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(Idaho Falls)
For the second straight month, Areva leads Idaho
innovation news, as the French energy company announced
on May 5th that it had selected Idaho Falls as the site
for a proposed $2 billion uranium enrichment facility.
U.S. Senator Larry Craig and Idaho State Senator Bart
Davis were on hand at the press conference as Areva CEO
and President Michael McMurphy announced the Idaho
selection.
The proposed enrichment plant, slated
to open in 2014, will specialize in the 4th phase of the
5-phase uranium enrichment process. Uranium
hexafluoride, a granular solid at room temperature, will
be input to the plant and warmed to create uranium
hexafluoride gas. The gas will be processed through a
cascade of centrifuges where the heavier and lighter
uranium isotopes are separated, resulting in enriched
uranium. After cooling, the uranium hexafluoride returns
to its granular state and will be exported to a reactor
fuel fabrication plant in another state, ultimately
finding its way to a commercial power reactor supplying
electricity to the national grid.
Areva
officials predict that the facility will create 500 to
1,000construction jobs over a five year period, and
finally result in 250 permanent positions paying annual
salaries averaging $80,000.
American Semiconductor Named Supplier of the
Year
(Boise) On April 21, 2008, American
Semiconductor, Inc. (ASI) announced that it had been
recognized as a Supplier of the Year in the Technology
category by The Boeing Company. ASI is a U.S. on-shore
semiconductor foundry that develops and commercializes
process technology. ASI provides unique wafer-scale
semiconductor development to support Boeing's emerging
technology needs. Through process simulation, rapid
development, high quality prototype fabrication, and a
collaborative relationship with Boeing, ASI exceeded its
wafer fabrication delivery milestones. In addition to
ASI's work with Boeing, ASI provides advanced technology
research for agencies such as the U.S. Department of
Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, and NASA.
For
more information on American Semiconductor, Inc. visit
http://www.americansemi.com/
Pets Best Insurance Fires Up The
Web
(Boise) As more and more companies at
home and nationally recognize and build on the power of
Internet presence, one Idaho company is experiencing
national success for its quick advances in e-commerce.
"Without the Internet, we would not be where we
are today," said Pets Best Insurance Chief Operations
Officer Brett Johnson, who holds a Master of Science in
electronic commerce from Carnegie Mellon University.
"Over 60% of our sales are online, and more than just
sales, we have a strong presence because of our ranking
in Google, among others." The number two search ranking
in Google under "pet insurance" is invaluable, according
to Johnson, and took what he calls "a good year of hard
work."
Pets Best was created in 2004 by the
founder of pet insurance in the United States, Dr. Jack
Stephens, a veterinarian who owned several successful
veterinary hospitals in the 1970s and was driven to
create a way for pet owners to be able to afford much
needed healthcare for their pets. Before insurance,
Stephens says pet owners often felt forced to euthanize
their pets because of an inability to pay for their
care.
"Because of the Web, we can talk to people
24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Johnson, noting
that sales are 100% automated through the web.
"Customers can enroll their pets, download forms and
manage their policies all online. If they need to talk
with us, we're here, but nearly everything we do can be
done electronically and most of our customer
communications are implemented through email delivery."
Increased exposure to journalists is an added
benefit. "The exposure [the internet] has created has
really helped us get to where we are and I'm sure will
only strengthen our business as we continue to grow."
Gary Stringham & Associates Promotes
Collaborative Engineering
(Boise)
Gary Stringham & Associates, LLC, a firm
specializing in engineering consulting and training, is
on a mission to promote and facilitate collaboration
between hardware and software engineers of embedded
systems and computer-based products such as cell phones,
printers, network switches, and control systems.
President and founder Gary Stringham recently presented
principles and practices of cooperative engineering at
the Embedded Systems Conference in San Jose, California,
and to the Boise Chapter of the IEEE Computer Society.
"Just because hardware and software engineers are
working on the same product doesn't necessarily mean
they're working together," said Stringham. "Hardware
engineers often design chips months before software
engineers are brought onto a project; this can lead to
integration problems in later stages of product
development."
Respinning chips to correct design
flaws can cost up to $1,000,000 and a three month delay
before new chips are available, he said.
The goal of
the classes and workshops from Gary Stringham &
Associates is to train hardware and software engineers
in collaborative design principles and practices that
can reduce development costs and delays, and improve
product quality.
For more information, go to
http://www.garystringham.com/.
