News

Idaho Office of Science & Technology August 2006

In this issue:

# Science & Technology Council to Discuss $50 Million Initiative

# Boise Named 8th Most Inventive City

# Intermountain Venture Forum Seeks Presenters

# Bodybuilding.com Sells Majority Interest to Milestone Partners

# AMIS Technology Expected to Improve Stroke Victims Recovery

# University of Idaho Technology Part of NASA Mission

# Washington Group to Work on Arizona Power Plant

# ISU Faculty Seek Clues About Quarks, ‘Strong Force’

# INL Researchers to Share Knowledge on Cybersecurity

# University of Idaho Names College of Business and Economics Dean

# ISU Computerized Machining Program Now HTEC

# AMIS Buying Medical Device Maker

# Ideas Innovations Idaho License Plates For Sale

Science & Technology Council to Discuss $50 Million Initiative

(Statewide) The Governor’s Science & Technology Advisory Council will discuss a potential $50 million science and technology initiative at its quarterly meeting Tuesday in Post Falls.

The council, which advises the governor on policy issues and infrastructure needs of the state’s technology industry, will hear presentations on proposed legislative issues for the 2007 session. The council at its previous meeting called for a statewide investment of $50 million in programs and infrastructure to stimulate the state’s science and technology industry.

The meeting is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Red Lion Templin’s in Post Falls.
The meeting will be webcast and available at http://technology.idaho.gov. An archived recording of the event will be available after the meeting.
A full agenda and other information are available by calling Karen Lewis at (208) 334-2650 ext. 2101.
More information about the Governor’s Science & Technology Advisory Council is at http://technology.idaho.gov.

Boise Named 8th Most Inventive City

Boise ranks eighth on the list of "Top 20 Most Inventive Towns" commissioned by the Wall Street Journal.
Topping the list, published July 22, was San Jose, Calif.; Sunnyvale, Calif., and Austin, Texas. Boise, with 1,213 patents awarded to its companies and individual inventors, beat out San Francisco with 1,022 patents, Portland, Ore., with 784 and Seattle with 756.
Boise and Austin were the only two cities outside of California to rank in the top 10.
"We are becoming better known as a technology center where innovators thrive," Commerce & Labor Director Roger B. Madsen said. "We continue to work hard at building our statewide infrastructure to support entrepreneurs."
Idaho has long ranked first in the nation for the number of patents awarded per capita. This survey, conducted by iPiQ, isolated places where a large percentage of patents went to individuals or small companies. The article noted that "lone individuals" are responsible for significant inventions such as the implantable pacemaker and the computer mouse.

Intermountain Venture Forum Seeks Presenters

(Intermountain West) The eighth annual Intermountain Venture Forum, scheduled for September 26-27 at the Boise Centre on the Grove, is now accepting applications for companies interested in presenting their business plans to representatives from venture capital firms, angel investors and others from around the country.
The 2006 program will feature keynote presentations by Steve Appleton, chairman and president of Micron Technology Inc., and Paul Maeder, co-founder and managing general partner of Highland Capital Partners.
The forum, presented by the Boise Valley Economic Partnership, connects some of the region’s most promising new companies and the West’s top investors. Each year, dozens of startup firms apply to make presentations at the event. Companies that are selected are invited to an exclusive dinner with venture capitalists and also receive performance coaching with their presentations by a volunteer group of executives with a background in early stage companies and funding. In addition, the event features panels of leading experts in venture funding and angel investment. In 2005, the forum featured presentations from 14 companies from six Western states and attracted more than 25 of the West’s top institutional investors. Submitting an application is free.
An added feature to this year’s event is the first annual Stoel Rives Idaho Innovation Awards, presented by the Idaho Office of Science & Technology. This new statewide program recognizes innovations and the Idaho companies that created them. Finalists and a winner will be recognized in each category during a special awards luncheon held in conjunction with the forum on Sept. 26. Information about the awards program can be found at http://www.stoel.com/innovation.
The application deadline for entrepreneurs to present is September 15. For information, go online to http://www.ivfboise.org or call James Grunke, director of The Boise Valley Economic Partnership, at (208) 472-5232.

