Upcoming
Events & Opportunities | |
MAY 31
Submission Deadline:
Green Jobs Award, celebrating businesses making valuable contributions to both the economy and the environment.
MAY 31
Submission Deadline:
IdeaLab: Retrofitting Communities, an opportunity to develop and commercialize products and innovations that promote productive and environmentally sustainable communities. Event takes place August 19-24, Portland, OR
JUNE 1
Submission Deadline:
Oregon BEST FEST '11, call for research poster abstracts. Submit online.
JUNE 1 StructureOregon 2011: Utilizing Local Wood Products in Sustainable Design Oregon BEST is a proud sponsor of this one-day conference, where architects, engineers, designers, specifiers and other building-industry professionals will learn how to innovate with locally sourced wood products.Oregon BEST's Johanna Brickman and Oregon BEST Member Faculty Fred Kamke will participate in a panel about the future of wood in sustainable design. Portland, OR
JUNE 6
Application Deadline:
Portland Seed Fund, a local investment group that stimulates entrepreneurial growth across Oregon through small amounts of capital combined with intensive short term mentoring.
JUNE 8
Oregon Stormwater Conference 2011, featuring Oregon BEST Researcher Ken Williamson.
JUNE 13 Sustainable Nanomanufacturing Workshop (with Oregon BEST researchers Chih-Hung Chang and Greg Herman), in affiliation with the 2011 ASME/SME/JSME Manufacturing Research Conference, provides an overview of nanomanufacturing technologies and the integration of sustainable processes, with focus on nanomaterials synthesis and incorporation in renewable energy. Corvallis, OR
JUNE 19-24 IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, where Oregon BEST researchers from the Oregon Process Innovation Center for Sustainable Solar Cell Manufacturing and industry partner Tau Science will display their latest collaborative R&D. Seattle, WA
AUGUST 15-19
IdeaLab: Retrofitting Communities. Learn how to develop and commercialize products and innovations that promote productive and environmentally sustainable communities. Portland, OR (see submission deadline above)
AUGUST 19
Submission Deadline:
NREL Industry Growth Forum
The National Renewable Energy Lab's Industry Growth Forum is the nation's premier event for clean energy and energy efficiency technology start-ups to gain exposure to and feedback from venture capitalists, corporate investors, government agencies, and strategic partners.
SEPTEMBER 12
Early-Bird Registration Now!
Oregon BEST FEST '11, where researchers, entrepreneurs, and business leaders come together to spark collaboration and help create jobs for the region's green economy.
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CONTACT US
Oregon BEST
P.O. Box 212
Portland, OR 97207
Tel. 503-725-9849
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Executive Director's Report
Growing a Regional Research
& Innovation Culture
Oregon BEST is honored to be named winner of the Portland Business Journal's "Innovation in Sustainable Business Advocacy Award." And we're just as pleased that Indow Windows, a Portland start-up and recipient of an Oregon BEST Commercialization Grant, won the "Innovation in Sustainable Product Award" for their window technology that was tested in one of our labs (see story below).
These awards are an indication that our mission - connecting university researchers with industry leaders to catalyze commercialization - is being recognized as an important force in helping fuel the region's green economy. Strategic investments of $300,000 through our Proposal Matching Program have returned $4.7 million in research revenue to Oregon BEST university researchers - researchers who have won a total of more than $45 million in research funding in the past few years (see story below).
Our new Sustainable Built Environment Research Consortium (a regional group of member firms, organizations, and researchers collaborating on R&D and commercialization of sustainable technologies and services for the built environment) has selected its first two projects, both related to the Oregon Sustainability Center, which has received additional momentum in recent weeks. So these are exciting times for Oregon BEST, as we continue to build a unique regional research and innovation culture that is expanding our capability to grow and commercialize cleantech technologies and create new jobs. Thank you for your ongoing support,
David Kenney, President & Executive Director
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SPOTLIGHT on Oregon BEST Research
Success Story: Indow Windows
Oregon BEST Helps Portland Co. Innovate Product, Grow Green Jobs
 Indow Windows, the recent recipient of an Oregon BEST Commercialization Grant, is garnering attention, winning sustainable design awards, and hiring employees as it commercializes and markets its low-cost alternative to double-pane window replacements... with some help from Oregon BEST. At Oregon BEST FEST last fall, company founder Sam Pardue connected with Oregon BEST researcher and Portland State University professor David Sailor, who directs the  Oregon BEST Green Building Research Lab at PSU. Pardue tapped the lab's equipment and expertise (see Green Science Oregon video clip, right) for vital performance test data that enabled the company to make a performance claim that's been a key selling point. Since that first meeting, Indow Windows has grown from three people to more than a dozen employees. A finalist in several Angel funding competitions, Indow Windows also just won the "Innovation in a Sustainable Product Award" from the Portland Business Journal for its innovative product. Way to go, Indow Windows! |
Boosting Oregon's Research Revenue
Strategic investments by Oregon BEST helps leverage millions
Last year, Oregon BEST strategically invested $300,000, which returned $4.7 million in research revenue to Oregon universities. That's a very good return on investment. The investments were made to more than a dozen projects through our Proposal Matching Program (which offers match funding researchers often need to secure grants), including: - A $74,000 match to the University of Oregon helped secure a $1.3M National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to improve the efficiency of solar panels.