E3
Fuels Considers Idaho For Production
Facility
(Boise) Fuel Science Research
Inc. of Central Point, Oregon is looking for a new
factory location in Idaho at which to manufacture their
patented fuel additive, E3.
On April 29, 2008, Fuel
Science Research paid a visit to the Idaho Department of
Commerce to seek assistance with locating an ethanol
plant in Idaho. E3 Fuels CEO, James Boozell, brought the
inventor, Dr. Bob Kurko, and four company executives to
present their planned move to Idaho.
E3 manufactures
a fuel catalyst additive for use with gasoline or diesel
fuel. The proprietary catalyst is blended with ethanol
for packaging purposes. Boozell's team brought several
documented test results and testimonials touting the
advantages of E3 fuel additive including increased
mileage and emissions reduction.
E3's ethanol
distilling process accepts a wide variety of feedstocks,
from spoiled fruit to wood and even paper, Dr. Kurko
said. The company emphasized they will not use food
products as an ethanol feedstock. The company's goal is
to utilize a vacant industrial site and partner with
agricultural producers to acquire their waste products
for use as feed stock.
Federal Grant Proposal
Assistance
(Statewide) If Your
Business Has An Innovative Idea, A Federal Grant May Be
Right For You! Why apply for a federal grant?
Eleven federal agencies spend approximately $80
billion each year on extramural research and development
(R&D). These agencies are looking for companies with
innovative ideas and are willing to provide grant
funding. If that's not enough, here are seven additional
reasons to include grants in your business plan:
A federal grant can range from $100,000 to several
million dollars.
Grants are not loans. You do not have to pay back
the money.
Most grants do not require matching funds or equity.
The intellectual property rights remain with your
business.
You retain all ownership of your business.
A federal grant award provides validation of your
business and idea.
A federal grant award can be a leveraging tool to
attract venture capital.
Here's how it works!
The federal grant process is very competitive. To
compete, you must have a truly innovative idea and it
must meet needs or solve problems deemed to be vital to
our national interests. Fortunately, each agency issues
topics that they deem vital. For more information, visit
the Department of Commerce website listed below.
State Grant of up to $3,000! Assistance in preparing
and developing federal R&D grant proposals - with
potential for commercialization - is available to
Idahoans statewide through the Idaho Grant Proposal
Incentive (GPI) Fund. A small grant, up to $3,000, is
available to qualifying businesses to help with the
costs of applying for a federal R&D grant. Services
include helping to determine the viability of submitting
a proposal; assisting in the development of superior
proposals; helping to fine tune business and
commercialization strategies; and assessment of the
final submission package.
For more information
concerning federal grants and the $3,000 state grant
from the GPI Fund, visit our website at
http://commerce.idaho.gov/technology/federal-funding.aspx
or contact Mark Strait at
mark.strait@commerce.idaho.gov.
Syringa Networks, LLC Adds Broadband
Capacity
(Boise) Syringa Networks,
LLC, provides advanced communications capabilities to
105 communities, both rural and urban, in southern
Idaho. Syringa, owned by twelve rural local telephone
companies, recently announced the addition of broadband
capacity by adding another frequency (color of light) to
its network, increasing its network capacity by an OC-48
(equivalent to 2,488.32 mega bits per second). That's
the capacity to carry 32,256 simultaneous phone calls!
Syringa Networks now operates five OC-48 rings and
seven Gigabit Ethernet rings. Each Gigabit Ethernet ring
has a capacity of 1,024 mega bits per second which is
about one thousand times the capacity of the average DSL
connection.
For more information on Syringa
Networks, visit http://www.syringanetworks.net/.
GoNano Technologies, Inc. Exemplifies Regional
Collaboration
(Moscow) GoNano Technologies,
Inc. researches and develops nanomaterials and energy
storage solutions. The company has a strong focus on
clean-tech energy applications and renewable energy,
developing ultra-capacitors, solar cell materials,
hydrogen storage and hydrogen conversion. GoNano is
capable of producing nanowires, nanoparticles, and
patent-pending NanoSprings™, and samples are available
for partner testing, independent verification, and
prototyping.
Formed in May of 2007 through research
collaboration between University of Idaho's Dr. David N.
McIlroy and Washington State University's Dr. M. Grant
Norton, GoNano officially opened its R&D facility in
Moscow on February 1, 2008. The company is strategically
located in proximity to both U of I and WSU,
facilitating research access and opportunities for
development and testing of nanomaterials.
For
more information, go to: http://www.gonano-9.com/
View GoNano's latest Newsletter:
http://www.gonano-9.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/gonano_news_spring_08.pdf
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