admin – Page 44 – Swanson Reed | Specialist R&D Tax Advisors

Soy Innovation Center To Be Established in Missouri

An 18-month project to build a Center for Soy Innovation in Jefferson is in progress.

The Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council chairman, John Kelley, noted that upon completion, the soy innovation center will put the organisation’s soybean research to work and communicate the impact that soybeans have on everyday life. The center will also bring workers working with and across Missouri’s soybean industry together, serving as a perfect hub for incubation, value-added agriculture, and business development.

The project will make use of soy-based building materials in the construction of the necessary facilities. This illustrates the diversity of the soy sector, with soy being used in the construction of items such as soy-based countertops, insulation, flooring and turf products. Directors from the Missouri Soybean Association and Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council have engaged The Architects Alliance to develop the new facility’s concept and design plans. They will also look for a suitable location for the center in Jefferson.

The soy innovation center will include a conference space and education center. This will provide an opportunity to connect youth, agricultural and community groups that might not have strong links to the soy industry.

Flight Works Alabama Project Seeks To Educate Aerospace Professionals

A new instructional facility is set to be constructed in Alabama by Airbus. The state’s governor, Kay Ivey, joined top level executives from the company and commended their efforts. Ivey had initially announced the plans to put up the center in May 2017, in an effort to encourage young minds to pursue aerospace-related professions and in addition boost the state’s workforce development efforts. The facility is due to be operational by the end of 2019.

The Chief Executive Officer of Airbus stated that in the contemporary world, companies need to focus on both the present and the future. He added that Airbus needed a skilled and knowledgeable workforce that is ready for the future.

The new project, Flight Works Alabama, will be built on an 18,000- square-foot piece of land and will include classrooms, workshops, a large exhibition area and a collaboration room. It will be located near Airbus’s airplane manufacturing plant in Brookley.

It is worth noting that this industry is filled with high demand jobs and innovative developments. As such, the new facility is set to become a hub to explore educational opportunities. Governor Ivey said that it is important to show Alabamians what the aerospace industry can offer them, especially as the state grows in this area.

Both educational partners and community sponsors have come together to provide opportunities for adults seeking new or enhanced industry skills. These include the Auburn University, Coastal Alabama Community College, University of Alabama and the University of West Alabama. Other sponsorships are in development.

Research in Missouri Leads To Production Of Virus Resistant Pigs

Researchers from the University of Missouri have successfully come up with a breed of pigs that are resistant to the deadly porcine virus.

Transmissible Gastroenteritis is a virus that infects the intestines and has an almost 100 percent mortality rate in young pigs. A collaborative team from Kansas State University, Missouri University and Genus plc (an animal genetics company), created the genetically resistant pigs through gene editing.

Randall Prather, a professor at the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources stated that the ANPEP enzyme had been identified in previous research and could be a significant factor in allowing the virus to affect the pigs, as the enzyme is a potential receptor for the virus. The team’s litter of seven virus resistant pigs do not produce ANPEP and hence when exposed to the virus, they do not get sick. Prather and his colleagues achieved this by editing the ANPEP enzyme producing gene, creating a “null” gene that did not make the enzyme. Furthermore, the genetically modified pigs were healthy and developed normally.

The discovery is significant for the pork industry, as the virus is a major concern for US producers. In 2013, around seven million pigs were killed by an outbreak. The production of virus resistant pigs will help to ease the burden of finances, time and labor invested by farmers in pigs that may contract the virus. Preventing the pigs from getting sick will also improve the welfare of the animals. As the population grows and food becomes more scarce, innovative projects like these will be crucial for future food production.

Open Location Platform Company Opens Facility In Colorado

HERE Technologies, a major producer of HD maps for autonomous vehicles, has opened up a new facility in Colorado. The Boulder facility seeks to bring together experts from sectors such as data science, machine learning and geospatial engineering. Projects include technologies that allow the high definition live map to update automatically through sensors on cars that aggregate new data and keep the maps accurate.

