Conmergence

Jeremy Rifkin* makes an extremely important point about the manner in which President Obama attempted to persuade/sell the US public about the potential of a green economy (greenconomy) — that being, that because several components had to be developed and understood to be synergistic with other components being developed in parallel, folks were not effectively imagining the future Obama was trying to describe. He was not effectively describing the interconnectedness of the big picture.

This overdependence on artificial categorization is a major stumbling block to American innovation. People from sectors which have independent policy, regulatory and regional origins fail to see similarities of areas of their sector with parts of other sectors–the kinds of similarities which allow for standardization and scaling, the network effect which has been behind so much economic growth over the past few decades. For an example of this I think of those who make a desitinction between virtual currency, mobile money, barter, coupons, advertizing payment schemes, etc. They are all nothing more then entries in web front ended database with unique IDs and transactional logging–from a technological point of view. From a legislative viewpoint, however, they are distinct “things”.

For those with the ability to see beyond these artificial divisions and may be of the entrepreneurial bent some recent Jumpstart Foundry resources: Tips for Entrepreneurs, a collection of essential tips from the Jumpstart podcasts.

*Jeremy Rifkin “The Third Industrial Revolution: How Lateral Power is Transforming Energy, the Economy, and the World” Jeremy Rifkin argues that internet technology and renewable energy could lead the way for a new industrial revolution in the United States and help the country regain its economic foothold in the world. He spoke at The Booksmith in San Francisco.

Applications for Nine Regional Accelerators Accepted Through Sept. 30th

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty today announced that the department is accepting applications for a competitive grant to support nine regional business accelerators across the state. Interested parties are encouraged to file a letter of intent with the department by Sept. 6th at 5 p.m. CST; applications are due Sept. 30th at 5 p.m., CST.

“We are excited to launch our competitive grant process for the Jobs4TN Regional Entrepreneurial Accelerators and see this as the next step in spurring innovation across the state,” Hagerty said. “Our department has just completed a very successful RFI process in preparation for the program and is ready to move forward in establishing an accelerator in each of the nine economic development regions to create a more robust entrepreneurial system in the state.”

The grants will award $250,000 to a regional entrepreneurial accelerator in each economic development region. An information session on the grant opportunity will be held Thursday, Sept. 1st at the Tennessee Tower in Nashville. To RSVP for the session, please send your name, organization and the names of those attending to ECD.Innovation@tn.gov. More information on the session will be sent to you at that time.

The Jobs4TN Regional Entrepreneurial Accelerators were announced in June as a part of Governor Bill Haslam’s INCITE plan The INCITE initiative is designed to drive innovation across the state. Tennessee has partnered with Startup America to form Startup Tennessee, which will form a network of the business accelerators across the state and provide mentoring to entrepreneurs.

Applications and additional information is available online now at www.tn.gov/ecd.

All questions should be directed to ECD.Innovation@tn.gov.

About the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development’s mission is to develop strategies which help make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs. The department seeks to attract new corporate investment in Tennessee and works with Tennessee companies to facilitate expansion and economic growth. To find out more, go to www.tn.gov/ecd.
###

August 24, 2011
Contact: Valerie Somerville, ECD
Office: (615) 532-1925
E-mail: Valerie.Somerville@tn.gov

XSEDE project brings advanced cyberinfrastructure, digital services, and expertise to nation’s scientists and engineers

A partnership of 17 institutions today announced the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE). XSEDE will be the most advanced, powerful, and robust collection of integrated advanced digital resources and services in the world.

Scientists and engineers use these resources and services—things like supercomputers, collections of data, and new tools—to propel scientific discovery and improve our lives. They are a crucial part of research in fields like earthquake engineering, materials science, medicine, epidemiology, genomics, astronomy, and biology.

“Enabling scientific discovery though enhanced researcher productivity is our goal, and XSEDE’s ultimate reason for being,” explained Barry Schneider, a program director in the Office of Cyberinfrastructure at the National Science Foundation. NSF will fund the XSEDE project for five years, at $121 million.

“For this sort of cyberscience to be truly effective and provide unique insights, it requires a cyberinfrastructure of local computing hardware at sites around the country, advanced supercomputers at larger centers, generally available software packages, and fast networks. Ideally, they should all work together so the researcher can move from local to national resources transparently and easily.”

XSEDE, and the experts who lead the program, will make that ideal a reality.

XSEDE will replace and expand the TeraGrid project that started more than a decade ago. More than 10,000 scientists used the TeraGrid to complete thousands of research projects, at no cost to the scientists.

That same sort of work—only in more detail, generating more new knowledge and improving our world in an even broader range of fields—will continue with XSEDE.

