Tech Connect

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Joining Together Tradition and History

When something closes, it’s not usually a cause for celebration, but on February 1, 2008, one historic event led to another and Avnet was proud to be a significant part of both.

Avnet Chairman and CEO Roy Vallee rang the Closing Bell for the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) from the University of Phoenix Stadium, marking the first time this event has taken “It was an honor to ring the bell on our turf for the state’s first time, joined by our governor, 14 excellent companies on the Big Board, the Cardinals, and representing Avnet’s employees around the world.”

– Roy Vallee

www.avnet.com Super Bowl® is a trademark of the NFL

place in the state of Arizona, and helping kick off the Super Bowl XLII weekend.

The NYSE and Avnet, two organizations coming together to make history for the State of Arizona.

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New Ideas Are Motivators For Two Entrepreneurs

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Girls Get the Chance to Explore Technology As Career Choice.

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New Center’s Goal: Make Arizona Education World-Class.

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On the Cover :: Dr. Suwon “Sue’’ Kim in her TGen lab

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Feature

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Meet Three Women Who Share the Secrets of Their Successes.

In Every Issue 006 President’s Letter 008 Editor’s Letter 010 TechSupport 017 Coaching Corner 021 Events 036 Science Foundation Arizona 038 University of Arizona 040 Arizona State University 041 Northern Arizona University 042 Capitol Watch

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ach year the number of women entering the fields of science and technology in Arizona continues to increase. This issue, TechConnect chronicles a number of these successful women who are making important contributions.

It is essential that we continually acknowledge the major impact these women are making in science, technology and the economy.

e

Do you know there’s an Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame (AWHF)?

The AWHF strives to recognize and honor the women who have made important contributions to the state’s history. The program pays tribute posthumously and honors in perpetuity the remarkable women whose contributions to the arts, athletics, business, education, government, the humanities, philanthropy and science have played a significant role in Arizona’s history and provide a significant contribution to its historical record.

The program is dedicated to sharing the stories of women, the stories of their struggles, accomplishments and contributions to our communities, heritage and freedom—the way women created, shaped and changed our state and nation’s history with courage, leadership, intelligence, compassion and creativity. AWHF strives to educate society about the great women of our past.

Additionally, there are a number of great resources available in Arizona to help women executives and the companies they lead to succeed.

Have you heard of the Alliance of Technology and Women (ATW)? Do you know Arizona has a chapter in Phoenix?

The ATW supports women and men worldwide who share the common interests of empowering women in technology, increasing the number of women in executive roles and encouraging women and girls to enter technology fields.

ATW educates members on technology and management trends, and offers personal and professional development. It provides opportunities for women to connect with fellow professionals and build relationships and alliances with business leaders. ATW hosts programs for members and young women to provide positive role models in the technology field.

Are you aware Woman in Technology International (WITI) has a Greater Phoenix Regional Network?

Founded in 1989, WITI is the nation’s leading trade association for professional, techsavvy women committed to using technology, resources and connections to advance women worldwide. With a global network of smart, talented women and a market reach exceeding 2 million, the group has established powerful strategic alliances and programs to provide connections, resources and opportunities within a supportive environment of women committed to helping each other.

WITI’s mission is to empower women worldwide to achieve unimagined possibilities and transformations through technology, leadership and economic prosperity.

Do you know The University of Arizona has a program for Women in Science and Engineering (WISE)?

WISE was established at the university in 1976 as part of the Women’s Studies Department and the Southwest Institute for Research on Women. It is governed by a board of directors consisting of several UofA deans, faculty and key external business people who are involved with science and technology industries.

The mission of WISE is to motivate female students to enter careers in science, engineering, mathematics and technology and to support them in their studies. The program plans to become a leading center that encourages girls and women to be successful.

The Arizona Technology Council believes we need to do more to encourage Arizonans, especially woman and girls, to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

Women are critical contributors to the state’s innovation-based economy. We hope by highlighting successful woman in this edition of TechConnect, it makes a small contribution to acknowledging the enormous contributions women are making in our society and economy.

Steven G. Zylstra

President & CEO, Arizona Technology Council + Get Connected Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame: www.lib.az.us/awhof Alliance of Technology and Women: www.atwinternational.org WITI Greater Phoenix Regional Network: www.witi.com/center/regionalchapter/phoenix Women in Science and Engineering: ws.web.arizona.edu/wise

Editor’s Letter

Publisher Steven G. Zylstra Editor Don Rodriguez Art Director Jim Nissen, Switch Studio

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ake sure you do your best work. Set a goal and execute. Be prepared to take on the unknown. All words of a leader indeed. Thanks, Mom.

We all have had women in our lives who have left lasting impressions. Like many, my first influence was my mother. She was liberated before it became a buzzword in the ‘60s. She took no grief living in a house filled with males. While my aunts were serving my uncles their meals, she already was eating. She stood up for herself—plus my dad and brothers—and took care of us.

Moving on to my life in newspapers and magazines, I’ve had some incredible leaders who just happened to be women. Smart, inspiring people who challenged me as they guided groups ranging from two to hundreds of team members. At one point, I worked in an organization run primarily by women.

In this chapter of my career as I get a closer look at Arizona’s science and technology scene and its leaders, I have to ask: Where are the rest of the women? They are out there

because I’ve met some. But after being surrounded by women at the top levels of their organizations—Mom, too— their low numbers are readily apparent.

This issue is dedicated to the contributions of those leaders and leaders-in-training who are moving this state forward—and happen to be women.

Inside we take a look at some of the programs around the state with the intent to get that next generation started. While some of those same programs still are seeing more boys than girls attend sessions, organizers notice the tide is turning.

We introduce you to women inside the labs of private enterprise and our universities who are taking charge of research that will shape our lives—from disease prevention to use of our natural resources. You’ll also learn what some entrepreneurs have been creating.

We also offer a look at women at the helms of their organizations who share their stories on how they achieved their success. How do you get to those levels, too? You will find suggestions inside as you chart your career. (Guys, it’s OK to look, too.)

By the time you finish reading this edition, you should realize how fortunate we as Arizonans are to be moving toward parity in the leadership ranks of science and technology. Not every state can make such a claim. My Mom—and yours, too—would be so proud.

Don Rodriguez

Editor, TechConnect Magazine

Contributing Writers Phillip Blackerby Gremlyn Bradley-Waddell Nikki Capetz Joseph Caspermeyer Christopher Di Virgilio Terry Koch Heather Lacey Kathleen Perkins Diane Rechel Ken Reinstein Bruce A. Wright Steve Yozwiak Trademark // General Counsel Quinn Williams Distribution Partners The Phoenix Business Journal East Valley Tribune Tucson Chamber of Commerce

E-mail editor@techconnectmag.com advertising@techconnectmag.com For queries or customer service, call 602-343-8324 or go to techconnectmag.com.

For high-quality article reprints, contact The Reprint Dept., 717-481-8500.

TechConnect is published by the Arizona Technology Council, One Renaissance Square, 2 N. Central Ave., Suite 750, Phoenix, AZ 85004.

Entire contents copyright 2008, Arizona Technology Council. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Products named in these pages are trade names or trademarks of their respective companies. TechConnect is a trademark of the Arizona Technology Council. All rights reserved. Publication of TechConnect is supported by privatesector businesses, and is not financed by state-appropriated funds.

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How far would you trust your IT Services Provider?

Outsourcing IT operations carries many risks for companies.

Among them, finding a provider that fits your culture, produces results and understands your business. In other words, you need total confidence in your provider’s abilities.

Tech Support We want to know what’s happening in the Arizona Technology Community. Submit newsworthy stories to techsupport@techconnect.com

Avnet opens center in Chandler

Avnet, a global technology distributor and one of the largest publicly-held companies in Arizona, has opened its new state-of-the-art, 228,000 square-foot technology integration and logistics facility in Chandler. With the capacity to build and ship more than 700,000 technology systems annually, the Avnet Global Solutions Center can provide such services as hardware integration, software configuration, packaging and logistics, and systems maintenance. The facility incorporates several features designed to reduce Avnet’s energy consumption. www.ats.avnet.com

New chair of bioengineering

Arizona State University has appointed William Ditto as the new chair of the Harrington Department of Bioengineering in the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering. Ditto is the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Eminent Scholar Endowed chair at the University of Florida and was the founding chair of the biomedical engineering department. He has developed therapy for cardiac and neural chaos and instruments for the imaging of cardiac arrhythmia and epilepsy. hdbe.fulton.asu.edu

GE Healthcare Thought Leader

Jim Pipe of Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix was named one of 10 GE Healthcare Thought Leaders. Pipe’s innovative approach of brain structure, function and connectivity imaging work in magnetic resonance was a primary reason for his selection.

He is director of neuroimaging research for the institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. www.thebarrow.org

Help for faster data transfer

Canada-based Obsidian Strategics, leading developer of InfiniBand range extension, routing and encryption technology, will help Arizona State University explore faster, more efficient data server/transfer technologies for the new supercomputer at the High Performance Computing Initiative facilities at ASU’s Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.

Obsidian will work with researchers and network administrators to ensure the most advanced and appropriate features are developed, tested and implemented on the network. One ASU partner to benefit from the speed will be the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix as it continues its research into a variety of human diseases through the use of data-rich DNA sequencing, genotyping, microarrays and bioinformatics. www.obsidianresearch.com

Tempe firm gets NASA award

Tempe-based Efficient Enterprise Engineering has received the NASA Safety Center Special Act Award for valued and outstanding support. The Temped-based company helped manage and analyze health and safety data collected for the Knowledge Management Office at the center. Efficient Enterprise Engineering provides environmental, safety, productivity and security software to government and private agencies. www.ex3.com

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Close+up : A Collection of Briefings Focusing on Significant Topics Affecting Technology.

Google Gone?

Writing By :: Gremlyn Bradley-Waddell

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Internet giant’s decision to close Tempe office doesn’t mean work is done

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hings don’t always work out, even when you’re Google.

That’s what the Valley learned recently after officials with the Internet search services company announced they were closing the Tempe office after a two-year run. The news— perhaps not such a surprise now in hindsight, given the economy’s bumpy ride these past several months—was posted on the company’s blogspot by Alan Eustace, senior vice president for engineering and research.

In his brief message, Eustace indicated that while it was initially believed the Arizona site would support the firm’s internal engineering projects, “the systems that make Google, well, Google,” that’s just not how things worked out. Rather, he wrote, “we’ve found that despite everyone’s best efforts, the projects our engineers have been working on in Arizona have been, and remain, highly fragmented.”

Indeed, hopes had run very high since the Web giant came to town, with talk of the move invigorating the local tech sector and the expected jobs that would be created as a result.

Nevertheless, the office that had maintained a low-key presence near Apache Boulevard and Rural Road in Tempe since its September 2006 grand opening was shuttered in late November.

About 50 employees at the location, which was leased from Arizona State University, were to have been either relocated to the headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.; offices in New York or otherwise reassigned within the company.

Mixed Returns “I think this was certainly a bit of a disappointment,” says Mary Ann Miller, president and CEO of the Tempe Chamber of Commerce. “Google was one of the star performers, if you will, the name brand to come into town, so we certainly were hoping for the best from them.”

Although there is no tech firm waiting in the wings and eager to take up the space left

by Google, Miller says Tempe will be fine and the city will continue to see growth. And she notes there are plenty of other employees at plenty of other local tech firms “who are in the trenches, day after day” but

don’t get the attention Google does. “We just sort of lost our marquee name,” she says.

And there’s still some good news. That’s the fact that all of Google’s projects being done in partnership with ASU—such as curriculum programs, workshops and college courses—will not be affected in any way. “The current initiatives that involve Google will go on seamlessly,” says Sharon Keeler, an ASU spokeswoman.

So, at least for now at ASU, it’s like Google never really left.

The projects our engineers have been working on in Arizona have been, and remain, highly fragmented - Alan Eustace, Google’s senior vice president for engineering and research

I’m Feeling Lucky Despite closure of its Tempe office, Google will continue with projects planned with ASU. They are: + Cloud Computing Curriculum and the Android Curriculum, which are offered by the School of Computing and Informatics. + Google Mars, which uses Google Maps to construct detailed scientific maps of the Red Planet. + Google Apps for Education. + Lively by Google. + Google Apps @ IDEAL (Integrated Data to Enhance Arizona’s Learning). + Google@School.

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Love of science and technology leads her into entrepreneurial world writing by :: Gremlyn Bradley-Waddell

atherine Leyen has a knack for successfully combining the worlds of science, technology and entrepreneurship, but she’s not the type to flaunt it. “I’m just a country girl who loves horses,” enthuses the longtime polo player who stables five assorted equines at her Gilbert home.

Of course, it’s not every country girl who loves magnetic resonance imaging and counts inventor and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla as her personal hero. And though, as Leyen is quick to point out, she doesn’t have a Ph.D. or a wall full of degrees, she possesses something else that may very well be more important: a passion for all things scientific and technological—and good, old-fashioned experience.

