So, last week I was having a discussion with a potential new client. The firm liked our expertise in taxation and finance, as well as management, but…
Continue reading Hire the Engineer- or the Scientist!
I recall one of my professors asking me what I was doing (t)here. He was positive that I should have been in the MBA program and not the PhD program. Because my entire mien did not fit the (read: his) definition of a chemical engineer.
Continue reading Square Boxes. Square Holes.
One of the things I learned at MIT was how universities can increase their ability to provide scholarships and maintain their educational excellence. It wasn’t from the conventional academic process. No, these funds didn’t come from government grants for research. Because even back then, there wasn’t much (or any) excess in the funding that was provided by NIH, DOD, NSF, and the variety of alphabet agencies that support our educational research programs.
Continue reading Innovation Practicalities
There are some 10000 folks dying- while on the list to receive a kidney transplant- every year. But, there are still no stem cell produced kidneys. Which is why some Wake Forest researchers are seeking ways to skirt the political bugaboos regarding stem cells – and still trying to increase the availability of kidneys for those in need.
Continue reading Kidney Transplant Hopes?
Genetic engineering? Immunotherapy? These are terms often mentioned in the news, but we don’t totally grasp their significance- especially for cancer victims.
Continue reading New Tools Against Cancer
I really hate sounding like Chicken Little. But, given the intellectual and economic prowess of our Congress (that’s both the House and the Senate), I really have no choice. (Anyone else recognize the stupidity of bringing snowballs onto the floor to lambaste those who understand the import of global climate change?)
Continue reading Our Ostrich Behavior
I am not trying to sound the Doomsday Machine. Our economy is picking up. Corporations are raising their low-end employee’s wages. (Don’t get too excited. They are not doing this for benevolent reasons. They are having a tough time keeping their low-end employees, because jobs are now more available.) But, we still are not coming out with a plethora of new products.
Continue reading R&D cuts mean fewer Start-ups
Years ago, I remember using little strips that alerted us to whether the temperature of various objects had changed in transit. I was running a kosher food provider and we were shipping foods across the Northeast corridor, to Southern Florida, Chicago, Los Angeles and a few other clusters where there were plenty of folks who only ate kosher food.
The strips were ok- and probably beyond the state of the art – but we wanted more.
Some 40 years ago, we developed a strain of microbes that converted ammonia to nitrogenous gases. The goal was to find a way to augment a waste treatment system’s ability to purify the water. Oh, we found uses for it at many facilities. Not the least of which were seasonal facilities that handled poultry wastes. (These facilities ramped up to handle the demand for turkeys around Thanksgiving and Christmas, when the ambient temperatures were pretty low. That meant the normal capabilities of a system to biologically remove ammonia were greatly diminished.)
It’s the holiday season. And, we are surrounded by myths (and truths) about our heroes- Matisyahu, Jesus, Pope Francis, and every politician (they all seem to be running for President or re-election- even in December). Which means we should be aware of charisma. It’s not a new interest- I’ve written about this a few times (here’s but one).
Continue reading Charisma- revisited
