Innovation + Job News

The new investment will create 11 job openings to be filled in accordance with the UAW-GM National Agreement.

"This will allow us to strengthen our core electrification components expertise," says GM Manufacturing Manager Arvin Jones. "We'll have more to say about specific products later."

The investments in the White Marsh facility will be made with the assistance from the Recovery Act funding announced in August 2009 by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The newly announced investment is in addition to the $246 million investment announced in January to build a high-volume electric drive production facility for GM's next-generation rear-wheel drive Two-mode Hybrid system. The addition of electric motor production, to begin in 2013, will take place in a separate facility to be built on the same site as the Baltimore plant. The January investment will create about 200 jobs in three states, including Maryland.

Designing and manufacturing electric motors at Baltimore Transmission allows GM to more efficiently control the design, materials and production processes as well as reduce costs and improve performance, quality, reliability and manufacturability.

Source: General Motors
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Bmore Fiber, a group of business leaders and residents working to bring super high-speed broadband access to Baltimore, has won the $10,000 Gigabit Genius Award, created and funded by Philadelphia's startup and technology communities to encourage gigabit innovation worldwide. A panel of expert judges selected by Philadelphia's Division of Technology were instructed to choose the most promising projects from anywhere in the world.

The winning projects were chosen from among 20 finalists by a panel of expert judges drawn from Philadelphia's technology, civic, academic, and entrepreneurial leadership.

The projects were chosen for their potential to transform lives using ultra high-speed Internet connectivity known as gigabit. Gigabit technology would make the Internet up to 100 times faster than it is today, a difference in speed similar to the transition from dial-up modems to broadband Internet connections.

Bmore Fiber was awarded the bulk of the prize, $7,500, to begin developing teleradiology technology that will enable specialists to transmit and review radiology scans in real-time, making the experience identical whether the specialists are in the next room or the next continent.

"We are going to meet to consider our next steps. This is a big topic. One question is whether the funds should go to enabling the gigabit technology and then seek a path for the teleradiology work, or whether we should start work on the teleradiology project right away. In my mind the two are inextricably linked, so we'll have to see what makes sense," says David Troy, a Baltimore-based entrepreneur and spokesperson for Bmore Fiber.

The team will also start looking for partners from among Baltimore's robust technology and healthcare sectors.

"We have a broad range of volunteers here in the community, but we don't have anyone specifically lined up for the teleradiology project yet. Here in Baltimore, though, it would seem that with Hopkins and UMD medicine so strong here, we should not have trouble finding willing partners," says Troy.

The remainder of the prize, $2,500, was awarded to Israeli entrepreneur Daniel Dobroszklanka for a remote education project that would enable students anywhere in the world to participate in a world-class live classroom experience.

Source: Dave Troy, Bmore Fiber
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The National Aquarium and Baltimore-area Uno Chicago Grills have come together to help save the planet -- or at least our part of it. The deep dish pizza joint and the National Aquarium have come together to launch the first ever Dough Rai$er, a year long fundraising event to benefit the Aquarium's conservation initiatives and education programs. The fundraiser gives the Aquarium's fans an opportunity to take action and support a healthier environment when dining at Chicago Uno Grills.

To participate in the National Aquarium Dough Rai$er just get a a voucher and bring it to a Baltimore area Uno Chicago Grill location through September 1, 2011. Twenty percent of sales generated from the vouchers will go to the National Aquarium's conservation and education programs.

Participating locations include Baltimore City (Harbor Place), Ellicott City (Long Gate Shopping Center), The Mall in Columbia, Bowie Town Center, Frederick, and Union Station in Washington D.C.

"This partnership highlights the power of community based partnerships," says Denise Aranoff-Brown, senior director of marketing for the National Aquarium. "In Uno Chicago Grills, we have found a partner that is equally committed to providing easy opportunities for consumers to get involved. In this case, local residents can help protect their local environment by supporting the Aquarium's conservation research and action programs."

In addition to the Dough Rai$er program, Uno Chicago Grill will support the Aquarium's conservation-related events. To help kick-off the partnership, Uno donated food for the Aquarium's Rock the Boat fundraiser that raised well over $1,000 for conservation research and action projects designed to restore, protect, and manage critical species or ecosystems.