The HD live map by HERE is a useful tool that will be vital for the safety and comfort of autonomous driving. In this, vehicles use the map to understand the road environment to engage in strategic path planning in addition to their own near-field sensors. The head of Internet of Things and Automotive at HERE Technologies states that the company has made a huge leap by opening the new facilities. He says the new office is a welcome place for individuals looking for exciting engineering projects that are geared towards building the future of mobility and transportation. Through this, the company wants to be a leader in the sector.

The facility is located at 4900 Pearl East Circle. With a current team of 20 employees, HERE is actively hiring for software engineering positions. The team will be working with an extensive network of professionals from other states as well as countries like Germany. The site has a test location for proof of concepts and through this, it seeks to optimize the go-to market speed for the company’s numerous partners and clients. It was recently announced that Daimler and BMW would be integrating the HD Live Map technology into their future models. Over 20 car manufacturers are already using the technology. With their extensive market share, R&D developments by HERE could become the standard for location data and analytics.

Oil and Gas Sector Addressing Climate Change Through Innovation

Economic growth, American security, and environmental sustainability are areas being enhanced by the oil and natural gas industry. This industry has been a leader in energy development due to its engagement in modern technology, which has consequently led to more efficient exploration with minimal environmental impact.

Research and development in the industry has led to cleaner, safer gas development throughout Colorado. As such, the results are evident. By the end of 2017, a 33 percent drop in emissions from natural gas and oil was expected. Another illustration would be the 52 percent increase in natural gas production from 1990 to 2015. Despite this, methane emissions were able to drop over the same period by 16.3 percent. This decline can be attributed to investment in more efficient equipment, better leak detection measures and other innovations. It is also worth noting that since 2000, this sector has invested $15 billion on non-hydrocarbon technologies that include biofuels, solar, geothermal and wind technologies.

Moreover, partnerships in the oil and gas industry have seen influential professionals from various parts of the world come together to address key issues such as climate change and sustainability through innovation, policy and business solutions. Technologies such as artificial intelligence are being employed in the various activities to make more informed exploration decisions. Companies such as BP and ExxonMobil are notable enterprises that have engaged in research and development in Colorado for biofuels, energy efficiency, carbon capture and more. This has led to increased engagement in environmentally sustainable activities in the sector, while at the same time offering solutions and economic boosts to the state.

3D Printed Medical Training Tools Helping Nursing Students At The University of Alabama

A high level of innovative development has been taking place at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Students from the School of Engineering have come up with 3D printed medical task training tools for use by the undergraduates at the College of Nursing. This will allow the nursing students to safely practice medical procedures on 3D simulators.

Due to the growing trend of 3D-printed medical models being adopted in task training, Clinical Associate Professor (Dr. Liori Lioce) at the institution’s College of Nursing decided to build medical models for the university. Lioce collaborated with Norven Goddard, a leading research scientist at the university’s Systems Management and Production Center (SMAP). The two sought to come up with 3D models that were cost-effective, while at the same time fitting the limited resources at the institution.

In order to achieve their objective, Lioce and Goddard put together a 3D Specialist Team. This constituted students from both the engineering and computer science faculties, who helped with the production of the medical task trainers. A cricothyrotomy trainer was the first tool they created. This is a critical tool that is used for emergency procedures where a patient’s airway needs to be cleared. The next tool was the onychectomy trainer, which is a tool that is used in the removal of thumbnails. A 3D printed vein finder was also developed, a product that conventionally cost hundreds of dollars. However, with the help of the students and open-source design files, the tool cost only $6 to create.

These efforts have been able to help the university economize on medical training equipment that would have cost around $6,000. The nursing students now have more opportunities to repeatedly practice specific skills using the tools, before going into the workforce and completing these procedures in real-life scenarios.

Alabama Ranks 11th for R&D Dollars Received Annually

Reports indicate that an estimated $2.4 billion is spent annually specifically on research and development in Alabama, with the state ranking 11th for the amount of R&D dollars received each year.

Major federal agencies provide R&D funding to Alabama in addition to companies claiming federal incentives such as the R&D tax credit. These include The Department of Defense, which alone accounts for approximately 52 percent of all R&D state funding, The Department of Health and Human Services, which accounts for approximately 6 percent, while the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) accounts for 35 percent. The rest of the federal R&D funding is sourced collectively from the Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies. Federal R&D grants are provided to university institutions and non-academic institutions in Alabama and companies can also benefit from the federal R&D tax credit.

