Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

From Knoxville:

• Applications open June 1 for those wanting to pitch for dollars during Knoxville’s annual “Startup Day.” Scheduled for September 12 at The Mill & Mine, the event offers six Knoxville area start-ups the opportunity to win up to $10,000. The application deadline is June 30. More information can be found here on June 1.
• The Knoxville Technology Council has added several panelists to the listing for the June 1 panel on artificial intelligence (AI). Previously listed in our “News & Notes” feature on May 14 were David Resseguie, Director at PwC Labs Innovation Hub, and Gary Jackson, Director of Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain at CGI. Others joining the panel are: (1) Edmon Begoli, AI Systems R&D Section Head at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; (2) Darrell Jenkins, Chief Information Security Officer at Clayton Homes; and (3) Greg Elin, Senior Principal Engineer and Evangelist for OSCAL at RegScale. Registration (click here) is free for the event that begins with networking and drinks at 4:30 p.m. The panel starts at 5:30 p.m. at Chesapeake’s West, 9630 Parkside Drive.
• The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $500,000 to Analysis and Measurement Services Corporation (AMS) for a year-long project to develop an industry blueprint that will reduce the outage time and maintenance costs for nuclear power plants. AMS recently received approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for its online monitoring technology (OLM) that can be used to determine if and when a pressure, level, or flow transmitter needs to be checked for calibration. This is described as a vast improvement over the current practice, which is to calibrate all safety-related transmitters each operating cycle (every 18 – 24 months) even if the transmitters show no signs of degradation. Implementing this OLM technology at a nuclear power plant can save more than 90 percent of its transmitter calibration load, significantly reducing the plant’s outage time and maintenance costs. However, each plant must receive additional NRC approval through a License Amendment Request (LAR) before implementing the technology, which can take up to two years.
• Michael McCaman has joined Orion Therapeutics as a Co-Founder, Vice President, and Chief Strategy Officer. Over the past 35 years, he’s been heavily involved in the pharmaceutical development of biological therapeutics including proteins, antibodies, cell therapies, and viral/non-viral delivery systems. McCaman’s specialties range from formulation and process development to chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) and commercialization of drug products. He is also widely published with more than 25 peer-reviewed journal articles and several book chapters and reviews in pharmaceutical drug development.
• Anderson Olds has joined the team at Three Roots Capital as a Portfolio and Reporting Analyst. He brings nearly a decade of experience in program management and development, community outreach, and fiscal management to the organization. Previously, he spent several years in university and nonprofit settings, where he cultivated strong business and relationship-building skills. In his new role, Olds coordinates compliance and reporting for Three Roots’ access-to-capital activities.
• Applications close May 31 for the 2023 edition of the “Cultivate Appalachia Bootcamp” focused on food and agriculture entrepreneurs. Organized by Memphis-based AgLaunch with support from the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center, The Biz Foundry, and the Sync Space Entrepreneur Center, the bootcamp runs July 10-13. Click here to apply.

From Oak Ridge:

It’s hard to believe, but Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has already named the person to lead the planning for its next leadership-class supercomputer that will replace Frontier, the still-new exascale computing system. Matt Sieger has been named Project Director to lead the team for the Oak Rudge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF-6) effort. As the former Deputy Director for the OLCF-5 project, he worked with Frontier Project Director Justin Whitt and the Project Management Office at ORNL to ensure Frontier’s arrival and deployment. Sieger focused on the internal operations of the project and tracking the performance of the schedule and budget.

From Elsewhere but with Oak Ridge Ties: 

• A new partnership between Tennessee Tech University (TTU) and United Cleanup Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR) will focus on building a pipeline of highly skilled workers for UCOR’s environmental cleanup at the Oak Ridge Reservation for the U.S. Department of Energy. TTU’s College of Engineering is set to further its leadership as a top producer of engineering graduates for the state of Tennessee with the anticipated launch of a new nuclear engineering degree program as early as fall 2024.
• It seems like Nth Cycle is constantly in the news, being recognized in one way or the other. The latest comes as the alum of the “Innovation Crossroads” program operated by Oak Ridge National Laboratory was an honoree in the 2023 “SEAL Sustainability Awards” program. The environmental advocacy organization, whose name stands for “sustainability, environmental achievement, and leadership, recognized 87 different organizations – some multiple winners – during an event earlier this month in San Diego.

SEAL recognized companies in four distinct sustainability categories – environmental initiative, sustainable innovation, sustainable products, and sustainable service. Nth Cycle was recognized in the second category, joining the likes of The Dow Chemical Company, Honeywell, and Under Armour Inc.

Look for our “News & Notes” from other Tennessee cities in tomorrow’s edition.

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