Oregon BEST E-news Masthead
JULY, 2012         
Early-Bird Registration Rates 
expire August 13th 

 
 Like us on FacebookView our profile on LinkedIn
Social Networking Challenge!

Friend us by Sept. 10 for a chance to win a free networking lunch!


In This Issue...
Oregon BEST Commercialization Grant Announced
New Blue Could Help Cool Buildings
Oregon BEST FEST Expands
Solar Powered Shade
Green Modular Classrooms Advance
OIT Partners with Powin Energy
$1.3M for Indow Windows
Oregon BEST Researchers Make Headlines

Oregon BEST Commercialization Grants



Funding Opportunities
Upcoming
Events

July 31 - August 4

Ecosystem Services Partnership Conference 

The theme of this 5th annual conference is "Ecosystem Services Come of Age: Linking Science, Policy, and Participation for Sustainable Human Well-Being." Three sections include: SCIENCE: Quantifying, mapping, modeling, and valuing ES; POLICY: Institutions, governance and management of ES; PARTICIPATION: Communicating, coordinating, and implementing ES. Portland, OR

 

August 7 - 8
Have a product, technology, or other business idea you're exploring? Lab2Market helps aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators develop their value propositions and create investor pitches. Space is limited for this free program. Portland State University.

   

September 12   

The Pacific Northwest's premier cleantech innovation conference, Oregon BEST FEST convenes university researchers, entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and others to envision, build, and accelerate solutions to environmental challenges that deliver prosperity in all corners of Oregon. Early-bird rates available until Aug. 13. Register now! Portland, OR.   

   

September 26 - 27 

Ocean Renewable Energy Conference 

Hosted by the Oregon Wave Energy Trust, this is one of the most respected ocean energy conferences in the U.S. Thanks to Oregon's position as one of the best places in the world for ocean energy, the event attracts speakers and attendees from around the world. Portland, OR

 

October 1 

Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus is coming to Portland October 1 to host the Yunus Social Business Challenge, presented by the Oregon University System. Student teams from any Oregon university are invited to submit an original social business concept to present at the challenge.

  

October 3 

VOIS Champions of Change 

Don't miss the Sustainability Business Soiree and Leadership Awards, which recognize outstanding local sustainability leaders. Portland, OR

 

October 23 - 26 

EcoDistricts Summit 

The world's leading professionals gather to discuss projects, share best practices, explore innovative topics, and connect. See some of the most inspiring global projects and the people who are making them happen. Portland, OR

 

October 26
This 2nd annual conference hosted by the CUB Policy Center focuses on the past successes and bright future of energy efficiency in the Pacific NW and its impact on the regional economy. Topics include: Smart Grid, Demand Response and Energy Efficiency; Commercial Buildings: Challenges and Successes; Creative Financing; Behavior and Engaging Customers in Energy Efficiency, etc. Portland, OR

November 7 - 9
With a world population of seven billion, global challenges like energy, climate change, water, health, transportation, housing and food are inspiring new approaches from start-ups to global firms. This 6th annual conference will explore scalability as a business imperative for a healthy economy, society and planet. Portland, OR

 

 

More About
Oregon BEST 
Oregon BEST Researchers

Oregon BEST in the News

Oregon BEST Sustainable Built Environment Shared-User Research Network

Oregon BEST Solar Energy Shared-User Research Network

Oregon BEST Sustainable Built Environment Research Consortium

Oregon BEST Commercialization Program 


CONTACT US

 Oregon BEST
P.O. Box 212
Portland, OR 97207
Tel. 503-725-9849




Executive Director's Report

Oregon BEST FEST '12: 
A Unique, Not-to-be-Missed Event
 
Greetings!
 
David Kenney portraitWe're just a few weeks from what has become the most unique cleantech innovation gathering in the Pacific Northwest - perhaps in the nation. I'm referring to our signature annual event, Oregon BEST FEST, a gathering of innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers, and others who convene for a day to explore collaborative innovation and commercialization of clean technologies that have the potential to solve some of our planet's most pressing environmental problems.

