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INSIDE FLORIDA’S HIGH TECH
CORRIDOR |
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December 2003 |
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USF Researchers Receive NASA EOS
Awards
The National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) released the winners of the Earth Science
Enterprise’s Observing System Interdisciplinary Science Program
Awards (EOS/IDS), and of the 348 proposals received, three of the 59
open slots were given to University of South Florida researchers.
The award was given to Serge Andrefouet for environmental
assessments of coral reef ecosystems, Frank Muller-Karger for an
assessment of global organic carbon flux and Mitchell Roffer for a
study to forecast the effects of climate variability on pelagic fish
resources.
For additional information, visit research.hq.nasa.gov.
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UCF Professor to
lead Optical Society of America
University of Central Florida professor Eric Van
Stryland has been elected the 2004 vice president of The Optical
Society of America. Next year Van Stryland, who is currently the
director of the UCF School of Optics/Center for Research and
Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL), will be the organization’s
president-elect and then in 2006 will serve as its president.
The Society, which has more than 15,000 members
including 22 Nobel Prize winners, also honored two other UCF faculty
members as “fellows” this year.
For additional information, visit www.ucf.edu.
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USF Engineers Design Robotic Mannequin For
Health Practitioners
University of South
Florida Center for Robot-Assisted Search & Rescue (CRASAR)
engineers have developed a lifelike robotic mannequin, constructed
as a neonatal simulator, to use in the healthcare industry. The
mannequin will help train practitioners on techniques for providing
real life care for a number of clinical situations prior to actual
hands-on patient treatment.
USF’s CRASAR serves as a crisis
response and research organization that strives to direct and
explore development in robotics and unmanned systems for
humanitarian purposes worldwide.
For additional information, visit www.research.usf.edu. |
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Technological Advancements Announced at
Optics Conference
Leading scientists
in optics and photonics announced their latest innovations at the
Optics in the Southeast conference, held at the School of
Optics/Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers
(CREOL) at the University of Central Florida. Developments that were
announced include: the use of light to detect pre-cancerous cells,
the use of laser technology to reveal environmental threats, the use
of optical techniques for lung imaging, the use of digital holograms
for biological analysis and the creation of safer barcode scanners.
For more information on any of the developments,
contact Colleen Morrison, Optical Society of America, at
202-416-1437 or cmorri@osa.org.
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USF to Open Satellite Campus off
of I-4
The USF Board of Trustees has
unanimously agreed to allow President Judy Genshaft to make a
proposal for the construction of an additional campus in East
Lakeland at the corner of I-4 and Polk Parkway. The campus, which
will accommodate 10,000 to 15,000 students, will have a main focus
on information technology and biotechnology. “Its location, which is
mid-way between the University of South Florida’s Tampa campus and
the University of Central Florida in Orlando, offers extraordinary
research collaboration opportunities,” said Randy Berridge, Florida
High Tech Corridor president.
For additional information, visit www.usf.edu.
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MeshNetworks,
Innotech Team Up on Communications Solution
MeshNetworks Inc., a
Maitland-based mobile broadband networking developer, recently
announced its collaboration with Innotech Pty. Ltd. The companies
will work together to integrate architecture technology enabled by
MeshNetworks into the Innotech Guardian Safety System.
Innotech’s Guardian Safety System uses
Innotech-patented technology to offer unparalleled firefighting
communications, resource management and accountability. The system
combines a portable radio interface, incident control and telemetry.
MeshNetworks’ technology will allow emergency, public safety and
government personnel to instantly communicate through a peer-to-peer
wireless broadband network. It will also allow them to access the
Internet.
For additional information, visit www.meshnetworks.com.
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NASA’S Space Life Sciences Laboratory
Dedicated in Ceremony
The Space Life
Sciences (SLS) Laboratory, which opened in August, was dedicated in
a November ceremony hosted by NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and
the state of Florida. The 100,000 square-foot facility houses labs
for NASA’s ongoing research efforts, microbiology/microbial ecology
studies and analytical chemistry labs. It also contains facilities
for space flight-experiment and flight-hardware development, new
plant growth chambers and an Orbiter Environment Simulator that will
be used to conduct ground control experiments in simulated flight
conditions for space flight experiments.
For additional information, visit www.nasa.gov. |
Florida
Modeling, Simulation & Training Industry Rapidly
Growing
The National Center for
Simulation has released a study confirming the rapid growth of
Florida’s modeling, simulation and training (MS&T) industry. “We
knew there was a lot of simulation business in the Orlando area, but
we were surprised at the number of companies scattered throughout
the state,” said Guy Hagen, president of Innovation Insight, the
company that administered the study and conducted the data
analysis.
