Innovation & Tech Today -- 5-Year Anniversary Issue

TOP 50 MOST INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS

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USASEF: AN INSIDE LOOK

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2019 INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR: OMAR YAGHI

5 y e a r a n n i v e r s a ry i s s u e Bill Nye on STEM Education Akon’s Solar Powered Mission Gary Vaynerchuk is Still Crushing It Michio Kaku Predicts the Future Scarlett Johansson Talks Sci-Fi

tyson Exploring the Cosmos with neil degrasse

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FROM THE PUBLISHER

Charles Warner, Publisher/ Editor-in-Chief

“ From the start, our staff wanted to make people think about how the world of tech is more than just a catalogue of neat gadgets.”

Five years ago, we had a vision.

We wanted to go beyond the constraints of a basic tech publication. We didn’t want to crank out clickbait articles banking on nostalgia or fluff pieces about the new iPhone. From the start, our staff wanted to make people think about how the world of tech is more than just a catalogue of neat gadgets. Technology benefits the environment, cleans the oceans, and tracks climate change.

Technology has brought medical science years into the future, with new inventions and discoveries once thought impossible. Technology has solidified its place in the classroom, teaching the next generation of innovators to code and embrace science. This focus on the deeper side of technology has been prevalent in every issue we’ve produced, and is something everyone here at Innovation & Tech Today wears on their sleeves.

We wanted this issue in particular to be a gift to our loyal readers for their years of support. Longtime fans have seen us find our voice in an often-crowded field, speaking with innovators across the world about a seemingly endless list of topics. This issue showcases just a few of our cover features from the past, a list that, as anyone on the editorial staff can tell you, was not easy to finalize. And, with our anniversary issue complete, we turn our attention to a new year and a new decade.

In many ways, 2020 is going to be a year of dramatic change. Each new decade brings with it new challenges and new opportunities, and this particular calendar change seems especially significant. It goes without saying that this year’s election has long-reaching consequences for many of the topics our publication focuses on,

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

especially sustainability and education. This makes our next few issues extremely important, as we look to deeply analyze the complexities of the next year in politics.

The past five years have been incredible for this publication. Our talented staff has grown in so many ways, conducting electrifying interviews and creating thought-provoking articles. The magazine has travelled to events throughout the U.S. and beyond, allowing for a diverse, growing readership. And, last but not least, our publication’s family has grown with the introductions of Cannabis & Tech Today and Residential Tech Today, taking the ideas we have grown over the past five years and applying them to the growing worlds of cannabis and home tech.

Words alone can’t explain how privileged I feel to be part of this evolving publication. I’m looking forward to another year of speaking with incredible innovators, meeting industry leaders, and watching the tech landscape evolve. As I said earlier, this is going to be a year filled with changes. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure those changes are positive.

Here’s looking forward to our tenth birthday in 2025!

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SINCE LAST ISSUE CELEBRATING 5 YEARS OF INNOVATION & TECH TODAY It may be hard to believe, but Innovation & Tech Today has officially turned five years old – and what a five years it has been! To give you some perspective on how quickly innovation has moved in these last five years, consider this: the Amazon Alexa began its first shipments on June 23, 2015. Now if you look around, voice technology is absolutely everywhere and the smart home is the new standard.

You can talk to your phone, your TV remote, and even your car. Smart speakers are abundant and tactile buttons may soon be a thing of the past.

It’s been a wild ride since we first started Innovation & Tech Today. We’ve been lucky to speak with celebrities and innovators from all over and we’ve been happy to pass their stories along to you!

However, sometimes to fully understand where you are going, it’s important to look back. With the new decade in full swing and only more innovations and stories on the way, we wanted to take a look back at some of the greatest moments from our last five years. From Michio Kaku’s predictions for future tech and Bill Nye’s celebration of STEM education to Scarlett Johansson’s sci-fi breakdown and Gary Vaynerchuk’s art of entrepreneurship, these stories are just as important today as they were then. We truly hope you enjoy this walk down memory lane with us, and we are excited to bring a new decade of content to all of our readers.

PUBLISHER/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Charles Warner cwarner@goipw.com

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Shane Brisson shane@goipw.com

MANAGING EDITOR

Alex Moersen

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Anthony Elio Patricia Miller

GAMING EDITOR

John Gaudiosi

AUTOMOTIVE EDITOR

Michael Coates

HEALTH TECH EDITOR

Scott Jung

SENIOR WRITERS

Robert Yehling

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Charlie Hernandez Kelsey Elgie-Domier Melissa Hirsch Paul French

Adam Saldaña

SENIOR VIDEO EDITOR

VIDEO EDITOR

PROJECT DIRECTOR

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Evan Kelley Dave Van Niel Steven Higgins

SENIOR DIRECTOR, DEVELOPMENT

David Marble

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Advertising inquiries, please contact: Dave Van Niel | (727) 351-5960 SPECIAL THANKS TO: Everyone who has ever contributed to and read Innovation & Tech Today, Ron Kolb/Sensi Media Group, Jamie Ezra Mark and Josh Clark/Em Agency.