Bodybuilding.com Sells Majority Interest to Milestone Partners

(Boise) Bodybuilding.com, an online retailer of nutritional supplements and fitness related products, has sold a majority interest to Milestone Partners.
Bodybuilding.com has grown at a rate of 75 percent annually since 2001 and will achieve sales of over $60 million in 2006. The company, founded in 1999 by then-21-year-old Ryan DeLuca, operates two Web sites, bodybuilding.com and athletes.com. The company was named one of Inc. magazine’s fastest growing companies in 2005 and in 2006, DeLuca was fifth on Inc.’s list of top 30 entrepreneurs under 30 years old.
DeLuca said the new partnership with Milestone will help the company further expand its markets.
The DeLuca family will retain substantial ownership in the company.

AMIS Technology Expected to Improve Stroke Victims Recovery

(Pocatello) AMI Semiconductor has been selected by Northstar Neuroscience Inc. to design and manufacture the application-specific integrated circuit for the Northstar Stroke Recovery System.
Northstar has spent years developing a device to help improve function in stroke survivors months and even years after their strokes, said Allen Wyler, a neurosurgeon and Northstar’s medical director.
The American Stroke Association estimates that about 700,000 people in the United States experience a stroke every year. The estimated direct and indirect health-care costs related to stroke was over $56 billion in 2005.
Northstar’s stroke therapy device involves the precise delivery of low levels of electricity to the surface of the brain, or the cortex, via an implanted stimulator. The ultra low-power consumption circuitry for the Northstar system is being designed and produced by AMIS at the company’s Carlsbad, Calif., design center and Pocatello, Idaho, manufacturing facility.
More about AMIS is at http://www.amis.com.

University of Idaho Technology Part of NASA Mission

(Post Falls) Orbiting microsatellites, known as Space Technology 5, have completed a three-month mission with the assistance of the University of Idaho’s Center for Advanced Microelectronics Biomolecular Research.
Center researchers provided three ultra low-power processors, one on each spacecraft, to evaluate the space capability of the complementary metal oxide semiconductor Ultra Low-Power Radiation Tolerant technology. The University of Idaho’s chips differ from standard spacecraft electronics and operate at markedly lower voltage than current microprocessors – 0.5 volts compared to three to five volts, which dramatically reduces satellite power demands.
Built and tested for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, the microsatellite is an instrumental part of NASA’s New Millennium Program, which aims to create low-power technologies for spacecraft electronics. Launched March 22, their mission focused on flight testing the miniaturized satellites in the harsh environment of space while evaluating their ability to make research-quality scientific measurements.
The fully fueled satellites weigh approximately 55 pounds when launched and are about the size of a 13-inch television. The satellites’ miniature power system demonstrated a high level of performance. All the spacecrafts’ lithium ion batteries stayed above 90 percent charged, even during some tests intentionally designed to use them.
Results could provide scientists with a better understanding of solar activity, which in turn could improve the accuracy of space weather forecasting. More accurate forecasting would allow for better preparation for disruptions in global power, communication and navigation systems by space weather.
The research center creates advanced microelectronics for both government and commercial applications. Many of the processors designed there are currently used in space, supporting missions including the Hubble Space Telescope, Mars Odyssey and other NASA and Defense Department spacecraft.

Washington Group to Work on Arizona Power Plant

(Boise) Washington Group International will provide architectural, engineering and procurement support services for a new 400-megawatt, coal-fired generating unit at a power plant in eastern Arizona.
The contract was awarded by Salt River Project, the largest municipal provider of electricity to the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. The new unit is scheduled to be operational in late 2009.
Salt River Project provides electrical service to nearly 890,000 customers in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.
More information is at http://www.wgint.com.

