Posts Tagged 'Technology'



It’s Friday Technology News Roundup Time!

It’s been a while since we’ve had a round up. Now seems like a perfect time. Check out these headlines:

BLACK BOX CATALOG WINS MULTICHANNEL MERCHANT GOLD AWARD

Black Box Corporation, an provider of voice communications, data infrastructure, and product solutions, announced  that its 2008 Black Box® Catalog won a Gold award at the 26th Annual Conference for Catalog and Multichannel Merchants (ACCM) held in New Orleans, LA.

This marks the 14th consecutive year that the company has won top honors in the Computer and High-Tech Equipment category. The 620-page catalog, nicknamed the Big Book, showcases the company’s vast line of 118,000+ communications, networking, and infrastructure products, including cabling, cabinets and racks, digital signage and multimedia, KVM switches, network optimization, and power monitoring.

PA NANO CENTER SEEKS PROPOSALS

The Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center invites researchers from both small and large companies to submit proposals for funding nanomaterials commercialization projects.  The Center supports advanced nanomaterials research and development that has applications for new nano-based products and manufacturing processes in the commercial and defense sectors.

The Center says that its Sixth Round of Invitation for Proposals is open until July 31, 2009.  From May 18 to June 30, proposers may submit an early “Idea Submission” for preliminary feedback on concept suitability through the Center’s Web site.  The staff of the Center will also provide feedback on all proposals submitted to the Center prior to July 1, 2009. The final deadline for full proposals is midnight July 31, 2009.

GENCO JOINS U.S. EPA SMARTWAY TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP
GENCO Supply Chain Solutions, North America’s second largest and a Global Top 50 third-party logistics provider, today announced that it has joined SmartWaySM Transport Partnership as part of its ongoing efforts to be more energy efficient. SmartWay Transport Partnership is an innovative collaboration between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the freight industry designed to improve energy efficiency while significantly reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution. GENCO will contribute to the Partnership’s goal to reduce 33 million to 66 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and up to 200,000 tons of nitrogen oxide per year by 2012. GENCO’s strategy for achieving this goal is to improve the environmental performance of its freight operations.

LACENERE NOMIATED TO ATTEND STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION SEMINAR

Tony Lacenere, a Managing Director of Pittsburgh based iNetworks Advisors, Inc. and its affiliates, was nominated and then selected to attend the annual U.S. Army War College’s Strategy Implementation Seminar in July 2009. 

This year, in the first such event under the Obama Administration, a small group of civilians from across the United States were selected to attend this special War College program, which is the capstone of an intensive and rigorous two-year program of study for senior military leaders from the Army and other services focused on the strategic aspects of national security. Tony Lacenere was chosen to participate in the this years’ summit because of his professional background, personal experience and knowledge of worldwide chronic disease management as well as health care delivery to current and former military personnel. Those disease and health care delivery issues relate to the topics of discussion at the War College summit, military readiness and national security.

University of Michigan Installs Neuro Kinetics I-Portal NOTC System

Neuro Kinetics, Inc. (NKI), a manufacturer of noninvasive medical evaluation equipment used worldwide to test for balance, vestibular, neurological and other disorders, announced that the University of Michigan Medical Center Department of Otolaryngology’s Vestibular Testing Center has purchased and installed its I-Portal® NOTC (Neuro-Otologic Test Center) system.

The University is using the equipment to test patients for a range of balance and dizziness complaints, said Jaynee Handelsman, Ph.D., the Vestibular Testing Center’s assistant director. NKI’s I-Portal NOTC system features the company’s renowned Barany (rotational) chair, optokinetic ball and Pursuit Tracker™. Those components create an adaptable array of motion, optokinetic and ocular motor stimulus profiles.

Get more details right here.

Sima Products’ Ilana Diamond to Speak at PghTech Women’s Leadership Breakfast

If you’re a woman working in Pittsburgh’s tech scene, you can’t miss Ilana Diamond’s presentation at the PghTech Women’s Network Leadership Breakfast on Friday, June 12. Diamond is at the helm of Sima Products, which is celebrating 32 years as an innovator of consumer electronics. Sima manufactures accessories for a variety of markets including Photography, Video, Home Theater, Power and Home Safety.