This publication is dedicated to the dreamers, the innovators, the collaborators, and the doers – who can’t be bothered by those saying it can’t be done. Nicholas and Aria, the future is yours!

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY – Issue 28, 5-Year Anniversary Issue. Innovation & Tech Today is published quarterly for $19.95 per year by Innovative Properties Worldwide, 620 S Dahlia Circle M103, Denver, CO 80246.

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

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Item Location in warehouses, buildings or streets for asset control. Plus, stolen property can be tracked for recovery

Health & Security Nuclear, chemical and biological monitoring help prevent emergencies – leading to public health and well-being

Environmental Sensing Weather

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Agriculture

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contents

68 Neil deGrasse Tyson: Fly Me to the Cosmos

By Charles Warner Cover Photo: NDT: Courtesy of National Geographic (Dan Smith/FOX) Concept/Compositing: Em Agency

Departments 10 Event Wrap-Ups 12 By the Numbers 14 Quick Bytes 18 Robots 20 Event Recap 86 Top 50 Most Innovative Products: Product Revolution 94 Event Calendar 95 Coming Next Issue 96 Lighter Side

24 2019 Innovator of the Year Omar Yaghi

28 Outdoor+Adventure Tech Surfing and SUP Legend Laird Hamilton 32 Top 50 Most Innovative Products: Gear Guide

36 Gaming+Entertainment Cyber Scarlett: Johansson Talks Sci-Fi 42 Top 50 Most Innovative Products: Gaming+Entertainment

44 Connected Life Michio Kaku is at Home in the Future 48 The Greatest Moments of the “Techade” 50 Top 50 Most Innovative Products: Connected Life Photo by Daniel Riff

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

contents

52 Business Innovations Gary Vaynerchuk: The Art of Crushing It 56 5 Years in the Tank

60 Sustainability Today Produced in Partnership with Sustainable Brands

Akon: Switched On 66 Jane Goodall: 2017 Innovator of the Year

68 STEM Today

Produced in Partnership with the USA Science & Engineering Festival

72 Ann Druyan’s Cosmic Journey 74 USASEF Preview: A Convergence of Young Minds 76 The World’s Biggest Science Festival 78 Bill Nye, More Than Just The Science Guy Photo: National Geographic Creative/Hugo van Lawick

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

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[ Event Wrap-Ups ] Greenbuild International Conference and Expo The biggest annual event of its kind, the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo encourages green building pros to share concepts to increase sustainability within buildings, communities, and cities. One of the expo’s most notable aspects was the keynote lineup, which included Dr. Bernice A. King, Goodr creator Jasmine Crowe, and former President of the United States Barack Obama, who participated in a special conversation regarding economic inequality and the threat of climate change. The former President left the event with an extremely notable quote: “Those young people change the minds of their parents in powerful ways. That kind of grassroots movement, particularly among young people, is something that is always going to be key.”

Photo: DreamHack/Adam Antor

Automobility LA Los Angeles is the largest market for purchasing cars in the United States, so it makes sense that the city would host Automobility LA, an event centered around the compelling automotive world.

Throughout the four days of the event, focused professionals such as government officials, automakers, developers, and designers united to network, catch breaking news, and see firsthand the amalgamation of the tech and auto worlds. The event also saw the debut of numerous vehicles, such as the Toyota Mirai Concept, the Audi R8, and the Mazda CX-30.

Photo: DreamHack/Johnde Rochambeau Photo: DreamHack/Kim Ventura

DreamHack Atlanta A celebration of blistered thumbs, high scores, and heated competition, Dreamhack Atlanta was a prime example of the evolution of gaming culture. This is exemplified by the spectacle of the event, which hosted live music, art galleries, short film screenings, and more. The three-day event featured a collection of 145 different booths, exhibits, and partners, as well as four distinct expo zones: Artist Alley, Indie Playground, Tabletop Annex, and Student Game Showcase. And, of course, esports was a major focus of the event, with over $1.4 million worth of prize money awarded to skilled competitors of Hearthstone, Fortnite, League of Legends, and more.

Photo: DreamHack/Adam Antor

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Photos courtesy of Greenbuild

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Photos courtesy of AutoMobility LA/LA Auto Show 2019

ASK FOR

Google and Google Home are trademarks of Google LLC.

With the 2010s coming to a close, this is the perfect time to reflect on an incredible decade of innovations. These ten years have consisted of a fascinating blend of new ideas, including tablets, dating apps, new game consoles, and more. While some trends didn’t last quite as long as others (any Google+ fans out there?), there were also plenty of new ideas that have changed the tech landscape. Let’s take a look at the statistics that shaped the most tech-focused decade in history.

