Going Against the Grain

Trump’s victory defied widespread predictions that he would suffer a crushing loss from his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Now, his shocking electoral college win could change the future of political campaigning and polling. Moreover, his brand will cast its shadow on the GOP and the U.S.

Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Donald_Trump_August_19,_2015_(cropped).jpg

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--At a prestigious gala attended by the top technology companies in Arizona to honor the state’s science and technology innovators, the Arizona Technology Council in conjunction with the Arizona Commerce Authority, today announced the winners of the 2016 Governor’s Celebration of Innovation (GCOI) Awards presented by Avnet, Inc.

“Congratulations to all the nominees and winners who contribute so much to growing our knowledge-based economy,” said Steven G. Zylstra, president and CEO, Arizona Technology Council. “It is incredibly rewarding to see so many winners from the software sector this year, as Arizona has become a prominent destination for developers. The growing breadth and depth of Arizona’s technology industry continues to be a tremendous boon to the state.”

The race is on build a ‘universal’ quantum computer. Such a device could be programmed to speedily solve problems that classical computers cannot crack, potentially revolutionizing fields from pharmaceuticals to cryptography. Many of the world's major technology firms are taking on the challenge, but Microsoft has opted for a more tortuous route than its rivals.

President-elect Donald Trump made strong appeals during his campaign to restore economic opportunity for workers, particularly those displaced by changes in the manufacturing and energy sectors. An economy driven by transforming America’s scientific research into good-paying jobs and high-growth businesses would deliver on the promises Trump made to voters. SSTI has a policy agenda to provide entrepreneurs and investors with the support they need to make this transition to an innovation economy.

HAL 9000, the sentient computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey, offers an ominous glimpse of a future in which machines endowed with artificial intelligence reject human authority. After taking control of a spacecraft and killing most of the crew, HAL responds to a returning astronaut’s order to open the ship’s pod bay door in an eerily calm voice: “I’m sorry, Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.” In the recent science-fiction thriller Ex Machina, the seductive humanoid Ava tricks a hapless young man into helping her destroy her creator, Nathan. Her machinations lend credence to Nathan’s dark prediction: “One day the AIs are going to look back on us the same way we look at fossil skeletons on the plains of Africa. An upright ape living in dust with crude language and tools, all set for extinction.”

The University of Notre Dame is dialing up its focus on entrepreneurship. Vice President of Research Bob Bernhard says a two-year study "stood back" from the typical school processes and made several recommendations to help reshape the way the school handles innovation. The study helped spur the launch of the IDEA Center, which is located at Innovation Park and will support commercialization and business creation. Notre Dame is also set to hire a new vice president of innovation.

The University of Michigan created a record 173 license and option agreements with companies seeking to commercialize the discoveries of university researchers in the past fiscal year.

“It is gratifying to see this record-setting number for our most important metric in tech transfer performance,” said Ken Nisbet, associate vice president for research-technology transfer. “It reflects the deployment of U-M inventions into the marketplace where they can have positive benefits for the general public.”

I lived with my parents until I was 23.

Yep, I was that guy — the twenty-something nerd without a real job, living in his parents’ house, and spending all his time on the Internet.

But if I hadn’t lived with my parents as long as I did, I probably wouldn’t be enjoying the success I have today.

Our house was a single story, 1,400 square feet home in La Palma, California. Eventually my parents expanded the house and added another living room. As far as I was concerned, the house wasn’t bad, except there wasn’t any air conditioning in hot California, and the rooms were small.

Building a digital culture has emerged as a key challenge for companies looking to thrive in the modern business era. How to build and adapt that culture is an issue that both large and smaller businesses struggle with. In this podcast, Brian Gregg, a partner in McKinsey’s San Francisco office who leads our consumer digital-excellence initiative, explores this issue with some of Silicon Valley’s leaders. Participating in this installment were David Lee, COO and CFO of Impossible Foods, an innovative developer of meats and cheeses made entirely from plants; Pavan Tapadia, chief product officer at Yammer, an internal social-networking service which is now part of Microsoft; and Dianne Esber, associate partner and brand leader at Digital McKinsey in San Francisco. What follows is an edited transcript of the conversation.

