Ten years ago carbon sequestration was a little-known concept in the United States.  Now stories about carbon sequestration appear in local or national media almost every day.  What is carbon sequestration and how is it done? Is it really a solution to climate change?  What challenges face the commercial deployment of this technology?

Dr. Brian McPherson, a USTAR researcher at the University of Utah’s Energy & Geoscience Institute, will discuss his work. It involves ongoing field tests of injecting and storing carbon dioxide (CO₂) a mile underground and the scientific implications for the success or failure of sequestration as a climate change remedy.

McPherson is Principal Investigator of the Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration, a multi-state project testing the feasibility of geologic sequestration of CO₂. The regional partnership is one of seven funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to evaluate the science and technology of storage of atmospheric carbon in underground geological formations and in surface soil and vegetation. McPherson is an internationally recognized expert and his test laboratory is the intermountain West’s Colorado Plateau.

This lecture – free and open to the public – will present ground-breaking research happening in Utah with the potential to mitigate climate change and create new jobs.

Brian McPherson, Ph.D.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

7:00 p.m.

Aline Skaggs Auditorium, University of Utah

For more information on McPherson’s research, visit http://www.innovationutah.com/research/fossil/carbonsequestration.html

We’ve emailed the latest edition of the USTAR e-Connections newsletter. Read it here.

Topics:

• Brian McPherson’s carbon sequestration lecture at Utah Museum of Natural History Feb. 11
• PushButton Summit – Digital Media conference March 9-10
• Deadline for Concept to Company Digital Media innovation contest is Feb. 17
• New federal SBIR deadlines
• Vote for Milford wind energy project for national recognition
• USTAR in the news

If you’d like to be added to the distribution list, please email ustarinfo@utah.gov.

Rajesh Menon, a USTAR researcher at the University of Utah’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has won the 2009 International Commission for Optics (ICO) Prize for “breakthrough achievement in nanolithography.” A branch of nanotechnology, nanolithography helps fabricate tiny structures like semiconductor circuits.

A “young scientist” award, the ICO Prize is given annually to a person who has made a noteworthy contribution to optics, which was published or submitted before nominee has reached the age of 40.

Menon’s research lies at the intersection of optics and nanotechnology, with emphasis on improving the spatial resolution of optics to the nanoscale (one billionth of a meter) and on alternative energy applications.

Rajesh Menon

The smallest feature that can be patterned using light is limited to about half a wavelength. This “far-field diffraction limit” prevents visible light from resolving features below 200 nanometers. Traditionally, scanning-electron-beam lithography (SEBL) has been the most widely used method for beaming electrons in a patterned fashion across a surface to create very small structures for subsequent etching or other purposes. SEBL tends to be slow, expensive, and prone to placement errors. It’s also not compatible with organics and biological material. (more…)

$35,000 Contest for New Digital Media Innovations!

The “Concept to Company” competitions are ongoing innovation contests held in various regions across the state of Utah. This contest focuses digital media innovations. It is open to all Utah-based inventors or small businesses with a digital media product or service idea (see website for complete rules).

The winning entry will receive up to $35,000, comprised of cash and services. Additionally, two runner-up winners will receive up to $17,000 each, comprised of cash and services. A panel of industry leaders and executives will judge the entries.

General Rules:

• Innovations must be something that supports and enhances the creation and/or distribution of the following digital media forms: film/animation, audio, simulation, and video games.  They can also be software applications or games for mobile devices.
• Open to individual inventors or innovative small businesses with less than $5 million in annual revenues.
• Applicants must reside or be based in Utah.

Apply Online: www.ConceptToCompany.org

Submission Deadline: February 17th – Midnight

Utah’s first business incubator focused on renewable energy opened its doors Tuesday, Jan. 12^th, at University Plaza, near the campus of Dixie State College in St. George. A collaborative effort spearheaded by USTAR, the Southern Utah Information Technology and Renewable Energy Incubator (ITRE) helps Utah join several other states and cities investing in the start-up of new businesses focused on green technology and alternative energy.

