Monday, April 5, 2010

FutureGen and Economics

Note: This post was meant for the SIUC Energy Tech Blog, but I'll leave it here in case anyone's linking to it.

Recent news: Peabody Energy Acquires Equity Interest in Calera Corporation

The Calera Corporation Technology captures emissions from coal- or gas-fired fuel plants and converts them into green building materials. Another byproduct is fresh water.

FutureGen is seemingly becoming more of a reality as more companies join the roster and more research funding is pumped into the related technologies.

What will the impact be on our region if FutureGen is implemented? In case you missed it, Dr. Ira Altman from SIUC Department of Agribusiness Economics wrote a report entitled
FutureGen: The Economic Impacts of Clean Coal for Illinois

Ira Altman, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Agribusiness Economics
College of Agricultural Sciences
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
June 2007
Link to the full report (pdf).

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents
Summary 3
Introduction 4
Study Area Description 4
Results and Analysis 10
Economic Impacts of Facility Operations – Statewide 11
Economic Impacts of Construction – Statewide 11
Economic Impacts of Facility Operations – Two County Model 12
Appendix A Input-Output Analysis and IMPLAN 14
Appendix B Output Impact- Two County Model 16
Appendix C Output Impact State Model- Facility Operation 23
Appendix D Output Impact State Model- Facility Construction 30

Summary:
This research concludes that the economic impact of locating a coal gasification and carbon sequestration project in either Coles County or Douglas County would result in significant positive economic activity for the state of Illinois and the local economy.

Impact results are calculated using the IMPLAN Professional Version 2.0® for two models: a state level model and a two county model. Report highlights include the following impacts from the operation of a coal gasification facility:

---A $135 million increase in statewide economic output from facility operation
---A $34 million increase in statewide labor income from facility operation
---A $91 million increase in statewide value added from facility operation
---An $11 million increase in tax revenue from facility operation
---An increase of 510 jobs in Illinois from facility operation
---A $258 million increase in statewide economic output from construction
---A $116 million increase in statewide labor income from construction
---An increase of 2,525 jobs in Illinois from construction
---A $85 million increase in local economic output
---A $19.98 million increase in income for local labor
---A $59 million increase in local value added
---A $8.1 million increase in taxes and
---An increase of 360 new jobs to the local area.


Dr. Altman is interested in doing additional research more focused on the impact of Illinois coal from FutureGen.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

SIUC team wins fourth in global innovation contest

Saluki Times, March 31, 2010
By Tim Crosby

CARBONDALE, Ill -- A team of Southern Illinois University Carbondale researchers, students and entrepreneurs brought home a top prize in a national technology innovation contest.

The team won fourth place at the Global Venture Challenge 2010, a contest based at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The SIUC team was one of just 22 finalists from five countries competing for cash prizes at the contest, aimed at finding innovative ideas from graduate students to address the world’s needs for energy and security.

The team pitched the so-called “nanoscopic electronic nose,” a device in which tiny nano-scale wires stand in for the biological smell detector cells present in a mammal’s nose. Because of their tiny size and chemical reactivity, nanowires can detect extremely small concentrations of chemicals in the parts-per-billion range. Sensors based on this technology also are extremely stable and power efficient.

When assembled in arrays of sensors and coordinated by software, such sensors can form a sort of electronic nose that can send detailed information about the environment. Applications might include very small, power-efficient sensors that can send doctors real-time information about a patient’s blood glucose level, for example, or lead to improved radio frequency identification tags -- often used in the retail sales industry, but with many other potential applications -- that can sniff the air for explosives or other chemicals.

The team presenting the device included Andrei Kolmakov, assistant professor in the Department of Physics; Victor Sysoev, a former visiting Fulbright Scholar from Saratov State Technical University in Russia; physics doctoral student Evgheni Stlecov; Renee Favreau, a senior in marketing; Jenni Janssen, assistant director of the SIUC Center for Innovation; Gina Montgomery, a senior in industrial design; and Maryon King, associate professor of marketing. Read More...

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Technology and Innovation Expo in One Week

Want to attend SIU's Technology and Innovation Expo - Spring 2010 in Edwardsville on Tuesday, March 30? Email techtran@siu.edu now. Event details at http://techtransfer.siuc.edu/tie/s10/.

Friday, February 12, 2010

SIU To Present System Technology & Innovation Expo March 30

http://www.prweb.com/releases/technology_innovation/expo_biochemistry/prweb3597054.htm

The Southern Illinois University system, which for decades has provided a fertile environment for the development of major technologies, will showcase current research and inventions March 30 when the system presents the Technology and Innovation Expo on the SIU Edwardsville campus.

Edwardsville, Ill. (Vocus/PRWEB ) February 12, 2010 -- The Southern Illinois University system, which for decades has provided a fertile environment for the development of major technologies, will showcase current research and inventions March 30 when the system presents the Technology and Innovation Expo on the SIU Edwardsville campus.

Faculty inventors in the fields of biochemistry, engineering, medicine and pharmacy from SIU Carbondale, SIU Edwardsville and the SIU School of Medicine in Springfield will combine forces to showcase the latest research under way on the three campuses. The Expo also will focus on opportunities for potential partners to help make this cutting-edge research a commercial reality.

The Expo is scheduled from 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. that Tuesday in SIUE’s Morris University Center. The event will feature presentations by SIU faculty inventors who have technology to license. The event promises to bring together academics, entrepreneurs and business people to increase awareness of available technologies that can lead to new products and innovations in a networking environment.

“American universities have carried much of the responsibility for technology transfer from the laboratory to the commercialization of ideas and inventions," said SIU President Glenn Poshard. “The SIU system is proud to have played a major role in this endeavor over many years.