The self-described Air Force brat attended radiology school and became interested in the science of magnetic resonance imaging. She worked at what is now Scottsdale Healthcare Shea before joining Siemens Medical USA, where she became one of the first women in the United States to teach ultra high-field imaging, or “3T,” (the letter

c

referring to Tesla), as it’s known in the field.

About a year ago, though, Leyen opted out of corporate life. She went on to co-found Wisteria House Products LLC, of which she is CEO, the primary investor and the majority shareholder. Ron Hatton, her life partner/husband, is one of her business partners as is their friend Travis Merrick, who Leyen says is like a brother to her. And to say these folks have been busy is an understatement.

Wisteria House—the name comes from her mother’s side of the family, which is Japanese and whose familial crest is represented by a wisteria flower—launched the Armadillo Dollar in December 2007. The device prevents ID theft via radio frequency with a piece of identity-protection hardware that gets placed in one’s wallet.

Leyen says interest in the product has been strong and police agencies have liked what they’ve seen as well.

No Slowing Down In September 2008, Leyen and another partner brought MRI Optimize Consultants PLLC, to the market. The service, she says, helps healthcare providers

+ Get Connected Armadillo Dollar: www.armadillodollar.com Club HHO: www.clubhho.com mEYEsign MarPat Marketing: www.meyesign.com MRI Optimize Consultants, PLLC: www.mrioptimize.com

You Take

LifeStyle Monitor targets effective weight management W riting by :: Christopher Di Virgilio

The future of weight management is a breath away.

Joan Vrtis, Kemeta owner and CEO, and her team are preparing to unveil a personal handheld device that will produce rapid metabolism measurements with a single breath. For consumers, this means a more effective weightmanagement tool for dieting.

The portable unit dubbed the LifeStyle Monitor is approximately the size of a standard flip-phone.

The unit uses existing sensor technology to capture breath acetone levels and convert them into a usable standard that enables the user to monitor the slightest change in metabolism.

As with many innovative ideas, the concept behind the LifeStyle Monitor stems from a recognized need. Vrtis has obese family members who have struggled to effectively manage their weight through years of conventional methods. They are among the 127 million Americans considered overweight.

By monitoring the body’s metabolism, a person will be able to see an accurate account of how the body uses or stores fat and make necessary adjustments to the diet. Kemeta clinically tested the unit at the Obesity Treatment Center Medical Group in Sacramento, Calif., Vrtis says. “We are now in the product development stage and plan to move into production by 2009,” she adds.

And move they will.

The vision for the product is incorporating it into a multifunction monitor device that will not only monitor acetone levels but also blood glucose levels for diabetics. This should help it live up to its name: Lifestyle.

+ Get Connected Kemeta, www.kemeta.com

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TECHCONNECTmag.COM

Catherine Leyen with Ron Hatton (left) and Travis Merrick.

maximize the potential of one of their biggest investments, the MRI scanner. “We can optimize patient flow, and get patients in and out, and improve image quality,” she says. Merrick, a former U.S. Marine and high school teacher, quips that the service is “like an office manager with a triple Ph.D.” One of the firm’s latest endeavors is mEYEsign MarPat Marketing, which can create a motion-based Internet signature for clients. It’s basically embedding a custom video message into the area where one would normally leave a signature on an e-mail message.

Then there’s also Club HHO dedicated to sharing free information about how to make hydrogen-assist drives for cars. Leyen says the project got rolling after she lamented to Hatton, who at one time worked on missile guidance systems for the Navy, that she didn’t yet have one of those “flying cars” that had been promised in the futuristicloving 1970s. Now, since she’s had her Land Rover outfitted with such a drive, she says she gets roughly 30 percent better gas mileage. “Nothing there is a product—yet,” Leyen says, adding that the site’s had hits from at least 25 countries thus far.

And if that weren’t enough, the folks at Wisteria House are gearing up for another venture.

MyFinalParty.com will be a Web site on which members may leave their legacies after they’ve passed on, even e-mail messages that can be delivered to their children and grandchildren.

Yes, essentially messages from beyond the grave.

And that’s par for the course for the multi-talented and multifaceted Leyens, a woman who, in her own words, thinks “way, way, way outside the box.”

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Two worlds Writing By :: Steve Yozwiak

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Doctor thrives in dual role as TGen cancer researcher and medical school faculty

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n her role as a medical school instructor, it is not enough for Dr. Suwon “Sue’’ Kim to simply teach. She wants her doctors-in-training to go beyond memorizing texts and jump into research riddles.

“I like solving puzzles,’’ says Kim, who looks for solutions in her other role as a cancer researcher and team leader in her own lab at the Translational Genomics Research Institute, where she currently is studying genes that play a role in the development of breast cancer.

She teaches as an assistant professor of biomedical sciences at The University of Arizona Medical School-Phoenix in partnership with Arizona State University.

Her medical students learn not only through textbooks and lectures, but also by solving medical mysteries based on real-world patients through case based instruction. “It’s a wonderful tool,’’ says Kim, whose TGen lab is immediately north of the historic former Phoenix Union High School buildings that make up the core of the downtown Phoenix medical school. “You are teaching them how to learn, not only what to learn.’’

Based on the past medical histories of real patients, Kim’s

i

students are given symptoms and other basic information.

They work in groups, tasking each other to come up with diagnosis, scientific causes of the diseases or conditions, and recommended treatments.

“We are training future physicians of the 21st century,’’ says Kim, noting that the medical school curricula emphasize personalized medicine and biomedical informatics.

Personalized medicine is a cornerstone of TGen’s mission: to translate scientific findings into treatments tailor-made for individual patients. Biomedical informatics enables researchers to use huge amounts of genetic information to make groundbreaking medical discoveries.

Road to Discovery In the medical school’s second year of operations, there are 72 students—24 of whom were in the school’s initial class.

Kim knows what it is like to be mentored in an atmosphere of discovery.

She attended the University of California–Berkeley, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in 1988 in microbiology and immunology. Moving to the East Coast, she received her doctorate in genetics in 1998 from Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn.,

where she studied the biology of protein folding in yeast.

For her post-doctoral work, Kim returned to the Bay Area, where she studied under Dr. J. Michael Bishop at the University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine from 1998 to 2006. Bishop and Dr. Harold E. Varmus, also of UCSF, shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in physiology/medicine for their discovery of the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes.

Their insight—that normal cells contain genes capable of becoming cancer genes—helped fuel studies into the genetic origins of cancer, which is a huge part of the research efforts at TGen. Under Bishop, lines of scientific inquiry were conceptdriven, says Kim, allowing her to make huge strides in her specialty: the study of tumorsuppressor genes. “They are the sentinels … They are the ones that guard normal cells against becoming cancer cells,’’ says Kim, who since joining TGen in 2007 has continued to study the affects of ING4, a tumor-suppressor gene that goes missing in as many as one in five women with breast cancer.

Seeking Solutions “As you get older, you accumulate mutations. There are multiple steps that a cell goes through to

become cancerous,’’ says Kim, who identified tumor suppressor genes that can restore contact inhibition in cells. “Cancer cells go nuts and override the signals from neighboring cells (contact inhibition) and they grow into tumors.’’

Kim has shown that ING4, which she discovered during her post-doctoral work, can prevent normal cells from losing their contact inhibition. “We can see what it does, but we have no idea of how it does it. Now, we’re trying to figure out how ING4 works,’’ she says.

In addition, Kim also is looking into the candidate biomarkers in patient blood that can be used to detect the presence of breast cancer.

“Being one of the scientists at TGen has allowed me to go forward with my translational research,” she says.

“We have a hard time controlling cancer because we detect it so late,’’ Kim says.

After treating cancer cells with chemotherapy, “some survive, and they come back with a vengeance. The whole idea in cancer treatment is that we need to detect it early. Prevention and early detection is the best way to control cancer—and our best hope to cure cancer.’’ + Get Connected TGen: www.tgen.org

Close+up

Brighter Day New partnership a boost to ASU’s solar research program rizona is about to share the benefits of 325 sunny days each year with the world.

Arizona State University’s advancements in solar technology caught the attention of international partners. TUV Rheinland Group recently joined forces with ASU’s Photovoltaic Testing Laboratory to create TUV Rheinland PTL, the world’s most advanced solar testing and certification facility.

The collaboration will increase ASU’s ability to conduct solar research while increasing TUV Rheinland’s global influence in solar testing and assessment. With the demand

a

for cleaner fuels worldwide, the need for solar power and research has grown rapidly in the past decade.

ASU has been involved in solar energy research and testing for more than 50 years.

Its testing facility in Tempe was built in 1992 and is the nation’s only photovoltaic laboratory accredited for design qualification and type approval.

TUV Rheinland Group, headquartered in Cologne, Germany, monitors the quality of new and existing products, systems and services internationally. It has existing partnerships with photovoltaic facilities in Europe and Asia.

APS Part of Plan Arizona Public Service, the state’s largest electric provider, has provided the new joint venture with five of its 33 acres of outdoor testing space at its renowned Solar Test and Research Center located near the ASU Tempe campus. This space is used primarily to assess equipment endurance.

While the STAR Center is mainly a research facility, it does contribute to APS’s power grid.

The energy generated at the testing facility powers about 125 Arizona homes.

“This innovative public-private collaboration in state-of-theart solar energy technologies, research and test facilities

makes Arizona the best place to be for solar energy,” said ASU President Michael Crow.

The new testing facility for TUV Rheinland PTL, Inc. upgraded ASU’s existing Tempe laboratory with the addition of new equipment, more space and additional personnel. In addition to the global impact on photovoltaic research, this new facility is expected to produce local benefits for the state of Arizona by increasing the state’s solar energy credentials, attracting solar energy manufacturers and increasing solar energy industry development and employment opportunities.

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Writing by :: Samantha SHIPLEY

igital agencies have begun gaining recognition from high-tech companies for their creative concepts and innovative take on marketing campaigns. With people having the ability to gain information at the click of a button, past marketing efforts are becoming less effective.

“The way people interact with information has shifted.

Technology has advanced, methods of communicating with audiences have changed,” says Amer Tadayon, CEO of Scottsdale-based Render Films Digital Studios.

With this change companies are reaching out to their target audiences through digital marketing and viral videos.

Render Films Digital Studios saw the need for companies to reformat their marketing

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tactics and began working with high-tech companies to engage their target audiences through digital campaigns.

With past experience in the technology industry and the ability to create engaging digital campaigns, Render Films Digital Studios launched “Do You Trust Your Data” for Informatica and “The Data Center Chronicles” for Brocade Computer Systems, Inc. Digital content in the form of viral videos and webisodes is quickly reformatting the marketing world and hightech companies are taking full advantage to reach their audiences on this new platform.

“Web-based video has become an effective—and costeffective—way for companies to communicate their brand value, and engage their audience to help extend that message,” says Tadayon.

Close+up How to Apply Emotional Intelligence—Keys to Great Leadership” by Reldan S. Nadler.

Step One: Set The Stage

Coaching Corner: Effectively managing people through great feedback Writing by :: Nikki Capetz

Giving feedback is a skill that can greatly enhance employee performance when delivered and received well. The goal of the feedback is for the person to both receive and use it.

The following model known as SSBIR (Stage, Situation, Behavior, Impact, Resolution) and adapted from the Center for Creative Leadership can help. Information comes from the book “Leaders’ Playbook:

(Intention/Readiness To Listen) This step gives listeners an opportunity to get ready to hear the feedback or they may say that now is not a good time. If they are ready, they will be less reactive. If the timing won’t work for them, ask them to specify when it will.

• “I’d like to talk to you about something. Will this time work?”

• “My intention is to help you develop.”

• “Can I give you some feedback?”

Step Two: State The Situation (What Happened And Where?)

The second step anchors what you are specifically talking about.

It is the what, where or when.

• “In the meeting today…”

• “When you spoke to…”

• “In the report you wrote…”

Step Three: State The Behavior Without Interpretations (What Did You See Or Hear?)

This third step is very challenging. It helps if you write out what you will say before you give the feedback.

You want to have it stated as a videotape would capture it. You do not want them to say, “No, I didn’t,” in response; instead, the behavior should be irrefutable.

• “When you came late to the meeting…”

• “When you said…”

• “I saw two errors…”

• “When the report was late…”

Step Four: State The Impact (On Stakeholders And Time Frames) This is the most important step.

Ideally you should have three or four impacts. The more impacts the better. This is your leverage to demonstrate all the people or situations, time and money that have been impacted.

• “The customer was disappointed…”

• “Others on the team were angry…”

• “Waiting for you to arrive has cost us hundreds of dollars in wasted time.”

• “We won’t see the impact of this mistake immediately, but six months from now when we go to renew the order, the customer may not want to do business with us again.”

Step Five: Resolution This last step starts with a quiz: • “What thoughts do you have on how this can be resolved?”

• “How can we prevent this from happening again?”

• “Next time I’d like to see this happen…”

If they have accepted the feedback, they will be able to give you some idea of how to prevent these behaviors in the future. If they have not accepted it, you will have to be more assertive and tell them what you want to see them do instead.

