News from NMTC

Inventors-Portal-a-First-in-Maryland-Release-19-Feb-2016.pdf

First In Maryland – Inventor’s Portal set to turn dreams into $$$$, for everyone who ever said, “I have an idea”!

Where do the ideas come from that become the most desirable, useful, and world changing products, services, or software? Actually, they come from you, your neighbor, a problem solver, a bored student, just about anyone.
On March 1, in Baltimore County, and March 7, in Harford County, NMTC is launching the Inventor’s Portal—a free series that is “specifically” for everyone. The NMTC created the Inventor’s Portal to encourage personal growth and economic opportunity and prosperity for anyone who ever said, “I have an idea!”
In the Inventor Portal series, subject matter experts will outline the process of invention, and give you fast-track steps and tips for converting your idea from concept to cash.If you have an idea, solved an annoying problem, or developed a process improvement, then this series is for you!

The Inventor’s Portal will inspire, encourage and motivate you, the inventor.

The NMTC’s Inventor’s Portal is supported in part by the Baltimore and Harford Counties public libraries, and in Harford County by Harford’s Business Edge; a non-profit enterprise that exists for the purpose of creating and maintaining successful business incubation and acceleration programs and services for area entrepreneurs by obtaining, coordinating and directing government and private sector resources.

Session 1 –: Have an Idea? What’s next? – (Doug Zeisel, Partner – Technology Commercialization Ventures) An overview of the process of converting an idea into cash. We discuss the steps to take to move an idea from concept to cash. We will also introduce the following seminars.

Session 2 – Is your idea good enough? (Rob Meissner, Partner – Technology Commercialization Ventures) A presentation on what an inventor needs to know and do for determining if his/her concept is worth pursuing. Topics include: identifying markets, customer discovery, creating a value proposition.

Session 3 –To patent or not to patent? (Mike Oliver, Partner – Oliver & Grimsley)
Attorneys debate the advantages and disadvantages of patent protection for intellectual property and the alternatives to protect an idea from being copied.

Session 4 – Funding your dream – (Doug Zeisel, Partner – Technology Commercialization Ventures) How much do you need/ Sources of capital/ How to find $

Session 5 – Writing the killer business plan (Neil Davis, Director of Entrepreneurial Development – TEDCO) The components of a winning business plan and how to make them sparkle.

A select group of Marylanders received the prestigious Visionary Award on February 25, 2016, for their contributions to the advancement of STEM education and technology. The ceremony held at the Richlin Ballroom in Edgewood, MD, was attended by 220 leaders in industry, government, and education. A special video highlighting the emerging STEM Clubs in the region was introduced.

“We honored remarkable people who continue to play key roles in moving our region forward in the areas of education and technology,” said NMTC Board Chair, Michael Parker. “These are individuals who selflessly donate their time and talents to make a difference in their community.”

The 2016 Visionary Award winners are:
Visionary:
Denise Carnaggio, Director of Community Education, Continuing Education and Training, Harford Community College.

Leaders:
John Mayhorne, Dean of Business, Computing and Applied Technology, Harford Community College.
Christine Zatalava, Stem Instructional Coach, Cecil County Public Schools

Innovators:
Susan Kipp, Parent Volunteer, Youth’s Benefit Elementary School.
Sarah Voskuhl, Program Specialist, Science & Math Academy at Aberdeen High School.

Mentors:
Dr. Rose Pesce-Rodriguez, Research Chemist, US Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground.
Greg Fox, Technical Fellow, Northrop Grumman (Retired).
Kelly Mangum, 4th Grade Teacher, Hickory Elementary School, Harford County Public Schools.
Omar Savory, Computer Engineer, US Army Intelligence and Information Warfare Directorate Research and Development Engineering Command, APG.

Rising Stars:
Christina Bryant, Recruitment And Outreach Program Manager, US Army Test and Evaluation Command, APG.
Kimberly Bowers, HR. Management Specialist, Us Army CECOM Software Engineering Center, APG.
Nicole McKew, Strategic Engagements And Stem Outreach, Program Manager, Edgewood Chemical & Biological Center (ECBC), APG
Jan Stewart, 4th Grade Teacher And Science Facilitator, Hickory Elementary School, Harford County public Schools.

“We are grateful to these individuals for helping our region grow to the next level. Northern Maryland has changed and our economic infrastructure is increasingly focused on research and technology development,” said John Casner, executive director of NMTC. “These are the individuals who are building the foundation for the future of our region.”

NMTC is Maryland’s fast growing technology council, connecting collaborative leaders in over 200 industry and technology companies in building a STEM educated workforce and advancing technology growth to better the economic growth of our region and protect our national security.

STEM Summits, from February 2011 to June 2016,  brought together leaders from the education, commercial, and government sectors to collaborate and execute initiatives to strengthen science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education across the Northeastern Maryland region, in 5 different middle schools, each year, connecting over 10,000 students in the target age of 4-6th grades. Today, because, of this success, local schools have now adopted the format themselves, conducting them on a more personalized basis for their students and school’s curriculum.

NMTC STEM Summits were programs run by those boldly creating new ways to reinforce STEM, not just for our region, but to strengthen our country’s most pressing national security issue – producing more scientists, engineers, and mathematicians, to put them to work solving our toughest problems in our economy and defense.