“The SIU Technology and Innovation Expo allows the campuses to display our efforts in this process,” he said.

Faculty inventors will present throughout the day, including SIU School of Medicine's William Halford, PhD, who will talk about the latest progress of his work in herpes vaccine. Inventors from SIU Carbondale will reveal the latest research in biofuels and advanced materials startup companies that have resulted from university research.

SIU Edwardsville’s featured inventions range from new drugs for treatment of Alzheimer's to magnetic refrigeration, a promising energy technology.

Keynote talks will be given by successful industry collaborators James Bashkin, chemistry director/co-founder of NanoVir, and Matt Kulig, serial entrepreneur and currently COO for Aisle411.com

Also featured at the Expo in the afternoon will be a panel of experts discussing “Ideas to Markets: Successful Technology Commercialization.” Panel members from industry, university administration, inventors and investors will provide insight into the technology commercialization process.

Throughout the day exhibits and poster presentations by speakers, SIU faculty, students, and event sponsors will be on display in the common areas. The event will include lunch and a catered reception for attendees. Registration is required and tickets are $25 per person.

Event information—including the Expo agenda, speakers, sponsorship opportunities and registration—is available online: http://techtransfer.siuc.edu/tie/s10, or by calling (618) 650-2166.

Sponsors for the event include Ameren Economic Development, Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP, Madison County Community Development, St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association, the Madison-Bond Workforce Investment Board and Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois.

The event is being organized by the SIUC Technology Transfer Program, the SIU School of Medicine, the SIUE Graduate School, the SIUE Southwestern Entrepreneurship Center and SIUE’s University Park, a research park on the campus.

Southern Illinois University Carbondale:
Founded in 1869 as a small teachers college, SIU Carbondale is a student-centered, comprehensive research university offering more than 200 majors, minors and specializations. SIUC is a Carnegie II doctoral/research-extensive (the highest category) institution offering more than 60 master’s and 30 doctoral programs. The National Science Foundation ranks SIUC 101st among public universities in the United States for total research and development expenditures, and 142nd among all universities in the country—placing the University among the top 4 percent of U.S. higher education institutions for research.

Southern Illinois University School of Medicine:
The mission of the SIU School of Medicine is to assist the people of Central and Southern Illinois in meeting their health care needs through education, patient care, research and service to the community. The School of Medicine trains caring and competent physicians, while developing new models for providing health care in rural areas. Our medical research provides the engine for continued growth in biomedical related economic development and clinical care. Our 220-plus full-time faculty physicians, who practice as SIU HealthCare, offer primary care and a variety of specialized services, many not available elsewhere in downstate Illinois.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville:
SIU Edwardsville boasts a unique academic portfolio offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in the arts and sciences, nursing, education, business and engineering as well as professional degrees in dental medicine and pharmacy. In fiscal year 2009, SIUE faculty and staff received more than $29 million in grants and contracts for research, teaching and service initiatives. For the fifth consecutive year, U.S.News & World Report has heralded SIUE for its Senior Assignment Program, and lists SIUE among the top 15 public Master’s universities in the Midwest and in the top one-third of all public and private Midwestern universities. Also, in its 2010 Best College edition, U.S. News included SIUE as one of 77 “up and coming” schools in the nation, specifically referring to SIUE as “firmly focused on improving the job they’re doing today.”

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Wednesday, February 3, 2010

SIUC Technology Advances to the Semi-Final Rounds of Global Venture Challenge 2010

The Center for Innovation is excited to announce that Dr. Andrei Kolmakov's Nanoscopic Electronic Nose technology advanced to the semi-finals round in Global Venture Challenge 2010.

C4I has been spearheading efforts to advance select SIUC technologies via participation in new venture competitions, with support from the SIUC Tech Dev team members. The extra focus the competitions bring to the technologies can lead to additional research and commercial opportunities.

For the next step of the Challenge, teams are required to complete a 5-page commercialization plan for submission by March 8th. First place winners will be awarded $25,000.

Read more about Dr. Kolmakov's technology on the SIUC Technology Transfer website or in this summary (PDF).

Friday, January 29, 2010

Economic Espionage Seminar

FBI Special Agent Shevlin gave a very informative and eye-opening seminar yesterday in Carbondale about economic espionage. In case you were not able to attend, you can read more about the topic in this "2008 Annual Report to Congress on Foreign Economic Collection and Industrial Espionage."

Understanding this topic will be integral to the continued expansion of university technology commercialization efforts.

Here's some additional information from this white paper by Xerox about the cost in billions of economic espionage.

What is the cost of economic espionage? Fortune 1000 companies reported losing proprietary information and intellectual property valued at between $53 and $59 billion dollars during the period beginning July 1, 2000 and ending June 30, 2001. This finding was based on a survey entitled Trends in Proprietary Information Loss, sponsored by the American Society of Industrial Security Foundation (ASIS), PricewaterhouseCoopers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III claims an even higher number—as much as $200 billion—is lost annually to economic espionage.

If you would like more information on this topic or if you want to talk to SA Shevlin about any behavior or activities you've observed that may be suspect, you can contact him at:

3423 Office Park Drive
Marion IL 62959
Tel: 618 997 6847

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Upcoming Events

Please follow the links below for PDF files with more information.


Spring and Summer 2010 Start-Up Workshop Schedule
(pdf), courtesy of the Illinois Small Business Development Center

Meeting Business Needs Workshop (pdf) on Unemployment Insurance Claims/protest issues and value-added programs and services available to business owners, Feb 2

Excellence in Illinois: Creating Value and Results in Turbulent Times, March 8-9

Don't forget about the Seminar on Economic Espionage and Theft of Trade Secrets coming up Jan 28.