As an executive coach and business consultant, Nikki Capetz of Catalyst Systems, LLC assists entrepreneurs, executives and management teams in corporations and non-profit organizations to reach their personal and professional goals. She has more than 20 years of experience within the IT industry. She can be reached at 602-647-3220 or nikki@catalystsystems.biz.

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Grand Canyon Railway Acquisition of Grand Canyon Railway, Inc.

by Grand Canyon Railway, LLC, an affiliate of Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc.

Venture Capital Financing led by Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Information Technology Toolbox Acquisition of Information Technology Toolbox, Inc. by The Corporate Executive Board Company

iCrossing, Inc.

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Acquisition of: NewGate Internet, Inc. Spannerworks, Ltd. Sharp Analytics, Inc. Proxicom, Inc.

Acquisition of: Neural Intervention Technologies, Inc. Selva Medical, Inc. Amesil, Inc. Absolute Closure Innovations, Inc.

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Venture Capital Financing led by The Carlyle Group

Venture Capital Financing

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MedicWest Ambulance, Inc. Acquisition of MedicWest Ambulance, Inc. by an affiliate of Emergency Medical Services Corporation

APT Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Venture Capital Financing

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Acquisition of Quality Care Solutions, Inc.

by The TriZetto Group, Inc.

iCrossing, Inc.

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Quality Care Solutions, Inc.

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Paper, Paper Everywhere Writing By :: ken reinstein

ImageTag digitizes the process, reducing waste and increasing efficiency

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hat office product costs American businesses about $4 billion annually, with an average per-worker energy use of 80 watts per hour? By the way, you can’t plug it in and it doesn’t run on batteries.

Would you believe copy paper? Look at your desk. How many reports, invoices, contracts, spreadsheets, online articles and electronic mail messages have you printed today?

According to U.S. Department of Energy statistics, the average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of copy paper annually, which costs about $50 per year to buy, but more than $500 yearly to use when including the costs of copying, printing, mail and storage.

What if that paper could be kept in a digital format?

That’s the goal of Chandler-based ImageTag, Inc. The company is the creator of KwikTag document imaging for integration with business software and is a fully integrated document-imaging solution for Microsoft Dynamics business applications. KwikTag enables customers to manage paper digitally, within a department or across an entire organization. The product uses a patented process that makes document imaging fast, simple and foolproof.

“There are approximately 50,000 North American users of Microsoft Great Plains, Navision and Axapta ERP software solutions who are our target customers,” says Steve Irons, president and CEO of ImageTag. “We are very excited to be releasing a new version of our software delivered in an appliance format, which means that we will be delivering a turnkey system that snaps onto the network of a Great Plains using company.”

This appliance will always be connected to ImageTag’s support center, greatly reducing administrative requirements on the customer and constantly keeping their software updated and running smoothly, Irons adds. KwigTag 4.0 includes a full integration with Microsoft SharePoint, which companies use to facilitate collaboration, provide content management features, implement business processes and supply access to information that is essential to organizational goals and processes.

“ImageTag is tracking the roadmap that Microsoft is using to extend the value of SharePoint into its Dynamics customers,” Irons said. “ImageTag has integrated with SharePoint to deliver our innovative paper-to-digital capture, tightly coupled with that technology.”

One bit of advice: File your resume electronically.

+ Get Connected ImageTag: www.imagetag.com U.S. Department of Energy: http://eetd.lbl.gov/Paper

Step Right Up Writing By :: Heather Lacey

LevelVision delivers messages right under Arizona students’ feet he bookstore at Arizona State University’s Tempe campus has stepped into the future of marketing with a new application that puts information and advertising for customers in an unexpected but highly effective location: right under their feet.

LevelVision’s floor-based digital screens deliver ads and programming in a cool and unusual way with which the tech-saavy millennial generation can identify. When ASU students glance down, they see messages from national brands combined with local interest ads on bookstore sales or promotions.

In addition to the customizable advertising content, the screens feature “infotainment” programming on cooking, weather and other topics.

“The device is attractive and draws people to it,” says

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Dennis Mekelburg, associate director Arizona State University Bookstores. “Plus, for us, it is in the place where we have products and people are making their buying decisions,” There’s no need to tread lightly because the stompresistant screens are made from a heav y-duty glass that protects them from foot traffic. The screens are being used in more than 300 student bookstores across the country, including The University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University, Mesa Community College and Yavapai College in Prescott.

Given its success with the college bookstore deployment, LevelVision has plans to expand its market to include convenience and grocery stores soon. With everybody looking down, advertising technology is certainly looking up.

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Local Companies Join Forces, Products Writing By :: Ken Reinstein

Clients can target finding the right customers faster isregarding the “Pet Rock,” that, er, rocketed from an a San Francisco gift show to Neiman Marcus in just months, few products become instant successes almost by accident. And, in today’s economy, product launches have to be done right the first time.

Phoenix-based Adaptive Technologies, Inc. (ATi), has joined forces with Scottsdale’s SHR Perceptual Management to take SHR’s Sensory Positioning process to a groundbreaking online model embedded with predictive analytic functionality.

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SHR is now able to get better results and help clients more accurately predict the right buyer at the right time at the right price.

“ATi is excited to team with SHR to combine expertise in bringing to market a revolutionary branding process that combines science and technology to help business leaders use intelligent information to make better decisions about their brands,” says Susan Cordts, ATi’s president and CEO. Her company delivers Intelligent Information in software-as-a-service (SaaS)

predictive analytic solutions.

With the SaaS format, there was very little integration needed to incorporate ATi’s products into SHR’s.

Sensory Positioning is a proven 20-year-old methodology used by SHR in focus group testing on behalf of many leading companies, including Coca-Cola, General Mills, Ford, BMW and Volkswagen. + Get Connected Adaptive Technologies, Inc.: www.adaptiveinc.com SHR Perceptual Management: www.shrbranding.com.

WE’RE PLUGGED INTO ARIZONA’S TECH SECTOR

outside the box? Lewis and Roca attorneys can efficiently provide the legal solutions and resources your business requires.

Law. From A Business Point of View. ® WWW.LEWISANDROCA.COM • Phoenix • Tucson • Las Vegas • Reno • Albuquerque

602.262.5311 • 40 N. Central Ave. • Suite 1900 • Phoenix, AZ 85004

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property, avoid unnecessary liability, or negotiate clear and innovative agreements

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Do you need to secure venture capital, protect or license intellectual

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From left: Teacher of the Year Kenneth Zeigler of Eagle Point School and Future Innovators Smitha Ramakrishna of Corona del Sol High School in Tempe, Adrian Laurenzi of Tucson High Magnet School, Shemonti Hasan of Hamilton High School in Chandler and Steven Fan of Tucson High Magnet School.

From left: Lesher; Kris Ganase, president of Aviation Communication & Surveillance Systems; and Al Smith, CEO and chairman of Face to Face Live.

From left: Lawrence; Lesher; Zylstra; Barbara Leff, Senator of the Year; and Kaites.

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From left: Steve Lawrence, attorney at Gallagher & Kennedy,; Jan Lesher, Gov. Janet Napolitano’s chief of staff; Steven G. Zylstra, president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council; Michele Reagan, Representative of the Year; and John Kaites, lobbyist at Public Policy Partners

And the Winners Are…

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Governor’s Celebration of Innovation honors the best in Arizona’s technology

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photos By :: mark goldstein

nnovation often can mean months or even years of labor for its creators. But when the spotlight shines at the annual Governor’s Celebration of Innovation, the winners will tell you: It was worth it.

Presented Nov. 13 by the Arizona Technology Council and the Arizona Department of Commerce, the gala honored companies, individuals and academic organizations that demonstrate excellence in innovative technological advancement.

The Governor’s Celebration of Innovation is the largest statewide awards gathering of technology companies in Arizona. The 2008 winners are:

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Lifetime Achievement Award: Paolo Soleri, internationally recognized architect, artist, and philosopher Chairman’s Award: Quinn Williams, Phoenix office of the law firm Greenberg Traurig William F. McWhortor Community Service Leader of the Year: Dr. Daniel D. Von Hoff, TGen Clinical Research Services at Scottsdale Healthcare Ed Denison Business Leader of the Year: Jeff Morhet, InNexus Biotechnology Inc.

Pioneering Innovation: Aviation Communication & Surveillance Systems Green Innovator of the Year (new award): Trilogy

by Shea Homes Innovator of the Year Start-Up Company: Flypaper Studios, Inc. Innovator of the Year Small Company: Succeed Corp.

Innovator of the Year Large Company: Raytheon Missile Systems Innovator of the Year Academia: The University of Arizona, Phoenix Mars Mission

Teacher of the Year Award Winner: Kenneth Zeigler, Eagle Point School Future Innovators of the Year: Steven Fan, Tucson High Magnet School Shemonti Hasan, Hamilton High School, Chandler Adrian Laurenzi, Tucson High Magnet School Smitha Ramakrishna, Corona del Sol High School, Tempe State Senator of the Year: Barbara Leff (R) State Representative of the Year: Michele Reagan (R)

Events

Feb. 28

The Arizona Technology Council will host the third consecutive Arizona Middle School Science Bowl sponsored by Solugenix Corp. Since 2007, middle school students in this statewide event have been quizzed annually on science disciplines that include biology, chemistry, earth science, math, physics and astronomy in a Jeopardy-style competition. Madison Park School represented Arizona at the National Science Bowl in 2008.

The overall goal for the event is to instill a long-term interest in science and technology among sixth- through eighth-grade students. In fact, event organizers focus on encouraging students to pursue their dreams in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields.

The winning team will receive an all-expense-paid trip to the National Middle School Science Bowl competition. The U.S. Department of Energy has announced it will join forces for one combined High School and Middle School National Science Bowl. The two competitions will be held concurrently in Washington, D.C., from April 30 through May 5.

Volunteers are needed to help at the Arizona event and must participate in at least one training session. Anyone interested in bringing their teams to compete or would like to volunteer can e-mail Crystal Beeks at crystal.beeks@solugenix. com or call 602-334-4550. For more information, visit www. azsciencebowl.us.

Jan. 22-24 Molecular Oncology: The Sixth Vital Sign— What Every Oncologist Should Know Arizona Grand Resort, 8000 S. Arizona Grand Parkway, Phoenix Oncology professionals will learn about the connection between the mechanisms of action of novel therapeutics and specific tumor genetic and host clinical features, thereby unifying molecular diagnostics and therapeutics. Registration: physicians, $295; fellows, pharmacists, nurses, other, $195; industry (for-profit organization, including biotech, financial, and pharmaceutical), $995. For more inform ation, visit

Feb. 2-March 23 Launch Prep Entrepreneurship Course ASU’s SkySong, 1475 N. Scottsdale Road, Second Floor, Scottsdale 7:30-10:30 a.m.

During eight consecutive Tuesday mornings, first-time innovators and entrepreneurs are introduced to basic start-up and management concepts. The course will cover all aspects of starting, funding, and growing early-stage companies, and be facilitated by a seasoned and experienced entrepreneurial CEO, COO or CTO. Registration: $400, with 10 percent discount for Arizona Technology Council members. For registration and

w w w.cancerlearning.com .

other information, www.asutechnopolis.org.

Jan. 29 Commercialization of Life Sciences Inventions Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel, 340 N. Third St. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Discuss new strategies to streamline discovery and development challenges and reduce the development burden through multi-party collaborations and patent pools. The conference also addresses the proper structuring of start-up life-sciences companies to attract adequate capital funding and take advantage of appropriate exit strategies. For more information, www.lawseminars.com.

Jan. 15 Bridging the Gap Between IT Professionals and CEOs Hilton Scottsdale Resort, 6333 N. Scottsdale Road 7:30-9:30 a.m.

This Council Connect event will provide CEOs what they need to know in order to provide strong leadership and precedence in information security. Panelists will share steps necessary for company leaders and IT professionals to work together for the sake of security. Hosted by the Arizona Technology Council and sponsored by Lumension Security. Registration: members, $35; nonmembers, $55. For registration and other information, visit www.aztechcouncil .org.

Jan. 22 After5 iLinc Communications, 2999 N. 44th St., Suite 650, Phoenix 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Don’t miss the chance to network with Arizona Technology Council members and the team from Linc Communications, a recognized leader in Web conferencing, desktop video conferencing software and collaboration solutions.

Registration: members, free; nonmembers, $20. For registration and other information, visit www.aztechcouncil .org.

Jan. 29-30 Human Subject Protections: Bridge to the Future Renaissance Glendale Hotel and Spa, 9495 W. Coyotes Blvd., Glendale Banner Health Research Institute and Office for Human Research Protections will host a forum concerning the full scope of medical research.

Speakers will discuss technological advancements, research ethics and dealing with Institutional Review Boards and the Office for Human Research Protections. The Banner Health Research Institute offers this event to all medical research professionals and patient advocates. For registration and other information, visit www.bannerhealth.com.