ISU Faculty Seek Clues About Quarks, ‘Strong Force’

(Pocatello) The "strong force" is elemental, untapped and a mystery of epic proportions simultaneously small and large. Idaho State University associate physics professor Philip Cole, funded by a $270,000 National Science Foundation grant, is attempting to unlock its secrets.
The strong force operates at the smallest junction of matter at the sub-atomic level. Cole is studying its effects inside the proton of the nucleus of an atom. Atoms themselves are tiny bits of matter. But their protons, which along with neutrons make up the nucleus of an atom, are roughly 100,000 times smaller. Although tiny, the nucleus of an atom contains almost all of the mass of the atom.
"I argue that understanding the forces locked up within 99.95 percent of all matter, i.e the nucleus, is one of our deepest intellectual challenges," Cole said. "It behooves us to understand what makes a proton a proton."
Cole, along with two graduate students, is examining the insides of protons. Each proton is comprised of three quarks.
"My experiment has to do with the sub-atomic study of how quarks swirl, twirl and whirl," Cole said.
The Idaho State team wants to understand how quarks bind together in the proton or neutron to create the dense nucleus of atoms. Quarks bound together in the proton allow some of the force binding them to "seep out" and cause the proton and another proton or neutron to be bound together in the nucleus. Without this strong force there would be no way two protons could be assembled into a nucleus since their electromagnetic repulsion would cause them to fly apart. According to physicists, the strong force is one of the four forces of nature along with gravity force, electromagnetic force and weak force.
"You can’t harness power until you understand it, and that is what we’re trying to do now by studying quarks and protons. No one had uses for electricity until it was understood, and it had some great spin-offs," said Cole.

INL Researchers to Share Knowledge on Cybersecurity

(Idaho Falls) Researchers from the Idaho National Laboratory will demonstrate cybersecurity attacks on networks that regulate electrical-supply systems and other potential terrorist targets at an international cybersecurity summit Sept. 28-30.
The U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Homeland Security are sponsoring the free classes at the summit, which will be held in Las Vegas.
At the Idaho site, the Energy Department operates the National Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Test Bed, which analyzes commercially manufactured control systems for utilities to determine hacker vulnerabilities and strengthen security.
Homeland Security also uses the Idaho National Laboratory to analyze security threats to computerized controls for non-energy businesses such as telecommunications and financial services.

University of Idaho Names College of Business and Economics Dean

(Moscow) Jack Morris has been named the new dean of the College of Business and Economics at the University of Idaho.
Morris, a longtime University of Idaho business professor, is the current associate dean of the College of Business and Economics. In this role, he has served as the lead project manager of the J. A. Albertson Building and its technology plan. He also chaired the task force that assisted in implementing Idaho Excellence in Learning, the college’s successful laptop program. In addition to numerous other accomplishments, he collaborated with the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry to host the Idaho Business Week summer program for high school students.
As dean, Morris will lead in establishing the vision and mission of the college as it aligns with the university’s role and strategic mission. He will support the nationally recognized programs of the college that include the Integrated Business Curriculum, Utilities Executive Course and the Davidson Investment Program. He also will support faculty involved in developing the Vandal Innovation and Enterprise Works, a university-wide entrepreneurship program.

ISU Computerized Machining Program Now HTEC

(Pocatello) The Idaho State University computerized machining technology program has been selected to serve as a Haas Technical Education Center, the result of a unique alliance between Idaho State University and Haas Automation Inc.
Housed in the College of Technology, the Haas Technical Education Center enables the computerized machining technology program to provide students with state of the art computerized numeric control machines for education.
The program will add two new machines in August and currently provides training using two Haas CNC machining centers, one Haas CNC turning center, six Haas control simulators, one Daewoo CNC turning center, one Fadal machining center, two two-axis retrofit CNC mills, 16 manual lathes and 17 manual mills.
As a Haas center and Certified Master Cam Training Center, the Idaho State College of Technology computerized machining technology program will prepare students to use both manual and computer controlled machine tools to produce high quality manufactured parts using comprehensive and industry-based curriculum.
With the addition of these machines, students will practice their newly acquired machining skills on industry standard machines and will leave the program prepared for high-tech careers in a manufacturing field.
Beginning in spring 2007, the computerized machining technology program will offer a four-credit, computerized numeric control upgrade training course for experienced machinists who want to upgrade to CNC programmer and operator. This certificate course that will be held in the evenings will consist of laboratory, theory and mathematics classes.
For more information about the computerized machining technology program, call (208) 282-2622.

