University Economic Development Association selects Awards of Excellence winners representing the leading best practices in university-based economic development across North America

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO – October 3, 2014 – The University Economic Development Association (UEDA) announced its 2014 Awards of Excellence winners during its Annual Summit held this week in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Awards of Excellence Program recognizes UEDA members who are transforming their campuses into engines of economic prosperity through leading edge initiatives in five categories:

It’s not easy for big companies to innovate. As Steve Blank, Clay Christensen, and many others have pointed out, once firms reach a certain size, most of their resources (and investment dollars) are rightly devoted to executing and defending their existing business model. Moreover, the skills that are cherished and rewarded for achieving current results differ from those that aid in discovery and experimentation, both of which are needed to drive innovation. As a result, fostering a true culture of innovation in big companies is often an aspiration rather than a reality.

Image: Free Digital Photos

Career coach Kathy Caprino and Michael Parrish DuDell, author of "Shark Tank Jump Start Your Business," weigh in on a new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Given the sluggish economy, dwindling levels of entrepreneurship, and the fact that business dynamism has been nosediving in recent years, it’s not too much of a stretch to say that American business as we know it is in peril. Well, for the small guys, anyway.

The economy is in a very sluggish state. Entrepreneurs are having a hard time gaining traction, businesses are leaving the market at a much faster rate than they are entering, and stable, well-paying jobs are still too few and far between. In all, it’s a rough situation for American businesses, and it’s especially rough for small businesses in particular.

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Tendons in the hand can thicken abnormally and develop tendinitis in people who text frequently using their thumbs, says a study published online in the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.

We have, once again, been led astray by Hollywood. Back to the Future filled our heads with visions of soaring Deloreans, but in reality, the automobile industry has some pretty glaring flaws it needs to address before we can attempt flight.

It seems like everything in our daily lives is becoming connected. But very often the car is left out of this conversation, and it would benefit greatly from a healthy dose of mobile connectivity.

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Cisco Chief Technology and Strategy Officer Padmasree Warrior lays out her company's "disciplined and robust" approach to mergers and acquisitions. According to Warrior, Cisco's acquisitions fall into one of three categories: tech and talent purchases, acquisitions that fill strategic gaps with growth potential, and large, complex platform acquisitions that immediately impact revenue.

We’ve done a number of analyses using our data on angels, micro VCs, corporate venture arms & the top VCs in tech, but we still get lots of questions about who are the players in the tech ecosystem that folks should know.  The questions have intensified as new names and faces are coming (and going) from the ecosystem.  Venture capital’s most active investors are changing quickly over time and new players like Alibaba, Tencent and Tiger Global Management now flex their financing muscle in Silicon Valley and beyond quite regularly.

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The roles of endorser and startup investor are merging into one, in the wake of a move by lawmakers to ease decades-old U.S. securities regulations in 2012.

Consider Tim Ferriss, author of “The 4-Hour Workweek” (which has sold 1.5 million copies so far) and the host of one of the 50 most downloaded podcasts in Apple’s iTunes store. “If you’d like to invest in Shyp, simply click here,” Mr. Ferriss wrote on his popular blog last year.

"Given that the computer system does not need things like food, that thousand-fold increase in productivity will redound entirely to the benefit of the middle class." That is far from evident. What seems more likely, and what seems to be happening, is that most of the gains from greater productivity redound to a small elite of capitalists and their technically skilled operatives.

A formerly abandoned warehouse in Youngstown, Ohio is home to the latest 3D printing technology; at North Carolina State University next generation power electronics are being developed; in Chicago a consortium of companies, non-profits and research institutions is working on digital manufacturing and design innovation; in Detroit new processes to make lightweight metals are being developed.

A patient displaying symptoms of Ebola was at large among the American public for several days last week, and it happened because of a hospital miscommunication.

This wasn't supposed to happen, and it didn't have to. In preparation for a possible case in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been educating the health community for months on the virus and offering guidelines to hospitals for detecting and treating potential Ebola patients.

Image: Tony Gutierrez/AP

A new documentary on Bitcoin hits theaters in New York, Los Angeles, and Cleveland today.

The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin debuted at the Tribeca film festival and has generated a decent amount of buzz. A lot of that has to do with being in the right place at the right time.

The documentary follows Nicholas Mross, a self proclaimed libertarian and computer programmer in Pittsburgh. Mross got involved with Bitcoin in 2011, a few years after the crypto-currency got started, and quickly built his own Bitcoin mining tools, garnering him a bounty of Bitcoin. After his initial investment, Bitcoin started to quickly take off. Mross’s brother suggested they document the phenomenon as it was happening.

Image: BTCKeychain

Most entrepreneurs have a lot of responsibilities on their plate from day one of operation. Everything from hiring employees, managing teams, marketing the brand and dealing with finances can fall under a founder's responsibilities. Juggling so many tasks can be daunting and lead to a lot of stress. If you’re an entrepreneur and you want to become more efficient, productive and successful, take a look at the list of tools below.

In a vivid demonstration of the cascading consequences of manmade global warming, a record 35,000 Pacific walruses have hauled out of the Chukchi Sea onto a beach near Point Lay, Alaska. Walruses are an ice-dependent species, and with sea ice having retreated far offshore, the walruses have been forced to swim to land to be able to forage and rest, officials said.

Image: An estimated 35,000 Pacific walruses seen on a beach near Point Lay, Alaska, on Sept. 27, 2014.IMAGE: NOAA FISHERIES SERVICE

Accessing two previously untapped streams of satellite data, scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and their colleagues have created a new map of the world’s seafloor, creating a much more vivid picture of the structures that make up the deepest, least-explored parts of the ocean. Thousands of previously uncharted mountains rising from the seafloor and new clues about the formation of the continents have emerged through the new map, which is twice as accurate as the previous version produced nearly 20 years ago.

More people are foregoing a lengthy commute and working from home. Whether you are a full-time freelancer or the occasional telecommuter, working outside an office can be a challenge. What are the best ways to set yourself up for success? How do you stay focused and productive? And how do you keep your work life separate from your home life?

Canada needs more innovation. Or so recent news headlines across the country would have you believe. We are told Canada is falling behind on the world stage, and that innovation is the solution to generate decent jobs, to economic prosperity and to increase our global influence.

Image: Michael Helander wants to revolutionize commercial lighting and advanced manufacturing — but first, he’d like to sell you this lamp. - Peter J. Thompson/National Post

According to the Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2013, in the period 2011-13, billionaires donated $69 billion. By comparison, Giving USA estimates that total annual giving in the U.S. in 2012 was $316 billion. The philanthropic activities of extremely rich individuals such as Andrew Carnegie and John Rockefeller have not only benefitted many people and causes but have also inspired new generations of philanthropists. More recently billionaires, many whom made their fortunes in the technology sector, including Bill and Melinda Gates, have donated huge sums of money to charity.

Women have a tough time becoming entrepreneurs. Not many people I know would be willing to argue against this statement. Whether it be familial responsibilities, lack of confidence, stereotypes, or discrimination, there are many forces pushing against us when it comes to starting a business.

Image: Talking entrepreneurship for women at Duke - http://wraltechwire.com