Feb. 24 SBIR/STTR Phase II Writing Proposal Workshop ASU’s SkySong, 1475 N. Scottsdale Road, Second Floor, Scottsdale Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Research Phase II workshop will focus on SBIR/STTR Phase I recipients (only Phase I awardees are eligible to apply for Phase II grants worth $750,000 or more). The course will concentrate on two critical portions: the research plan/work plan and the commercialization plan. Registration: $300, with 10 percent discount for Arizona Technology Council members. For r egistr ation a nd other inform ation, w w w. asutechnopol is.org.

Feb. 28 Tea for Teal Fundraiser Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel, 340 N. 3rd St. Registration: 2 p.m.; Tea: 3 p.m.

Enjoy a traditional English tea while supporting a cause.

Tea for Teal proceeds benefit the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen). Your support helps fund research in the early-stage drug resistance of ovarian cancer, which will help TGen’s scientists find a reliable early-screening tool and better drug treatments. Registration: $60, individuals; $500, table of 10. For more information, visit www.anneritamonahan.org .

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Arizona State University’s Tempe Campus, BAC Building | 9 a.m.

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2009 Arizona Middle School Science Bowl

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Corner offices in science and technology still are dreams for many women. Meet three who made it and can’t wait for others to join them.

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Cutting-Edge Career TGen’s COO knows her success can create a better world writing by :: Steve Yozwiak

When you get at the root of a problem, you see there are a lot of ways to resolve it.

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Tess Burleson, COO of TGen

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Tess Burleson is as surprised as anyone to be immersed in the world of cutting-edge biomedical research.

Burleson, the chief operating officer for the Phoenix-based Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), has discovered her passion is helping enable scientists to create a world of better health. “I never would have thought that being from finance, being in the business world that I would be so involved in a medical-research organization,’’ she says.

At TGen, Burleson’s role involves oversight of administrative and operational support divisions, development of core infrastructure in support of the operation across all TGen organizations, and strategic business ventures and collaborations.

And just as she exudes confidence and clarity, Burleson encourages those same traits in young women entering the workforce. “I don’t think women are trained to say, ‘Here’s what I want. Here’s what I need.’ And move on. Where with guys, that seems to come more naturally,’’ she says. “Know that you can do it. Be confident that it can happen.’’

This is especially true in the fast-paced world of science and technology. “Pay attention,’’ Burleson councils. “There are opportunities all around you. Seek them out, and ask questions. Listen more than you talk. Be open to the ideas of others.’’

Most of Burleson’s advice is the same for young men as young women, and the fact that she is one of the highest ranking female officers at one of the Valley’s most dynamic institutes seems a natural progression in her career. “I have not worked with anyone who has ever treated me differently. I have not experienced any kind of disparity,’’ she says.

Don’t Do It Alone Burleson says she was fortunate to have mentors along the way who helped cement her philosophical foundations of success: Always be honest. Don’t leave things open to interpretation. Empower others.

“You can’t make every little decision for everybody. They may not do something exactly the way that you would do it,” she says. “But there are lots of ways of achieving the outcome you desire. And involving the right talent is the way to do that—trusting the talent. Listening to the people who know better. Know that you can’t know everything.’’

Born in Ohio and raised in Texas, Burleson graduated from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in finance. After being interviewed by several of the nation’s biggest accounting firms, she landed a job in the Albuquerque offices of KPMG Peat Marwick.

She says she was drawn by a client list that included healthcare, medical research, art museums and galleries, and other non profit institutions.

Little did Burleson know that those same interests in the 1990s would match the skills needed a decade later at TGen, a non-profit medical research institute where scientific research is being translated into treatments for patients with Alzheimer’s, autism, diabetes and various forms of cancer.

Beyond Her Dreams Could she have envisioned where she is today? “When I was really young, probably not. But I knew when I was working in Big 4 (accounting) that I would prefer to work on the client side of the house; to be internal to

an organization, and help it grow,’’ she says.

“I don’t know that I would have imagined that it would be a COO position.’’

As a senior auditor for KPMG, Burleson worked with medical providers, including the University of New Mexico Medical Center, as well as businesses involving financial services, manufacturing, utilities and insurance.

One of her clients was Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, an Albuquerque medical research firm. In 2003 Burleson was named president of one of its subsidiaries, Lovelace Scientific Resources, which conducted clinical trials at 10 sites in six states.

While she may not have had to overcome sexual discrimination, she still faced some stereotypes. “The leadership in science tends to be men. Some of these guys (at Lovelace), they’ve been around for 35 years doing what they do, and they were very good at it. And here I was this young female (age 26) in the CFO (chief financial officer) role telling them they could or couldn’t spend money.

“You had to earn their respect. You had to make sure that they knew you were looking out for them and that you knew what you spoke about,’’ she says. “Scientists are factually driven. Show them the data used to base judgments on. If they agree with the data, then OK.’’ Another edge Burleson has is her ability to solve problems, which she says includes getting the right people involved. “When you are working in a consulting role, as you do at KPMG—and even when you grow up in a big family, like I did—you realize that the world is made up of all different kinds and types (of people). There’s not necessarily a right way to do everything,’’ she says. “When you get at the root of a problem, you see there are a lot of ways to resolve it.’’

Ideas Don’t Stop Hired at TGen in March 2007, Burleson jumped at the opportunity to continue working in the Southwest, and with some of the most talented people in the fields of science and medicine, especially her boss, TGen President and Scientific Director Dr. Jeffrey Trent. “Once in a lifetime do you get to work with someone as dynamic and as visionary,’’ she says.

Burleson says she rarely takes time off, though her self-described obsessive style is mostly self-imposed.

“The problems, the issues, the things you have to execute, the things you’re thinking of to make sure that TGen has the future that it needs, that it deserves. (I am) always thinking about the next big deal, or the next

issue that has to be resolved. I’m constantly working ideas in my mind, even when I’m not in the office. I’ll be home, laying down at night or taking the day off, and a thought will come to me.’’

Burleson says her primary motivation is helping TGen’s physicians and scientists move ahead with the discoveries that will make a difference in people’s lives. “I’m mission-driven,’’ she says, adding that she is committed to supporting TGen’s efforts to cure diseases. “People who are setting the standards of medical care, so that patients everywhere can live happier, healthier (and with) better quality of life.’’

Steve Yozwiak is senior science writer for the Translational Genomics Research Institute.

Pioneering Paid Off

I-ology CEO took the chance to create company that cashed in on the Web

Trish Bear, CEO of I-ology Trish Bear knows it can be intimidating when she’s the only woman to walk into a meeting filled with men. But don’t feel sorry for the founder, president and CEO of the Internet strategy company I-ology. Bear knows she and other women have as much a chance of doing business as any of the good old boys.

“Just know that you bring unique traits to the table and are deserving of equal opportunity,” she advises others in her position.

Don’t take that as a Pollyanna view; she knows there are stereotypical beliefs still existing in business. “This perception, and the competitor in me, has taught me to hold my own, especially at the negotiating table and I continually strive to do better.

“My belief is that being male or female is neither an advantage nor disadvantage;

we actually have equal opportunity and the ability to succeed,” she says.

While she sees more women taking executive level positions in the technology world as she has, Bear thinks the numbers are still too low. “I’d love to see more women sitting at the conference table of every tech company, especially as entrepreneurs,” she says.

She welcomes others into the ranks.

I-ology was named one of the top 50 womenowned businesses in recent years, which Bear considers a major career highlight.

See the Potential Her entrepreneurial spirit wasn’t readily apparent even to herself when she started her career. After graduating from Arizona State University, she worked for a company selling dial-up Internet connections and

Positive Factors Over time, she was able to create a compelling vision for the work her

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I’d love to see more women sitting at the conference table of every tech company, especially as entrepreneurs

small Web sites to businesses—not that easy considering it was hard just to convince companies they needed e-mail, let alone Web sites. Until then, it rarely occurred to most companies that communicating electronically with people outside their company was beneficial and they could use Web sites to market their businesses, she says.

While she saw the potential, Bear didn’t realize she was an entrepreneur at heart until she took the plunge to become a sole proprietor. There were risks: The industry was in its infancy and the dot com bubble was about to burst. “But deep down I saw the potential and knew it was the right choice,” she says.

She knew she had a chance to be her own boss but didn’t quite see the big picture— yet. “As I struggled through those first few years in business, I really didn’t realize what I-ology could become.”

But she understood the potential of the Web and knew companies would need assistance to unlock it. She became even more motivated knowing her company, founded in 1998, could make a difference in her clients’ businesses. “We focus on their success and ours is a by-product,” she says.

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writing by :: Don Rodriguez

Scottsdale-based company does and inspire others to co-create a different type of work culture. Advising her along the way have been mentors, some of whom have been employees. Helping in success was her embracing the idea of one mentor who advised her to surround herself with people who are stronger in areas she is not.

But she’s still the boss. “Another critical piece of advice has been to check the facts but also rely on my instincts; intuition is powerful in business.”

As in real estate, there is one word that she feels also made a difference: location.

When she launched I-ology, companies in Arizona still were not using their Web sites as marketing tools and many of them didn’t even have online strategies.

“I didn’t really have a lot of competition,” she says. “That’s obviously not the case anymore, but starting I-ology when I did, where I did I was able to put a stake in the ground and have since been able to grow into other markets.”

Eventually, this led to recognition of the company. A high point was when I-ology was picked to develop the Web strategy and Web site for the Super Bowl in 2008. “I feel like I-ology was part of history,” she says.

Time For Trish One would think that Bear is always on. Not the case. She has had four-day workweeks since her daughter was born three years ago.

“My philosophy is that if I need to be there for the company to succeed, I am not being a very effective leader.

“I believe in hiring great people, creating a compelling vision, providing clear direction, coaching when necessary, but also getting out of the way and giving people room to really deliver their best work,” she says.

If she is needed by team members, how do they reach her? You guessed it. “My Blackberry!

It’s the only way I can manage my busy life.”

When she is away, she enjoys working on community projects. She and her company are especially supportive of children’s causes, such

the Southwest Autism Resource and Research Center. In 2009 she will serve as chairwoman for Special Olympics of Arizona. “It’s inspiring to take our success and use that to give back to causes that are truly meaningful,” she says.

And, of course, she enjoys spending quality time with family and friends. “My husband and I are having our second child and we are extremely excited to be adding to our family,” she says.

Also on the horizon, I-ology will continue to expand geographically, she says. Besides the Scottsdale headquarters, her company does business globally.

“It’s been amazing to see the Web industry evolve over the last decade and it has been very rewarding to have been a part of that growth,” she says. “I look forward to seeing I-ology set new ground not only in the Web space, but also for women in the technology field.” + Get Connected I-ology: www.i-ology.com

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Moving Ahead

Lisa Hershman, corporate senior vice president of operational excellence at Avnet, offers five guidelines for women who want to advance in their careers.

(Men may want to take a look, too.)

+ Think of yourself as a leader who is female vs. a female leader. This can be self-defeating since “you modify your behavior based on what others are expecting.” Hershman recalls one woman who did so and was considered nonapproachable, contributing to her not getting a job she was seeking. + Hire people more talented than you are. “When I’ve had the opportunity to hire people better than I am, its shows myself as a manager with judgment.” She recalls one person she hired who actually improved the performance of the entire organization. “It was exhilarating.” + Mentoring is very important. While it’s understandable women want other women as mentors because they likely have interests in common, you need to have both female and male mentors. Also, you need to mentor others–male and female. “I’ve always seen it as a huge success as a female when males want to work for you or want you to mentor them.” + Don’t be afraid to make lateral moves or take on assignments outside of your comfort zone.

“When you want to learn the business as a whole, often the only time to do that is moving laterally.” When working for another company, she was offered one job that also included human resources responsibilities. Although she was “terrified” because it wasn’t her area of expertise, it turned into one of the best experiences she had ever had. + Ask for what you want: aggressive vs. assertive.

“Ask for what you want without compromising other people’s feelings or intentions.” For example, if you’re interested in a job but not meeting all of its requirements, speak up. Emphasize your strengths but acknowledge that with coaching you can do other duties as well.

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Common Ground. Uncommon Vision.

Quarles & Bradyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bioscience Practice For over two decades, Quarles & Brady has represented biotechnology companies, universities, educational institutions, medical device companies and others in the life science industry. We provide a full range of counseling to our clients in this industryâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from the protection, commercialization and enforcement of intellectual property rights to public and private financings and providing support for mergers and acquisitions.

For more information, please contact Jessica Franken, Phoenix Intellectual Property Group Chair, at 602-230-5520 or jfranken@quarles.com

To receive our legal updates and alerts via e-mail, please visit www.quarles.com/mailinglist

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Feature

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Programs help Arizona girls target technology for their career paths

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It’s hard to fathom,

but Karina Lizette Aguayo wasn’t always interested in computers and technical matters. “I kind of got into technology because my mother made me take a computer course. I didn’t really want to take it,” says Aguayo, 23, a Chandler resident employed

by U-Haul as a technical writer.

In fact, the Yuma native who was raised by her single mother and grandmother says she felt “overlooked” by high school math and science instructors, that they seemed to give more attention to the boys. But one day her mom, a longtime elementary school teacher, went out and specifically bought an old computer for her daughter to pull apart, examine and put back together again. And to Aguayo’s surprise, it wasn’t that difficult. “You

just have to get over the initial fear of taking it apart or touching it,” she says. “It’s just like a puzzle; you’re just putting things together.”