"Uno Chicago Grill is proud to support the National aquarium with our hugely popular Dough Rai$er program. We care about the well-being of our customers and understand the importance of a healthy ecosystem such as the Chesapeake Bay," says Jim Hartnett, Harbor Place managing partner. "To date, we have donated more than $3.4 million to deserving organizations."

Source: The National Aquarium
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Developing Health is a three-year, $25 million GE program that aims to improve access to primary care in targeted under-served communities across the United States. The program aligns with GE's healthymagination initiative, a commitment to reduce costs, improve quality, and increase access in healthcare.

"We are pleased to partner and engage with Chase Brexton Health Services and People's Community Health Centers to help drive community access to quality healthcare in Baltimore," says Bob Corcoran, president, GE Foundation. "A staggering number of 47 million people in the United States are uninsured or lack access to basic healthcare, and we are committed to providing services to the uninsured and underserved through grants and GE volunteering in the communities. Both Chase Brexton Health Services and People's Community Health Centers are well equipped to provide the necessary services and make a difference in their communities."

"Over the last 30 years at Chase Brexton, we've endeavored to create programs and services that enable us to provide comprehensive, affordable healthcare to our patients. This grant from the GE Foundation will help us expand our existing services and support our efforts to improve health outcomes for the people we serve," says David H. Shippee, CEO of Chase Brexton Health Services.

The grants will expand access to primary care for residents in the area. "We pride ourselves in providing medical care to those who cannot afford it, regardless of their income or their insurance status," says Patricia Cassatt, CEO of People's Community Health Centers, Inc. "We are honored to be recognized by the GE Foundation for our efforts, and are excited about the prospect of providing increased access to care with the help of the Developing Health program."

Developing Health is a partnership between GE Corporate Citizenship and the GE Corporate Diversity Council. Modeled after GE's successful philanthropic program Developing Health Globally, the program was launched in New York City in October 2009, and has since expanded to Milwaukee, Houston, Cincinnati, Louisville and New Orleans.

Source: GE Foundation
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The Maryland Department of Information Technology (DoIT), in partnership with public and private agencies across the state that form the One Maryland Broadband Network (OMBN), won $115,240,581 in grant funding through the U.S. Department of Commerce's (DOC) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. Funding was provided through the Fed's ongoing stimulus plan, aka American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and this grant is one of the biggest broadband grants awarded to date.

OMBN will use the funds to build more than 1,200 miles of high-speed Internet line, linking together three independent broadband networks and extending affordable and abundant Internet access to more than 1,000 anchor institutions � including 458 schools, 44 libraries, 262 police and emergency centers, 15 community colleges, 6 universities, and 221 other government and community support centers. The new network will connect the state from Western Maryland to the Eastern Shore, reaching 2 million homes and 443,000 businesses.

The grants are expected to create more than 800 new jobs now and at least an additional 800 jobs in the future. They will provide high-speed access to parts of Maryland that had little or no Internet connectivity. Many connections are too slow to process large amounts of data quickly � a problem when trying to send business records, video conferencing for educational coursework, medical records, and emergency communications.

Source: Office of Governor Martin O'Malley
Writer: Walaika Haskins

1st Mariner Arena executives have signed a deal partnering with Baltimore-based Creative Visual Results (CVR) to install 50-inch, high-definition LCD digital screens in the box office and main lobby, with plans to install 15 more screens throughout the arena over the next year.

CVR will offer advertisers static ad spots, animation, and video in 10-second rotations, resulting in between 22 and 60 impressions per hour. Depending on the package purchased, advertisers will spend between $.05 and $.25 per impression. With the cost of television advertising continually on the rise, and averaging $21 in advertising spend to reach just 1,000 people via television, local and national businesses are already showing serious interest in 1st Mariner's digital screens.

Hosting at least 120 nationally advertised events annually, with capacity for at least 14,000 guests per event, 1st Mariner Arena was CVR executives' first choice for housing the interactive screens. "Digital advertising is growing as the leading form of marketing, showing exceptional results in consumer attention and recall," says VP of Marketing for CVR, Alex Kutsishin. "We couldn't wait to bring this prospect to Baltimore's busiest stage."

In addition to digital advertising being more positively rated by consumers than any other media, more than a third of consumers report that they have taken action as a direct result of seeing digital signage advertising.