“The TeraGrid really helped invent the concept of having digital resources like supercomputers, tools, and expertise spread across the country and allowing researchers to easily use them,” said John Towns of the University of Illinois’s National Center for Supercomputing Applications. Towns will lead the XSEDE project and also had a variety of roles in the TeraGrid project.

“This is much more than just the same old resources that TeraGrid offered,” Towns said. “XSEDE will take the next step by lowering technological barriers to access and use. We are creating a distributed cyberinfrastructure in which researchers can establish private, secure environments that have all the resources, services, and collaboration support they need to be productive.”

The XSEDE User Access Layer, for example, will provide a comprehensive view of the resources available—not just those at XSEDE partner sites, but any resources. It will integrate things like authentication and job monitoring, providing a comprehensive view and single contact point for all the cyberinfrastructure that researchers need to achieve their science and education goals.

XSEDE will provide an array of services to ensure that researchers can make the most of the supercomputers and tools. This will include outreach to new communities that haven’t traditionally used cyberinfrastructure and other digital services. It will also include advanced support for very large, complicated, or novel uses of XSEDE resources.

Initially, XSEDE will support 16 supercomputers across the country. It also includes other specialized digital resources and services to complement these computers. These resources will be expanded throughout the lifetime of the project.

The XSEDE partnership includes: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Carnegie Mellon University/University of Pittsburgh, University of Texas at Austin, University of Tennessee Knoxville, University of Virginia, Shodor Education Foundation, Southeastern Universities Research Association, University of Chicago, University of California San Diego, Indiana University, Jülich Supercomputing Centre, Purdue University, Cornell University, Ohio State University, University of California Berkeley, Rice University, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. It is led by the University of Illinois’s National Center for Supercomputing Applications.

See also How XSEDE will facilitate collaborative science

Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development INCITE Initiative

BACKGROUND

Governor Bill Haslam announced the Jobs4TN plan in April 2011 to accomplish his goal of making Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.  As the state’s primary economic development agency, the Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD) has been charged by the Governor with overseeing the successful implementation of the plan.  Jobs4TN is a comprehensive plan built around four strategies, one of which is investing in innovation. The Department’s primary innovation effort is the INCITE Initiative, which stands for INnovation, Commercialization, Investment, Technology and Entrepreneurship.  INCITE’s goal is to elevate Tennessee’s profile in innovation-based economic development and drive economic growth via the creation of knowledge-based jobs.  As part of INCITE, the Department will be overseeing a competitive grant process to provide funding to an entrepreneurial business accelerator in each of the state’s nine “Jobs Base Camp” regions, as defined in the Jobs4TN plan.  The goal of the business accelerators is to nurture and support entrepreneurs as they develop business plans and launch companies that have the potential to create a large number of high-wage jobs.  Prior to issuing this grant application, the Department is issuing this request for information (RFI) to gather information that will inform the grant process.

INFORMATION REQUESTED

The Department of Economic and Community Development requests information on the following questions:

1. How should the success of a business accelerator be measured after one, two, and three years?

2. What are best practices in recruiting, training, and supporting entrepreneurs as they go through a business accelerator program?

3. What partnerships should a successful business accelerator form (e.g., with businesses, investors, governments, educational institutions)?

4. How should a business accelerator be governed?

5. Over what time period and using what strategies should a business accelerator be expected to become financially self-sustaining?

6. How, if at all, do successful business accelerators in rural areas differ from successful business accelerators in urban areas?

7. How should the grant applications for the regional business accelerators be scored?  What individuals should be part of the scoring process?

8. Please provide any additional advice you have that might inform the State’s competitive grant process for regional business accelerators.
DATES

Responses must be received on or before July 15, 2011.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Responses must be submitted in written format via mail or email to:

Ryan Gooch, Innovation Director

Tennessee Tower, 11th Floor

312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue Nashville, TN 37243

ryan.gooch@TN.gov

Office: (615) 741-1294

Twitter: @investtennessee
DISCLAIMER:

Responses to this RFI are not considered to be offers and cannot be accepted by the State of Tennessee to form a binding contract or issue a grant.  Information obtained as a result of this RFI may be used by the State toward program planning on a non-attribution basis.  Do not include any information that may be considered proprietary or confidential

Press Release with graphics here.

Africa-Europe research collaboration to be transformed by EC-funded research infrastructure Boost for African research as European Commission injects €14.75M into regional research and education connectivity

Gaborone, Botswana, and Cambridge, UK, 11 May 2011: DANTE, the international research network operator, and the European Commission’s EuropeAid Cooperation Office today announce the signature of a €14.75M contract for support to a sub-Saharan African intra-regional research networking infrastructure which is already interconnected to the pan-European research network, GÉANT. Eighty percent of the project’s funding will come from the European Commission’s EuropeAid Co-operation Office, and the remainder will be contributed by the African partners in the project.