- A $75,000 match at Oregon State University established the NSF/industry funded Wood-Based Composites Industry-University Cooperative Research Center, the only entity of its kind in the U.S. and closely affiliated with the Oregon BEST Green Building Materials Lab at OSU. The center will bring in more than $1M in federal and industry funding.
- A $30,000 match to Portland State University secured $300,000 in NSF funds to study the impacts of wind turbine arrays.
The 200 professors who make up Oregon BEST's Member Faculty have brought in a total of more than $45 million in research revenue since Oregon BEST was founded in 2007. This research revenue creates university jobs that support faculty, lab technicians, and graduate students who carry out the research, often in collaboration with local industry partners. Oregon BEST is proud to be helping grow the research culture that is expanding Oregon's research revenue capability and creating jobs. |
SPOTLIGHT on Oregon BEST Member Faculty
Lessons from the Japan Quake
Oregon BEST Researcher sees aftermath in Japan up close
 Within hours of a major earthquake anywhere in the world, Oregon BEST Researcher Scott Ashford, boards a jet and flies to the heart of the quake zone. Head of OSU's School of Civil & Construction Engineering, Ashford wants to learn how we can design the built environment in a sustainable way that will better withstand such disasters. When the Tohoku earthquake struck Japan, Ashford flew in and was overcome with emotion. Full story.
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Universities Launch Green Degrees
Programs offer focus in sustainability theory and practice
 The University of Oregon joins Portland State University in offering a graduate certificate program in sustainability. The UO's Oregon Leadership in Sustainability (OLIS) certificate program covers water, waste, transportation and land use, with core courses in ecological design, sustainability theory, green cities, and energy and carbon. The program partners with the UO's Sustainable Cities Initiative.
PSU launched its Graduate Certificate in Sustainability program in 2008. It includes courses in environmental sustainability, economics of sustainability, social sustainability theory and practice, and sustainable development practices.  At Oregon State University, the Renewable Materials degree program is designed to fill a growing demand for professionals in the manufacture, marketing, and utilization of sustainable natural materials (view video clip, right). Graduates of the new program will bring knowledge and expertise to the workplace, helping expand the use of sustainable and renewable materials and products in order to enhance local, regional, and global sustainability.
The Oregon Institute of Technology also has several programs linked with training graduates in sustainable technology, design, and practices, including its Renewable Energy Engineering Program. |
Why Attend Oregon BEST FEST '11?
 Read the story above about Indow Windows to see what can come from connections forged at Oregon BEST FEST! In fact, two of the four Commercialization Grant partnerships we funded this year came from relationships sparked at Oregon BEST FEST. (Watch for a story on Green Lite Motors in the next issue of this E-News Update.)
This year's Oregon BEST FEST speakers and panelists will present innovative insights on a range of topics: smartgrid, solar, water, bioenergy, green chemistry, building envelopes, and a session about how Oregon can capitalize on its natural resources to create a competitive advantage in cleantech development. Plan to join university researchers, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders engaged in renewable energy and the sustainable built environment for this all-day research expo in downtown Portland on Sept. 12. Discover how research, innovation, and collaboration are fueling our green economy...and helping companies like Indow Windows! Early-bird registration rates available now.
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Follow Us on Facebook!
 Click this icon to see Oregon BEST's new Facebook page, where you'll find up-to-the-instant news, opportunity announcements, and more. |
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From biosensors to bioplastics to better bridges
Oregon BEST Researchers IN THE NEWS...
 ··· Handheld biosensors and diagnostic devices might be taking a big step forward, thanks to recent advances made by researchers at Oregon State University led by VINCE REMCHO, a professor of chemistry. Using magnetic nanobeads in chemical detection systems could make the systems much smaller, faster, cheaper to produce, and more accurate. Full story...
professors KIM SHEEHAN (left) and JULIE HAACK are helping launch the Green Product Design Network to invent sustainable products by taking a different approach to product design. Full story...
··· TED BREKKEN, OSU renewable energy professor in the School of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science has been named the Outstanding Young Engineer by the IEEE Power & Energy Society. Brekken directs the Wallace Energy Systems & Renewables Facility at OSU and researches wind and wave technologies, energy storage, and the integration of renewable energy into the grid. Full story...
··· OSU professors STEVEN STRAUSS and
GANTI MURTHY are researching production of bioplastics in hybrid poplar leaves grown in Oregon. If even a fraction of the annual global plastics production of 200 billion pounds could be replaced with a percentage of biopolymers, it would have a significant impact. Full story...
··· PETER DUSICKA, Portland State University professor of civil engineering, discusses how bridges in the city of Portland, Oregon would fare should an earthquake similar to the one that hit Japan strike off the Oregon coast. Dusicka directs one of Oregon BEST's newest research facilities, the infraStructure Testing & Applied Research Lab at PSU. Full story and video...
··· Oregon State University professor of civil engineering JOHN GAMBATESE is investigating ways to develop a safety-rating system for green construction projects that could involve 50 health and safety elements in 13 categories, including safety planning, safety training, worker involvement, and more. Full story...
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The Oregon Built Environment & Sustainable Technologies Center (Oregon BEST) connects Oregon businesses with the state's shared-user network of university facilities to transform renewable energy and sustainable built environment research into on-the-ground products, services, and jobs that power Oregon's green economy. Oregon BEST's founding partner universities include Oregon State University, the Oregon Institute of Technology, Portland State University, and the University of Oregon.
Oregon BEST · PO Box 212 · Portland, OR 97207-0212Tel. 503-725-9849 · On the web: oregonbest.org |
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