Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

From Knoxville:

Registration is now open for Knoxville’s annual “Startup Day.” It is scheduled for 1 to 5 p.m. EDT on October 1 at the Mill & Mine, 227 West Depot Avenue. There is no cost to attend. To register, click here.

From Oak Ridge:

Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS), managing contractor for the Y-12 National Security Complex, is sponsoring a $5,000 grant for a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classroom. The goal of the grant, designated for grades K–12, is to foster advancement of STEM activities in the classroom and to help develop Y-12’s future workforce.

Grant application information is available on the Y-12 website, and applications will be accepted through October 4, 2024. Educators who are immediate family members of Y-12 employees are not eligible to apply for or receive a grant. Y-12 staff will evaluate the grant applications and make recommendations for grant allocations. Once a final decision is made, the $5,000 grant will be made payable to the individual school and will be dispersed to the teacher or administrator in accordance with school protocol.

Grants will be awarded during “Nuclear Science Week” October 21–25, and all funds must be spent in the 2024-2025 academic year.

Another from Oak Ridge:

LIS Technologies Inc., a proprietary developer of advanced laser technology that announced last week an oversubscribed $11.88 million seed funding round, has appointed Dr. Junaid Razvi to the company’s Executive Advisory Board as a Senior Advisor in Nuclear Energy. He is a seasoned nuclear technology professional with nearly four decades of experience across scientific, policy, regulatory, and economic domains. Razvi’s expertise includes the design, licensing, construction, operation, and utilization of nuclear reactors and related systems.

From Kingsport:

Applications are being accepted through 11:59 p.m. EDT on August 30 for the KOSBE Awards, which celebrate small businesses making significant economic impacts and contributing to their communities in exceptional ways. To be eligible, a business must be located in Carter, Grainger, Greene, Hancock, Hawkins, Hamblen, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington Counties. There are categories of awards:

• The Staying Power Award — celebrating a long-term, substantiated history of business success (open for at least five years).
• The New Business Excellence Award — celebrating an exceptional business operating for less than five years.
• The Gazelle Award — celebrating exceptional accelerated business growth within the last two years.
• The Ernie Rumsby Award — celebrating a stand-out veteran-owned business or a business that makes a significant impact to the veteran community.
• The Innovation Award — celebrating innovation in any area of business.
• The Community Impact Award — celebrating exceptional contributions by the business to the community.
• The Customer Service Excellence Award — celebrating a business for exceptional customer service.
• The Twende Minority-owned Business Award — Celebrating a participant of the 2024 Tri-Cities Twende Program.

The awards event will take place on December 12 at Taylored Venue and Events in Kingsport.

To apply, click on this link.

From Knoxville:

The Tennessee Valley Authority recently spotlighted the work of Knoxville-based start-up Holocene that is focused on direct air capture of CO₂.

With TVA’s sponsorship, Holocene participated in the “Innovation Crossroads” at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and was a member of the University of Tennessee’s Spark Incubator Program. As it graduates from these programs, Holocene is now scaling up its technology, expecting to reach full commercial operation by 2030. Customers are already lining up.  A consortium of large companies has signed contracts committing to purchase carbon removal credits from Holocene.

The company was co-founded by Anca Timofte and Tobias Rüesch, adding Keeton Ross later as a third Co-Founder.

The article can be found here.

Another from Knoxville:

The Online Franchise Certification program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s (UTK) Haslam College of Business recently received endorsement from the International Franchise Association (IFA), the world’s preeminent organization for franchising.

Haslam is now an IFA affiliate, meaning once completing the UTK Online Franchise Certification program, participating individuals are eligible to receive non-degree credits from the IFA Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) program. “Thousands of franchise professionals at every stage of their careers have reached new levels of professional success after achieving the CFE certification,” according to the IFA’s website.

Lindsay Mahony is Director of Franchising Program Initiatives, Assistant Head of the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship and a Senior Lecturer in the Haslam College. According to her, “Part of the mission of the Haslam College of Business is to serve the citizens of Tennessee and beyond by providing inspiring educational opportunities. We are grateful for the opportunity to enhance our program offerings with this non-degree certificate for our community members with an entrepreneurial mindset who are interested in franchising.”

 

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