Internet Users (Millions) By Year Source: internetworldstats.com

Laptop Sales (Millions) Source: statista.com

5000

250

4,156

4000 3000 2000

1,971

2,267

2,497

3,079 2,802

3,366

4,313

4,536

200

3,696

150

180.9

174.28 163.1 156.8 161.6 162.3 166

100 50

1000 0

201 209 201

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Tablet Sales (Millions) Source: statista.com 250

219.9

200

208 174.9

145

150 100

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Desktop PC Sales (Millions) Source: statista.com

230.1

200

0

163.7

150 150.3

136.8

157 155 148

134.4 133.85 113.6

100

103.3

97.8 94.4 88.4

76 50

50 19 0

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

ZDNet’s Tech That Changed Us In the 2010S 2010 iPad 2011 Chromebook 2012 Raspberry Pi 2013 Playstation 4/Xbox One 2014 Satya Nadella/Windows 10 2015 Amazon Echo/Alexa Ecosystem 2016 Pokémon Go 2017 Nintendo Switch 2018 Apple Watch Series 4 2019 Various (VR and AR, Drones, Privacy) Source: ZDNet.com

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

0

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

PCMag’s Product Flops of the 2010S (Most Notable are bolded) Apple Airpower Wireless Charging Mat Amazon Fire Phone Blackberry Playbook/Blackberry 10 Coolest Cooler Facebook Home Google Fiber Google Glass Google Nexus Q Google Social Efforts Google TV GoPro Karma JooJoo Tablet Lytro Microsoft Kinect

MoviePass Nintendo Wii U Ouya Game Console Path Sony Playstation Vita Qwikster Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Samsung NX1 Secret Steam Machines Tizen Vine Windows 8/Windows RT/Windows Phone Source: PCMag.com

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iPlunger Ordering from Amazon is generally a pretty straighforward process, as you simply choose your product, add payment, and ignore the fact that you’re supporting a heartless corporation.

However, it doesn’t always go as planned. You see, Amazon user John Browne was looking to grab an Apple Watch as part of a Black Friday deal, which would have cost $387. However, when he opened the box, he was unpleasantly surprised to see… a five-dollar plunger. If you think that’s bad, I once tried ordering a plunger and they sent me a Windows Phone.

While Browne was quite upset about the ordeal, the Amazon staff was a bit more lighthearted, bursting into laughter upon the news from Browne. However, his anger only grew when he discovered that the specific watch he wanted was now sold out. On the bright side, reports indicate that the plunger has better battery life than a standard iPhone.

Don’t Talk To Me Until I’ve Injected My Coffee Kitty Booty Call Cats aren’t exactly known as the most expressive animals. In fact, most of them have two basic emotions: “Please get away from me” and “Feed me.” However, it turns out that, while we might not get much from our kitty conversations, they have a much cheekier way of speaking to each other.

A cat-focused crowdfunded research platform by the name of KittyBiome have recently made a very interesting discovery: feline microbes may play a large role in their communication and identification. It just so happens that these certain microbes are located in the cat’s guts and … anal glands. It’s good to know that, just like most humans you know, cats can also talk out of their rears.

The research has indicated that a smelly substance (referred to lovingly as “cat spray”) could both have an origin in microbes and impact feline behavior. Now, if only those millennial cats would put down their butt bacteria for two seconds and have a real conversation.

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

There’s no doubt that caffeine is a major energy source. After all, it takes a lot of energy to create short, snappy, high-quality writeups of quirky science stories. Heck, it took me three energy drinks and an octo-shot of espresso just to get through these first couple sentences. This over-caffeination may sound surprising, until you realize that we may literally have caffeine in our blood.

Oregon State University scientists recently gathered 18 separate blood serum batches, each testing positive for caffeine. The samples came from biomedical suppliers, who seek batches nearing expiration from blood banks.

The scientists were also quick to point out that blood is totally gross, something most universities leave out of their studies.

Although it may not be too surprising that there is literally caffeine in our blood, this news may have larger consequences. Because of the discovery of caffeine, as well as antianxiety drugs and cough syrup, blood utilized for research may not be as pure as originally thought. Additionally, this may pose an issue when it comes to blood transfusions, with contamination being a possible risk. This is, however, great news for all the undercaffeinated vampires out there.

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In Colorado’s Grand Valley, there’s room to work and play.

TAKE YOUR BUSINESS WHERE LIFE IS

GRAND

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Snips, Snails, and 2 Puppy Dog Tails OK, we’re going to lay this next story out for you as simply as possible: There’s a dog with an additional tail on its head named Narwhal, and it was just adopted by the founder of its rescue. No, this is not the premise to an upcoming Dreamworks movie with a heartwarming trailer.

Earlier this November, Mac’s Mission, a Missouri-based dog rescue, found a young puppy abandoned and brought it in. The dog, whose full name is apparently “Narwhal the Little Magical Furry Unicorn,” became a social media sensation thanks to daily posts filed under “UNICORN THINGS.” We’ll just give you a quick second if you want to revel in how adorable this entire story is.