Today, nearly 100 Sima products are sold in more than 20 countries worldwide.  Diamond will showcase the keys on how to get consumer products into major retail chains and how to bring your product to market. Diamond will also highlight how she got to where she is today, her thoughts on leadership, the effects of technology in her life and in general, her approach to becoming a successful business woman in the technology field.

Diamond was recently profiled in the May issue of TEQ as one of the magazine’s “Women in Technology.”

Almost forgot to mention that this event is open to women only. Get more details here. Time’s running out to register.

Guru.com Recognized by Red Herring & Inner City 100 for Impact on Job Creation

As job losses mount in the Pittsburgh region and beyond, local Web site Guru.com is making some strides in economic stimulus and job creation efforts. 

With the economy bearing down on the Pittsburgh region, we lost nearly 28,000 jobs between April 2008 and April 2009 (according to recent labor statistics on pittsburghtoday.org). At the same time,  a total of more than 107,665 project–based jobs were posted to Guru.com.  Guru.com data also indicates that 69,893 freelance transactions closed through the site over this timeframe. 

The company’s impressive growth rate and impact on job creation and entrepreneurship is getting national recognition.  In the last month, two national award programs acknowledged Guru.com as a private tech company to watch:

·         Guru.com Honored by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City   

·         Red Herring 100 North America Recognizes Guru.com

Guru.com is noted as the world’s largest online marketplace for freelance talent with more than 1 million registered members.  There are currently more than 1,100 Active Freelancer Profiles in the Pittsburgh region alone – including several individuals ranked at the top of their skill categories.

MSA is the “BOSS” with Blending Optimization Software

Management Science Associates, Inc.’s (MSA) Metals and Advances Manufacturing division has announced the launch of an application service provider (ASP) version of its Blending Optimization Software Suite (BOSS). The software provides a safe and confidential way to transfer data, provides multi-user access, and all of the features the standard BOSS system offered.

The BOSS system allowed employees to run a ‘what-if’ simulation to analyze what materials used would provide the best cost savings ratio. BOSS ASP adds more information for ‘what-if’ scenarios such as client’s current process and product mix. According to Patrick J. Gallagher, MSA Metals and Advanced Manufacturing Division Vice President, “in order to remain competitive in today’s business world, metals companies must use raw materials (scrap and additions) in the most cost-effective manner possible.” BOSS ASP version permits multiple users within a company via Internet browser using secure names and passwords. MSA provides client support to help upload data into the system using Secure Socket Layer for anti theft and anti virus protection.  BOSS ASP adds more functionality to the previous version as well as more checks to make sure the maximum about of money is being saved.

 

                For more information on Management Science Associates can be found at www.msa.com. More information on BOSS ASP can be found at the following link: www.msa.com/metal/products/blending.htm.

Career Fair Set for Saturday

Oxford Solutions Inc. is holding a career fair at United Industrial Park in Bridgeville on Montgomery Ave.  this Saturday June 6th.  Oxford Solutions is a hiring firm that specializes in technical, information technology, sales support, executive, accounting, and administrative job placement. Their services range from contact-to-hire and direct contact to payroll and contract staffing assistance.  They have had a direct and simple mission statement, which is finding “the right person for the right job.” Oxford Solutions walks the talk with a focused approach with everything they work on and apply themselves. 

The career fair will be from 10:00 to noon on Saturday in Bridgeville. All are welcome.  There is no admission fee, although all are encouraged to bring a printed out resume.

Learn about new and hot jobs in the technology field. This career fair will be a tremendous opportunity to network with the Oxford sales and recruiting team as well as other local professionals in the area.

  1. You can register by emailing resumes@oxfordsolutions.com with a resume and add ‘Career Fair’ in the subject line.
  2. United Industrial Park (at Montgomery Avenue)
    98 Vanadium Road
    Building “D”
    Bridgeville, PA 15017
  3. For more info check out www.oxfordsolutionsinc.com.