The contract represents a significant injection of capital to develop research networking infrastructure across sub-Saharan Africa and with Europe. The initiative will dramatically accelerate the development of the Information Society in Africa, providing advanced data communications infrastructure and enabling African researchers to collaborate more easily in advanced international research projects. Within the framework of the Africa Caribbean Pacific Islands (ACP) programme, the AfricaConnect project will establish a high-capacity Internet network for research and education in Southern and Eastern Africa to provide the region with a gateway to global research collaboration, the objective of which is to overcome the current limitations of international research collaboration within sub-Saharan Africa and towards Europe, and to foster research and education collaboration and advancement within and between these regions. The project will be strongly collaborative, so whilst DANTE will coordinate AfricaConnect, they will be partnered by DANTE’s regional counterpart organisations in Africa – UbuntuNet Alliance covering Eastern and Southern Africa, and West and Central African Research and Education Network (WACREN) covering Western and Central Africa – as well as the Association of African Universities; existing National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) in Africa (DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia); and several European NRENs (Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and the UK). All will work to ensure that the project benefits all of sub-Saharan Africa.

“We are delighted to see this project underway,” said Cathrin Stöver, DANTE’s International Relations Manager. “DANTE has a strong history of supporting regional connectivity including actions in South America and Asia, and we will build on this experience to support African research and education networks as together they transform the research environment in Africa. DANTE always puts the emphasis on partnership in this kind of activity, and we are therefore excited to be working with such a strong group of partners on a project of this importance.”

Eng. Dr Francis Tusubira, CEO of the UbuntuNet Alliance agrees: “For the Alliance, this support is invaluable, since our challenges run from the macro-challenge of establishing regional connectivity in a geographical area that could contain the whole of Europe several times over, to the comparative micro-challenge of ensuring that each NREN has the human capacity to set up and operate their national network. Achievement of the impossible is our mantra, and we appreciate the support of the European Commission in this respect – their funding makes the achievement of the impossible a whole lot easier!”

DANTE will soon announce an international tender for the connectivity and equipment required for the AfricaConnect project. The infrastructure is expected to be operational by early 2012.

The AfricaConnect project is expected to last for four years, after which time the African Project Partners of AfricaConnect will ensure the sustainability of the intra-regional African research network and its direct connection to GÉANT.

About DANTE

DANTE is a non-profit organisation, coordinator of large-scale projects co-funded by the European Commission, and working in partnership with European National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) to plan, build and operate advanced networks for research and education. Established in 1993, DANTE has been fundamental to the success of pan-European research and education networking. DANTE has built and operates GÉANT, which provides the data communications infrastructure essential to the success of many research projects in Europe. DANTE is involved in worldwide initiatives to interconnect countries in the other regions to one another and to GÉANT. DANTE currently manages projects focussed on the Mediterranean, Asia-Pacific and central Asia regions through the EUMEDCONNECT, TEIN and CAREN projects respectively. For more information, visit www.dante.net.

About the UbuntuNet Alliance

UbuntuNet Alliance is, at both the conceptual and implementation levels, a commitment and movement by member NRENs to unlocking Africa’s intellectual potential by ensuring that African Researchers and Educators achieve equity with the rest of the world in terms of ease and cost of access to the global information Infrastructure as well as opportunities for research collaboration . The UbuntuNet Alliance was established in 2005 and registered in 2006 as a not-for-profit regional association of NRENs in Eastern and Southern Africa and currently has 13 members.

In January 2009, UbuntuNet Alliance established a 1Gb/s IP interconnection with the GEANT network in London. This connection has recently been upgraded as fibre has become available, prices drop and demands from NRENs increase, The upgrade includes a 10Gb/s IP connection to GEANT and a new 10-Gbps link for dedicated point-to-point connectivity, making Sub-Saharan Africa the first world region outside North America to gain dedicated circuit capacity with Europe. Therefore, the AfricaConnect project builds on a proven relationship between Europe and sub Sahara Africa.

NUANCE mailing list

NUANCE@lists.ubuntunet.net

http://lists.ubuntunet.net/listinfo/nuance

From: UbuntuNet Alliance <info@ubuntunet.net>

Date: Wed, 11 May 2011 12:19:35 +0200

To: <nuance@lists.ubuntunet.net>

1) A City Sponsored BOINC Distributed Computing Effort

Zivis is the first “city-wide supercomputer”. The project is run by the Zaragoza City Council, and the Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex System (BIFI) at the University of Zaragoza. The objective is to harness local (and non-local) computing resources for local research; and at the same time to involve the community in the science being done locally. The initial research being done on Zivis is on the subject of fusion plasma (“Integration of Stochastic Differential Equations in Plasmas”) — improved understanding of this could lead to better designs for fusion power stations. (Fusion power is a form of nuclear energy that produces a lower volume of less dangerous waste than traditional nuclear fission power.)

