Greg Carr to be inducted into Idaho Tech Council's hall of fame

Greg Carr

Idaho Falls native Greg Carr, who made a fortune in telecommunications then graduated to philanthropy, will join the Idaho Technology Council Hall of Fame during an induction ceremony at Boise Centre on the Grove Oct. 23.

The son of Dr. Taylor Carr and his wife, Betty, Carr spent his undergraduate years at Utah State University, graduating as valedictorian of the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. While enrolled in the master’s program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Carr and some associates recognized an opportunity in the telecommunication services sector and in 1986 founded Boston Technology. Within four years the company had become the nation’s number one voice-mail provider to telephone companies.

By the end of the 1990s Carr had amassed a net worth of nearly $200 million, and when he turned 40 he decided to devote the rest of his life to philanthropy. In 1998 he co-founded the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University. In 2000 a donation he made allowed for the transformation and expansion of Idaho Falls' Bonneville County Museum into the Museum of Idaho. He donated $1 million to help develop the Idaho Human Rights Education Center in Coeur d'Alene and the Anne Frank Memorial in Boise.

Carr now divides his time between Sun Valley and Mozambique, where he signed a 20-year agreement with the government to restore and manage that country's flagship national park, Gorongosa. He is working with Zoo Boise to establish a 2-acre exhibit reflecting the Gorongosa habitat.

Also being inducted is Tim Barber, co-founder Keynetics Inc., now the largest privately held technology company in Idaho.

Barber's patents have led to the founding of four Idaho technology companies, including Kount, an industry leading fraud-prevention company serving the world's largest payment processors and retailers; and ClickBank, an e-commerce platform for internet entrepreneurs. He recently moved away from the daily operations of Keynetics to launch 2AI Labs, a research collaboration focusing on the nature of intelligence in humans and machines, and O2Amp, an optics company that provides lenses medical professionals can use to detect health-related color changes.

"These distinguished business and community leaders serve as pathfinders to the next generation of technology professionals to drive innovations that continue to grow the Idaho economy," said Idaho Department of Commerce Director Jeff Sayer said in a press release.

The October banquet will also feature this year’s winners of the Idaho Innovation Award, to be presented in four categories: Commercialized Innovation of the Year; Early-Stage Innovation of the Year; Innovative Company of the Year; and Innovator of the Year. The innovation awards program is sponsored by Stoel Rives and Kickstand.

Council members and members of the public can reserve tables or sponsorships for the banquet by contacting Pamela Prather at pprather@idahotechcouncil.org. Individual tickets can be purchased at http://www.idahotechcouncil.org/itc-hall-of-fame-2013.

Terry named scientific director of Advanced Test Reactor

Jeff Terry

Idaho National Laboratory has selected Jeff Terry, associate professor of physics at Illinois Institute of Technology, as scientific director of the Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User Facility. ATR NSUF is the nation's only designated nuclear energy user facility.

The search for a new director began when Todd Allen stepped down in January to become INL's deputy director of science and technology.

As scientific director, Terry will provide strategic direction for ATR NSUF, working closely with potential academic and industrial users. He will also serve as the program's lead representative to various stakeholder groups such as the DOE, university researchers and the ATR NSUF User Group.

Terry has a Ph.D. in chemical physics from Stanford University and a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Chicago. For the past three years he has been the IIT's radioactive sample coordinator at Argonne National Laboratory's Advanced Photon Source, an ATR NSUF partner facility since 2009.

Terry also worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he received a Science and Technology Award for his work on the measurement of the electronic structure of plutonium.

"ATR NSUF is the most unique user facility in the U.S.," Terry said. "The combination of the facilities at INL and at the partner facilities gives ATR NSUF great ability to solve materials challenges in nuclear energy generation."

Terry began his joint appointment position Aug. 5 and has been splitting his time between ATR NSUF and his faculty responsibilities at IIT.

Since its designation as a National Scientific User Facility in 2007, ATR NSUF has been awarded 72 research experiments involving 20 universities and four other national laboratories. To learn more, visit the ATR NSUF website at http://atrnsuf.inl.gov.