AMIS Buying Medical Device Maker
(Pocatello) AMI Semiconductor plans to acquire two medical devices divisions of NanoAmp Solutions Inc. for about $21 million.
NanoAmp Solutions specializes in low-voltage and ULP memory and applied specific integrated circuits solutions for the wireless communication, industrial, medical and networking market segments.
The combination of technologies will enhance AMI’s position in the implantable medical market, said the firm’s President and CEO Christine King.
The transaction is expected to close this fall.
More information is at amis.com.

Ideas Innovations Idaho License Plates For Sale
(Statewide) Specialty license plates that support Idaho’s science and technology industry are for sale through the Idaho Transportation Department.
A portion of the proceeds from each plate sold goes to a fund that is used to develop programs and market the state’s technology sector.
A picture of the license plate, and information on how to purchase one, can be viewed at technology.idaho.gov/license.

Have an Idea/Submission for this Newsletter?
Contact Julie Howard at the Idaho Commerce & Labor’s Office of Science & Technology at (208) 334-2650, ext. 2147, or at [email protected]

Read More Idaho Technology News
Miss last month’s Science & Technology newsletter? Find the complete newsletter archives at technology.idaho.gov and click on "news."

2006 Events Calendar
August 8
Governor’s Science & Technology Advisory Council
Post Falls
Governor’s advisory group on science and technology will hold its quarterly meeting in Post Falls. Live and archived Webcast can be accessed at technology.idaho.gov. Contact Karen Lewis, at the Office of Science & Technology, for information – (208) 334-2650 ext. 2101.

August 10
Kickstand
Ha Penny, Boise
Regular gathering of Kickstand, a monthly networking meeting of innovators and entrepreneurs. To join or RSVP, go to kickstand.org.

June-August
Sawtooth Science Institute
Southern Idaho locations
Idaho State University’s Sawtooth Science Institute includes more than 20 workshops over the summer. Workshops are open to both degree-seeking ISU students and community members. Topics range from botany to paleontology. More information is at imnh.isu.edu/ssi.

September 20
Boise Angel Alliance
Boise
A group of private "angel" investors, meet. Entrepreneurs can apply to present to this group and interested investors can get more information online at http://www.boiseangelalliance.com.

September 26
Idaho Innovation Awards
Boise
The first annual Stoel Rives Idaho Innovation Awards luncheon will be held Sept. 26 in conjunction with the Intermountain Venture Forum. For more information, go to stoel.com/innovation.

September 26-27
Intermountain Venture Forum
Boise
Annual venture forum brings together rising entrepreneurs and venture capital firms. For information, go to ivfboise.org.

October 4-6
Idaho Energy Conference
Boise
Longest running conference of its kind in the Northwest, the Idaho Energy Conference provides a casual forum where policy makers and technical implementers of code and energy efficiency programs meet to negotiate the future of conservation and energy in Idaho. Information at idahocities.org.

For more calendar information, visit Conferences and Events at cl.idaho.gov

"We Create Jobs, Strengthen Communities and Market Idaho."

IDAHO COMMERCE & LABOR
PO Box 83720, Boise, Idaho 83720-0093
Tel: 208-334-2470; Fax: 208-334-2631
Web: cl.idaho.gov
06-62000-250

JAMES E. RISCH, GOVERNOR
ROGER B. MADSEN, DIRECTOR
KARL TUELLER, DEPUTY DIRECTOR & OST EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Idaho Commerce & Labor is an equal opportunity employer.
This document is available upon request in alternative formats for individuals with disabilities.
[email protected] • Idaho Commerce & Labor

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