As the world turns into a direction that revolves around science, technology, engineering and math, astronomy classes and programs become an important part of education, especially in younger children.

Astronomy education can begin an early as kindergarten, which can allow kids to have a better understanding of the field when they get older, according to College of the Canyons astrology and physical science professor Teresa Ciardi.

“Exposing kids early gets them really excited early, but if it’s approached in a hands-on type of way,” said Ciardi, who also advises the aerospace and science teams at COC. “Kids don’t want to read about science, they want to do science, and they even want to do it as young as kindergarten.”

Image: Jax Cota, 7, counts the teeth as he studies an Allosaurus model on the Dinosaur Discovery Table at the Family Science Night event held at Canyon Springs Community School in Canyon Country on Thursday. Dan Watson/The Signal

Paul Rennie OBE, Counsellor for Global Issues in the Global Economy Group at the British Embassy, Washington DC, and Professor Jason Snape, Head of Environmental Protection within AstraZeneca’s Global Sustainability Team, join Rich Bendis to Discuss Life Sciences, Climate Change, COP26 - UN Climate Change Conference, and The Race to Zero Campaign.

Listen now via Apple https://apple.co/3ls3EEp, Google https://bit.ly/3liTlSU, Spotify https://spoti.fi/3ylxair, and TuneIn https://bit.ly/3rS9Giz.

By the time I disclosed my generalized anxiety disorder at work, it was too late. It had spiraled into debilitating depression and I could no longer even craft a basic email, much less do the rigorous job I was hired for. My previously high performance had very noticeably suffered, compelling me to nervously share the truth and ultimately forcing me out on a leave of absence.

The best part of being an entrepreneur is having the independence to make your own decisions, the flexibility for a better work/life balance, and personal satisfaction from driving change. But nobody said it would be easy. The road to business success is filled with challenges and frustrations that most aspiring entrepreneurs never even imagined.

Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com/

Alabama has a new public corporation to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in technology and other fields, part of an initiative that officials say can create and keep good jobs in the state as the economy evolves.

Gov. Kay Ivey, legislators from both parties, and business leaders marked the establishment of the Alabama Innovation Corporation with a ceremonial bill signing at the Capitol today.

The recent pandemic was a strong signal for change, and I see most of you entrepreneurs and business owners responding to the business changes required and new opportunities presented. Unfortunately, in my role as business advisor, I don’t see the same response to more common weak signals, like the move to phone texting instead of voice, or politics invading social media.

Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com

With more workers navigating the landscape of return to work, the hybrid format is proving to be more than a passing trend. This shift is because most of the long-term effects of the pandemic are largely unknown, incorporating remote working into the business model is prudent. It will allow employers to pivot quickly, should we go back into lockdown in the future.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – The North Carolina Biotechnology Center awarded 21 grants and loans totaling more than $1.9 million to universities and bioscience companies and other entities in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year.

The awards, made in April, May and June, will support life science research, technology commercialization and entrepreneurship throughout North Carolina. The funding will also help universities and companies attract follow-on funding from other sources.

Image: NC Biotech Center photo

When Playco announced its $100 million Series A funding last September, the co-lead investors were Sequoia Global Equities and Josh Buckley, a solo VC who at the time was investing from his first $50 million fund.

In a co-led deal, one lead investor usually sets the terms and the other joins with an equal-sized check.

In the Playco deal, it was Buckley, an under-the-radar investor, rather than the legendary Sequoia, who determined the price of the round and took the board seat at the gaming company.

Most business managers preach that the key to success is holding employees accountable for actions, but I have found that successful entrepreneurs are all about holding themselves accountable. They skip the blame and complain game, and make things happen despite major obstacles. As a startup investor, I view any evidence of a victim mentality as the kiss of death.

Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com

It is August 2013, and we are sitting in what looks like a standard S-Class Mercedes, nosing through traffic in a small town in southern Germany. The streets are narrow and jam-packed with cars, and pedestrians are everywhere. Yet nobody has a hand on the wheel, and nobody has a foot anywhere near the pedals. Still, you can’t fault the driving: This car is in charge of itself.