Right before Thanksgiving, the founder of the shelter posted (from the perspective of one of her own dogs) that they have become too attached to Narwhal and will keep the two-tailed pup. Needless to say, this probably made Narwhal’s tail wag. Maybe both of them.

Photo: macsmission.org

Everybody Was Fruit Fly Fighting The world of animals can be pretty brutal. After all, how many Animal Planet shows start with a calm savannah field only to end with a lion munching on a gazelle carcass?

However, while carnivores such as bears, lions, and tigers are particularly notorious for their aggression, let’s not forget about the most vicious creature of all: the fruit fly.

OK, maybe that was just the case in my college apartment.

According to a study on fruit fly behavior published in Behavioral Ecology, past instances can play a large role when it comes to aggression, from insects to humans.

According to lead author Julia Kilgour, “This study shows that aggression doesn’t just depend on who you are and who you’re interacting with but also depends on your previous interactions.” This does explain why my friend threw his controller across the room after I beat him in Mortal Kombat for the hundredth time.

While this study does show that an easily angered person isn’t simply consistently in that state, it does make one wonder why they chose fruit flies for the study. After all, fruit flies flock in swarms when you leave out wine and beer, and humans … well, they may actually have a point.

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Happy Valentinesgiving!

Valentine’s Day is a momentous holiday, where you can tell the person that means the most to you that they’re truly special by waiting until the last second to get them some flowers. However, as emotionally enriching and financially draining as the holiday can be, there’s always that risk that you might forget to put the effort to text “Happy Valentine’s Day” to your beloved. Well, this very same nightmare happened to many this latest Valentine’s Day … but only because their phones had betrayed them. Sounds like a really lame episode of Black Mirror, doesn’t it?

On November 7, 2019, mobile users across all carriers were befuddled when they received texts expressing love, wishing them a happy holiday, or asking them on a Valentine’s date. When asked for comment, providers such as Verizon and T-Mobile noted that the issue likely stemmed from a third party. Interestingly, while the texts were actually sent on February 14, the messages strangely didn’t appear until that exact November date. Hey, that’s still not the worst thing you can get nine months after Valentine’s Day.

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DEPARTMENTS / Robots

Uncanny Robots for the 2020s

By Patricia Miller Have you ever wanted a robot clone of yourself to do all the menial tasks you’re too damn important to do yourself? Of course you have! Not surprisingly, the robotics market has stepped up to meet the demand. Humanoid robotic servants are now a very real and almost affordable option for Joe Public to purchase.

And believe it or not, most of them aren’t even for sex!

Little Sophia

Realdoll Harmonyx Jia Jia

Image courtesy of RealDoll I&T screenshot via Kickstarter

Little Sophia was designed to help kids, especially little girls, learn about STEM and coding. As of December 2019, you can purchase your own on the Hanson Robotics Kickstarter page for just $149.

I&T screenshot via YouTube

#5 Jia Jia Jia Jia is a hyper-realistic robot developed by the University of Science and Technology of China. It has very expressive facial features and can communicate in full sentences. Despite being equipped with AI, it seems a little ADHD. In a recent interview with Wired, Jia Jia had trouble answering basic questions and those it did answer were preceded by long pauses. In general, the Chinese public seem rather fond of the eerily realistic machine and have dubbed it a “robot goddess” for it’s strikingly average looks. #4 Little Sophia Perhaps you’ve heard of Sophia, the baldheaded, hazel-eyed, humanlike android from Hanson Robotics. But have you heard of Little Sophia? Dubbed Sophia’s little sister by its creators, this 14-inch robot walks, talks, sings, tells jokes, and plays games. This real-life, nonhomicidal, Chucky-esque robot is less eerie than its big sister, but equally artificially intelligent.

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

#3 ERICA ERICA seems to have avoided the uncanny valley with its relatively approachable appearance. Perhaps that’s because it was designed to be a receptionist, though that role has been amended to include a potential position as a news anchor for Japanese television. The android can hold a conversation, recognize faces, and track them as they move about. It can’t move its hands yet, but it can move its face, neck, shoulders, and waist to creep you out from yards away.

ERICA

I&T screenshot via YouTube

#2 Realdoll Harmonyx Okay, this one is for sex – er, companionship.

Realdoll touts their versatile android as an assistant, a partner, or a robot butler. It will be able to hug you, grasp “things,” and convey programmed emotions through its replaceable face. Yep, its face is magnetic so you can swap it out when you’re tired of getting a “hug” from the same “person” every night.

Promobot Robo-C Image courtesy of Promobot

#1 Promobot Robo-C This startlingly realistic rendition of a human was unveiled in September 2019. It’s fully customizable face can be outfitted to look like anyone you want, including yourself. Yes, we finally live in a time where you can make your own robo-clone for just $20,000. It can answer questions, accept payments, read the news, manage smart appliances, and speak 11 languages. Don’t introduce it to your parents just yet, though; with a full range of facial expressions and emotive capabilities, you won’t like Robo-C when it’s angry. ■

DEPARTMENTS / Event Recap

Our Top Picks from CES 2020

By Patricia Miller & Anthony Elio

CES is touted as the world’s largest gathering of all things technology. Though this year’s CES wasn’t as rife with innovation as some years past, the event never fails to showcase the eye-catching, the groundbreaking, and the unexpected. In no particular order, here are some of our favorite discoveries while roaming the 2.9 million net square feet of show floor this January.

