Oregon BEST E-news Masthead
SEPTEMBER  2013          
 
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In This Issue...
Oregon BEST FEST 2013: A Big Success!
Winners of the Oregon BEST Red List Design Challenge
Meet our New Director of Research Programs
Warmer, Cheaper, More Efficient LED Lighting
Tau Science Wins $1M Phase II SBIR Grant
Green Roof Company Sees Export Success
SBA FAST Grant Expands Small Business Support
Oregon BEST Researchers Make Headlines

Oregon BEST Commercialization Grants



Funding Opportunities
Upcoming
Events
 

September 25-26     

Ocean Renewable Energy Conference VIII 

Explore community and industry collaboration, innovation and opportunity at this 8th annual ocean energy conference presented by Oregon Wave Energy Trust (OWET). With completion of the Oregon Territorial Sea Plan in early 2013 and selection by the NW National Marine Renewable Energy Center of Newport as home of the new Pacific Marine Energy Center in-water, grid-connected South Energy Test Site (SETS), community and industry collaboration is the key to responsibly developing this new source of clean, renewable energy. Astoria, OR (Discount of $50 available to Oregon BEST-affiliated attendees.)

     

October (Dates Vary)
Futurescape City Tours Portland

What does the future hold for Portland? Which new technologies matter most for you and your community? How would you direct science and technology? Join Portland State University researchers in discovering nanotechnology and thinking about what it might mean for Portland. Your voice is important in shaping new developments. Experience nanotechnology through guided walking tours of the city in October. Talk with scientists and engineers. Photograph the past, present, and future of the city. Share your opinions about desirable futures. Portland, OR 


October 15 

Portland Wood Solutions Fair 

A free, multi-faceted, day-long educational event on the use of wood in non-residential and multi-family buildings. Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR

 

October 17-18

10th Bend Venture Conference 

Launch Stage presenters will vie for an investment prize targeted to exceed $250,000, and Concept Stage competitors will contend for the $10,000 cash prize from Bend Broadband. Bend, OR  

 

October 25 

The Flexibility Challenge: Renewables, Efficiency, and Demand Response 

The CUB Policy Center, in partnership with the University of Oregon School of Law, holds its third annual policy conference to investigate the challenges facing the modern utility in the Pacific Northwest, concentrating on ways to successfully integrate renewables, energy efficiency, demand response, and other key technologies into the flexibility utility. Portland, OR

 

November (date TBA)

Oregon BEST Agenda Development Series: Green Chemistry 

This forum will be focused on what is needed in a transformational research agenda to bring together our state's brightest minds in Green Chemistry to tackle the persistent problems of the green building industry. Corvallis, OR

 

November 5

Oregon Tech Career Fair & Networking Lunch 

The Oregon Tech Career Services Office presents an opportunity to recruit students for employees. College Union, Oregon Tech Campus, Klamath Falls, OR  
   

November 13

RAIN (Roseburg-area Angel Investment Network) Conference 

The RAIN Angel Conference includes pitches from both launch stage and concept stage finalists, feedback from experienced angel investors, and announcement of the winners. Roseburg, 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

A Busy Autumn for Oregon BEST    
 
David Kenney portrait
 
I was recently talking with another parent about how every back-to-school season seems to be incrementally more busy than the last. That seems to be true at Oregon BEST, as well.

September was a big month for us, with the biggest Oregon BEST FEST ever. In its fifth year, this event attracted more than 300 attendees, as well as great involvement from the researchers and companies with whom we work closely. The following week, we helped Business Oregon host the national SSTI Conference in Portland, which showcased the Oregon Innovation Council initiatives to technology-based economic development professionals from all over the country. This week, I'm learning about the state of the wave energy industry at the Ocean Renewable Energy Conference in Astoria.

Looking forward, we're continuing to see great commercialization project proposals from startup company-university teams, and we're excited about the collective economic impact these companies will have on Oregon. We're planning an industry-oriented Agenda Development Forum in November, this one looking at green chemistry. And, Karl Mundorff, our new Director of Research Programs, is engaging with our university partners to look for big opportunities to grow areas of research expertise.

Those are just some of the highlights of a very busy fall. We're energized and encourage you to stay in touch and get involved with building a strong clean technology ecosystem.