Although much of the MS&T industry in Central
Florida has grown around the Navy’s NAVAIR Orlando Training Systems
Division and the Army’s Program Executive Office, Simulation,
Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) units, there are at least
304 various companies in the field throughout the state. They employ
16,041 people and have a payroll of more than $1 billion, with an
average salary of $65,973 in 2002. Each year, the MS&T industry
generates a combined impact of just over 63,500 direct and indirect
jobs for the state.
For additional information, visit the
“Publications and Studies” section of the Florida High Tech Corridor
Council Web site at www.floridahightech.com. |
Florida Ranks in Top Ten of U.S.
Business Climate Rankings
Florida has the
country’s tenth best business climate, according to a survey by
Site Selection magazine. Site Selection’s annual
ranking is determined 50 percent by new plant performance and 50
percent by the results of an annual survey of corporate real estate
executives. Once these results are gathered, they are placed in
categories, evaluated and the winners are selected.
Florida also ranked highly in the executive survey,
which posed the question: "Based upon your experience, what are the
top 10 state business climates, taking into consideration such
factors as lack of red tape, financial assistance and government
officials' cooperation?” A total of 152 survey respondents – all
senior-level decision-makers at prominent companies – voted Florida
as number four.
For additional information or to view rankings,
visit www.siteselection.com. |
Aerosonic
Announces New U.S. Army Contract
Clearwater-based Aerosonic Corporation has announced that
it has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Army to overhaul
encoding altimeters. The altimeter involved is standard equipment on
a wide variety of military aircraft, including both fixed wing and
rotorcraft. The first year order is valued at $962,500 and is
followed by two option years. The total value of the three-year
contract, including the option years, is $4.3 million.
For additional information, visit www.aerosonic.com. |
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I.D.E.A.L. Technology Awarded Multi-Year
Contract
I.D.E.A.L. Technology
Corporation’s Network Services Division in Orlando, has been awarded
a multi-year contract for computer network design and deployment
with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Project 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee (LMSC) and its Wireless
Working Groups. I.D.E.A.L. Technology will provide on-site computer
network solutions and services employing 802.3 (Ethernet) and 802.11
(Wireless LAN) standard technologies to support as many as 1,500
members at various meetings throughout the U.S. and other parts of
the world.
For additional information, visit idealcorp.com. |
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DataGlyphics to Develop New University
Online Learning Portal
DataGlyphics,
Inc., a St. Petersburg Web development firm, announced that The
Poynter Institute has selected the company to develop the technology
for News University, an online training portal for professional
journalists and journalism students. NewsU, will provide Web-based,
interactive lessons in journalism skills and leadership and will
cater to journalists who cannot attend in-person seminars at
Poynter’s facilities in St. Petersburg, Fla. A project of The
Poynter Institute, NewsU is funded by the Knight Foundation and is
scheduled to launch in early 2004.
For additional information on DataGlyphics,
visit www.datag.com
or for NewsU, visit www.newsu.org
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Don’t forget … It’s eNewsletter Update
Time!
One of the main ways in which the
Florida High Tech Corridor Council communicates with its members,
partners and the general public is through this monthly eNewsletter.
The FHTCC is currently updating its contact information of monthly
newsletter subscribers. If you or your company currently receives
the FHTCC monthly eNewsletter, please e-mail your complete contact
information, including your name, company name, address, phone
number, fax number and e-mail address, to pressroom@floridahightech.com. Your information
will be used to notify you of important business events, proposal
deadlines and grants that are available in your region. The Corridor
does not share or sell its database to others. |
Calendar of Events
The following are events taking
place across the Corridor’s 21-county region which readers may be
interested in attending.
2003 Annual Workforce Development
Conference
Presented by: Tampa Chamber of Commerce
Workforce Development Committee
Friday, December 5, 2003 – Hyatt
Regency-Tampa, FL
For event information, visit www.powerezine.com.
EBN Monthly Forum
Presented by:
Emerging Business Network
Tuesday, December 9, 2003 – Orlando,
FL
For event information, visit www.incubator.ucf.edu.
Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing
Seminars
Presented by: American Society of Mechanical
Engineers
Wednesday, December 10, 2003 – Largo, FL
For event
information, visit www.techdaily.info.
Tampa Bay Biz² Expo &
Conference
Presented by: Independence Day
Productions
Wednesday, December 17, 2003 – Tampa, FL
For event
information, visit www.techdaily.info. |
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Inside Florida’s High Tech
Corridor
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