I know of no other conference like Oregon BEST FEST, where attendees come to be inspired and learn about collaborative innovation, commercialization, and myriad cross-cutting issues that relate to any technology in the cleantech space.

This year, we have attracted an extraordinary lineup of speakers, including: Karina Edmonds, the U.S. Energy Department's first Technology Transfer Coordinator; Lesa Mitchell, VP of Innovation at the Kauffman Foundation; Kirk Washington, a partner with
the cleantech venture firm Yaletown Venture Partners; our own Governor John Kitzhaber; plus many more. See all speakers here.

I'm confident this is going to be the best Oregon BEST FEST yet, so be sure to register before the early-bird rates expire on August 13th. I hope to see you at the gathering! 

 

David Kenney, President & Executive Director

Oregon BEST

 


Oregon BEST Commercialization Grant Recipient Announced!

Saving Resources with Smart Sensors
Oregon BEST Grant helps
Oregon company collaborate with PSU

  

SWEETSense sensor

A team of researchers from Portland State University and Stevens Water Monitoring Systems, Inc. will use a just-awarded $150,000 Oregon BEST Commercialization Grant to fast-track development of a wireless water, air, and environmental sensing technology called SWEETSense™ that integrates data collection with web-based analysis to help users and building occupants more efficiently monitor and utilize resources.

The project team has launched a new company, SweetSense, Inc., to market the technology, which was developed at PSU's Sustainable Water, Energy and Environmental Technologies Laboratory (SWEETLab), a research facility affiliated with Oregon BEST. The funding is part of $1 million in grants Oregon BEST will distribute in the coming year. More.

 
New Blue Could Help Cool Buildings

Oregon BEST Researcher discovers pigment with high reflectivity

Blue Pigment discovered at OSU An Oregon State University research team led by Mas Subramanian, a Member Faculty of Oregon BEST, has discovered a new type of durable, environmentally-benign pigment they call "cool blue" because of its unusual ability to reflect heat. The patent-approved compound could lead to new approaches to saving energy in buildings, including roofing paint and other products that would reduce heat absorption and lower cooling costs. More.


Oregon BEST FEST Expands

Pre-event forum, new speakers, and a raffle for a networking lunch 

 

 

For the first time, Oregon BEST FEST will feature a pre-event the day before the Sept. 12th conference. Attendees of the half-day Deep Retrofits Research Agenda Development Forum will collaboratively define the research agenda that would, if executed, give their company a competitive boost in delivering deep retrofits of existing buildings (separate admission required).

During Oregon BEST FEST, we'll also draw the lucky winner of a raffle for a free networking lunch. Just 'friend' us on Facebook or LinkedIn, or join our LinkedIn Group, before September 10th, and you might win an all-expenses paid lunch with someone you identify from our network as being of value to your work.

Among the more than 30 speakers on the BEST FEST Program, we've added Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, Lesa Mitchell of the Kauffman Foundation, Kirk Washington of Yaletown Venture Partners, and others.

Remember, early-bird rates end August 13th. Register online now.

Karina Edmonds
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Dr. Karina Edmonds, the U.S. Energy Department's Technology Transfer Coordinator, works with the National Labs to accelerate the process of moving discoveries from the lab to the private sector. A mechanical and aeronautical engineer, she previously served as Director of Jet Propulsion Laboratory Technology Transfer at the California Institute of Technology, where she was responsible for licensing Caltech/JPL technologies to both startups and large companies, managing the JPL patent portfolio, and assisting start-up companies. See list of all speakers.


RESEARCHER SPOTLIGHT: Oregon BEST Member Faculty

Solar-Powered Shade, Anyone?

Solar Awning developed at UO looks toward commercialization   

 

Growing up in Cairo, Egypt, University of Oregon architecture professor and Oregon BEST researcher Ihab Elzeyadi knew well the searing power of the North African sun, as well as the relief found in deep shade.

