Broadband is Job Stimulant

HR Partnership | March 18, 2010

And on the Google Ultra High-Speed Internet front:

HAMPTON, Va. — More than 50 people gathered at the Hampton Roads Convention Center Tuesday, March 16th, as the city raced to finalize its bid to become a trial area for Google’s upcoming high speed Internet tests. Learn more on the city’s new website: http://www.First2Fast.com

A “Google war” has erupted across America…

Click to read more...

Tech Nite 2010, award nominations open

HR Partnership | March 15, 2010

Tech Nite is the Hampton Roads Technology Council’s annual recognition event for high-tech companies, individuals, entrepreneurs, and innovations of the Hampton Roads region.

Tech Nite 2010 will be held on Thursday 6-May-10 5:30 PM to 11:00 PM at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. Register now.

Nominations are now open through Sunday, April 18th. Nominate Now.

And the categories are:

Click to read more...

Engineering Unplugged

HR Partnership | March 13, 2010

All Green, All Technology Event – Engineering Unplugged -
To Bring Leading Environmentalists to ODU

Tuesday, April 13, Norfolk, VA
One Powerful Green Day of Earth Month 2010

Light rail, smart grids, reduced carbon footprints, LEED buildings, Maglev, and wind energy are a few of the favorite things on the docket for the second annual Engineering Unplugged conference slated for Tuesday, April 13 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center at Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk.

The ‘all green, all technology’ conference provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity for environmental leaders to share real-world applications yielding measurable returns on investments in three areas – green buildings, energy conservation/alternative energy, and greenhouse gases.

The one-day learning/networking intensive designed for today’s green professionals, aligns with Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s goal to “make Virginia the Energy Capital of the East Coast.” ODU president John Broderick opens the conference at 8:00 a.m. The Grow Green Marketplace wraps things up at 3:30 p.m. – green food, products, and social hour.

A statewide initiative, Engineering Unplugged is presented by the Virginia Applied Technology and Professional Development Center (VATPDC) of ODU. Attendees will represent architectural and design firms, military and government, construction companies, manufacturers, facilities managers, and others interested in green initiatives.

Engineering Unplugged is a stellar example of how our faculty, students, corporate and industry partners come together with one goal: to explore, share, and create solutions that will improve individuals’ lives, our communities, and the planet,” said ODU’s Broderick.

Click to read more...

Port and Harbor Security in Hampton Roads

HR Partnership | February 27, 2010

The Small Business Administration and the Office of the Secretary of Defense sponsored a workshop on January 25th and 26th at the Renaissance Portsmouth Hotel for a recently announced Robotics Technology Cluster initiative. Hampton Roads is one of three regions participating in the pilot initiative. Southeastern Michigan and Hawaii are the other two. The Michigan cluster focuses on ground robotics, Hawaii’s on undersea robotics. The Hampton Roads cluster focuses on port and harbor security.

This cluster aligns with the strategic vision of the Hampton Roads Chapter of Autonomous and Unmanned Vehicles Systems International (AUVSI) professional group and the regional Robot Venture initiative sponsored by the Hampton Roads Military & Federal Facilities Alliance (HRMFFA).

Over 240 participants heard key note talks from Congressmen Glenn Nye and Randy Forbes. The workshop included several panel discussions on resources available to the small business and robotics communities both on a local and a national level. Presenters represented the Department of Defense (DoD), the Small Business Administration, NASA, the Department of Homeland Security and other regional stakeholders. After listening and questioning the presenters and panel members, attendees participated in group breakout sessions where ideas and strategies were gathered to identify port and harbor security focus requirements.

The six breakout topics covered: Comprehensive port and harbor security, emergency management, sensors fusion, alternative energy, manned and unmanned systems integration, and workforce development through a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics focused education approach. Discussions were facilitated by subject matter experts in each topic area, and the majority of participants attended up to four different topic sessions over the two day workshop. Feedback from the workshops will be used to create a framework of action for the robotics cluster going forward.

Presentations from the workshop are available on the Robot Venture website: www.robotventure.org/rvinformation.html. More information as the cluster activity progresses will be posted as well.

by Program Managers Bill Piersol, Robot Venture, and Andrew Sinclair, Hampton Roads Partnership; Photo credit: U.S. Navy

Click to read more...

Yes Virginia, Yes Hampton Roads

HR Partnership | February 23, 2010

Kimon Jackson, a Nuclear Medicine Supervisor at Riverside Diagnostic & Breast Center, a nationally recognized “Breast Imaging Center of Excellence” and part of Riverside Health System, uses the Dilon technology. Riverside sees between 20-25 patients a month for imaging procedures on the Dilon 6800.


BSGI—Breast Specific Gamma Imaging. If Dilon Technologies Inc. has its way, the abbreviation will soon be as common as MRI. Based in Newport News, Dilon Technologies is poised for such success. Not only is this company changing the face of nuclear imaging in the medical industry, it’s improving the quality of and access to women’s health care.

Read more from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s Virginia Commerce Quarterly, Winter 2010….

Click to read more...