Smart PJs get press on Fox, attention from Wal-Mart

Here's Leighton Johnson of Idaho Falls wearing a pair of Smart PJs, the world's first interactive pajamas and the inspiration of Juan Murdoch, an Idaho Falls real estate agent. (Photo by Melissa Bristol)

As feature stories go, Juan Murdoch's Smart PJ's are hard to resist. Just this week, his interactive pajamas for kids got another bit of national exposure, this time on Fox and Friends.

Here's a link to the video: 
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-friends/index.html#http://video.foxnews.com/v/2594547281001/best-gadgets-to-help-you-fall-asleep/?playlist_id=86912

Looking to post the actual video, I found this YouTube clip:

All in all, I'd have to say that things are going about as well as can be expected for Murdoch, an agent for Keller-Williams East Idaho who got the idea out of the blue during a sales meeting where QR tags were being explained.

Here's a link to the story we ran when he first rolled them out last Christmas:

http://www.bizmojoidaho.com/2012/12/bedtime-stories-for-digital-interactive.html

If you want to vote for them in Wal-Mart's "Get on the Shelf" competition, follow this link: getontheshelf.walmart.com

Battelle opens application process for two charitable donation campaigns

Battelle Energy Alliance, operator of Idaho National Laboratory, today announced the application period for its fiscal year 2014 charitable donation campaign and technology-based economic development charity. The campaign focuses on two programs, each with a distinct audience and aim. BEA is asking all requests for charitable donations related to each category be submitted by Sept. 15.

Community Giving
Through the INL Community Giving program, started in 2005, BEA provides corporate-funded donations in selected areas including human services, health, environment, arts and civic projects.

"We recognize the needs in our community are growing, so our selection process is very difficult," said Amy Lientz, director of INL communications and governmental affairs.

“Our first priority this year will be to give to organizations that support the basic needs and education of children and the underprivileged,” said Lori Priest, contributions administrator.

Technology-based Economic Development
The second program targets projects aimed at spurring economic development, technology-based economic development, entrepreneurship and innovation in the region.

“High-impact projects that focus on connecting industry partners, universities, new business startups and economic development organizations in an effort to drive job growth and innovation in the region are at the top of our list to fund in 2014,” said Stephanie Cook of INL’s technology deployment team.

All requests for INL charitable donations need to be submitted on the 2014 donation request form by Sept. 15. Decisions will be made by Dec. 15 notifications will then be sent to requesting organizations informing them of funding awards. Funds will be for projects for the period of Oct. 1, 2013 to Sept. 30, 2014.

Organizations must be 501(c)(3) nonprofit entities. A copy of the IRS tax-exempt letter must accompany the form. INL’s charitable donation program does not fund political or religious organizations, emergency response, courtesy advertisements, athletic programs or events, individuals, contests or extracurricular school activities. This funding does not include requests for K-12 education donations.

For further information on educational funding requests, contact Brenda Greenhalgh at brenda.greenhalgh@inl.gov.

For full details on both programs, or to download the 2014 request for donation form, follow these links:
Community Giving
Technology-based Economic Development

Press conference scheduled at site of new Scientech office complex

Detailed plans for the new Scientech office complex at Snake River Landing are set to be unveiled Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at a news conference at which Mayor Jared Fuhriman will speak.

The event will be at the building site, located off Whitewater Drive and Bluff Street. The project calls for construction of two interconnected office buildings, the first 53,300 square feet of space and the second 55,000 square feet. The project is one of many underway at Snake River Landing. Galusha Higgins & Galusha has a new office under construction, Bandon River Apartments is underway and a new restaurant and retail building on Milligan Road is expected to be open in the fall, with MacKenzie River Pizza as a major tenant.

A business unit of Curtiss-Wright Flow Control Co., Scientech engineers and designs high-tech nuclear and electrical-control instruments. The company employs about 200 people at its existing Idaho Falls facilities on South Woodruff Avenue.