 

BEST regards, 
 

David Kenney, President & Executive Director

Oregon BEST


Oregon BEST FEST: A Big Success!

5th annual cleantech innovation gathering draws more than 300 

 

Jay Harman, BEST FEST '13 This year, Oregon BEST FEST attracted a record number of attendees! The Northwest's premier cleantech innovation conference offered two days of lab tours, presentations, workshops, and a hall filled with hands-on examples of Oregon's cleantech innovation, capped by a powerful evening keynote address about biomimicry by entrepreneur and author Jay Harman (above).

 

Attendees took in multiple panels and presentations and engaged with business leaders and researchers displaying projects ranging from new technologies for green roofs and construction blocks to low energy cooling technologies, new solar energy systems, apps for agriculture, battery recycling, electric vehicles, and much more. We thank those of you who attended, as well as our generous sponsors, for making our 5th Annual event one for the record books in all ways. We hope to see you at Oregon BEST FEST next year! View gallery

 


And the Winners Are...

Oregon BEST Red List Design Challenge winners announced      

 

Sukita Reay-Crimmel-Red List 1st A ready-mix earthen flooring made in Portland and a cellulose nano fiber insulation developed by a University of Oregon student won top honors in the Oregon BEST Red List Design Challenge, which awards a total of $15,000 in cash and ongoing support to developers of nontoxic building products with the potential to launch new Oregon companies.

 

Oregon BEST and the International Living Future Institute announced the winners of the inaugural Challenge on Sept. 12th at Oregon BEST FEST in Portland. 

 

Zander Eckblad-Red List 2ndThe $10,000 1st-place award went to Sukita Reay Crimmel (pictured, above) of Claylin, LLC for her Ready-Mix Earthen Flooring, which is made from a blend of Oregon clay soil, sand, pigment, and chopped straw that is hand-troweled smooth and sealed with beeswax and oils.

 

Zander Eckblad, an undergraduate student in the UO's Product Design Program, won the $5,000 2nd-place award for a nontoxic, plant-based cellulose nano fiber (CNF) insulation that has the potential to be three times as effective as fiberglass insulation at one-eighth of the cost.

 

Read the full story... 

 
Meet Our New Dir. of Research Programs

Industry executive hired to help grow Oregon's research capacity 

Karl Mundorff We've hired Karl Mundorff as Director of Research Programs for Oregon BEST. A veteran of the entrepreneurial business community, Karl will help grow Oregon's clean technology research capacity and funding, a move he hopes will lead to national centers of excellence with a cleantech focus located throughout Oregon.

 

Karl has more than 20 years experience working with industry, including as president and CEO of BioReaction Industries, maker of air pollution control equipment that uses microbes as a catalyst. Prior to that he served as vice president of marketing and sales for Gardenburger, where he drove sales of the meatless burger to triple digit growth rates and helped take the company public.

 

At Oregon BEST, Karl will lead our expanded focus on growing research capacity and funding by identifying areas where cleantech markets and Oregon's cleantech research expertise align. These intersections could result in centers of excellence: nationally recognized facilities or collaborations that offer cleantech research, equipment, and expertise to both industry and academia. Full story

 
Coating = Cheaper, More Efficient LEDs

Oregon BEST funds collaboration that could save billions in energy 

Pacific Light Technologies engineers The latest Oregon BEST Commercialization Grant is helping a Portland startup work closely with  Oregon State University researchers to refine a proprietary coating that makes LED lighting warmer looking, cheaper, nontoxic, and has the potential to save millions of dollars in energy lighting costs.

The $150,000 grant is enabling Pacific Light Technologies (PLT) to tap research expertise and equipment at OSU to fine-tune manufacturing of the new coating, which uses quantum dots. Quantum dots are tiny semiconductors that at the nanoscale can be manipulated to more efficiently re-emit light from blue LEDs and produce warmer tones similar to incandescent bulbs. Full story.


Tau Science Wins $1M SBIR Grant
Oregon startup credits partnership with Oregon BEST 

FlashQE in OPIC Lab A Portland startup credits an Oregon BEST grant with helping it secure a $1 million Phase II SBIR grant from the U.S. Dept. of Energy.