Start Date: October 2005
Users: 2,359
Project URL: http://zivis.bifi.unizar.es

2) Intel introduces distributed computing to Facebook

Intel has set up a Facebook page designed to induce casual users to sign up for a distributed computing project that runs on the BOINC client system. Now Facebook users can crunch away on any of three DC projects… – Ars Technica

3) HIMSS crowdsources with Clinical Decision Support Wiki

Hello! The HIMSS Clinical Decision Support (CDS) Task Force helps guide and execute HIMSS efforts to ensure that CDS delivers on its promise to improve care delivery and outcomes.

What’s a Wiki? A wiki is an easy-to-use Web site that makes it easy to collaborate. You can use it to run a project at work, plan a trip, teach a class, etc.

Why a Wiki? The wiki provides a forum where stakeholders can come together to help develop, use, and discuss Task Force deliverables. The links below provide access to pages where this conversation and work is unfolding. Please browse this home page and links, and join us on this important performance improvement journey.

Woodbine United Methodist
2621 Nolensville Pike
Nashville, TN 37211

Former Assistant Chief Sewell frequently told his students and others, "the only way I can guarantee you will be able to save a life is…Give blood."  He asked that his family host a blood drive in his memory each year on his birthday.

The Sewell family asks that those who will give at a different time and location send a quick e-mail to bethsewell at comcast.net, so the family can be informed. Our goal is to collect enough pints per year to match David’s age if he were here. That is 58 this year!!

No Pot Luck dinner this year—But Birthday Cake will still be served!!

REMEMBER—IF YOU ARE NOT IN THE LOCAL AREA, PLEASE GIVE AT YOUR LOCATION. THE IMPORTANT PART IS TO GIVE SO THAT OTHERS MAY HAVE A CHANCE. DUE TO THE RECENT WEATHER, THE AMERICAN RED CROSS HAS EXPERIENCED AN EXTREMELY LOW INVENTORY OF WHOLE BLOOD. PLEASE GIVE SOMEWHERE AND E-MAIL ME OR BETH THAT YOU HAVE.

Thank you in advance for your kindness,

 
Jim Sewell
Eagle Truss LLC

Nashville Startup Weekend

This year promises a great deal of added value!

• A heavy focus on mentoring and feedback
• A much improved mixer
• Better location
• More industry leaders
• Spoils for the weekend victor
• And a shot at $15K in funding

We’re in need of YOUR feedback already….. Along with the focus on mentoring and superb entrepreneurship, we’re involving some of the greatest examples of this in Nashville. Let us know what the most iconic businesses are in Nashville.

More development to come! Follow the leaders on Twitter: @leeGTurley, @NashvilleEC, @MichaelRBurcham and join us on Facebook.

Hash tag for this year is #NSW2010 and new site URL is www.NashvilleStartup.com!

Have a great day!

Lee G Turley

The NTIA has awarded $62.5+ million in stimulus funding to Internet2, NLR, Indiana University, the Northern Tier Network Consortium. Together with their vendor partners Ciena, Cisco, Infinera and Juniper Networks, the collaborators propose the construction of the United States Unified Community Anchor Network (U.S. UCAN), an advanced network that will link regional networks across the nation, including other projects funded through ARRA. U.S. UCAN’s advanced infrastructure will—in partnership with regional and state research and education networks—connect America’s community anchor institutions. For more info, http://www.usucan.org.

Funded by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, the United States Unified Community Anchor Network (U.S. UCAN) will be a nationwide, coast-to-coast advanced network infrastructure that, together with state and regional network partners, will enable the connection of America’s community anchor institutions—schools, libraries, community colleges, health centers and public safety organizations—to support advanced applications not possible with today’s typical Internet service. U.S. UCAN fills a critical gap linking community anchor institutions together into a national, open network with next-generation capabilities, operated with end-to-end transparency and the highest levels of performance uniquely suited to the needs of these communities.

U.S.UCAN will provide a network environment capable of supporting life-changing applications such as telemedicine and distance learning for all community anchor institutions, including those in areas previously considered too remote or economically depressed to support advanced network services. Led by the same advanced networking community that has already connected 66,000 community anchors through partnerships across public and private sectors, U.S.UCAN will prepare Americans—now and in the future—to compete successfully in an increasingly competitive global economy.

The network will offer its services to community anchors nationwide through a new not-for-profit organization (also called U.S. UCAN), which will be directed and governed by a partnership of the research and education networking community and representatives of community anchor institutions.

Contacts

General inquiries – info@usucan.org
Media inquiries – media@usucan.org, (734) 352-7037

TECH4AFRICA is proud to bring together some of the most respected people in technology to share, teach and interact with Africans, in Africa. It’s an exciting time for African technology and we hope that you enjoy the opportunity that Tech4Africa presents, as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it all together.

