Egils Milbergs - Building the World’s Largest Science and Innovation Ecosystem

SST Conference Update:

Keynote lunch speaker bio for March 11th Conference:

Egils Milbergs is the executive director of the Economic Development Commission of Washington State. (www.wedc.wa.gov ).

The Commission is charged with developing a long term economic development strategy and making the state the most innovative region in the world. He was appointed by Governor Chris Gregoire on January 23, 2008 after a nation-wide search. He is a noted thought leader in competitiveness policy and champions the vital importance of US technological, manufacturing and innovation leadership to long-term prosperity.

In Washington State he is advancing the concept and practice of regional innovation ecosystems. He held previous positions as president and founder of the Center for Accelerating Innovation, president of the National Council for Advanced Manufacturing, president of the Institute for Illinois, Deputy Assistant Secretary for productivity, technology and innovation for the U.S. Commerce Department, and executive director the President’s Commission on Industrial Competitiveness.

Here is an abstract describing his presentation:

Egils Milbergs, after 25 years in Washington DC, accepted a new challenge in the “other Washington” to prepare the state’s long range economic development plan. Washington State is home to many innovative companies such as Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon, Starbucks, Costco and Real Networks. But what is next? The Pacific Northwest region is a case study on creating the world’s largest science and innovation ecosystem. This presentation will highlight the work of an 18 member public–private commission focused on transforming the economy to be more creative, open and collaborative.

Find out about the dynamics of government, business, academia and philanthropy in bringing about this change. A new public-private model for driving Washington’s economic future and the requirements for economic recovery and job creation will be discussed. These topics will be integrated into the foundation for the next update of the State’s long term economic development strategy and action recommendations to be presented to the Governor, legislature, congressional delegation and public later this spring.

After his presentation, Bruce Kendall, CEO of the Economic Development Board of Tacoma-Pierce County, will conduct a fireside chat with the speaker to cover more specific South Sound objectives.

Looking for a Technology Date? Me too

Calling all technology companies and organizations:

Wouldn't it be great if we had a collective calendar of technology events in the South Puget Sound? We have had Barcamps, Startup Weekends, Dorkbot events (awhile ago), International eCrime Conferences, the PNW Security Symposium, Tacoma Angel Network events, end of quarter colloquiums, Tech Meetups, the SHIFT awards and more.

Not to mention the South Sound Technology Conference on March 11th.

I would like to see if we could gather up all these great meeting times and events and put them in one place? I am not sure how that would work but I would like to give it some effort to try and figure out a way.

In the afternoon breakout session of the SST Conference, time has been set aside to start collecting times, days and information on upcoming technology related events and organizational meetings.

Do some advance scouting for your company, use this as an opportunity to promote your group, bring ideas for how we might share this information and share it.

Let's see if we can bring the WTIA or The TA down for a meeting or an event.

The meeting room will be next to William Philip Hall and the effort will take place after a lunchtime keynote focusing on innovation and economic development.

Gary Bracket from the Tacoma Chamber and I will help to coordinate the conversation and the collection of information.

Erik Hanberg Joins Energy Panel SST

Erik Hanberg is Executive Director of City Club of Tacoma, a Web Developer with Mary Holste Design, an author (The Saints Go Dying, Little Book of Gold) and occasional guest speaker in my class. But why is he on the Energy Panel at the South Sound Technology Conference?

Because last year Erik Hanberg was picked by Mayor Marilyn Strickland to chair Tacoma Reads Together, a community reading initiative. Additionally, last Tuesday the 22nd at the City Council meeting it was announced that “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope” would be this years selection.

Now we are all supposed to read and discuss this book together. I am going to.

As reported in the Tacoma News Tribune,

The 2009 book was written by William Kamkwamba and journalist Bryan Meale. In it, Kamkwamba tells how he went to his village library and checked out a book on energy that included pictures of windmills. Using scrap parts, he built a crude windmill to power several appliances in his family’s home in Malawi. He later created a solar-powered water pump to provide the first drinking water in his village.

Why did Mayor Strickland pick Erik?