 

"I love the light," says Elzeyadi, who directs the High Performance Environments Lab, a signature research facility of Oregon BEST at the UO. "But when you grow up in Egypt, you really want to be in the shade."

 

It's no wonder, then, that his research lies at the intersection of sunlight and shadow. Collaborating with fellow Oregon BEST Member Faculty Frank Vignola, they have developed a solar awning that resembles the gleaming wing of a sun-powered aircraft and can reduce a building's energy consumption in several innovative ways. Elzeyadi's team has spun out a new company to commercialize the product. Read full story in Oregon Quarterly.

 


Green Modular Classrooms Advance
PSU researchers hope to create new standard in modular structures

 

Green Classroom Rendering Portland State University and partners have begun building the first prototypes of a green modular classroom that could set the standard for a healthy and energy-efficient "portable" for school districts to use to address overcrowding. "This will be the healthiest affordable modular classroom in America," says Oregon BEST researcher Margarette Leite, architecture professor at PSU.

 

Leite launched the project in 2009 with her husband and fellow PSU architecture professor and Oregon BEST researcher Sergio Palleroni in response to the quality of the portables used at their own children's schools. More.

 


OIT Partners with Powin Energy

Relationship advances company's research, helps students    

 

Powin Energy logoInnovative energy storage company Powin Energy will provide lithium-ion battery testing equipment to the Oregon Institute of Technology's Wilsonville campus for use by students in the school's Renewable Energy Engineering Program, the first program of its kind in the nation. 

 

OIT logo In exchange, Powin Energy will receive student help testing its batteries. (Virgil Beaston, CTO of Powin Energy, will speak at Oregon BEST FEST on Sept. 12th.)

 

OIT professor and Oregon BEST researcher Solobodan Petrovic calls the Powin partnership a perfect combination. "We get to create state-of-the-art facilities for industrial testing for Powin and, in the future, for others," Petrovic said. "And students get to publish the results which will give them exposure." More.

 


$1.3M Investment in Indow Windows

BEST Commercialization Grant recipient attracts more funding   

 

Indow Windows Logo

Portland-based thermal window maker Indow Windows has announced its $1.3 million Series A investment that was led by Vision Ridge, a Colorado-based cleantech investment fund backed by the Rocky Mountain Institute, Google, and others.  

 

Indow Windows received an Oregon BEST Commercialization Grant last year and works closely with the Green Building Research Lab, a signature facility of Oregon BEST at Portland State University. Indow Windows' CEO Sam Pardue credits the Oregon BEST connections with helping the company gain national attention and attract additional funding. Indow Windows has won numerous awards, participated in the Portland Seed Fund's mentoring program, and came in 2nd overall in the national round of last year's Cleantech Open, a startup competition. More

 

 
From solar energy in Tanzania to bamboo as building material ...
 
Oregon BEST Researchers IN THE NEWS...
 

Frank Vignola, UO ��� University of Oregon senior researcher FRANK VIGNOLA has just published Solar and Infrared Radiation Measurements, a book that updates decades of acquired knowledge and details instruments used to measure solar and infrared radiation - providing vital information for the renewable energy and climate change research communities. More.

 
Arijit Sinha, OSU
��� ARIJIT SINHA, professor of wood science & engineering at Oregon State University, is designing new sustainable building materials from renewable sources, including bamboo, that will help reduce the thermal load of buildings while providing environmental benefits and long-term economic gains. More.

 

Slobodan Petrovic ��� In addition to helping Oregon Institute of Technology students bring solar energy to Tanzania, OIT professor of Renewable Energy Engineering
SLOBODAN PETROVIC was one of only nine experts invited to speak at the Berkeley Nanotechnology Forum 2012 at UC Berkeley, where he presented on Nanostructures in energy storage research. More.

The nexus for clean technology innovation, Oregon BEST builds capability, convenes collaborations, and accelerates the solutions to environmental challenges that deliver prosperity in all corners of Oregon. Our 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 97207-0212
Tel. 503-725-9849 � On the web: oregonbest.org