Click on the presenters’ names to see their online profiles.

(InnoVenture forms an online communty when profiles are added while registering to attend. To see the online profiles of others in the community, you must sign in or add a profile online without registering.)

Monday, May 10

Tuesday, May 11

Session 1 – Smart Communities

Session 2 – Transformed Mobility

Wednesday, May 12

Session 3 – Advanced Materials

Session 4 – Clean Energy

Advanced Materials

The future of advanced materials is being created here. Milliken has one of the world’s preeminent materials research centers, and has developed over 55,000 different products. The Michelin Americas Research Company is one of their three global R&D centers. The NanoCenter at the University of SC and the Clemson Advanced Materials Research Center have attracted preeminent scholars through the Centers of Economic Excellence program. Zeus Industrial leads in extruded polymers for medical devices, and St. Jude Medical leads in capacitors for pacemakers. KEMET is one of the world’s leading capacitor manufacturers.

Clean Energy

The future of clean energy is being created here. GE Energy produces a large share of the world’s wind turbines, and Clemson received $98 million to build a wind test facility. GE operates the world’s largest gas turbine plant. The Savannah River National Lab has the world’s largest concentration of hydrogen scientists, and the University of SC has the National Science Foundation Center for Fuel Cells. The nuclear renaissance in the US will occur in the Carolinas. South Carolina grows a large percentage of the cellulose which can be converted to biofuel on the east coast.

Transformed Mobility

The future of the mobility industry is being created here. The country’s first PhD in Automotive Engineering recently graduated from the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research and went to work for the Michelin Americas Research Company. The BMW Information Technology Research Center is inventing connected vehicle technologies we will use in our cars tomorrow. BMW Manufacturing has invested $4.3 billion, employs 5,000, and has produced 1.5 million cars. Boeing landed in North Charleston, and Lockheed is in Greeenville.

Smart Communities

The future of smart communities is being created here. BlueCross BlueShield of SC operates 6 of the 90 IBM Z10 mainframes in the world. Health Sciences SC is developing a leading health information technology infrastructure to support research and advance patient care. Sealed Air is developing intelligent packaging to keep our food fresher, safer and less expensive. Wind turbines built off the coast will be connected through smart grids to consumers. Electrolux is building 2 million appliances which are increasingly connected and personalized to our lifestyles.

Conference Presenters
7 Senior Leaders

David Stafford COO of the Michelin Americas Research Company Chris Desoiza VP of the Milliken Research Corporation John Kelly VP for Public Service and Economic Development of Clemson University Ed Sellers CEO of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Harris Pastides President of the University of South Carolina Don Herriott Director of Innovista Partnerships, University of SC Bill Mahoney CEO of SCRA

60 Passionate Champions

Brian Benicewicz CoEE Endowed Chair, NanoCenter at USC, Columbia, SC Bill Roberts Research Fellow, Sealed Air Jonathan Wilke Manager of Rapid Prototyping Center, Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Design, Florence, SC Ralph Hulseman President of Hoowaki, LLC Jason Premo CEO, ADEX Machining Technologies Mike Panasko President of Innovate Anderson John Ballato Associate Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Clemson University Hildy Teegen Dean, Moore School of Business, Columbia, SC

Over 2 Days 7 Senior Leaders and 60 Passionate Champions describe the future they are creating to attract the expertise and resources needed to succeed. The audience is hundreds of influential, connected people.

Register

Also – for the IT folks in the group we have a couple of groups that are geared towards you
Nashville IT Career Network on LinkedIn (IT SPECIFIC) – www.tinyurl.com/li-tech-network
Nashville IT Career Network on Facebook (IT SPECIFIC) – http://tinyurl.com/fb-tech-network
Matt LeBanc
**********************
04/05Bill KarlsonBACK TO SCHOOL FOR A CHANGING ECONOMY
04/12Jerome TerrellTHE MIDDLE TENNESSEE BUSINESS MARKET
Rick RossINDUSTRY & COMPANY RESEARCH WITH REFERENCE USA
04/19Matt LeBlancHOW RECRUITERS SEARCH FOR YOU
04/26Mark MarshallDEVELOPING A WINNING RÉSUMÉ
05/03John McClellanHOW TO REEVALUATE & REINVENT YOUR JOB-SEARCH
05/10Area RecruitersRECRUITERS PANEL DISCUSSION
05/17Dan Miller”CALLING” OR JUST A J0B?
05/24Mike ShaughnessyNEGOTIATING SALARY & BENEFITS
05/31NO MEETING
06/07Dan RyanBECOMING A SYMMETRICAL LEADER
06/14NO MEETING
06/21NO MEETING
06/28Area Career CoachesCAREER COACHES PANEL DISCUSSION
The Monday night CTSG meets at the Brentwood United Methodist Church (309 Franklin Road in room 281). Doors open at 6:30pm.