Aguayo has since earned her associate’s degree from the Cisco Networking Academy at Mesa Community College and her bachelor’s degree in applied multimedia and technical writing from Arizona State University.

And she’s not done yet. She’s working on her network forensics examiner certificate and thinking about a career in law, perhaps specializing in cyber law or intellectual property.

While not every young woman is as fortunate to have such strong parental support as Aguayo did in getting an early start on a career in technology, there is a plethora of programs that encourage girls to enroll in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) courses and to seek associ-

ated careers. The Cisco Networking Academy at MCC, ASU, the Girl Scouts-Arizona Cactus Pine Council and the YWCA of Tucson are just some of the entities spearheading such efforts around the state.

Aguayo now speaks to high school students during outreach events sponsored by the networking academy at MCC, one of 53 such partnerships Cisco has in Arizona. She urges young women to stick with math and science classes and to learn as much about computers as they can. “You’re going to end up working with computers no matter what you do,” she says matter-of-factly, “whether you’re a nurse, a secretary or a police officer.”

The IT girls Girls may want to know one quick thing about the Cisco Networking Academy at

also Web design,” Samson says, explaining the Wii playing at the last event. “(Computer engineering is) not always ones and zeroes.”

Indeed, Girls in IT really helps shake off some stereotypes about those who work in the field of technology, says Bob Danielson, another residential faculty member in computer information systems and a former instructor of Aguayo’s as well. “Some think, ‘How boring. It’s just a bunch of geeks playing games,’” he says. “We’re not like that.”

Instead, the young women get to hear, for example, a detective talking about protecting children from Internet predators or preventing hackers from getting into a corporate database. And the idea of protecting people is appealing, Danielson says. In fact, that has been one of his goals, even as he’s gone about getting his master’s degree.

One of the projects he’s developed is a seminar in which he teaches parents about Internet safety and helps them secure their own computers at home. While it’s not just aimed solely at girls, the seminar is a community-wide outreach program that Danielson, on behalf of the Cisco academy, offers to any family.

Another MCC offering—one that is not sponsored by the Cisco academy but by the business department at the main campus—is the summer boot camp for male and female high school students. The next fee-based camp will be held during four days in July, Danielson says. Students may opt to learn one of three topics: multimedia and gaming development, building Lego robots or Internet safety and computer building.

ASU says YES Arizona State University is also doing its share to reach out to young women and get

them involved in STEM courses. The summertime, fee-based YES (Youth Engineering Summer) Program is open to middle- and high-school students, and although there are separate programs for males and females, the same material is covered, says Katrina Vance, coordinator of student engagement for the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering at ASU. The one-week commuter program for the younger students and the two-week residential program for the older ones “is a hands-on program that allows them to really learn all the different disciplines in engineering,” Vance says.

Katie Aguilar, associate director of K-12 outreach and new student recruitment for the Fulton School, says along with doing basic outreach programs all year long, the school also hosts the MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) Day statewide competition, the next one of which will be in March. The event is open to both male and female students in MESA clubs, which primarily serve low-income and minority middle and high school students.

The Fulton School, she notes, reaches out to “all underrepresented populations, including females.”

As for girl-centric programming, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at ASU can’t be beat. Kadie Gavan, this year’s president and a senior bioengineering student, says her group’s main event is Gear Day, which occurs in March and is open to Girl Scouts. SWE members work with the young visitors on various projects and the Scouts can earn badges for participation.

Gavan, whose father is a civil engineer, says a somewhat similar program she attended as a youngster was what triggered her interest in the field. She went to a Women

WINTER 2009

Designs by participants of the TECHgyrls “Build Your Dream House” Project.

Some participants have no previous experience in drawing or computer graphics.

- Bob Samson, Mesa Community College faculty member

TECHCONNECTmag.COM

MCC: There are not a lot of female students in the almost exclusively evening classes.

Aguayo says she often was the sole woman in her courses, and frequently the youngest student as well.

Bob Samson, a residential faculty member in computer information systems and one of Aguayo’s former instructors, estimates that 80 percent to 90 percent of the academy’s students at the downtown Mesa location are male and that most are older, returning students. But he points out that there is nothing holding women back from success in the academy or the industry. “Women do very well in it,” he says. “There’s nothing to prevent them from doing well in it besides the perception that they can’t.”

And that’s where Girls in IT (Information Technology) comes into play.

The daylong outreach event is heading into its fifth year and draws about 300 seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade students from targeted school districts throughout Arizona.

The day typically features hands-on computer repair stations, seminars on Internet safety, presentations from cyber forensics investigators and, of course, video gaming action. “We have a degree program in gaming design and

There’s nothing to prevent (women) from doing well in (technology) besides the perception that they can’t

Feature

in Science and Engineering (WISE) event at ASU and says “it was the first time I really knew I wanted to do (engineering).”

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Scouts Honor Technology

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The Girl Scouts also offer opportunities for learning about science, finances and engineering. Julie Thomas, teen program specialist with the Girl Scouts-Arizona Cactus Pine Council in Phoenix, says Camp Fair Play: Design and Discovery is the organization’s main engineering-related effort. With a curriculum written by Intel Corp., the two-week summer camp covers computer technology as well information about material, electrical and mechanical engineering.

There are a variety of courses and workshops all year long, Thomas says.

Science workshops for second- through fifth-graders are frequently offered and summer day camps this year included a science-themed unit for first- through thirdgraders and a “CSI”-style one for fourththrough sixth-graders.

Margaret Spicer, the council’s Girl Programs manager, says another program in partnership with the GE Corp. advises fourth- and fifth-grade girls on financial literacy. There’s also a science-based program, Girls for a Green Planet, in which the importance of recycling and conservation is taught.

This fall, Spicer says, the Scouts also will collaborate with Junior Achievement to present a new program on financial literacy for girls in sixth- through twelfth-grade. Topics will include starting and building your own business and finding a career.

Spicer says the organization is “looking into ways in which we can take Girl Scouting virtual.” More on that topic is yet to come, she adds.

TECHgyrls Take On Tucson Meanwhile, the YWCA of Tucson is turning out a whole new generation of computersavvy techies through its TECHgyrls pro-

gram. The national computer education program, which has existed for about nine years, is always in high demand, according to Reina Ravago. The YWCA’s director of girls programs says TECHgyrls is open to thirdthrough eighth-graders although, in the case of the girls at the Pima County Juvenile Court Detention Center, the age limit has been extended to 17.

TECHgyrls classes are usually held after school at seven sites, with the majority schools. By doing fun projects such as designing their dream house or writing about what they want to be when they grow up, the girls learn computer animation, coding, Internet use and safety, and some facets of science and engineering.

“They learn shortcuts,” Ravago adds, “and they learn how to use the Internet in a controlled environment.” Guest speakers and mentors are also brought in to talk to the youngsters so they can learn “why it’s so cool to be a woman working in a male-dominated field,” she says.

Jocelyn Leon, 12, has been a TECHgyrl for about three years. Her sister, Marlette, 9, got an extra-early start while in first grade.

The girls say they enjoy the projects, their mother Marisela Leon likes that they’re having fun while learning a great skill and Jocelyn likes that even her friends have taken notice of her computer expertise. “They go, ‘How do you know all this?’” she says.

That’s exactly the type of comment Ravago and those behind TECHgyrls love to hear.

And it’s the reason Ravago can’t wait to expand the programs so even more young women can take advantage of it. “They get ahead of the game,” she says proudly.

Members of the TECHgyrls program at the YWCA of Tucson work on a project.

Participants in the Summer 2007 YES middle school program design and create a secret buzzer alarm.

You’re going to end up working with computers no matter what you do - Karina Lizette Aguayo

+ Get Connected Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering at Arizona State University: www.fulton.asu.edu Girl Scouts-Arizona Cactus Pine Council: www.girlscoutsaz.org Cisco Networking Academy at Mesa Community College: www.bii.mc.maricopa.edu YWCA of Tucson: www.ywcatucson.org

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STEMAz Strategy New education center opens to create world-class education infrastructure in Arizona W riting By :: K athl een Perkins

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Gov. Janet Napolitano watches students at Carl T. Smith Middle School in Phoenix put their lessons to work at a Science Foundation Arizona science event.

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rizona has put itself in the top ranks of global science and technology development.

Now, it is focusing on the “brain power” education pipeline that will ensure its future prominence in these growth sectors.

Gov. Janet Napolitano took a giant step to enhance the state’s capacity and achievement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education when she announced the creation of the Arizona STEM Education Center (STEMAz) in July. To fulfill this mandate, Science Foundation Arizona, backed by private industry and community partner financial support, opened the center in October to expand and coordinate statewide efforts to create a world-class STEM education infrastructure.

“The new education center will help make certain that Arizona cultivates the skills

a

needed to thrive in today’s global marketplace,” Napolitano says. “Increasing science, technology, engineering and math education is critical to our students’ and state’s future.”

“All students will need a firm grasp of STEM fundamentals to meet the demands of an innovation economy,” says William C. Harris, Science Foundation Arizona president and CEO. “A first-rate, modern education— an education for the 21st century—must be grounded in science and mathematics to reinforce the logic and discipline required of so many professions in today’s marketplace.”

With funding from Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold and the Salt River PimaMaricopa Indian Community, STEMAz aims to increase quality educational opportunities and the number of high school and college students graduating with the skills that meet employer expectations in a globally competitive, knowledge-based economy.

Experienced Leadership Renfro brings a wealth of experience to her position. Previously, she served as a policy adviser for higher education, innovation and the economy and as the assistant deputy director for workforce development at the Arizona Department of Commerce. She also practiced law at the Arizona-based firm of Fennemore Craig.

Caroline VanIngen-Dunn will serve as deputy director. Previously, VanIngen-Dunn managed her own engineering and STEM education consulting business for 10 years.

She holds degrees in mechanical and biomedical engineering.

The mission of Science Foundation Arizona, a 501(c)(3) public/private partnership, is to help spur new innovation in Arizona and support a diversified, knowledgedriven research and education infrastructure.

To date it has awarded $33.6 million for 59 innovation investments in communications technology, sustainable systems including renewable energies and biomedicine.

In just one year, these investments have demonstrated clear strategic advantages to Arizona by attracting an additional $43.8 million in outside research dollars, seeding the development of eight new companies, and fostering science, engineering and math skills in more than 10,800 students statewide.

“With STEMAz, Science Foundation Arizona builds on the state’s ability to diversify the economic base and increase the potential for growing the technology sector,” says Don Budinger, the foundation’s board chairman.

“STEMAz helps fulfill this objective and it is the right and necessary thing to do for Arizona and for our children.”

Kathleen Perkins has held various executive positions in the private sector and has worked for 16 years to promote the growth of the high-technology sector in Arizona. + Get Connected Science Foundation Arizona: www.sfaz.org

Students are the researchers in a Science Foundation Arizona-sponsored program.

From left: Executive Director Darcy Renfro and Deputy Director Caroline VanIngen-Dunn of STEMAz.

For the first time in Arizona, there is a single, statewide focus on systemically improving STEM education - Darcy Renfro, executive director of STEMAz

WINTER 2009

Statewide Focus A hallmark of the new center led by Executive Director Darcy Renfro will be a unified approach. “STEMAz is a neutral facilitator of STEM education activities in Arizona,” Renfro says. “For the first time in Arizona, there is a single, statewide focus on systemically improving STEM education.”

The center’s primary objectives are to: • Increase and improve teacher recruitment and retention, preparation and professional development.

• Catalyze systemic policies and actions to enhance the quality and availability of teaching and learning.

• Galvanize broad public understanding of the importance of STEM education to individual and statewide success.

STEMAz leaders are working to achieve their objectives through key initiatives. One initiative is building an engineering pathway for students from high school through college that will increase retention and graduation rates so students are ready for engineeringrelated professions.

“More importantly, engineering is ideal for focusing students on relevant applications of the math and science skills they are learning in school,” says Renfro. “Students can obtain hands-on experience in real problem solving that they begin to apply in their everyday lives. This can have a significant effect on their interest in STEM and their willingness to stick with it.”

The center’s model will additionally support the needs of business and finance as the same rigorous math/science pathway will incorporate similar critical-thinking and problem-solving skills for students to successfully pursue degrees such as business and finance.

STEMAz also is addressing the need to build quality teacher capacity. It is working with a broad coalition of education leaders to plan a statewide teacher pipeline that helps Arizona meet the demand for competent math and science teachers.

TECHCONNECTmag.COM

To accomplish this, STEMAz is working with stakeholders throughout the state to enhance capacity, leverage resources and develop a single-focused strategy on education. Its advisory council members include representatives from Arizona’s three public universities, teachers and administrators from community college and K-12 education, business leaders throughout the state, elected and appointed officials from the governor’s office and state Board of Education, and key philanthropic organizations.

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Rendering of deep mining

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peaking to her students at The University of Arizona, Mary Poulton has just one word to offer budding engineering majors—and to this generation of green-tech advocates: mining.