BadVR This tech should actually be called “BadAssVR” because it has so many applications. Data collection is rampant, but how can businesses better understand big data? Imagine a smart city with millions of sensors gathering information about traffic speeds, real-time construction updates, parking availability, and air quality. Instead of looking at a pie chart of how many parking spaces are available, BadVR lets you look at and interact with a 3D image of all the parking spots in town.

You can find patterns, understand user behaviors, and immerse yourself into all of that valuable information in a dynamic and tangible way.

Though this tech still relies on a VR headset, it’s not hard to imagine a future where it replaces projectors and smart screens as the preferred method of data research and collaboration.

Scoocase As journalists, we travel to our fair share of conferences and expos. At the end of a long week walking on hard concrete floors, jogging through the airport is always a daunting task. For those who don’t mind the less-than-professional aesthetic of scootering, the Scoocase is an exciting option.

Just fold down the platform and back wheel from the stylish carry-on and you’re off! The electric scooter can reach speeds up to 15 miles per hour and travel more than 15 miles. Charging takes about an hour and the mobile app will let you know how much juice you have left for the return trip. Would I feel slightly silly cruising through the airport on an electric scooter suitcase? Not as silly as I feel limping around on blistered feet after a week at CES.

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Electric Car Charging Safety Some of the best-selling EV Charging Stations are not safety-tested and certified

A

fter deciding to buy a plug-in electric vehicle, often the next decision is to purchase a Level 2 charging station for faster charging at home. The technical name as defined in the National Electric Code for these products is EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment), commonly called charging stations.

Safety might not be the first consideration when selecting a charging station, but safety is actually the most important thing to consider. The primary function of a plug-in vehicle charging station is to provide electrical safety for the operator and electrical infrastructure throughout the charging process and specifically to address the risks of fire and electric shock.

The good news is charging an electric vehicle is actually very safe and easy when done with proper, independently safety-certified equipment. The challenge is that not all charging stations on the market are independently safety tested and certified.

When a charging station manufacturer develops a new product, or makes even a minor change to an existing product, they should send samples to a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL), such as Intertek (ETL mark) or Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL mark). Safety engineers at these labs perform months of extensive safety testing that the products must pass before they can be safety certified and made available to the public for sale. Only products with these marks appearing on the manufactured product’s rating plate are safety certified.

Look for these (ETL or UL) certification marks on the station itself when shopping for a charging station:

Do a quick experiment in your own home: look around at the electrical appliances purchased from a reputable source and you will see they are all marked with a safety label. If you find a product that plugs into the wall that is not marked, you might want to consider not using it.

Be Cautious of These Things:

Deceptive Markings - Some manufacturers use officiallooking marks such as the CE logo. If you only see a CE mark then the product has not been independently certified. CE is a self-certifying mark and it should not be trusted in the US, Canada, and Mexico. A CE mark in addition to the UL or ETL mark is acceptable.

Do NOT use a product that only has a CE mark.

Uncertified Products are being sold by what seems like a reputable seller - Buying the product from what seems to be a reputable seller doesn’t mean the charging station has been safety certified. Most large home improvement retailer stores like Lowes and Home Depot have standards in place that require NRTL certification for electrical appliances. However, there are online retailers, such as Amazon, direct sellers, and sources from outside the United States that DO carry and sell unlisted products.

Deceptive Claims - When selecting a charging station, if you are unsure about the NRTL certification status of a product, reach out to the product supplier and ask them to provide confirmation that the product you are interested in is NRTL (UL or ETL) certified.

Non-Grounded Plugs - If you are purchasing a plug-in charging station, NEVER buy a station with a NEMA 10-30 or 10-50 plug. The NEMA 10-30 and NEMA 10-50 style outlets do not have an earth ground connection.

There is NO possibility that a charging station delivered with one of these plugs is properly NRTL safety certified.

One of the key safety functions of a charging station is providing an earth ground connection to the vehicle.

This assures the vehicle body is safely grounded during charging.

For more information: www.ClipperCreek.com/Safety

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DEPARTMENTS / Event Recap / Our Top Picks from CES 2020 Lua Not everyone is born with a green thumb. For those who often forget to tend their beloved houseplants, Lua is the perky companion you’ve been waiting for. This charismatic pot lets you know what your plant needs with six animations. When your plant is too dry, Lua’s expression changes to show it’s thirsty. Not enough sun? Lua turns into a vampire to signify your plant needs more sunlight.