http://broadband.ideascale.com/a/rpxAuthentication.do

Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson and their team at GoROWE.com have made it their mission to promote “results-only work environments”. They have a Linkedin GoROWE Group http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2715125 and a blog at their web page. I think it is asinine that as we build out global broadband, cloud computing and distributed computing like World Community Grid, Grid Republic and BOINC, that management refuses to adopt/provide tools which would allow folks (many with disabilities — 70% unemployed) to work from anywhere the work can be done. Sure, there are security and IP issues, but there are rural economic development and green issues, not to mention digital accessibility issues that CANNOT be solved until the mental culture/worldview of C-Suites and their subordinates promote the available technologies. So share holders, proxy holders, institutional investors–let’s start asking about these issues during the next quarterly conference call.

CTSG (Brentwood)
Matt LeBlanc, 477-5651
Every Monday; networking from 6:30-7:00pm; meeting from 7:00-8:30pm; BUMC, 309 Franklin Road, Brentwood
IT Career Network (IT SPECIFIC)
Matt LeBlanc – 477-5651
START DATE TO BE DETERMINED, 2nd & 4th Mondays
MT-SHRM Career Transition Group (HR SPECIFIC)
Barbara Stewart
Every other Monday, Right Management, Brentwood
Career Connection, Murfreesboro
Randy Allen, 898-8081 x147
Every Monday, Rutherford County Career Center, 9:00 – 10:30am
Hermitage Career Group
Paul Henrie, 833-9318
Every Tuesday, 10:00-11:00am, Hermitage United Methodist Church
Careers Moving Forward
info@CareersMovingForward.net
2nd & 4th Tuesday night, 6:30 – 8:30pm, Long Hollow Baptist Church, Hendersonville
Joelton Career Transition Group
615.876.0527
Every Tues at 7:00pm in room 1102 at Joelton First Baptist Church 7140 Whites Creek Pike
Career Transition Partners (BRENTWOOD)
Bill Kirby, 364-8286
Every Tues at 8:00am, First Presbyterian Church on 4815 Franklin RD
Career Connection, Metrocenter
John McClallen, 862-8890 ext 77423
Every Tues at 9:00am, Metrocenter Career Center
MCN (Murfreesboro)
Matt LeBlanc – 477-5651
Every Wedn, 8:00-9:00am, Integrity House, Murfreesboro
Career Connection, Edmondson Pike Library
John McClallen, 862-8890 ext 77423
Every Wedn, 10:00am, Metrocenter Career Center
Career Transition Group
Ruth Smith
Every Wedn, 7:00-8:30pm, Room A206, Clearview Baptist Church, 537 Franklin Road, Franklin
Bellevue Career Group
Trey Adkisson, (615) 207-5685
Every Thursday, 6:30-8:30pm, Church at HopePark, Bellvue
Hendersonville Career Group
615-824-6622.
1st & 3rd Thurs from 6:30 – 8:30. @ Hendersonville Church of Christ (Room 420) in new Annex, 107 Rockland Road). Group is led by Brad Towe and Jan Blackwell.
***** LINKS OF IMPORTANCE FOR YOUR TRANSITION ******
Nashville Career Transition Group – http://tinyurl.com/nashcareer
Job and networking opps for those in transition
NCTG Group on LinkedIn – http://tinyurl.com/linctg
NCTG Group on Facebook – http://groups.to/nctg/
NCTG Group on Plaxo – http://nctg.plaxogroups.com
HR Career Transition Group on LinkedIn (HR SPECIFIC) – http://tinyurl.com/nhrctg
Mufreesboro Career Network on LinkedIn (Murfreesboro SPECIFIC) – http://tinyurl.com/mborocn
Nashville IT Career Network on LinkedIn (IT SPECIFIC) – http://tinyurl.com/ydtmajw
Nashville IT Career Network on Facebook (IT SPECIFIC) – http://tinyurl.com/ya4h27l

Here is the schedule for the 1st qtr of 2010 for the Monday night CTSG:

12/28 NO MEETING

01/04 Joe Morrell 99 THINGS TO DO TO HAVE A SUCCESFUL SEARCH IN 2010

01/11 Al Dampier CREATE YOUR FUTURE

01/18 NO MEETING

01/25 Professional Recruiters RECRUITERS PANEL DISCUSSION

02/01 Bill Karlson BACK TO SCHOOL FOR A CHANGING ECONOMY

02/08 Area Business Leaders BUSINESS PANEL DISCUSSION

02/15 Dan Miller “CALLING” OR JUST A J0B?