That’s right, mining. The industry sometimes associated with picks and shovels has gone hightech with an eye on sustainability.

Led by a new Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz) collaboration that unites the research muscle of The University of Arizona’s Department of Mining and Geological Engineering and 15 industry partners, the new Institute for Mineral Resources (IMR) is poised to become a global leader in all aspects of mineral resource development. It is focused on internationally competitive R&D innovations in mining technologies related to exploration, production, process efficiency, safety and health, and builds upon the important work that has already been done by mining companies and academia.

“People sometimes look at mining as lowtech,” says Poulton, lead UofA researcher heading IMR, “and they also see it, at times, at odds with the community. But mining is a very technology-intensive industry today.

With this initiative, we are employing new 21st century methods—from trying to minimize fresh water usage and improving the energy efficiency of materials production to underground robotic mining that leaves a smaller environmental footprint.”

Poulton sees IMR and its related test site at the San Xavier Mining Laboratory south of Tucson becoming the world-renowned “go to” sustainable mining research hub for exploration science, high-tech innovation, health and safety

s

ScienceFoundation ::

Digging In New Science Foundation Arizona collaboration creates a global Institute for Mineral Resources that reinvents mining W riting By :: T erry Koch

methodologies and processes, and education.

Fascinated by rocks and minerals since age 4, Poulton points out that mining is also critical to other high-tech manufacturing. Everyday electronics such as cell phones would not be as light and small without the tantalum capacitors produced from the mineral tantalite. Flatpanel LCD TVs would also not be able to emit light without the mineral indium. Even hybrid cars, solar panels and wind turbines ultimately require resources that come from the earth.

Nonetheless, Poulton has become used to the puzzled looks that sometimes follow her mining career advice to college students.

Workers trained in new engineering methods and technologies are the skilled employees needed as demand for minerals continues to grow. Part of the education component of the initiative addresses this need in a “Two Plus Two” mining engineering education pathway with community colleges.

Partnership Can Pay Off “Mining today is an over $7 billion Arizona industry and in rural communities a major source of economic development requiring new methods, new technologies and new skills,” adds William C. Harris, president and CEO of SFAz. “This partnership has the potential

to transform mining and create a significant competitive advantage for our state, but workers today have to be proficient in a whole new set of competencies.”

SFAz, a nonprofit, private/public partnership established in 2006, supports communications technology, sustainable systems including renewable energies, and biomedical infrastructure development to capitalize on the state’s growing research base by helping spur business opportunities, attract investment, and create new technology sector growth. With a SFAz grant of $ 8.7 million, the additional support of $8.8 million from 15 industry partners, and the participation of all three universities, the investment will help Arizona retain and expand its dominance as the nation’s No. 1 producer of non-fuel minerals.

The combination of Arizona faculty in mining engineering and economic geology provides the largest number of instructors devoted to mineral resources in the United States. Despite this impressive statistic, Harris points out a challenge remains. “Recently, we’ve seen a decline in the number of students pursuing study in engineering, hydrology, geology and other skilled trades, such as electricians, technicians, and even diesel mechanics,” he says.

A New Generation Resolution Copper is already offering college scholarships to secondary school students in what’s called the Copper Triangle area— Superior, Globe and Miami—to ensure its Superior mine will have a workforce when it finally goes into scheduled production in 2020. “We’re really committed to developing the future workforce that will support our operation,” Russo says. “And secondary school is the right time to develop the roadmap for your educational program.”

It helps that mining engineering has suddenly become a well-paying field. A recent story on National Public Radio stated that, due to the scarcity of a workforce to handle the increased worldwide demand for the commodities produced by mined materials, salaries for mining and geology college graduates are now approaching those of Harvard MBAs. “I had students who graduated in May with bachelor of science degrees who got packages that were over $100,000 a year, to start,” says Poulton. “The more typical range is probably $60,000 to $80,000. But that’s a lot of money to a student coming out of school with a bachelor’s degree.

“It is important to note that the commodities prices are dependent upon demand and very sensitive to changes in global economies. While there is currently a downturn in the copper market that could affect the need for workers, the state must plan for the long term and welltrained students in technology-related fields are key to a great many industries,” she adds.

“Stewardship of our resources is going to be increasingly important, not only for us but also for everyone on the planet,” Poulton says. “We’ve got so many people and so many generations who will be demanding these resources. We are using technology to make this work for everybody.”

No doubt Science Foundation Arizona and its partners have dug into this mission with gusto.

Terry Koch combines a 20-year career in international communications, strategic business development and nonprofit executive management and lends her expertise to organizations wishing to maximize their social return on investment through innovative business solutions. + Get Connected Science Foundation Arizona: www.sfaz.org

Mary Poulton, lead UofA researcher heading the Institute for Mineral Resources, checks the San Xavier Mining Laboratory south of Tucson.

We are using technology to make this work for everybody.

- Mary Poulton, lead UofA researcher heading Institute for Mineral Resources

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Environmentally Friendly For some partners such as the Resolution Copper Mining, the SFAz initiative focused on sustainable mining technologies allows the company to do business without a negative environmental impact.

“We are in a position to have a net positive impact on biodiversity and show how our operation will do good for the environment, ultimately, over the life of the mine,” says Resolution Copper spokesperson Jennifer Russo. “It’s really about being committed to doing the right thing for the environment.”

“This partnership represents an outstanding opportunity to bring together industry, technical and academic experts to ‘dig in’ to untapped ideas and innovations in improved technologies,” says John Marsden, president of lead sponsor Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, whose newly opened mine at Safford represents the first new copper mine permitted in Arizona in more than 30 years. “All of these things have tremendous potential to have lasting benefits for our company, the environment and the economy.”

SFAz is pleased about what this means for Arizona. “The venture in sustainable mining is very significant to Arizona, and I am very proud of the industry-university partnership that SFAz has catalyzed,” says Rick Myers, a SFAz board member. “This has the potential to transform mining and create a significant competitive advantage for our state. The efforts will ultimately impact all counties in Arizona but initially has an impact in Maricopa, Pima, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Pinal, Cochise, Yavapai, Coconino, and Navajo counties. But, the education component in these communities will remain key.”

Freeport-McMoRan is also a leading supporter of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education throughout the state, including the new STEMAz Center recently opened by SFAz. The company also backs numerous education partnerships at the

K-12 level that stimulate interest and quality in STEM disciplines.

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With the “Two Plus Two” education pathway as part of this initiative, IMR will work with local community colleges to attract and vet good students who can then complete a degree in mining engineering at an Arizona state university—two years at each institution.

“They are the brain pipeline we have to build, not only for mining, but for the technologybased, global world in which we compete and live,” Harris says.

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Researchers’ work makes a difference

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W riting by :: Bruce A. W right

t The University of Arizona, from anthropology to zoology—and in every discipline in between— women in science and technology are successfully tackling some of our world’s most challenging issues.

Their interests, their backgrounds and their achievements are as diverse as the university itself. But what they have in common is a passion for discovery and a commitment to work that will enable people to live healthier, safer and more productive lives.

In this issue, we spotlight just a few of the many scientists and researchers who are making an impact in the laboratory and the classroom.

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Saving With Energy Jennifer Barton, associate professor and director of Arizona Research Laboratories’ division of biomedical engineering, hopes her work will one day make it possible to detect cancer earlier, speed the development of more effective drugs and spare high-risk patients from unnecessary invasive procedures.

Through optical coherence tomography (OCT)—an optical analog of ultrasound— Barton uses reflected energy to create cross-sectional images of tissue. Utilizing

near-infrared light, OCT images the first millimeter of tissue lining in body cavities, which is where most cancers and much vascular disease originates. Barton’s lab is developing miniature endoscopes to facilitate minimally invasive access to these body cavities, particularly the colon and ovary.

This emerging technology has many applications, but one that Barton is particularly enthusiastic about is its potential to dramatically improve outcomes for women at high risk for ovarian cancer.

Because ovarian cancer is deadly and hard to detect, women who are at high risk often undergo prophylactic ovary removal—a difficult decision, particularly for women of childbearing age. With her colleagues, Barton is developing optical imaging techniques that will allow a physician to determine whether an ovary is healthy. The result: High-risk women may one day be able to opt for regular screenings, rather than prophylactic removal of their healthy ovaries.

From left: Sudha Ram, Hong Hua and Jennifer Barton

A New Reality What if your surgeon could use a high-tech headset to see a three-dimensional, digital rendering of the structures of your abdomen superimposed on your physical body as he or she prepares to operate? What if you could walk down the street in a new city with special glasses and see digital displays explaining the history of the buildings and monuments you pass?

It sounds like science fiction, but in Hong Hua’s laboratory, this technology is becoming a reality. Hua is an assistant professor of optical sciences and an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at The University of Arizona.

Her work focuses on mixed- and augmentedreality technologies that supplement, rather than replace, the physical environment.

In the university’s 3D Visualization and Imaging System Laboratory, Hua and her team work on development of twoand three-dimensional (2D/3D) display

More Than Ones and Zeroes Data is a company’s most important asset, Sudha Ram believes. But the decisions a manager can make are only as sound as the quality of the data he or she relies on.

Ram is the McClelland Professor of MIS at The University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management. She is also a faculty member of BIO5 and director of the Advanced Database Research Group. Her work focuses on enterprise data management for forprofit and non-profit companies as well as governmental organizations.

Ram’s interest in enterprise data management grew out of her experience in working with diverse companies to help them solve their real-world problems.

Frequently, she found, a common theme among managers was: Can I trust this data?

How do I know what it really means? Ram’s work helps managers make better decisions by connecting the islands of information that exist in most companies—information that is often “siloed” in different databases that don’t communicate with each other.

She also helps companies track the background—or provenance—of their data. Like a collector must know the origins of a painting before buying it, she believes, a manager must know the origin of his or her data before basing important decisions upon it. This tracking has become increasingly important as the Internet has flourished and facilitated the sharing of data—both authentic and flawed—worldwide. Through her work, Ram hopes that managers will be more effective leaders by basing their decisions on data they can trust.

Bruce A. Wright is associate vice president for economic development at The University of Arizona in Tucson.

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Digging Deeper Mary Poulton loves the challenge of understanding what our planet has provided and how we should use it. That passion has led her to become a professor and department head of UofA’s department of mining and geological engineering.

Poulton’s research focuses on artificial neural network pattern recognition.

Using software that functions in a manner that is similar to the way that neurons in the brain look for patterns, she analyzes complex geo-related data sets. By studying subtle patterns in geology and geophysical signatures, she is better able to understand

what is in the ground.

While this technology has many applications, Poulton is especially interested in its potential to help with the effective management of groundwater resources.

Her start-up company, NOAH LLC, uses patented technology to optimize the management of well fields for particular objectives. By using artificial neural networks to learn how a complex groundwater system responds to pumping, for example, she is able to develop software to create a pumping schedule that balances competing needs for water usage, protection of the ecosystem, and managing cost.

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systems, 3D visualization systems and user interface methods, and image acquisition systems. Her work has important applications in medicine, scientific visualization, and education.

Through her work, Hua hopes to help bridge the divide between the digital and physical worlds. Mixed- and augmentedreality technologies, she believes, will help people interact with digital information in a way that enhances perception, improves convenience, and augments appreciation of the physical world.

Microscopic ‘astronauts’ yield clues for health Biodesign Institute turns space shuttle into lab for its germ studies W riting by :: Joseph Casper meyer

hen space shuttle Endeavor blasted off in March to make a blazing torch against the backdrop of night, some tiny “astronauts” piggybacked onboard an experimental payload from Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute.

The experiment called “Microbial Drug Resistance Virulence” was part of the STS-123 space shuttle Endeavor mission.

It continues the research studies of Cheryl Nickerson, project leader and scientist in the institute’s Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology. Nickerson has been at the forefront on studying the risks of germs associated with spaceflight to the health and well being of the crew.

“Wherever people go, germs will follow,” says Nickerson, who is also an associate professor at ASU’s School of Life Sciences.

In 2007, she completed a multi-institutional study that showed for the first time microbes could be affected by spaceflight, making them more infectious pathogens. The results were from a payload flown onboard space shuttle Atlantis in 2006.

Spaceflight not only altered bacterial gene expression but also increased the ability of these organisms to cause disease, or virulence, and did so in novel ways. Compared to identical bacteria that remained on earth, the space-traveling Salmonella, a leading cause of food-borne illness, had changed

Effects In Space In the new experimental wrinkle, the team tested a hypothesis that may lead to decreasing or preventing the risk for infectious diseases to astronauts. The experiment results, to be published soon, will determine whether the modulation of different ion (mineral) concentrations may be used as a novel way to counteract or block the spaceflight-associated increase in the diseasecausing potential that was seen in Salmonella.

Salmonella was chosen because they are well-studied organisms that have been or have the potential to be isolated from the space shuttle, Mir space station, International Space Station or its crew, or have been shown to exhibit altered virulence

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expression of 167 genes. In addition, bacteria flown in space were almost three times as likely to cause disease when compared with control bacteria grown on the ground.

