To help deal with the wastes that accumulate on ships during long tours of duty at sea, the US Navy's Carderock Laboratory invented a machine that applies heat and pressure to all forms of plastic, reducing the waste to dense disks the size of a large pizza. The disks require far less storage space than loose plastic and are much easier to handle.

Already in use on Navy ships, these machines have not yet been put to use in private industry, but with the help of JEDC's SpringBoard program, that may soon change in Alaska. Technology Associate Zach Wilkinson recently introduced Bernie Karl, owner of K&K Recycling in Fairbanks, to the Carderock Lab during a trip to Bethesda, Maryland. Karl will first test the plastic waste processor at his Fairbanks recycling operation before making similar machines available in remote communities.

Another Carderock invention that piqued Karl's interest grinds biodegradable matter such as food waste and paper, combining the pulp with water to form a slurry that could potentially produce methane for energy and fertilizer for crops.

For more information about these and other technology transfer projects of JEDC's SpringBoard program, contact Zach Wilkinson or Paul Moran at 907-523-2300, zwilkinson@jedc.org or pmoran@jedc.org.

Affordable Housing Coordinator Scott Ciambor was among some 40 attendees at a September 22 meeting on chronic public inebriation held by the Juneau Homeless Coalition. The Juneau Police Department, substance abuse professionals, housing program managers, government representatives, social service organizations, and business groups were on hand to share experiences in search of solutions for what many downtown residents and businesses feel is a growing problem.

By the Coalition's next meeting on October 27, CBJ, downtown businesses and social service agencies have been asked to research the best ways to 1) identify this specific population, 2) qualify and quantify its needs, and 3) project the costs of providing services and dealing with impacts.

In the meantime, members of the Coalition (including Ciambor) will travel to Anchorage October 17-19 for the Annual Conference of the Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness. While there, they will visit Karluk Manor to learn about the Housing First model of supportive housing and to investigate strategies and potential training opportunities for handling the chronically inebriated homeless population at the community level.

For more information, contact Scott Ciambor at 907-523-2338, sciambor@jedc.org.

For the first time in its ten-year history, the Alaska Rural Energy Conference was held in Juneau from September 26-29. The conference was organized by the Alaska Energy Authority and the Alaska Center for Energy and Power.

Held every 18 months, the conference's mission is to create a forum for energy stakeholders to share ideas and information with the goal of promoting economic development, environmental sustainability and energy security for Alaskans. The Juneau conference drew around 350 participants.

At the conference, JEDC:

• facilitated a joint session of southeast business and other leaders engaged in the Forest Products and Renewable Energy industries to discuss the Southeast Biomass Roadmap;
• hosted a meeting between the AK Forward Clean Energy Cluster and the SE Renewable Energy Cluster;
• hosted a STEM table during Energy Education Night at the JACC; and 
• on a panel titled "Looking Beyond Alaska: Global Lessons" (chaired by Nils Andreassen of the Institute of the North), JEDC Executive Director Brian Holst shared outcomes of his recent trip to Norway regarding oil and gas and renewable energy.

JEDC recently welcomed two new Technology Consultants to the SpringBoard team. Dan Hubert (3rd from right in photo) and Greg Amorese (2nd from left) have joined technology transfer teammates Paul Moran (middle), Zach Wilkinson (3rd from left) and Peter Perna (on the right) in their collective efforts to facilitate cooperative research and development agreements, patent licenses and other partnerships between US Department of Defense laboratories and private industry. Also pictured are Adrien Lopez, SpringBoard Communications Officer, and Brian Holst, SpringBoard Program Director.

During the months of August and September, JEDC organized Business Loan Forums in Sitka, Yakutat and Gustavus. Objectives of the forums included providing a surface level overview of financing options available to Southeast Alaska businesses, demonstrating an online resource related to business financing that is available on JEDC's website, discussing preparation for applying for business financing, presenting expert advice from a local commercial banker, and having an open discussion with local residents.

The workshops were well received in each community. Margaret O'Neal, Director of Operations at JEDC, presented to the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce and was highlighted in a KTOO news story.

In the communities of Gustavus and Yakutat, John Blasco, a Commercial Loan Officer at Alaska Pacific Bank, and JEDC's Program and Communications Officer, Adrien Lopez, collaborated in providing insights about business financing and other JEDC programs that contribute to the success of small businesses in southeast Alaska. JEDC thanks Melanie Lesh (Gustavus), Martha Mallott (Yakutat)  and Jennifer Robinson (Sitka) for helping to organize the workshops.

• Brown Bag Lunch Economic Indicators Presentation to CBJ Assembly  
  Thursday, October 13, 12-1 PM * CBJ Assembly Chambers
• AAESP/AASSP Principals Conference  
  October 16-17 * Sheraton Hotel, Anchorage
  FIRST Lego League demonstrations 
• Alaska Conference on Housing & Homelessness 
  October 17-19 * Downtown Marriott, Anchorage 
• The Saturday Thing
  October 15 and 22 at JEDC's STEM office
  Learn more and sign up at http://stemak.org/saturday-thing.