Here we highlight selected innovation related articles from around the world on a daily basis. These articles related to innovation and funding for innovative companies, and best practices for innovation based economic development.
Phoenix, Arizona — Phoenix is trying to beat the heat by turning its black asphalt streets gray. A special sealant reflects rather than absorbs the hot desert sun.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego says the so-called cool pavement is 10 to 12 degrees cooler to touch than traditional asphalt. About 73 miles of the city's streets are now covered in the sealant.
"Our residents say they can feel the difference," Gallego told CBS News.
Nuclear power is considered a clean energy source because it has zero carbon dioxide emissions; yet, at the same time, it produces massive amounts of hazardous, radioactive waste that pile up as more and more reactors are built around the world.
Experts have proposed different solutions for this issue in order to take better care of the environment and people’s health. With insufficient safe storage space for nuclear waste disposal, the focal point of these ideas is the reutilization of the materials.
Throughout my career in small companies and large, I’ve always been appalled by the number of people who have a negative attitude or complain all the time. These people don’t seem to realize that they are hurting themselves, as well as other people’s productivity, and jeopardize the future of the company they are working for.
Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com
It used to be the case that private equity funds were the most desirable exit for people looking to get out of banking, but as the venture capital sector expands, it's also seen as an increasingly viable alternative to jobs on the sell-side. As one ex-Goldman associate pointed out a few years ago, VC jobs have become "very trendy." Even as technology valuations decline, this is still the case.
In my many years of experience in large businesses as well as startups, a key lesson I have learned is that personal leadership is most often the differentiator between success and mediocrity or failure. Building and running a business requires a team of business leaders, not just one creative genius or brilliant technologist. You need to be one of those leaders.
Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com
Americans are relocating to Europe in greater numbers than in years past, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
With the dollar strong against the Euro, an intense housing market, and a tumultuous political environment, U.S. residents are moving to France, Spain, and Portugal, the story added.
One woman, Stephanie Synclair, told the outlet she struggled to afford to buy a home in Atlanta, even with $300,000 in cash in her pocket — so, instead, she bought two homes in Italy and a storefront, for 60,000 Euros in April.
One of the areas that I have participated in directly over the past thirty years or so has been in the area of startups and early-stage companies.
I have seen this area as vital to the growth and advancement of American industry, and I have also seen this area as a vital place for the energy and intelligence of younger people to bring their talents and persistence to the economy to keep things moving ahead.
Over the past two to three years, I have never seen so much activity in this space.
Technology has changed the lives of a lot of people, not just in terms of having access to information or having readily available communication tools. There are a lot of companies out there that are using all these advances to create devices and tools that can help people living with disabilities have a more independent life. Those with mobility difficulties from such conditions like multiple sclerosis, stroke, cerebral palsy, etc can now use this new piece of bionic clothing that is not just functional but also easy to use and a bit fashionable.
Image: https://www.yankodesign.com
Startups around the world are working on new ways of producing hydrogen, a clean alternative to fossil fuels that could one day power the grid, transportation and heavy industry. (Source: Bloomberg)
New studies demonstrate nearly three quarters of senior leaders are burned out and likely to quit their jobs. And no matter what role you’re in—or what level you are—this has implications for your work experience. Here’s why senior leadership is a factor you should pay attention to, and what you should watch for.
Does your business always seem to be trying to catch up with new competitors and changes in the marketplace? One of the things I learned from my years in Silicon Valley is that you must always focus on three steps ahead, as well as on what exists today. For most businesses, that means a culture of thinking outside your comfort zone, and planning change before a crisis hits.
Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com
Competitive pressure to innovate is driving companies to seek new ideas well beyond their own walls. But sponsoring the occasional hackathon or having one-off, uncoordinated interactions with a startup accelerator won’t contribute much to boosting an organization’s innovation capabilities. Many companies are missing an opportunity that’s close to home by overlooking or failing to effectively tap innovation ecosystems in their regions.
Image: https://sloanreview.mit.edu/
Our society tells us that the way to be successful is by doing as many different things as you can. Consume as much information as you can. Try as many different careers as you can. Spend time with as many people as possible. Read tons of books. Listen to lots of podcasts. The list goes on and on. However, if you study the most successful entrepreneurs and business owners in the world, you'll find that they're exceptional at blocking out the noise and focusing on only the things that move the needle the most. That's the fastest way to success.
NASA announced Wednesday it selected three potential dates for its Artemis I mission – the first stage of its historic operation to send the first woman and person of color to the moon.
The American space agency is targeting August 29 to launch the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center.
And September 2 and 5 are marked down as backup launch dates.
James Free, associate administrator at NASA's Washington DC headquarters, said the exact date will be determined about a week before launch.
Image: NASA
The Times profiled an 18-year-old Ukrainian woman named “Luba Dovzhenko” in March to illustrate life under siege. She, the article claimed, studied journalism, spoke “bad English,” and began carrying a weapon after the Russian invasion.
The issue, however, was that Dovhenko doesn’t exist in real life, and the story was taken down shortly after it was published.
Image: Illustrations of natural FFHQ and StyleGAN2-generated images that are hardly distinguishable.
A team of researchers have created a tower capable of using solar radiation, water, and carbon dioxide to create synthetic kerosene—jet fuel—instead of relying on fossil fuels.
“We are the first to demonstrate the entire thermochemical process chain from water and CO2 to kerosene in a fully-integrated solar tower system,” Aldo Steinfeld, a professor from ETH Zurich and a co-author of the paper, said in a release.
Image: IMAGE: IMDEA ENERGY
It may be blockbuster season at the movies, but over in the fintech investment space, the season for mega deals has passed. After yet another year of record-breaking funding—2021 saw $621 billion in global venture capital financing, easily doubling the previous high—the easy money of boom days is gone.
That said, smart, disciplined venture capital investment is still available for the best companies.
Further proving that venture investors have more dry powder than ever before, this week started with a flurry of venture capital fund close announcements across sectors and stages. It tells that LPs are staying active amid this dissonant moment in tech, and despite some struggles ahead for emerging fund managers, that’s news.
Omicron is mutating in giant leaps, with scientists racing to keep up. Its diversity is challenging vaccine efficacy and complicating treatment. But this fall, broad spectrum bivalent vaccines may help mitigate the seemingly never-ending spread of COVID-19.
Johns Hopkins virologist Andy Pekosz has been tracking coronavirus variants since the early days of the pandemic. He recently spoke to the Public Health On Call podcast about the range of omicron subvariants, omicron-specific vaccines, and what we can expect to see in the future from this "game-changer" variant.