It is the year 2023, and for the first time, a self-driving car navigating city streets strikes and kills a pedestrian. A lawsuit is sure to follow. But exactly what laws will apply? Nobody knows. Today, the law is scrambling to keep up with the technology, which is moving forward at a breakneck pace, thanks to efforts by Apple, Audi, BMW, Ford [pdf], General Motors, Google, Honda, Mercedes, Nissan, Nvidia, Tesla, Toyota, and Volkswagen. Google’s prototype self-driving cars, with test drivers always ready to take control, are already on city streets in Mountain View, Calif., and Austin, Texas. In the second half of 2015, Tesla Motors began allowing owners (not just test drivers) to switch on its Autopilot mode.

Many CIOs at large incumbents have made a startling discovery about digital natives: those businesses often don’t have architects or at least anyone with the formal title of “enterprise architect.” With CIOs increasingly moving their organizations to an agile DevOps operating model, that discovery has prompted much questioning about whether they still need architects, and if so, what they should be doing.

Welcome to our VC Policy Pulse series, where we speak with a VC or founder on a policy issue that is having a major impact on the venture and startup ecosystem. Today, we’re speaking with Scott Raney, Managing Director at Redpoint, and Sophie Alcorn, Founding Attorney of Alcorn Immigration Law, about a Startup Visa category for immigrant entrepreneurs who want to come to the U.S. to create a new company. 

Kansas, July 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The newly released Kansas Venture Capital Ecosystem Review covers investment trends shaping the state’s venture ecosystem, spotlights opportunities as the COVID-19 crisis gives way to recovery, and reveals challenges for up-and-coming hotspots for entrepreneurs and innovation such as Kansas. This Kansas report comes just weeks following the release of their VC reports which detailed the Nebraska and Colorado venture capital ecosystems.

The investment data, collected from PitchBook, suggests that the Kansas startup ecosystem has rebounded since the pandemic year, with very strong activity in the first half of 2021. 

Science fiction has brought some fantastic ideas to the world, humans being captivated by technologies that seem impossible, like Star Trek’s holodeck. But some of these technologies, which may seem outlandish and only achievable in the distant future, are becoming part of our everyday lives thanks to innovators in science and technology.

One such technology is augmented reality (AR). AR is not new — in fact, it first appeared in the 1960s. Its application and commercial use, however, have only recently been more fully explored.

Image: https://medium.com

Business unit leads, CMOs, CDOs and other leaders have spent the last 16 months changing processes, empowering employees and enhancing customer experiences within their companies. They’ve upgraded technologies and processes to be more agile and have established new ways of working. They’ve upskilled their employees to enable easier collaboration and better decision-making. They’ve reinvented or eliminated processes and devolved decision-making to stay nimble and become more digital.

BioNexus KC, a catalyst for innovation in human and animal health, has brought together the region’s best and brightest since 2001. Throughout the past 20 years, four visionary individuals provided exceptional leadership for the organization and positively impacted the life sciences community. This extraordinary group identified and implemented many initiatives and programs that have shaped the organization and led to major successes for the region from Manhattan, KS to Columbia, MO.

Image: https://bionexuskc.org

As an angel investor in early-stage startups, I’ve long noticed my peers apparent bias toward the strength and character of the founding entrepreneurs, often overriding a strong solution to a painful problem with a big opportunity. In other words, the entrepreneur quality is more important than the idea -- in investor jargon, people invest in the jockey, and not the horse.

The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology approved four technology and innovation-related bills by voice vote during a markup session on July 27. The committee’s vote sends these four bills to the House floor for further consideration.

National Institute of Standards and Technology for the Future Act of 2021

The first bill the committee passed, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for the Future Act of 2021, would reauthorize NIST for five years, providing $7.9 billion of funding over those five years, “allowing for growth that is both ambitious and sustainable,” as Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Tex., said.