Some of the units that have benefited from the R&D tax credit and grants in Alabama include the Fish Diseases and Parasites Research Laboratory, DOI’s Alabama Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, The National Soil Dynamics Laboratory and the Andrews Forestry Sciences Laboratory. These, alongside others in the state have continually been encouraged to engage in research and development through R&D incentives.

r&d

St. Vrain Valley Innovation Center Provides Students With Real-World Knowledge

For the students at St Vrain Valley School District, learning will never be boring again. For a long time, students have accused schools of force-feeding them with knowledge that they were never going to use. However, with the new innovation center at the institution, learning has become a fun-filled activity.

The innovation center has a number of advanced classrooms where students are able to get hands-on in field such as robotics, virtual reality, information technology, manufacturing, biomedical engineering as well as entrepreneurship. Far from the stereotypical classroom set up, the new learning initiatives through the innovation center will seek to give the students some freedom to play around with the various technologies. After the completion of these classes, students are able to receive professional certificates and college credit.

Even better, the innovation center also hires the students to work on contracts with many renowned firms such as Apple, Denver Zoo and IBM. For instance, a team of high-schoolers led by Zach Gillett built an aquatic robot that can measure the depth of reservoirs and lakes in Colorado. The concept behind this was to echolocation technology.

Another team came up with a robot to measure white sharks. Students have hailed the new innovation center, as they can finally put what they learn in the classroom into practice. Another benefit is that after the students get their professional certification, they can get jobs without following the traditional university route.

In 2016, the innovation center expanded from 6000 square feet to 50,000, providing room for all of the district’s students to work on innovative projects and initiatives.

Innovation Depot Supports Alabama Start Ups

The Kauffman Foundation believes that the state of Alabama has been slow in terms of forming new businesses. To support this fact, the foundation stated that from 2012 to 2017, Alabama received less than 5 percent of venture funding provided to the Southeastern region.

However, Birmingham’s Innovation Depot is attempting to reverse this trend. The Innovation Depot is the result of an active collaboration between the public and private sectors in Alabama. It has provided startups in the region with programs to improve their business and build a support network. Opened in 2007, Innovation Depot’s 140,000 square foot building is the largest tech hub in the region.

The CEO of the facility, Devon Laney, has stated that the depot was revamped from an abandoned Sears building to encourage startups to grow and to productively utilize the empty space. Innovation Depot employed multi-pronged strategies to bring different stakeholders on board. These stakeholders included tertiary institutions and government agencies, and raised a whopping $15 million. With this contribution, they were able to bring the facility back to its feet. The annual economic impact report from the Depot shows that over a period of five years, $1.66 billion in returns has been achieved and 1,000 new jobs have been created. Various investors from around the country, including Apple, have also been attracted to the Innovation Depot and have further provided support to the startups.

While Alabama has relatively high unemployment, poverty and low wages, it is now believed that over time, the number of startups in Alabama will increase and through research and development and innovation, the state will be in a much better position.

Open Lab Announced by the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance

The Colorado Open Lab facility is set to be launched as a result of an active collaboration between Arrow Electronics Inc. and the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance. The lab will be an Internet of Things (IoT) engineering lab, specifically for customer development showcase and innovation collaboration with the aim of fast-tracking the development of AI applications and OEM IoT appliances.

The lab is set to open in the second quarter of 2019 and will be located within Arrow’s global headquarters in Centennial, CO, according to an announcement made during the inaugural Colorado Smart Cities Alliance Symposium on September 18th. The Colorado Open Lab will house engineering facilities with the latest bench, test and edge compute equipment, a customer experience center and a live experience of Smart City showcasing technologies and solutions installed in the area.

The facility will allow members of the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance to collaborate, discover, innovate, test and confidently validate Smart City solutions before deployment within their jurisdictions. Key technologies that will be showcased include smart parking, smart street lighting, smart buildings and intelligent transportation. These offer sustainable solutions to the residents of Colorado and make lives easier and more enjoyable for those in urban communities.

The lab has been supported by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade and the Denver South Economic Development Partnership.