Users choose what family of plant is potted, select the exact type of plant, or manually enter plant parameters into the Lua app. It only needs a one-time connection to the internet when setting it up. After that, it runs with or without internet so care won’t be interrupted by an internet outage. Added bonus? It’s super cute.

Omron For the third year in a row, we were lucky enough to check out the fantastic Omron booth, which showcases the company’s advanced robotics. The star of the show, of course, was FORPHEUS, the company’s ping pong-playing robot that, rather than trying to beat the player, attempts to make them better at the game. The technology has noticeably improved from year to year, even implementing the emotional responses of the player into its screen.

Coincidentally, the person that played a match right before us was Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback and STEM enthusiast Josh Dobbs, whose interview was a major highlight of our fall 2019 issue. Did the professional athlete fare better at ping pong than our editorial team? Not important.

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PocketDrum The Sands Hall at CES houses some of the most incredible innovations from startups worldwide. This gives convention-goers the opportunity to see new ideas sprout from across the globe. One piece of tech in particular that caught the eye of our team was PocketDrum by Aeroband, a musical device that allows you to rock out on the drums no matter where you are.

Billing itself as “The Most Portable Drum Set Ever,” PocketDrum lives up to its name by offering a basic drum set right at your fingertips.

UltiRacer As expected, fitness technology was a huge focus of CES 2020. From self-powered ellipticals to advanced wearables, getting in shape with tech continued to be a theme at the show. However, one company in particular caught our eye with its focus on combining fun and fitness: RealDesignTech. The company’s Ultiracer, which looks like a simple standard bike set up on some rollers, provided one of the most enjoyable experiences at the event.

The sticks were an absolute hit at the show, with wannabe John Bonhams from around CES attempting to string together their own drum solos. Truly, PocketDrum goes above and beyond, including a connected foot sensor which acts as your bass drum. Fully funded on Kickstarter, the PocketDrum booth showed off just how easy it is to rock out on the go thanks to its easy setup. Needless to say, the PocketDrum looks a lot cooler than playing air drums on the bus.

Once you get on the Ultiracer, you can see why Peloton should be shaking in their boots. The bike connects with a screen in front of you in order to provide a combination of gaming and fitness. While many games are included, the main highlight, which is reminiscent of Galaga, provides you with a unique exercise experience: bike left and right to dodge lasers and pedal to shoot down enemies. Needless to say, this is the most fun (and safe) way to play video games while you’re on a bicycle.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

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innovator profile

2019 Innovator of the Year

Omar Yaghi

By Patricia Miller

Scientific advances transform our lives in miraculous ways. For chemist and UC Berkeley professor Omar Yaghi, his pioneering work has already impacted countless lives and will continue shaping the development of mankind for centuries to come. He’s published more than 300 scientific articles, which are referenced so frequently that he is among the top five most highly cited chemists in the world.

In the 90s, Yaghi developed a fascinating

chemical structure known as the MOF, or metal-organic framework. In so doing, he also created a new field of chemistry known as reticular chemistry, which unifies inorganic and organic chemistry into a comprehensive field of research.

What’s so special about MOFs? They can be customized to absorb any vapor and release that vapor later with very little energy input. He’s pioneered MOFs that can absorb hydrogen,

“ We were the first to do hydrogen storage, methane capture, carbon dioxide capture, and now water.”

Omar Yaghi (center) with students in the laboratory.

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

carbon dioxide, natural gas, and now – water.

Though there are plenty of materials that can absorb water, MOFs can absorb water from air with very low humidity and, once heated slightly, release that vapor in the form of drinkable water. His systems capture water from the air at night and then, using solar power to raise the temperature of the material to 45 degrees celsius, release that water to be collected for use.

(Above) A photo of the latest field trial for "water harvesting from desert air" (pictured are research team members with a MOF water harvester collecting water from air in the Mojave Desert – the driest desert in North America).

Drought-stricken regions and naturally arid climates are desperate for this type of technology, and as the climate crisis continues to escalate, technologies like Yaghi’s could hold the key to providing water for thirsting nations or for capturing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, and that’s just the tip of its capabilities.

We spoke with Yaghi to learn what sparked his early passion for science, what message he has for the next generation, and what led him to such a revolutionary discovery.

Innovation & Tech Today: How did you first become interested in chemistry?

Omar Yaghi: I became interested in chemistry when I was a kid. I was 10 years old and went into a library where I found a book that had

drawings of molecules, which I didn’t know anything about. I didn’t even know that there were molecules, but the drawings looked complex and interesting and so they captured my attention. I kept that with me. Later I learned they were molecules, and so it became my favorite topic.

It’s strange how a passion for things develop, but it’s also strange how we pick the things we pick. I was very interested in knowing, “What is this?” “What is behind things?” “Why do things look the way they do?” And so as a child, I was very interested in what is behind what you see, what is it made from? Why do things appear the way they do; what are the smaller and smaller parts of matter? That’s why chemistry was just so captivating to me.

I&T Today: Why are MOFs significant?