The spring flight gave research team an extraordinarily rare opportunity to fly a repeat experiment of their NASA payload to confirm their earlier results. “We are very fortunate to get a follow-up flight opportunity because in spaceflight you only get one shot for everything to go just right,” says Nickerson. “We saw unique bacterial responses in flight and these responses are giving us new information about how Salmonella causes disease.”

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Cheryl Nickerson, project leader in the Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology

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in response to spaceflight. The microbes are important human pathogens that cause a significant amount of human morbidity and mortality on Earth as well.

“We now have a wide variety of supportive evidence that the unique low fluid shear culture environment the bacteria encounter in space is relevant to what pathogens encounter in our body, including during Salmonella infection in the gut, and there may be a common regulatory theme governing the microbial responses,” says Nickerson. “But to prove that, we needed to fly these common bugs together with the same hardware on the same flight so that everyone is tested under the same conditions.”

The investigators believe information gained from these studies supported

by NASA grants will prove beneficial in assessing microbiological risks and options for reducing those risks during crew missions. When taken together, these studies will ultimately provide significant insight into the molecular basis of microbial virulence. Once specific molecular targets are identified, there is the potential for vaccine development and other novel strategies for prevention and treatment of disease caused by these microbes both on the ground and during spaceflight.

“We are learning new things about how Salmonella is causing disease,” says Nickerson. “There is compelling evidence that the unique environment of spaceflight provides important insight into a variety of fundamental human health issues with tremendous potential for the commercial development of novel enabling technologies to enhance human health here on Earth,” says Nickerson.

The health effects of uranium really haven’t been studied since the Manhattan Project - Diane Stearns, NAU researcher { Update::NAU }

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New Type of Muscle Model Nishikawa is researching a toad’s lightningfast tongue snare of an insect to understand diseases such as Parkinson’s.

The discovery challenges existing theories that rather than acting like a motor, muscles behave more like a spring. This fresh perspective could lead to designing more efficient electric motors, better prostheses and new medical treatments for neuromuscular diseases. “Existing theories don’t explain how muscles shorten rapidly,” Nishikawa says. “Muscles can only shorten to

W riting by :: Diane Rechel

do work; they can’t do work by lengthening.”

A spring also can only do work by shortening. By example, Nishikawa explains the jaw muscles in toads and chameleons shorten in the lower jaw, and the opening of the jaws causes the tongue to stretch by its own momentum.

“When a toad or chameleon captures prey with its tongue, it exerts force over a distance. Figuring out how they do it has immense application to any device that actually moves,” Nishikawa notes. “A toad’s jaw muscles can produce forces greater than 700 times the animal’s weight. The best electric motor achieves about one-third of that force-to-weight ratio.”

Slaying the `Yellow Monster’ Like a heroine in a tale, Stearns is fighting what the Navajo Nation calls Leetso, or yellow monster. Nicknamed for the sunflower color dust left in uranium’s wake, the yellow monster is the depleted uranium that lurks

Diane Stearns (top) works with student researcher Hertha Woody.

among land that was mined in the four corners area for decades.

The uranium becomes a heavy metal when most of the highly radioactive isotopes of uranium are removed. Concerns about environmental contamination and illness such as lung cancer have sprung in its aftermath. “The health effects of uranium really haven’t been studied since the Manhattan Project,” says Stearns, referring to the development of the atomic bomb in the early 1940s. “But now there is more interest in the health effects of depleted uranium. People are asking questions.”

Stearns and her team are the first to show that when cells are exposed to uranium, the uranium binds to DNA and the cells acquire mutations. Some of these cells can grow to become cancer.

This heavy metal form of uranium also is found among war-torn countries and the military, which uses depleted uranium for anti-tank weapons, tank armor and ammunition rounds. “Essentially, if you get a heavy metal stuck on DNA, you can get a mutation,” Stearns explains. Other heavy metals are known to bind to DNA, but Stearns and her colleagues are the first to identify this trait with uranium.

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wo researchers at Northern Arizona University are counting on nature to show them the way to fight diseases.

Kiisa Nishikawa is taking her cues from a toad, and Diane Stearns is learning from a “yellow monster.”

Nishikawa is investigating how the muscles in a toad’s tongue might be the key to understanding and treating neuromuscular diseases. Stearns is toiling the soil on the Navajo Nation to unearth a connection between depleted uranium, known as a “yellow monster,” and increased cancers and birth defects.

Toad, ‘yellow monster’ may help unlock some secrets to fighting disease

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Kiisa Nishikawa with a cane toad from Suriname

Researchers Turn to Nature For Answers

Capitol Watch

Writing By :: Gov. Janet Napolitano

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Focused on the Future

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he Mountain West is the fastestgrowing, most dynamic region of the United States, a unique region with abundant opportunity and an emerging place as a new American heartland.

With change afoot across our country, now is a perfect time to talk about what changes our region needs to thrive into the future.

Our tremendous long-term growth means we need to build sustainable communities and create infrastructure that keeps up with us. We have a young, growing population that we must educate, and we need a functioning national immigration policy to address our labor needs.

We also need to seize on our increasing strength as a hub of innovation to create a diverse, versatile economy.

These are unique challenges; Arizona has been innovative in addressing them.

We’ve created a Growth Cabinet, inspiring unprecedented collaboration among government agencies to promote sustainability as a key to growth in Arizona.

We’ve built up high-tech entrepreneurship with Science Foundation Arizona and created a biotechnology hub in downtown Phoenix.

With the Arizona Indicators Project, the Morrison Institute has recognized the unique challenges of our state and given policymakers useful, Arizona-particular data to inform policy decisions.

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We need good infrastructure: adequate roads and highways, but also rail lines, critical water infrastructure and border-security projects.

We need a stronger partnership on education and job training to prepare our young population for the future.

We need Washington to fix our broken immigration system so we can start to address our region’s labor needs.

We need a federal government committed to funding high-tech research as a knowledge infrastructure that will be the cornerstone of Arizona’s future prosperity.

We also need Washington to move forward on solutions to the national foreclosure crisis that has hit our region particularly hard.

Now is a great moment to focus anew on these needs. With the tide changing in Washington, I believe we now have a president ready to move forward on these needs and help the Mountain West reach its potential.

Partnership A Must But even as self-reliant as Arizonans are, we’re going to need strong partnership with the federal government if we’re to maximize our potential as a region.

+ Get Connected Office of the Governor: www.azgovernor.gov

Now is a great moment to focus anew on these needs

Capitol Watch R&D Tax Credit: Did you know?

Arizona Technology Council shapes public policy in the Legislature writing by :: Phillip Blackerby

he Arizona Technology Council succeeded in enhancing the research and development (R&D) tax credit law during the 2008 legislative session. This year was the Council’s fourth attempt to change the law to make Arizona more competitive with other states. This time it succeeded, thanks to the perseverance of bill sponsor Rep. Michele Reagan (R-Scottsdale).

For years, Arizona’s tax code has paralleled the federal tax code, providing tax credits for new R&D investments of 20 percent for the first $2.5 million and 11 percent for investments more than $2.5 million. The new law raises the state tax credits to 24 percent and 15 percent, respectively, by 2010.

The effort was made more difficult because the state faced revenue shortfalls of $1 billion in fiscal year 2008 and $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2009, which ends June 30. Some legislators were reluctant to vote for the bill with the budget so tight. The Council agreed to phase-in the implementation over two years to meet those objections.

Also during the session, the Council: • Hosted legislators to a Capitol lawn barbecue lunch in March, which turned out to be the same day the House of Representatives debated the R&D tax credit bill. All week false rumors had been circulating that the bill would somehow harm Science Foundation Arizona’s (SFAz) research grant program. At the luncheon Council members assured legislators that William C. Harris, president and CEO of SFAz, fully supported the bill, and the House passed the bill that afternoon.

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• Successfully defended key gains made in previous legislative sessions. The Legislature appropriated $22 million for the 21st Century Competitive Initiative Fund managed by SFAz—a bit less than the $25 million sought but a major success in a tight economy. The Legislature swept excess balances from the Arizona Job Training Fund, but sustained the program. Budgeters also preserved appropriations to spur exports through the Arizona Global Network and continued the angel investment tax credits. As a result, the state will be poised for a significant technologybased growth spurt after the recession passes.

• Endorsed 76 candidates for seats in the Legislature in the 2008 general election, and more than three-fourths of them won their races. In the Senate races, 12 of the endorsed Republicans and all six endorsed Democrats won seats. In the House, 24 endorsed Republicans and 16 endorsed Democrats won. After the election, party caucuses in the Legislature selected leaders for the 2009 session. The Council had endorsed all six House leaders, including new Speaker Kirk Adams (R-Mesa). In the Senate, the Council had endorsed three of the six leaders, including new Senate President Bob Burns (R-Peoria).

• At the 2008 Governor’s Celebration of Innovation honored Rep. Michele Reagan as Representative of the Year and Sen. Barbara Leff (R-Paradise Valley) as Senator of the Year. The awards program also recognized Arizona’s “Tech 10” legislators for their work supporting technology in the state. They were Sens. Tom O’Halleran (R-Prescott), Richard Miranda (D-Phoenix) and Tim Bee (R-Tucson) as well as Reps. Lucy Mason (R-Prescott), Bill Konopnicki (R-Safford), Chad Campbell (D-Phoenix), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Phoenix), Kirk Adams (R-Mesa), John McComish (R-Ahwatukee) and Jonathan Paton (R-Tucson).

Phillip Blackerby is vice-chair of the Arizona Technology Council’s Public Policy Committee and principal with Blackerby Associates, helping non-manufacturing companies improve productivity using techniques from manufacturers.

Contact him at (602) 908-1082, or phillip@BlackerbyAssoc.com.

A History of

Legislative Accomplishments Here are some key bills the Arizona Technology Council has supported over the years to help make Arizona a top-tier technology state.

2008: Enhanced research and development tax credits (see story) + $22 million for Science Foundation Arizona research grants (21st Century Competitive Initiative Fund) + Protected the Arizona Job Training program, Arizona Global Network and angel investment tax credits from budget cuts 2007: Committed $100 million over 4 years and appropriated $25 million for Science Foundation Arizona research grants + Streamlined and reauthorized Arizona Job Training grant program + $1 million to continue e-learning technology grants to schools + $2.5 million to attract and retain math and science teachers + $700,000 to increase international trade (Arizona Global Network) 2006: $35 million for Science Foundation Arizona research grants + Reauthorized state Enterprise Zone program + Reauthorized Arizona Government Information Technology Agency + Set standards for e-learning; created Digital Curriculum Institute 2005: $20 million for angel investor tax credits (Small Business Opportunity Program) + Restructured taxes paid by multistate corporations + Reduced business property tax rates in phases 2004: Reauthorized Arizona Department of Commerce

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All In Favor

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Legislative Update

+ Many companies believe they do not qualify for R&D tax credits because they don’t do “research.” But many activities qualify as “development” that are not associated with research. Check with a tax expert. + You must have tax liabilities in order to exercise the R&D tax credits. But you can carry forward unused R&D tax credits for 15 years. + Unused R&D tax credits are an asset on your balance sheet, increasing the value of your company if you decide later to sell your company. + For “subchapter S” corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs), the R&D tax credits pass through to the shareholders’ or members’ personal tax returns. + The federal R&D tax credit law was just reauthorized in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (the $700 billion bailout) that Congress passed and the President signed in October.

Sponsors: We Proudly Present

Arizona Technology Councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sponsors Thanks to them, we can serve our members better.

VisionarySponsors ::

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PlatinumSponsors ::

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SW!TCH studio For more information about sponsorship, call the Arizona Technology Council at 602.343.8324.

: Members

The Central Arizona Regional Economic Development Foundation is a nonprofit corporation designed to actively promote and preserve the economic strength of the central Arizona region For six decades, AGM Container Controls, Inc. has through actions focused on business recruitment, led in the design and fabrication of products that expansion and retention, and international business control and monitor moisture (desiccators and development and alliances. CAREDF is the largest humidity indicators), pressure and vacuum changes economic development organization in Arizona (breather valves) and shock and vibration (tie downs that provides industrial land and/or facilities with and shock overload indicators). These products are incentive lease rates. www.caredf.org used for a variety of applications in defense and aerospace, electronic, electro-optical, industrial and CEO Support Systems, Inc.’s unique portfolio commercial markets to protect and extend the life of of resources is designed specifically for CEOs, presidents and owners of small- and medium-sized critical equipment. www.agmcontainer.com businesses who are committed to growing their Tucson-based Applied Energetics specializes companies and themselves. Under the umbrella in development and manufacture of advanced of Visor™ (Visible Organization), the company high-performance lasers, high-voltage electronics, successfully delivers a powerful, yet simple advanced optical systems, and integrated guided and affordable way to help build value. www. energy systems for defense, aerospace, industrial, ceosupport.com and scientific customers worldwide. It pioneered the Chromis Technology is a full-service development of Laser Guided Energy ® technology telecommunications provider, consultant and and related solutions for defense and security contractor. Its portfolio includes telephone applications. www.appliedenergetics com systems, circuit inventories, project management, Avaya is the global leader in enterprise low voltage, and VoIP solutions. With strong communications systems and technology. The relationships with vendors such as Digium/Asterisk, company provides unified communications, contact Switchvox, Polycom, Jabra, and Qwest, it is able to center and related services to more than a million provide any type of system or service for companies. businesses around the world in every industry, CIBER is a leading international system-integration including many of the leading financial services, consultancy with superior value-priced services healthcare, retail and government organizations. for private and government sector clients. CIBER’s Avaya provides communications systems that services are offered on a project or strategic staffing improve efficiency, collaboration, customer service basis, in both custom and enterprise resource and competitiveness. www.avaya.com planning package environments, and across all Bank of America is one of the world’s largest technology platforms, operating systems and financial institutions, serving individual consumers, infrastructures. www.ciber.com small- and middle market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, Clifton Gunderson, ranked one of the nation’s largest certified public accounting and consulting asset management and other financial and riskfirms, provides a wide range of assurance, management products and services. The company accounting, tax and consulting services to clients serves more than 59 million consumer and small in a variety of industries. Founded in 1960, business relationships. www.bankofamerica.com Clifton Gunderson has a staff of more than 2,000 Brush Ceramic Products produces highprofessionals serving clients from 45 offices across performance engineered materials for the global the country. www.cliftoncpa.com electronics market. Its Tucson operation produces

CoreLink Data Centers offer state-of-the-art facilities and services for the colocation and management of mission-critical business applications. Its data centers in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Seattle are strategically located to provide secure, expert-run solutions to midsize enterprises.

Attention to detail, strict process culture and worldclass customer service enable it to offer maximum reliability, security and stability to customers. www. corelink.com Creative Enterprise Solutions provides training and consulting services to organizations in government, military, and private sectors that are looking for measurable improvements in IT and project management. Its capabilities include ITIL® certification training, project management training, enterprise project management implementations and program/project management consulting. www. creativeenterprisesolutions.com DakotaPro.biz is a Tucson-based and regionally focused Internet Solutions Provider by offering connectivity, security and IP enabling technologies.

It has been delivering comprehensive services for architecting, designing, integrating, and implementing IP solutions since 1995. DakotaPro’s data center hosts many mission-critical systems, including various business, medical, financial and governmental applications. www.DakotaPro.biz Dataforth is the world leader in data acquisition, signal conditioning and data communication products for industrial applications. Its electronic data acquisition, signal conditioning and data communication products provide rugged signal and data integrity and wide spectrum accuracy worldwide. www.dataforth.com Dataskill is a leading software development, data integration, and virtual IT firm. Its technical and business consultants help clients design and deploy custom software solutions; unlock the value of data by improving its quality, availability, and management; and accelerate the completion of priority projects with virtual IT solutions. www. dataskill.com DHR International has been a leading, privately held provider of executive search solutions with more than 50 wholly-owned offices spanning the globe. Its consultants specialize provide unparalleled seniorlevel executive search, management assessment and succession planning services tailored to the unique qualities and specifications of its select client base. www.dhrinternational.com

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materials for computer and telecommunications equipment, automotive electronics, aerospace and defense, oil and gas, and industrial product applications. BCP has an extensive manufacturing process that begins with a detailed recipe for formulation and progresses through many types of forming, machining, firing and metalizing operations. www.brushceramics.com

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The Advanced Ceramics Manufacturing facility manufactures ceramics components for military and industrial applications. Founded in 2001, ACM produces a broad range of ceramic preforms and blanks that are used in wear-resistant, cutting and metal-forming operations. The 15,000-square-foot factory in Tucson fabricates complex geometries using patented green processing technology. ACM is a joint venture between Advanced Ceramics Research and San Xavier Development Authority. www.acmtucson.com

MEMBERS: DPR Construction, Inc., is a unique technical builder with a passion for results. A forwardthinking commercial building contractor and construction manager, DPR specializes in advanced technology, healthcare, life sciences, corporate office and sustainable projects. The employee-owned company has grown to 2,500 employees since its founding in 1990. www.dprinc.com

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EOS Technologies, Inc. provides complete optical systems for scientific and defense applications.

It provides scientific customers with precision observatories, telescopes, and system components that support new scientific capabilities and open the path to new discoveries. EOS Technologies’ defense customers rely on the exquisite and rapid sensors abilities that support a spectrum of operations on land, air and sea. www.eostech.com

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government security clearance. The company is a skilled partner to bring people and technology together. www.linkstechnology.com Little Birdy Told Me provides a revolutionary patented technology that sets the standard for intelligent shopping. It combines consumer bar-code scanning technology with a unique personal Web site catalog that allows consumers to efficiently organize personal preferences, create a year-round gift registry, seamlessly notify people about gift wishes and receive retailer sale notifications.

mLogica is a technology and product-consulting company headquartered in Orange County, California, with development centers and international offices in California, India, Scotland and Malaysia. Its clients include major organizations in the financial services, entertainment, technology, By connecting people, capital assets, and education, health care, telecommunications, technologies, the Greater Phoenix Innovation & manufacturing, and transportation and logistics Technology Accelerators support the biomedical, industries. www.mlogica.com alternative fuels and other industries that require Paragon Space Development Corp. is a womanwet-lab space and assistance. It has developed owned small business and full-service aerospace relationships with emerging biomedical, engineering and technology development firm. It solar energy, and alternative fuel companies; is a major supplier of Environmental Control and promising start-ups; entrepreneurs; venture Life Support System and subsystem design for the capitalists; and universities, and community aerospace industry. The company is also an expert colleges. www.gpita.org in thermal control both for spacecraft on orbit and G.W. Grimm Associates works side-by-side with during re-entry, and for hyper-velocity aircraft. www. clients to achieve their growth and profitability paragonsdc.com objectives by providing customized professional Pima County ONESTOP is a system of organizations services that include growth strategy and that provide career development services for implementation development, new business and youth and adults plus support to employers in new product development, corporate restructuring and facilitation, market research and analysis, and recruiting, staffing and training a viable workforce.

The ONESTOP conducts special outreach to lowinterim technical and marketing management. income, dislocated worker and high-school dropout www.gwgrimm.com populations. Services are coordinated centrally KITR, a division of Kelly Services, collaborates through a network of more than 50 organizations. with our customers to optimize their business www.pima.gov and information technology assets. As one of Professional Employment Group is defined by the the leading IT staffing providers in the state, it quality of its service. It is driven to fill customer provides contract, contract-perm and permanent requirements with the right fit the first time— individuals. Its consultants are highly qualified with strong proven technical experience to complete guaranteed. The company has helped thousands their tasks with excellence and with cost efficiency. of job seekers find career opportunities that are both intellectually and financially rewarding. It www.kellyit.com serves the commercial, engineering, information Links Technology Solutions provides IT staffing technology, and accounting and finance verticals. and consulting services to large and mediumwww.pegstaff.com sized companies. It employs highly trained experts SEBRA is a world leader in producing precision in almost every IT discipline, including project instruments for blood banks, catheter management, systems/business analysis, manufacturers, biotechnology companies and development, quality assurance and systems medical device manufacturers. These instruments administration. Some personnel even have

improve product quality, process reliability, and production output. SEBRA has earned this strong position by providing customers with innovative, dependable products and the highest level of technical and customer service. www.sebra.com Simpleview, Inc. designs and implements scalable, Web-based enterprise solutions that simplify data management, marketing and sales operations for a diverse range of businesses, industries and associations. By seamlessly integrating content management solutions, customer relationship management and interactive marketing services into a modular software suite, Simpleview enables customers to centralize data, streamline processes and optimize organizational efficiencies. www. simpleviewinc.com As a customer-focused company, South Seas Solutions, Inc. matches IT needs with its knowledge and experience. Its Level One support begins with the planning stage and continues through project completion and ongoing maintenance. It works closely with the vendors to coordinate and verify the compatibility and integration of the complete solutions recommended. www.southseascorp.com Succeed Corp. is the premier global provider of e-commerce, product sourcing and online marketing platforms that small businesses and entrepreneurs use to set up and run online retail operations.

Comprehensive offerings includes e-commerce Web sites and hosting, online marketing and eBay integrated tools as well as product sourcing solutions that provide online access to hundreds of thousands of products. www.succeed.com and www. ibuilder.com The Sunnyside Unified School District Career & Technical Education department offers strong academics, occupational skills and the workplace knowledge students need to make fully informed career choices. Career and technical education programs and joint technological education district courses enable students to acquire skills that ultimately can lead to a specific career field. www. susd12.org ThriveMarketing helps small- and medium-sized companies gain market share rapidly through design, interactive, brand and direct marketing strategies that generate more leads, build more profits, shorten sales cycles and strengthen brands.

It works with all types of marketing budgets and has become expert at working with what customers have and with one goal in mind: to produce results. www.ThriveMarketing.net

: Members

The University Information Technology Services division provides central information technology services and resources for The University of Arizona. Along with instructional development and media production services, the division also houses multiplatform computer labs and

Web Data Corporation has pioneered a newer form of browser-based application for the Internet and intranet using client-side technologies, web services and XML. It has applied these technologies to a variety of online, browser-based applications for the enterprise. The company focuses on webbased solutions for business and government, for which it has developed next-generation data management tools for the browser. www. webdatacorporation.com Weber Advantage Consulting, LLC is focused on pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies that have solid products and technologies but lack the critical mass of marketing resources and experience. Services include target market analysis and sizing, product revenue forecasting, target product profiles, product positioning, packaging and dosage form strategy, pricing and reimbursement strategy, and distribution strategy. weberadcon@cox.net

As one of the nation’s largest communications service providers focused exclusively on businesses and carriers, XO Communications delivers industry-leading IP solutions with exceptional customer service. With more than 4,000 employees nationwide, it is the only facilities-based provider with the nationwide reach and local presence to offer a cost-effective alternative to the incumbent telephone companies. www.xo.com

For more information about membership, call the Arizona Technology Council at

602.343.8324

www.aztechcouncil.org

WINTER 2009

Universal Avionics is a leading manufacturer of avionics systems used worldwide on a full range of aircraft types from helicopters to corporate turbine aircraft and large commercial airliners. Its products are designed to meet or exceed emerging communication and navigation requirements plus move toward the realization of “free flight” in the airspace environment of the future. www.uasc.com

a multimedia post-production facility, provides live and Web-based learning services, and offers professional Web design and development. computing.arizona.edu

TECHCONNECTmag.COM

Ubidyne is the global leader in digital antennaembedded radio technology for wireless communications. Its integrated active antenna systems are compatible with current and next generation mobile standards, eliminating the need for coaxial feeder cables, remote electrical tilt and additional amplifiers on antenna towers and masts while significantly reducing energy consumption. www.ubidyne.com

Learn.

Do.Earn.

Businesses offer students tools that lead to success on the job

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The Network

TECHCONNECTmag.COM

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earn. Do. Earn. Simple advice for anyone. But there’s a movement that’s now targeting Arizona’s middle and high school students with the intent of those three words bringing brighter futures.

The initiative called Learn.Do.Earn. is led by the business community to encourage students to learn the skills that they will need to succeed when they join the workforce. Lessons focus on math competency, computer proficiency, academic achievement, financial literacy, professional-level work ethic, employability and employment.

“The statistics are stunning and compelling!,” says Project Manager Mary WolfFrancis. “This is what students need to hear about the ‘real world’ before they graduate and the critical roadmap they must follow to succeed post-high school.”

At the heart of this Student Achievement System is a free online

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The Other Facts of Life program that includes 38 classroom lessons in ADA accessible format for teachers, benchmark mathematics assessments, career webinars, preand post program assessments, and information for parents. They are supported by posters and activities.

There are program kits that can be purchased to facilitate the comprehensive school-wide implementation of LearnDoEarn. They are: + Grades 9-10: Math Challenge—Relate math to college and work and the ability to think critically. + Grades 9-11: World Class Students— Improved academic motivation in just four periods per year; School Counts—Link academics and behaviors to finding, getting and keeping a job. + Grades 9-12: Tech Challenge—Assess and improve skills in common computer applications, + Grades 10-12: Work the Money—Build critical employability and life skills with a strategic look at money.

In just a few short lessons each year, teachers can bring the voice of business leaders from all over the country into classrooms, Wolf-Francis says. For more information, contact her at 480730-1087 or mwfrancis@aztechcouncil.org.

Students who completed rigorous courses in high school earn 13 percent more in the workplace even when college is not present than students not completing rigorous courses.

Regardless of major, college-degree attainment correlates most closely with the level of math completed in high school; math builds the mind like exercise builds the body.

Students who practice appropriate behaviors in school such as being present and on time, following the rules and building leadership skills will earn more in the workplace.

Students who do about 15 hours of homework per week in high school complete more college and earn substantially more—up to 35 percent more—in the workplace Grades count. Increasing high school grade point average from a ‘C’ to a ‘B’ can result in an increase in annual earnings of about 13 percent. + Get Connected www.learndoearn.org

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