“I selected Hanberg because he is a voracious reader, a champion of social media, and very active in the civic, arts and business arenas,” said Strickland. “As our city moves forward, I want to ensure that new voices are brought to the table to serve on boards, commissions and in other positions of leadership.”

Why is Erik on the panel? Given the panels energy focus and the conferences South Sound focus, this gives us a representative voice in the conversation.

KOMO has more on the Tacoma Reads Together initiative.

See you there on March 11th in the William Philip Hall on the UWT campus.

Register Here:

Registration It is only 15 dollars and it comes with lunch. Such a deal.

An Energy Teaser for the SST Conference

As more elements of the March 11th South Sound Technology Conference fall in to place I thought I might mention the morning energy breakout session presentation by Dr. George Mobus.

His current working title is:

The Critical Energy Challenges: Time and Scale

Dr George Mobus will be presenting on how effective alternative renewable energy sources may be as opposed to fossil fuels. He will discuss peak oil and peak net energy with attention to the potential decline rates from these sources. The biggest challenge according to professor Mobus is the time frame for replacing our current level of net energy with renewable/alternative sources, and the various conservation approaches to reduce the scale problem.

His passion for the topic is obvious, as is his straight forward approach. As he has said of his presentation, “ this represents an honest assessment of the challenges ahead as a prod to why we need massive investment in those technologies that stand a chance of meeting the challenges.”

To get a feel for his ideas and passion about energy and systems science, check out his blog "Question Everything".

Following his presentation will be a panel discussion from industry and energy experts, including Graham Evans, former Executive Director at Washington Clean Technology Alliance and current Senior Vice President with EQ².

Also on the panel will be Andy Wappler,vice president, Corporate Affairs for Washington-based Puget Sound Energy, utility subsidiary of Puget Energy.

As head of Corporate Affairs, Wappler is responsible for the company’s ongoing efforts to enhance relationships with communities, government agencies and major customers, as well as the company’s communications. He also is the chairman and president of the Puget Sound Energy Foundation.

According to their website, "Puget Sound Energy is the Pacific Northwest’s largest utility producer of renewable energy and, among investor-owned utilities, is America’s second-largest generator of wind power."

I have a third panel guest on tap, though they may be given a breakout segment of their own depending on how their presentation comes together.

So join us on March 11th for the day. Registration is only 15 dollars and it comes with lunch. Such a deal.

Mobile Applications and the South Sound

I had a gentleman come to see me today who talked about the mobile applications he has been developing for the Android. He was doing so because he wanted to sharpen his technical skill set as well as work with technology that was growing in use. He then asked me if there was any mobile application development going on in the South Puget Sound.

The answer is yes. In fact, this years South Sound Technology Conference on March 11th is going to focus on mobile application development as one of its breakout sessions on the technical track (the second track is the business track).

Brian Forth, President of SiteCrafting, a web design and application development company located in Tacoma will be presenting on the topic. He will be discussing not only how mobile applications are creating opportunities and providing unique solutions to his companies customers, but also how the technology is changing the industry landscape.

Following his talk panelists which will include Keven Freitas, a mobile apps developer as well as two companies from the area that have deployed their mobile app solutions. Many of us know Kevin as well from his contribution of FeedTacoma to the Tacoma online community.

Brian came by the Entrepreneurship in Technology class this week to talk about his experience building the company and branching out to include Seattle and Spokane offices. The presentation engaged the students who weren't shy in the least when asking questions about building a company and leveraging technology in business. During the presentation he talked about ChambersEdge just one of the mobile solutions his company has delivered.

A mobile application that provides business and contact info about all your chamber members. It can be accessed by chamber members and visitors alike.

Just a quick search on the topic "mobile application development Tacoma" pulls up several companies in the area who are doing development or offer the service, such as IdentityMine and BigStep Consulting.

It should be a great presentation and a rewarding conversation. Be sure to register.

Ring Round the Moon

Yesterday was opening night for the three act play Ring Round the Moon at the Lakewood Playhouse. After several weeks of rehearsal for me and even more for many of the cast members we had a live and lively audience last night, which brings another level of energy to all the performances.

