apple’s next iPhone might contain both video input as well as a magnetometer (digital compass). This opens up some interesting possibilities for iPhone application developers to innovate.Here is an example of a virtual pet application being developed that would use the video input capabilities:And here is an example of an application showing what might be possible with magnetometer capabilities:What do you think?@innovate
I’ll be live on Twitter, blogging, and interviewing attendees and speakers at Washington’s Innovation Summit April 9, 2009 in Bellevue, WA. The Washington Innovation Summit presents a wide variety of business, research and government leaders clustered together in a full schedule.This event used to be known as the Washington State Technology Summit, but broadened its agenda this year to include topics such as energy, materials & manufacturing, urban sustainability, and ecosystem preservation.Senator Maria Cantwell and Congressman Adam Smith will be there, along with many of the state’s innovation and technology luminaries. It should be an interesting day.If you’ll be at this event and would be willing to speak on camera about your innovation perspectives, please contact me.@innovate
Coming up with your next disruptive innovation can be a dangerous job. So to help keep you all safe in your strategic innovation pursuits I wanted to share this health and safety video with you on this special day.Health & Safety and YOU from Brandon James on Vimeo……..Oh yes, and a Happy April Fools Day to you too!Thank you to Stopgap for sharing this video!All the best,@innovate