OY: MOFs are the real estate onto which you can bind molecules and gases, like hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide, and the latest is water.

We showed that MOFs can be permanently porous, meaning when you evacuate their pores, the structures don’t collapse but remain open.

So the [first MOF we developed] had a surface area that broke all records of porosity. All previous records, everything that humanity has ever made, this [porosity] was much higher, and we’ve continued to break our own record many times since then.

This is not just a material that has porosity.

Behind this material is a new chemistry that has been a fountain of new materials: reticular chemistry, which is the chemistry of the strong

5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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innovator profile 2019 Innovator of the Year Omar Yaghi bond and how to control the strong bond in infinite extended structures.

I&T Today: In many cases when reporting on scientific discoveries, there is fantastic work going on at a deeper level, but often all we talk about are the applications of that knowledge.

OY: Yes, when you say, “Oh, I can harvest water from desert air and deliver water.” That’s a very important thing to be able to do and the public likes to hear these things because they can relate to them. Not very many people outside of chemistry are interested in well, “how was this generated?” And the way it was generated is that somebody like me, who was more interested in basic science than applications, especially when we started this research… I was more interested in answering an intellectual challenge, which was, how do you make materials using a building block approach?

How do you turn chemistry into LEGOs? I took that risk as an assistant professor with the hope of tenure one day; I took this big risk that paid off. Once we made [MOFs], once we demonstrated that you can build structures by molecular building blocks, we realized the potential is great. We were the first to do hydrogen storage, methane capture, carbon dioxide capture, and now water.

I&T Today: I’m fascinated that water storage wasn’t your intention when you started. You grew up in an arid region and obtaining water was a persistent problem for your family, and somehow, without intending to, you’ve developed this technology that can be applied to solving that problem.

OY: I think it also brings up another very, very important point, and that is the way great things happen in science is by answering intellectual questions, not necessarily picking a societal problem and trying to find a solution to it.

Meaning, when you solve an intellectual challenge, it branches out into an infinite number of things that you can do for society.

But if I started out with water from air, I would have to work backwards and then think, what materials are available that I could do that with?

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Well, I would never have invented MOFs. Never.

Because I would have been in an engineering mode, where you use existing stuff to test whether it’s going to be good for harvesting water or carbon dioxide, and that would have never worked.

Those materials wouldn’t have the new properties that emerged from the new materials that we’ve invented as a result of answering an intellectual problem.

An example of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). MOFs are porous crystals and many of them are stunningly colorful and beautiful.

I&T Today: Perhaps that’s why it’s so important to instill those ideals in children, through STEM: instead of thinking about the end results, be willing to ask questions and be curious.

presence of water actually helps the binding of CO2. Then we noticed there were certain structures that took up water in a way that was very special. They were taking up water at 20 percent relative humidity.

OY: One of the biggest mistakes we make when we teach younger kids – I call them emerging scholars – is to assume that if we don’t give them a practical thing that they can think of, like harvesting water from air, I’m not going to get their attention. It turns out everyone, young or old, is stimulated by good questions.

Of course, there are materials that take up humidity at 20 percent, like zeolites, but the special thing about this material is that you can also take the water out easily at mild temps. I think it was 45 degrees celsius. But for zeolites and minerals, you have to heat them up to 300 degrees celsius to remove the water. So you couldn’t use them in the end to capture water from air and then deliver drinking water because you would have to apply so much energy.

I was really more intrigued with the question of, “Could I develop chemistry where I can use the infinite number of molecular building blocks that exist as my starting materials and stitch them together into extended structures?”

And that was the intellectual question that was our motivation. My motivation wasn’t necessarily directly to save mankind through carbon capture, but I knew very well that if I succeeded in answering that basic question that there would be many interesting and fascinating applications that could solve some big problems in society.

That was one of the most powerful things we noticed; you can not only capture the water at low humidity but also take it out at mild temperature, almost the temperature of the desert during the day.

I&T Today: If you didn’t intend to create a material with these capabilities, when did you realize MOFs could harvest water from dry air?

So we looked at this and I said to my students, “This would be perfect for binding water from the atmosphere at night when it’s a little bit more humid. Then, during the day when it’s hot, you can remove the water and, if you have a way to condense that vapor, deliver drinking water.

And that was the beginning of the water harvesting project. ■

OY: We were working on carbon capture. We made a material and then designed its interior so that it specifically can take up CO2 and the

For more fascinating insights from Omar Yaghi’s interview, check out www.innotechtoday.com/Yaghi.

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Surfing and SUP Legend

Photo: Joel Guy

Laird Hamilton The Evolution of An Adrenaline Junkie What makes an innovator?

Where’s the best surfing?

We pick Laird Hamilton’s brain in this exclusive interview from 2015.

By Kesley Elgie-Domier

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

I&T Today: Tell us about the sheer adventure, risk, and feeling of big-wave riding. What goes through your mind when you’re riding a wave like Pe’ahi (Jaws)?