IBM Webcast Details Virtualization

Get smart and check this out: Small- and mid-sized businesses can save time and money through IT virtualization. Professionals wanting to learn more should check out Real Life Virtualization Stories: Business executives share how they saved time and money, a live webcast sponsored by IBM.

Virtualization is an IT technology that can cut costs dramatically by combining multiple servers into fewer, more powerful systems. Successful mid-size business executives who switched to virtualization will share why they chose to change and the results they have seen. For example, one of the panelists said he’s seen a 75 percent decrease in data center maintenance costs since switching to virtualized servers.

Jason Hiner, editor in chief of TechRepublic, will moderate the event. Hiner has his finger on the pulse of the industry and he recently named virtualization one of his top IT Trends for 2009. Other speakers include Nigel Fortlage, vice president of IT at GHY International and Cliff Dixon, IT director at Quality Distribution.

In addition, Judith Tracy, IBM global infrastructure marketing manager, will be answering questions. She is also the “Expert of the week” on IBM’s new Web site, InfoBOOM! , that was developed jointly with CIO magazine. InfoBOOM! will implement a new feature just before the call occurs that allows clients to interface directly with IBM executives and consultants focused on the mid-market. The new Web site also has a presence on Facebook and LinkedIn.

The virtualization webcast takes place on June 8 at 1:00 pm EST. Click here to register.  

Spark Program Will Donate $37K to Connect Kids to Technology

Spark, a new initiative of The Sprout Fund, will donate $37,000 to local projects that help connect children to new technologies.  Spark is a new funding group which focuses on the growth of innovation in the children of southwestern Pennsylvania. Spark’s projects connect everyday life and technology in a way that stimulates the children to learn and play at the same time. The group chose four projects to invest the money:

  • Message from Mefrom the CREATE Lab at CMU—Is a communication system that allows children and parents to share daily experiences using new communication technologies. These include cell phones, the internet, and digital photography. ($15,000).
  • Geocaching Curriculum—from Venture Outdoors—An innovative classroom atmosphere that trains teachers and child workers to operate GPS units. The hope is for more outdoor activities and real-life treasure hunts. ($7,330).
  • Story Box Project—from SLB Radio Productions, Inc.—A classroom project that work with pre-kindergarten children at two Pittsburgh Public Schools to create interactive story telling. Story Box Project will allow students to tell original stories with electronic devices. The electronic devices will allow students’ narrative audio recordings and original artwork to play along with their personal story. ($7,600).
  • Light Education—at the Mattress Factory—This project is yearlong that uses the museum’s James Turrell light installations to teach elementary school students the concept and properties of light with scientific inquiry and experimentation.  The museum will entice the kids to learn about science through the light show’s artistic expression. ($7,500).

Spark will offer three more funding cycles in 2009, investing a total of $200,000. These projects are in hope that they will transform our region into one of the best places to raise children with a great environment for kids to live, learn, and play.

For more information on Spark and their projects please visit www.spark.sproutfund.org.

TechVibe Radio 1360 AM is on the Air Today From 3-6 p.m.

It’s Technology Tuesday at Pittsburgh Business Radio 1360 AM WMNY. That means the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s Jonathan Kersting and Audrey Russo are behind the mic, powering up TechVibe Radio from 3-6 p.m.

Another star-studded lineup awaits listeners. Guests will include:

If you can’t tune in, stream it or find us on www.talkshoe.com (search for Pittsburgh Business Radio)

The Technology Collaborative Announces Funding Round

The Technology Collaborative (TTC), a statewide economic development organization that supports the growth of Pennsylvania’s world-class robotics, cyber-security and digital technologies industries,  announced its most recent round of funding. In total, $1.5 million has been provisionally allocated to nine companies across Pennsylvania as well as funding one proposal from Carnegie Mellon University.

“Unique to this round of funding, the Tech Commercialization Advisory Board that consists of 66 companies and 5 universities, opted to fund two companies that are developing robotic toys, namely Interbots and Bossa Nova Concepts, while two other organizations, CMU and Sinewave Energy Technologies, are focused on improved energy-related technologies,” said Chuck Brandt, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of TTC.

Learn more about the nine companies right here.

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