The actors who I am performing with are all wonderful and talented. They had their lines, blocking, dancing and characterizations off book and well formed with days to spare before we opened. That gave us the opportunity to run the show through several times over in advance, which is great, but leaves you wanting somewhat. It is when the audience is introduced that the world the director, designers, stage management and costumers have created through the show comes alive completely.

The show is in three acts and with intermission runs for three hours, which can tire you out. But with the audience there, obviously engaged until the final bow, it provides plenty of energy for the task.

One of the great surprises for me from last night was one particular scene that plays out an important dramatic moment that requires several shifts of mood from the actors and is also reasonably lengthy. It is also full of very funny moments, which you can forget about after hearing it many times over, as it becomes exacted by the players. Well it soared yesterday and the laughter from the audience actually gave it greater impact.

This is the first non-musical I have done in YEARS and it has been a blast. Also new to me is doing a show in the round. A very immersive experience to say the least. I have done shows with two of the other actors but for the majority this will be my first experience. It has been a wonderful one at that.

For information you can go to http://www.lakewoodplayhouse.org/.

Here is how the director David Domkoski describes his sense of the show:

What excites me about Ring Round The Moon is Christopher Fry's extraordinary language, the vividness of the images he creates and his delightful word play. Towards the end of the play one characters describes another as 'scrupulous and considerate, but not considerabl...e,' or as another character describes himself, 'I am acting providence tonight. I deflect the influence of the stars. The stars, twinkling up there with9ut an inkling of what's going to happen tonight." Very Oscar Wilde-ish. The play was once described as being a 'soufflé with razor blades”.It's not all fun and games as it might first appear. Beneath the laughter, Fry explores some serious social issues. The play is a cross between Cinderella and Pygmalion. Cinderella in this case is a poor but highly principled dancer hired by a cynical and manipulative young aristocrat to break up his less worldly and love smitten brother's engagement.

The Suburban Times has a nice write up of the show and gives due to the actors and their roles.

Clint Nelson of Startup Weekend to Keynote

As we get closer to Friday March 11th and the 11th Annual South Sound Technology Conference I will post more on the the great speakers and panels that we have for the event.

Right now I am excited to announce that Clint Nelson of Startup Weekend is going to be our lunch time keynoter. Startup Weekend is a Seattle non-profit that runs weekend-long brainstorming sessions for entrepreneurs around the world. If you are unfamiliar with Startup Weekend, here is information about them from their site:

What is Startup Weekend?

What We Do:

54-hour events where developers, coders, designers, marketers, product managers and startup enthusiasts come together to share ideas, form teams, build products, and create startups!

Startup Weekends are weekend-long, hands-on experiments where entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs can find out if startup ideas are viable. Most events have about 75 attendees, half of which have technical backgrounds and the other half have business backgrounds.

Beginning with open mic pitches on Friday, individuals and teams are encouraged to bring their best ideas and inspire others to join their team. Over Saturday and Sunday teams code, design, research, develop, create business plans while constantly streamlining their startup vision. Come Sunday evening—which always comes around way too soon—teams come together to watch each other’s demos, listen to judges’ feedback, and even win awesome prizes.

Startup Weekends are specifically designed for entrepreneurs looking for feedback on an idea, are interested in finding a co-founder, would like to learn a new skill, or would like to test the entrepreneurial waters by joining a team. Startup Weekends are risk-free environments where everyone is expected to roll up their sleeves and dive into the exhilarating world of startups.

It is my hope that this will be the launch toward a full out Startup Weekend in Tacoma/Pierce County to be held later in the year.

Clint is a director of Startup Weekend. For more information about Clint, other than his bio from Twitter (I'm an enabler, I run @StartupWeekend, I love harnessing the power of disruptive thinking, new ideas, traveling, flying, snowboarding, and the outdoors!) or from his bio from the DC Startup Weekend, (One awesome dude) I can tell you he is a very busy guy who has been traveling all over the world and we are lucky to have him speaking. He will be coming back from the EU the day before the conference.


Register here for the conference: