Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

From Knoxville-Oak Ridge:

Ayyoub Momen, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ultrasonic Technology Solutions, will be the featured speaker at the February “Innovation Crossroads Founders Forum” event. Scheduled for  3 to 5 p.m. February 16 at Smoky Mountain Brewery, 11308 Parkside Drive, the monthly gathering of entrepreneurs from throughout the ecosystem is an opportunity to hear talks about lessons learned and participate in Q&A with program alumni, community members, and experienced start-up founders.  A networking happy hour will follow, and no preregistration is required.

From Knoxville:

• The “Techstars Industries of the Future Accelerator” is holding a virtual session at 12:30 p.m. EST Monday in advance of Wednesday’s application deadline to be considered for Cohort 2. The event will feature Tricia Martinez, Managing Director; Lisa Seymour, Program Director; and Dan Pfeil and Hannah Savage, Investment Associates. They will kick off with a quick overview of the program and then jump in to answer any questions the audience may have.
• Analysis and Measurement Services Corporation (AMS) reports that a utility has submitted a License Amendment Request or LAR to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to implement the company’s Online Monitoring (OLM) technology, marking the next step in deployment of the technology. This AMS technology was approved by the NRC in August 2021 in response to a topical report that AMS submitted to the NRC in July 2020. The writing of the topical report was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The topical report – AMS-TR-0721R1-A and the NRC’s Safety Evaluation documents approving the online monitoring technology – are available to the public on the Agency-wide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). OLM provides the nuclear industry with a tool to monitor the calibration of nuclear plant pressure, level, and flow transmitters while the plant is operating. The results will allow plants to identify any drifting transmitters that must be calibrated. This will help plants avoid calibrating transmitters that are not drifting. All the important transmitters today are calibrated once every operating cycle because no technology was available until now to identify the transmitters that drift and therefore need a calibration.

From Nashville:

• WZTV reports that Earth Rides, the ride sharing company using electric vehicles, has suspended operations without giving notice to employees. As described in this July 2021 teknovation.biz article, the company was founded by Raven Hernandez, a passionate environmentalist and Lipscomb University graduate, with a goal to tackle poor air quality. The company was launched in Nashville, expanded next to Austin, and added its third city – Scottsdale. Earth Rides says on its webpage that its operations “are currently paused.”
• UptimeHealth, a health technology company that simplifies medical device service through automation and predictive analytics, raised $4.5 million in Series A funding co-led by Caduceus Capital Partners and Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health. The company intends to use the funds to support plans to accelerate growth and expansion in the healthcare services market.

From Nashville but with Statewide Implications:

BioTN, a leader in life science and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-related economic and workforce development programming in Tennessee, is conducting a statewide STEM assessment report to analyze the impact of Tennessee’s educational policies and STEM programming for the future of the STEM industry. The report will help with the long-term goal of expanding quality STEM education in Tennessee by:

• Assessing Tennessee’s current student outcomes in STEM related subjects, both holistically and cut across identified subgroups;
• Identifying best practices and opportunities for industry partnerships and school-to-school collaboration and recommend resources and programs to improve STEM-related educational opportunities; and
• Assessing workforce needs for STEM-related jobs across the state by analyzing training programs and workforce demands.

BioTN, which is seeking sponsors for the initiative, expects to complete Phase I of this report in January, with Phase II of the report expected to be completed in Spring 2023.

From Washington, DC but in Knoxville:

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has announced that it will hold one of three “Getting the Grant: Successfully Applying for ARC Funding Opportunities“ in-person workshops in the city. The nearly full-day event – 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. – is set for February 28 and will cover three ARC programs: ARISE (Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies), INSPIRE (Investments Supporting Partnerships in Recovery Ecosystems Initiative), and POWER (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization Initiative). Click here to register.

 

 

---