Congressional Summit on Modeling, Simulation in Hampton Roads

HR Partnership | February 18, 2010

High-res display wall prototype for showing medical images.
Click on photo for larger image.
Photo credit: Brian W. Tobin on Flickr

by Andrew Sinclair, Hampton Roads Partnership M & S Program Manger

Several hundred modeling and simulation professionals from around the country braved unusual-for-the-region snowy conditions to meet at the Virginia Beach Hilton on February 1st. The meeting was organized by the National Training & Simulation Association on behalf of the Congressional M&S Caucus which was founded and is co-chaired by Congressman Randy Forbes.

In its fifth year to be held in Hampton Roads, the M&S Leadership Summit was a great opportunity to showcase the region’s assets and capabilities to elected officials and businesses from outside of the area. In 2008, the Summit recommended that M&S be declared a national critical technology which was accomplished through the passage of House Resolution 487. This 2010 summit was focused on how to best use that designation to further grow the industry.

Click to read more...

Get involved with Modeling and Simulation

HR Partnership | February 16, 2010

by Andrew Sinclair, Hampton Roads Partnership’s M & S Program Manger

On January 29th, nearly 100 people gathered at the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC) in Suffolk for the first of a series of quarterly breakfasts. This breakfast focused on the recently launched regional modeling and simulation strategy: Hampton Roads M&S Vision 2020. Under Thomas Reese, VMASC’s Director of Business Development and Technology Transfer, the center has renewed its efforts to engage the M&S industry, and these breakfasts will be a key element of that work. VMASC and its industry membership act as the de facto association for the M&S industry in Hampton Roads. In fact, it was from the efforts of the industry association that the regional M&S strategy first developed.

The breakfast was designed as an opportunity to continue to reach out to the broader community to create engagement on the implementation of the M&S strategy. Learn more…

Click to read more...

Federal Green Jobs Conference in Hampton Roads

HR Partnership | February 15, 2010

A Federal Green Jobs Legislative Conference will be presented in Hampton Roads on March 2nd by the Green Economic Alliance and Green Jobs Alliance featuring federal officials from the Department of Energy (DoE) and Department of Labor (DoL) and other key national and state “green jobs” policy makers. These officials will brief the region’s business, labor, government and community leaders and citizens on recent and pending federal legislation directly impacting green economic growth, green workforce training and green job creation.

The conference will be held as three events across Hampton Roads on March 2, 2010.

Two invitation-only events will be held:

  • Peninsula Breakfast ($25/person) at Thomas Nelson Community College-Mary T. Christian Auditorium, 7:30am-10:00am
  • Southside Luncheon ($25/person) at Tidewater Community College-Portsmouth Campus, 11:30am-2:00pm

One Evening Public Event will be held at no charge. This event is driven in large part by community organizations that interact most with the public such as community colleges, Virginia Employment Commission (VEC), career and technical schools, workforce development boards, faith and community groups. DoE, DoL and their state and local counterparts will explain how these green legislative policies translate into reality in their lives including possible jobs, training, certifications and where to find and access the information they need.

For more information:

Green Jobs Alliance (GJA) is a federally registered 501c3 nonprofit.

Click to read more...

Hampton University to Receive $8M to Build Biomedical Research Center

HR Partnership | February 6, 2010

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Hampton University an $8 million stimulus grant to construct a Biomedical Research Center (BRC).

The interdisciplinary biomedical research facility will be home to research activities such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, adolescent health, HIV/AIDS, biomolecular cancer imagining, medicinal chemistry, Alzheimer’s and other projects from the Hampton University Schools of Nursing, Pharmacy, and Science. Compelling scientific questions will be assailed from multiple fronts in the BRC. This will create a dynamic environment where researchers will look beyond their focused areas to incorporate strategic information from other disciplines as well.

“The Hampton University Biomedical Center illustrates the extraordinary progress Hampton has made in expanding our research agenda,” said HU President Dr. William R. Harvey. “We have made great strides in conducting scientific research and developing technologies that address major health issues which affect our society today.”

The BRC will be an economic resource for the community as well. Professional and technical jobs will be created. The BRC will develop minority scientists and create skilled professionals and a diverse workforce. Also about 400 construction jobs will be created to build this world-class research facility.

One of the projects housed in the BRC will be the existing HU Center for Advanced Medical Instrumentation. Devices developed by this center have been successfully used for breast cancer localization and treatment in clinical trials. Additionally, the cancer imaging technology clustered within the proposed center will be established to utilize this unique research environment. This will serve as a magnet to attract talented researchers, particularly minority researchers, to Hampton University.

from Hampton University Department of University Relations

Click to read more...

What Matters: What’s your Vision for Hampton Roads?

HR Partnership | January 22, 2010

Vision Hampton Roads on What Matters
Its called Vision Hampton Roads. On this edition of What Matters, the weekly public affairs talk show on WHRO TV, we take a look at a roadmap that’s taking shape to diversify and strengthen the region’s economy.

Its goal: Hampton Roads will be recognized as a region for centers of excellence fueled by innovation, intellectual and human capital, infrastructure and a sense of place.

Right now (until February 5th), the plan is seeking public comment, and you are invited to take an online survey at http://VisionHamptonRoads.com.

Joining host Cathy Lewis for the discussion: Dana Dickens, President of the Hampton Roads Partnership; Doug Smith with Kaufman & Canoles, and Dwight Farmer, Executive Director of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission.

Click on the graphic to see the video on YouTube, visit iTunes and download or watch at http://WhatMatters.tv.

Click to read more...