Source: Creative Visual Results
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The company will work with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), a DOE research facility, to develop technologies for thermochemical conversion of biomass to advanced biofuels that are compatible with existing fueling infrastructure. The technologies will upgrade bio-oils into gasoline, diesel and jet fuels using a specialized catalytic reactor designed to resist corrosion and extend catalyst lifetime. Also on the team are VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, who will be providing pyrolysis oils, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, who will study corrosion.

The funding is a component of the Department of Energy's strategy to accelerate the development of sustainable biofuels, and is coordinated by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Biomass Program.

Grace and PNNL researchers will use a thermochemical process known as pyrolysis, which breaks down biomass using heat to produce bio-oils that can be further processed in existing petroleum refineries into transportation fuels.


Source: W.R. Grace
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Baltimore-based MP3Car.com is hoping to do for the automotive app what the Apple App store did for mobile apps with it's newly launched Auto App Mart.

Mp3Car, the largest car computing community online, is placing heavy odds that an in-dash computer will soon become a standard feature in every new car. The company points to the success of Ford's Sync, Genivi's selection of MeeGo as a reference platform and Google's entrance into telematics as clear indicators that in-vehicle infotainment is the new frontier in mobile computing.

Driving the market in that direction are drivers' demand for a smartphone-like application experience in their vehicle that provides access to a variety of helpful apps at little to no cost.

As the Apple App Store and other application platforms have proven, crowdsourcing application development is a successful marketplace that will continue to grow.

According to Heather Sarkissian, MP3Car's CEO, the Auto App will act as a conduit for carmakers, platform providers and others to connect with the its community of automative application developers with whom they can partner to create apps that balance consumer demands for functionality and a personalized experience with carmaker's concerns about safety and security.

"Essentially mobile computing will be increasingly available in cars over the next two to three years. The issue though is that the software for these systems becomes obsolete fairly quickly, are impossible to update, and right now there's no way to get apps to drivers that for the most part are free," she says.

MP3Car, Sarkissian says, is well positioned to become the leader in the auto app market. The Auto App Mart is important because it is mobilizing the global community of developers to consider developing a different kind of app, familiarizing them with what the concept of an automotive app would be, and getting them to start thinking about safety and usability concerns associated with these apps.

The company won't set industry standards, compatibility, other technical specifics, but rather to mobilize developers, acting as a central location for innovators.

"We're really focused on getting the developers all in one spot and being really aware of their needs and very supportive of what they need to do to innovate. Ideally [Auto App Mart] would be a resource that automotive makers will want to tap into to develop applications. The reality is that Ford isn't going to want to negotiate with 50 developers. They're going to want to negotiate with one -- MP3Car," says Sarkissian.

Source: Heather Sarkissian, MP3Car.com
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Hoping to strike gold once again, the team behind the "The Blair Witch Project"  has committed to filming an independent feature film, "The Possession," in Maryland next month at several locations in Washington County. The shoot will employ some of Maryland's film crews and help boost the local economy. The film's writer/director Eduardo Sanchez, producers Robin Cowie and Gregg Hale and their company Haxan Films' "The Blair Witch Project," which shot in Maryland on a micro budget more than a decade ago, went on to gross over $250 million worldwide. Haxan Films is making "The Possession" with Amber Entertainment, the production company of Mark Ordesky ("The Lord of the Rings" Trilogy) and Jane Fleming.

"We are excited to welcome Haxan Films and their talented team back to Maryland and are pleased that their positive experience here in 1999 is leading them to film their latest project here," says Gov. O'Malley. "We also welcome the opportunity to put some of our talented film crews back to work and positively impact the local economy."

"It feels great to finally shoot another film in my home state," says Sanchez, who lives in Maryland. "The last time went pretty well for us so we're hoping that Maryland brings us some luck again with "The Possession".

The movie's storyline begins as a simple horror film about things that go bump in the night but as it unfolds becomes a thriller about the evil power that exists inside one troubled young woman.

"The State of Maryland, the Maryland Film Office, the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau and local businesses have been extremely pro-active and supportive in bringing our film to Maryland," adds Cowie. "We look forward to creating jobs, hiring local cast and crew and a great production."

Source: Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development
Writer: Walaika Haskins