02/22 Area Executives HIRING MANAGER PANEL

03/01 Richard Britnell HOW SIX SIGMA & A PARACHUTE CAN HELP YOUR SEARCH

03/08 Ron Hooper PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRINICPLES & YOUR JOB SEARCH

03/15 Dan Aronoff SPEED NETWORKING TO MAKE CONNECTIONS

03/22 Mike Shaughnessy SURVIVING THE PHONE SCREEN

03/29 Ed Condon INDUSTRY & COMPANY RESEARCH ON LINKEDIN

Who are we?

We’re a gathering of friends who have been through the process of changing jobs or professions. We are open to all who are seeking new  opportunities or contemplating making a change!

When and where do we meet?

Monday evenings in room 281 of the Brentwood United Methodist Church, 309 Franklin Road, Brentwood. Networking begins at 6:30pm and the
meeting kicks off at 7:00pm.

What is it?

Weekly meetings that offer relevant topics, dialogue, and networking. Schedule subject to change because of availability of speakers.

What can it do for me?

You will learn cutting edge job-search skills and techniques, pick up tips, find job leads and experience encouragement in a faith based environment.

Directions from I-65

Take the Old Hickory Blvd (WEST) exit
Turn Left (S) on Franklin Road
Turn right at 4th traffic light into parking lot

NOTE: For changes in schedule due to weather conditions, CTSG follows Brentwood Academy closings.

THERE IS NO CHARGE FOR ANY SERVICES

For more information call (615) 477-5651
Posted By Matt LeBlanc

We’re seeking the greatest, most innovative minds in our community for mind-altering, life-changing discussions. We are reaching out to key community members and requesting their suggestions regarding potential speakers for our events. For our first event, our theme is innovation in health care and collaboration. If you have in mind a person in your network that is truly a world-class innovator in their field, please contact us here.

What is TED?
TED (http://www.ted.com) is a small nonprofit devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading”. It started in 1984 as a conference bringing together the greatest minds from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then, its scope has become ever broader. Along with the annual TED Conference in Long Beach, California, TED has created a new TEDx community program.

What is TEDxNashville?
In the spirit of “Ideas Worth Spreading”, TEDxNashville is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At our TEDxNashville event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection among the participants.

Nashville is a unique community with several populations of truly extraordinary individuals whose work is changing the world.  Be they scientists, artists or philosophers their efforts serve to fundamentally shift how we understand our environment and live our lives.  TEDxNashville will provide a collaborative platform for our greatest minds to share their passions and inspire our own. Please join us in creating a model for TEDx communities worldwide.

While the main TedxNashville event is scheduled for February 2010, a planning and brainstorming meeting will be held on Monday, October 19, 2009, at Station Inn from 11am to 1pm. The goal for this preliminary meeting is to gather members from various sectors of the community to help envision what a successful first TedxNashville event will look like and how it can best be executed.  Your input, expertise, and advice will contribute to the development of this landmark event for the Nashville community.

This planning meeting will include lunch from Jimmy Carl’s Barbecue for $10 per person.

Your attendance at this planning and brainstorming meeting would be greatly valued. Please RSVP by Monday, October 12, 2009 with your name and a 50-word bio (to be distributed to all attendees) to TEDxNashville@gmail.com. If you cannot attend, but would like to delegate a proxy to attend on your behalf, please indicate such in your RSVP.

For questions about this planning meeting or about TEDxNashville, please contact TEDxNashville@gmail.com or see http://www.digitalnashville.net/group/tedxnashville. For further information about TED, please visit http://www.TED.com. 

We hope to see you on October 19th!

Sincerely,
TEDxNashville Planning Team

Top Houston Hospital Selects MedConcierge to Offer
Telemedicine to Corporations and Master Planned
Communities

September 8, 2009 (Sarasota, FL & Houston, TX) – St. Joseph Medical Center, the largest, Level 3 trauma hospital in downtown Houston, has selected MedConcierge to provide its advanced telemedicine solution to leading communities and corporations. Both parties will demonstrate the user experience and benefits of telemedicine during the upcoming 2009 FTTH Conference & Expo taking place at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, September 27th through October 1st.

"We are very excited to demonstrate the MedConcierge at St. Joseph Medical Center service to local community developers and corporate executives at the upcoming Fiber to the Home Conference," states St. Joseph chief executive officer Phillip D. Robinson, "Telemedicine will clearly be at the center of healthcare delivery moving forward and leveraging the technological advantages of the MedConcierge service over fiber-optic communications will help us extend patient services, generate additional revenue and save costs."

"St. Joseph is a leader in the Houston area, and we are thrilled to play a role in helping them deliver health and wellness services to residents of FTTH communities in and around the Houston metropolitan area," says MedConcierge director Rob Scheschareg. "Telemedicine offers competitive and financial benefits in a cost-effective fashion that is critical in today's market environment. We look forward to meeting service providers and developers at the FTTH Conference & Expo who want to take advantage of the billions being spent by consumers and the government in the next 30 months on home-based telemedicine."