Tau Science was selected for one of the competitive Phase II grants to adapt its FlashQE technology to solar module (entire panels) inspection, instead of just individual solar cells. Two years ago, a $190,000 grant from Oregon BEST enabled Oregon State University to be the first to purchase, install, and operate the FlashQE in the Oregon Process Innovation Center for Sustainable Solar Cell Manufacturing, a signature facility of Oregon BEST. The tool slashes test time for solar cells from minutes to seconds.

"The initial Oregon BEST investment has been instrumental in bringing $1.1 million of total DOE funding and a comparable amount of product revenue into the state, with more to come," said Jamie Hudson, CEO of Tau Science. "These DOE grants and the attention they are garnering from investors and potential customers are just the beginning of the leverage gained from that early support from Oregon BEST." More about Tau Science.

Green Roof Co. Sees Export Success

Oregon BEST commercialization grant recipient grows jobs 

 

Jeanne Hulit and Vanessa Keitges Columbia Green Technologies, the Portland company that received an Oregon BEST Commercialization Grant a year ago to collaborate with Portland State University researchers to help document how well green roofs help mitigate stormwater runoff, had a visit this week from the nation's top small business official.

 

Jeanne Hulit, the Acting Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration (pictured, on left), said Columbia Green exemplifies the Obama Administration's commitment to boosting exports and nurturing green enterprises.

 

About 30 percent of the company's revenue comes from exports of its vegetative roofing systems to countries like Canada and the Philippines.

President and CEO Vanessa Keitges (pictured, on right) said company revenue has grown annually by 200 percent over the past several years and is projected to increase by 300 percent this year. Full Story. 

Grant Will Expand Business Assistance

SBA FAST grant to Oregon BEST will help local companies  

 

SBA logo We're pleased to announce Oregon BEST has been awarded one of only 20 Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program grants from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The funding will be used to help a growing list of small Oregon companies compete for SBIR/STTR funding from the U.S. Dept. of Energy.

 

The $95,000 FAST Program funding will help us accomplish several goals: 1) fund our Entrepreneurs-In-Residence team and broaden our targeted firms to include more women-owned and socially- and economically-disadvantaged firms, 2) deploy training programs to provide education on how to access SBIR/STTR funding, and 3) fund specialized consultants to engage with qualified firms to assist in grant writing for Phase I and Phase II SBIR/STTR grant proposals. Full Story. 

From antifreeze in solar cell manufacturing to bicycle racks made from used escalator handrails to cellulose nanofiber insulation...
 
Oregon BEST Researchers IN THE NEWS

Greg Herman, OSU
��� GREG HERMAN, associate professor in the OSU School of Chemical, Biological, & Environmental Engineering has developed a way to use antifreeze like that in your car in the production of thin film solar cells. The breakthrough could lead to less expensive solar energy systems and eliminate the use of toxic materials like cadmium. More.



Margarette Leite ��� MARGARETTE LEITE, an assistant professor of architecture at PSU, is working with students and the Green Building Research Lab (a signature research facility of Oregon BEST) to discover ways to re-purpose the 10 tons of used escalator handrails that wind up in Portland-area landfills annually. The ideas? Exterior siding, play structures, bicycle racks....  More.


Ihab Elzayadi, UO Dept. of Architecture �� IHAB ELZEYADI, an associate professor of architecture at the UO was featured on the Isla Earth Radio Series about his Green Classroom Toolbox, which helps school districts figure out how best to retrofit existing schools to improve energy consumption (by as much as 50 percent) and student health (colds and flu reduced by 51 percent). Listen to the radio clip.



Kiersten Muenchinger Wonhee Jeong Arndt ��� KIERSTEN MUENCHINGER and
WONHEE JEONG ARNDT, both
associate professors in the UO Product Design Program, played key roles in undergraduate student Zander Eckblad's 2nd place win in the Oregon BEST Red List Design Challenge. More.
 


John Simonson ��� JOHN SIMONSEN, a professor of wood science and engineering at OSU served as a mentor to  Zander Eckblad, the UO undergraduate student who won 2nd Place in the Oregon BEST Red List Design Challenge. Simonsen's contribution is a wonderful example of the cross-university collaboration that Oregon BEST inspires. 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