The men and women who serve our country are some of the most trusted individuals in American society. Notably, 73% of citizens have confidence in the military, the highest rated institution in the U.S., according to this Gallup poll.

The military serves our country with honor and distinction. More notably, they have already proven they’ll serve at a level in which other Americans aren’t willing.

With the release of the 2016 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index (GMCI), Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (Deloitte Global) and the Council on Competitiveness (the Council) in the US build upon the GMCI research, with prior studies published in 2010 and 2013. The results of the 2016 study clearly show the ongoing influence manufacturing has on driving global economies. From its influence on infrastructure development, job creation, and contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) on both an overall and per capita basis, a strong manufacturing sector creates a clear path toward economic prosperity.

The business owner sitting across from me was so angry he was shaking as he shared his story. It seems that another customer had sent him an email ending their relationship. I asked what he meant by ‘another’.

His voice rose and the shaking intensified as he went on about the “lousy customer who doesn’t appreciate the quality of my products and all my company does for them.” And yes, there were others. In fact, there were regular customer bailouts which, I wasn’t surprised to hear, took a lot of time, effort, and cost to replace.

I received this email from a friend. He gave me permission to publish it but asked to do so anonymously. It was so thoughtful, so gracious, so explanatory — I felt you would all enjoy reading it. It’s from a startup founder. It’s unedited.

Perception always trails reality, sometimes by over a decade. Despite China’s persistent copycat image, several waves of innovation co-exist in the country today. Some companies have evolved from imitator to inventor, some focus on “fast-following,” while others create original products, or overlap several categories. Please meet the six waves of Chinese tech innovation.

I’ve written a few times about the growth in open innovation, and the swelling appreciation that companies need to be sat at the heart of innovation ecosystems where they can easily learn from and work with startups, academics and non-profit organizations working in their field.

Baltimore, MD l November 9, 2016 – miDIAGNOSTICS, global developer of integrated diagnostic solutions for the point-of-need, announces that it has established a collaboration with emocha Mobile Health Inc. from Baltimore, MD, USA. A Johns Hopkins startup company, emocha has developed a platform of digital mobile applications that streamline the continuum of care. The goal of the collaboration is to enable mobile health solutions based on the miniaturized products for point-of-need under development by miDIAGNOSTICS.

Irish startups, high tech firms and life science companies are attracting €19m per week in venture capital funding as investment sums into the sectors continue to surge. SHARE According to new industry figures, venture capital funding in Ireland in the first nine months of the year rose by three quarters compared the same period last year with €734m raised here.

The world of medical philanthropy got a big shot in the arm when Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, announced in September that they were committing $3 billion to “cure, prevent or manage all disease” by the end of the century.

While that is a benefit to researchers, a tantalizing tidbit of information that Dr. Eric Topol shared at the Techonomy Health conference at Half Moon Bay, California on Wednesday, shows that Zuckerberg has more than medical philanthropy in mind. He appears to be also interested in investing in novel technology and, indeed, also be an early adopter himself.

State and local leaders continue to call for better information on how well their economic development and tax incentive programs are performing. In response, an increasing number of states are conducting formal program evaluations. 

A new database from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) created with the support of The Pew Charitable Trusts compiles these state tax incentive evaluations in one place for easy access and searchability.  The database currently contains over 30 state evaluation reports and more will be added over time. 

Many executives ask me what artificial intelligence can do. They want to know how it will disrupt their industry and how they can use it to reinvent their own companies. But lately the media has sometimes painted an unrealistic picture of the powers of AI. (Perhaps soon it will take over the world!) AI is already transforming web search, advertising, e-commerce, finance, logistics, media, and more.