Substantial news coverage, increasing consumer interest and adoption, and the allocation of billions of dollars in Federal stimulus funds specifically for broadband and healthcare information technology have placed telemedicine at the forefront of applications that benefit from fiber to the home networks.

"Fiber to the home provides benefits to consumers and employers that truly improve the quality of life. From our own industry research to that of our members and market followers, it is becoming increasingly evident that consumers want the benefits of improved healthcare services and access to doctors that services like MedConcierge and healthcare providers like St. Joseph can provide," states Joe Savage, president of the FTTH Council. "Telemedicine is a prime example of the type of applications that will be on display at our upcoming conference demonstrating the power of fiber".

To showcase the user experience, benefits and implementation of telemedicine services, MedConcierge and St. Joseph Medical Center will be hosting a number of activities at the upcoming 2009 FTTH Conference & Expo.  These include:

Corporate VIP Demonstration & Reception, Tuesday, September 29th.  For more information call the Corporate Health Connection at St. Joseph Medical Center at (713) 756-8600. 

MedConcierge Booth in the Fiber Zone, located on the show floor during exhibit hours. 

Phillip D. Robinson, CEO, St. Joseph Medical Center will be discussing telemedicine over FTTH networks as part of the Closing Keynote presentation Wednesday, September 30th at 2:00 pm.

For information about these events, visit the conference website at http://www.ftthconference.com.

About St. Joseph Medical Center

St. Joseph Medical Center, downtown Houston's only general acute care hospital, partners with Houston physicians to provide comprehensive health care to all.  As Houston's first hospital, St. Joseph Medical Center provides services for outpatients as well as inpatients, with a full continuum of care in surgery, cancer care, emergency care, Women's services, cardiovascular services, wound care, rehab, sports medicine, Corporate Health Connection and more. For more information on St. Joseph Medical Center, please visit http://www.sjmctx.com or call 713.757.1000.

About MedConcierge, LLC

MedConcierge is the leading provider of telemedicine solutions for community developers and operators, broadband service providers, healthcare providers, and municipalities, that deliver personal, concierge healthcare services to consumers at home, at work and while traveling. Utilizing our award-winning, patent-pending technology, MedConcierge provides unparalleled private and secure access to certified doctors, specialists and content. MedConcierge offerings range from real-time, live videoconference consultations, on demand, 24/7 with leading doctors, specialists, psychiatrists and wellness experts, to educational content, health status monitoring and dynamic electronic medical records – all accessible from the comfort, privacy and convenience of homes and facilities. For more information, visit http://www.medconcierge.com.

From Telework Exchange Newsletter: 

Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced that Virginia teleworkers saved approximately $113,000, avoided driving 140,000 miles, and removed 75.89 tons of pollutants from the air through participation in Telework Day on August 3, 2009.

“I commend the individuals and organizations that took the Telework Day pledge,” Governor Kaine said. “The results are clear – telework plays an important role in meeting the Commonwealth’s green objectives, reducing strain and traffic on our roads, increasing savings for our employees, and will provide our businesses with increased employee productivity.”

The “What We Saved; What We Learned” report, compiled by Telework Exchange, also reveals an increase in productivity by participants and reports satisfaction with their teleworking experience.

Key findings:

• 4,267 employees teleworked on Telework Day – 22% of participants never teleworked before Telework Day; 95% of participants located in Virginia
• 69% of Virginia Telework Day participants said they accomplished more than on a typical day at the office
• 91% of Virginia Telework Day participants say they are now more likely to telework in the future
• Teleworking one day per week delivers approximately $2,000 in savings to each teleworker annually

To download the full report, please visit http://www.teleworkexchange.com/teleworkdayreport/.

Milt Capps reported on the Nashville Medical Trade Center and the proposed Nashville Entrepreneur Center here. Given today's technology I'd like to suggest that instead of building a PLACE it would be more strategic to offer a slate of SERVICES; specifically, those which would concentrate on the nexus of bioinformatics, cloud computing and distributed computing. With the recent gains in virtualization, the global build out of broadband, and the Obama Administration emphasis on healthcare, eHealth, medical devices and sensors, both the figurative and literal medical home, it seems there's an awful lot of emphasis on the part of executives to re-create an 1980 business model instead of looking ahead at the healthcare horizon. Nashville already has plenty of data centers to throw at this problem; a voucher system to pay for a computing services testbed while companies are bootstrapped is a more prudent first step — not to mention, tremendously less expensive to capitalize. Graduate studies at local higher education institutions, Internet2 and extant supercomputing capabilites at Oak Ridge should all be tapped first before other steps are taken.</ed.note>