The STEM Focus is to expand and build on its successes. These successes derive from it core strategy:

This model is summarized as:
Grades Pre-K – 5, focus on exciting students about STEM and lighting a spark of interest.
Grades 6-8, focus on expanding that student’s interest in STEM and experiences.
Grades 9-12, focus students in areas of study to garner more in-depth knowledge
Years 13-20 the goals of “Finish”, getting additional education, and “Employ”,

NMTC Announces 2016’s Visionary Awards Honorees

Havre de Grace, MD. – What happens when you mix research scientists, computer engineers, college deans, engaged parents, and teachers? You get explosive applause from the hundreds of attendees celebrating this year’s Visionary Awards honorees.
On February 25, 2016, join NMTC and the STEM community at the Richlin Ballroom for NMTC’s Visionary Awards Gala. Celebrating with STEM heroes past and present, we will honor our neighbors, colleagues, family, and friends for their tireless efforts to help the children of northeastern Maryland embrace, grow, and thrive with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.
Visionary Awards honorees are building tomorrow’s globally competitive, STEM educated workforce. They are encouraging our children to reach farther, think bigger, and dream boldly. Their students and mentees will be the people advancing new technologies, bringing innovations to life, protecting our national security, and expanding our state economy. This year’s gala honors these amazing individuals:

2016-Visionary-Awards-PR.pdf

The Northeastern MD Technology Council (NMTC) celebrates the 5th anniversary of its most popular program, Science Cafes.

Press release NMTC-Science-Cafe-5th-Anniversary-Release160121.pdf
It all began on a chilly night, December 19, 2010, at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Bel Air, MD. Dr. Dennis Hiebert, engineer and mentor, shared his knowledge of robotics to a crowd of 40 community residents, youth robotics enthusiasts, and bookstore shoppers.

From that night, the NMTC has offered Science Cafes every month of the school year in Harford County, MD and since 2012, in Cecil County, MD. To date, close to 100 cafes have been held, bringing science in an understandable way to thousands of adults and high school students.
The value of the Science cafes, described by attendees and presenters, echo the compliments from many.

 
Attendee, Gary Martin, Program Executive officer for 1,600 member Army PEO Command Control Communications-Tactical at Aberdeen Proving Ground, shared; “The local community STEM programs offer a variety of opportunities within the Harford and Cecil counties. While most of the offerings are focused on exposing students to hands-on STEM experiences, the NMTC’s Science Cafes expands these offerings through intriguing discussions for students, parents, and anyone with an interest in gaining insights in a variety of emerging science topics. The fact that most of the café presenters are part of the local community, attendees also gain insights into the great STEM related research and work that goes on within the Harford/Cecil region.”

Presenter, David A. Vanko, Ph.D., Dean, Jess & Mildred Fisher College of Science and Mathematics, Towson University, said:
“I was pleased and honored to be invited to present a Science Café talk about earthquakes and hydraulic fracturing. What impressed me the most was the enthusiasm and the wide age range of the attendees. Everyone, from retirees to a large number of local high school and college students, gave me a very warm welcome and asked a lot of interesting questions. Kudos to the Northeastern MD Tech Council for administering such a valuable program for the community!”

Dr. Nina Lamba, NMTC Board Member and NMTC Science Café founder drew inspiration for the Science Cafes from the grassroots movements around the world, including the Science Pubs in the UK. A Science Café is an informal event; a venue for scientists to talk about their work with the general public. “Our format has evolved – we invite our expert to present for about 30-35 minutes on a chosen topic, using language appropriate for a non-scientist adult. The audience is then invited to ask their questions. Since each Café we hold draws a wide variety of people, their questions lead to some great discussions.

Science Cafes are usually held towards the end of the month. Check nmtc.org. for further details on upcoming events.

NMTC-Science-Cafe-5th-Anniversary-Release160121.pdf

NMTC continued the conversation of ARL’s recent Open House and ARL’s Open Campus initiative that was was viewed by over 700 visitors.

Members Learned about new ideas coming from our speaker’s Tech Team office, and, changes to the tools available to you such as collaborative endeavors through Open Campus, that include: Cooperative Agreements, Educational Partnership Agreements and Cooperative Research and Development Agreements, more commonly referred to as CRADAs. Also, ARL’s new campus in Southern CA, opening April 2016

Mr. Tom Mulkern, our speaker,  currently leads the Technology Transfer Team at ARL. He is responsible for directing Technology Transfer Programs that include; Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADA), Patent License Agreements (PLA), Test Service Agreement (TSA), Manufacturing Technology (MANTECH) program, and International Cooperative Research, Development, and Acquisition (ICRDA) programs that support the ARL technology portfolio.

Participating in the discussion were members of the U of Delaware, Harford Community College and numerous defense contractors, including 6 members of the NMTC Board.

Download Mr Mulkern’s presentation here. Due to it’s extensive file size, it’s divided into thee parts, so please download all three to see the entire presentation.

ARL-Tech-TransferPages-1-5.pdf
ARL-Tech-Transfer-pages-6-12.pdf
ARL-Tech-Transfer-pages-13-18.pdf