Technology and green energy incubators have proven to be successful in other “rural” areas around the nation.  In fact, recent research suggests that businesses involved in an incubator are successful 87 percent of the time, compared to the less than 60 percent success rate for non-incubated companies.

The concept for the incubator was first explored as part of a SEED Dixie planning process in 2005, but the idea was something of a pipedream at the time.

Jill Elliss

“We thought it would be a long time coming due to the expensive office space market in Southern Utah,” said Jill Elliss, the ITRE Director. “Because of the change in the real estate market, we’ve been able to launch this center much earlier than expected.”

“We’ve seen in the last year the perils of our local economy being too focused on the real estate and construction industries,” continued Elliss. “This incubator is part of our effort to diversify the economic base and create quality, new jobs. The SEED Dixie steering committee hopes that this incubator will have as much early success and momentum as they have experienced with two other SEED-initiated programs – Dixie Techs and Dixie Angels.” (more…)

USTAR-backed Innovator Wins 2010 Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology

W. Farrell Edwards, a USU scientist pursuing plasma fusion confinement research with the assistance of USTAR, was awarded a Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology, Tuesday, Jan. 5. Edwards was the awardee in the Science Education category for his research and teaching spanning fifty years at USU.

Edwards, a professor of physics, has received recognition as College of Science professor of the year (1972) and University professor of the year (1977). As one of the recipients of a Governor’s Medal, Edwards was recognized for his contributions to teaching.

Edwards’ career in physics spans the decades. In 1960, he received his doctorate from the California Institute of Technology where he specialized in low-energy nuclear physics. In 1963, he published a modification of Einstein’s “Special Theory of Relativity”—the paper was selected in 2001 as a chapter in 100 Years of Relativity, a book that commemorates 100 years of Einstein’s theory. Early in his career he helped establish the Space Dynamics Laboratory at USU.

W. Farrell Edward and Tokamak

In the late 1980s, while performing an experiment to verify the fundamental laws of electromagnetism using low temperature superconductors, Edwards was drawn to a phenomenon in the ionosphere of the planet Venus, a reaction similar to one exhibited in superconductors. Edwards began working on a new method of confining gas heated to fusion temperatures—a process that happens in the center of the sun. (more…)

Digital media is alive and well in Utah. Digital media programs at Utah’s colleges and universities are preparing the creative and technical talent vital to the growth of one of our state’s most exciting emerging industries.

The business side is equally dynamic. Our video game industry grew by more than 32 percent from 2005-2006, added $77 million to the economy and employed more than 2,000 Utahns. The movie industry is also doing well here in the state with movie and TV production spending increasing more than 30 percent in 2008 to $144.5 million.

Some of the best 3D animation, compression technology, and games, such as those associated with Disney and Wii, all come from Utah.  This innovation combined with Utah’s robust entrepreneurial spirit creates the ideal environment for the next Concept to Company Contest which will focus on digital media and entertainment.

The Concept to Company contests are ongoing innovation contests held in various regions across the state of Utah and were created as a way to encourage entrepreneurism and stimulate business growth in the state. Each competition focuses on a different industry and matches the unique entrepreneurial strengths of that particular region. To date, the Concept to Company contests have distributed more than $190,000 in prize money and helped over 18 companies bring their business idea to fruition.

(more…)

USTAR doesn’t make a practice of futurology, but when Deseret News called asking about trends in the next decade, we responded. Here’s the article that ran January 2nd.

The next ten years: A Mecca for innovation

Quoted in the article is Dinesh Patel of vSpring Capital, who is also chair of USTAR’s Governing Authority board.

And speaking of innovators, in an accompanying article, the U of U’s Julie Korenberg and Marc Porter are cited as people to watch in the next ten years. We’re also happy to note that USU’s W. Farrell Edwards is being honored January 5th with a Governor’s Science Medal. USTAR is funding some of his fusion containment research.

Dinesh Patel