Laird Hamilton: Well, I think that’s an ongoing understanding. You know, the more I think about a question like that, the more I realize when you’re doing it, you’re so in it. It’s a place of ultimate focus which really narrows your vision and dulls your hearing. Being in that state turns off all of those things in your system that aren’t essential to the act itself or surviving it. I think we seek that feeling out and that it’s something so innate to us. In big surf on an intense ride like

Jaws, that is one of the few places that you are as present as can be on the planet that we’re on.

I&T Today: Why do you think a select few people in this world feel that innate desire to push the envelope riding building-sized waves, skydiving from the stratosphere, or summiting Mount Everest? Where do you think this desire for the ultimate adrenaline rush originates?

LH: I think it’s a mechanism that’s in man. Not every man has it, because it’s not essential for all of us. Maybe it’s just essential that some of us do.

It’s something that’s in us that we’re driven and drawn by these things as part of the exploration

of what is possible. Maybe again it stems back to how we evolved and why we evolved and what we needed to evolve. I think that emotion and that thing that’s in us is something that was essential for our evolution, and without it being in some of us, there wouldn’t be any of us.

I don’t think it’s any kind of addiction kind of thing. In my perspective, I think it has more to do with this built-in DNA download to fulfill this need that you may have in you. There is a mechanism that is set, which forces us to go and see where the edge is. How far is it? How high is it? How fast it? Once we figure this out, it can be safe for everybody else.

I&T Today: Big wave riding has been around for many years, but you and guys like Buzzy

Kerbox, Darrick Doerner, Peter Mel, Ken Bradshaw, and Dave Kalama advanced it through tow-in. What did you see in the way we rode big waves that prompted you to help innovate things like tow-in?

LH: I think the understanding of the cap.

There was an obvious limitation there. At a certain point, we weren’t able to participate.

There was a line drawn from the desire and the need to ride these things we weren’t able to ride.

It seemed like such a waste, so we had to figure out how to get onto those waves so we could enjoy them.

I&T Today: What is the biggest difference between hydrofoil boards and regular surfboards?

LH: The biggest difference is probably just pure efficiency and how amazingly smooth the hydrofoils are. You can go out in all kinds of conditions. In a way, you are able to tap into the core of a wave’s energy and kind of harness its power in a way we couldn’t have imagined.

There’s all the byproducts of that which are faster, further, and just that feeling that you get when you fly on the foil.

I&T Today: Did you see stand-up paddleboarding picking up as quickly as it has?

LH: I had a pretty good idea that it was going to blow up because of what you could do, and the way you could do it. There were so many things about SUP that made it into a massive 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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Photo: Joel Guy

Photo: Joel Guy

Surfing and SUP Legend Laird Hamilton

activity now. You can do everything from paddle down a river, ride a wave, or go across a channel.

Because you can go paddle on flat water, people of all different levels of athleticism and age can participate. That led to a (much) bigger audience, more so than hydrofoiling or towing in. SUP is a perfect remedy for surfing because it’s a big business with very few participants, and we need more participants in the ocean, to not only support the industry, but to look after our playgrounds.

current and one of the busiest shipping channels in the world, so we played chicken with freighters. Then we were met by the English Coast Guard. They advised us to get in, but we replied that we would not be getting in the boat, and kept paddling. They followed us until we got to shore and we were taken into custody. It was quite the experience!

I&T Today: Tell us about the time you paddleboarded the English Channel with Buzzy Kerbox in 1990.

LH: Teahupo’o. There’s nothing like it. It has this perfection that tends to be reliable, so there is a lot less doubt at that spot. As far as being a rider and riding a wave and the challenge of what it takes to ride each wave, I think Jaws is at the top of my list. Nothing breaks quite as fast or hard right now.

LH: You know, we were flying by the seat of our pants; it was just way that we operated! We had done the Molokai Channel in Hawaii and we were paddleboarding quite a bit. We were going to France for the summer, so we brought every single toy that we could think of with us.

Paddleboards were one of them. After paddling the Molokai Channel, we were stoked about the English Channel, so we figured we’d do it! We did very little reconnaissance; we didn’t realize you needed to have a permit to cross the channel. We just went for it.

That was a good paddle. It was a wicked

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

I&T Today: What wave provides the ultimate surfing challenge for you?

That’s one of the best things about waves in general. Each one is so distinctly different and unique and has characteristics and things about it that make it it’s own. Sometimes it’s like what is better? Milk chocolate or dark chocolate?

I&T Today: You recently took a heli-skiing trip up to the Tordrillo Range in Alaska. Any big similarities between big waves and big mountains?

LH: Absolutely! There is a similar mindset, especially in the commitment. Once you let it rip, there isn’t any turning back. Sometimes on the mountain, you can make a few transitions, but once you let it roll, you aren’t stopping until you’re done. You could say the mountain is sleeping, but you KNOW the waves are awake.

Sometimes when you’re coming down a big wave, you just cut a big avalanche behind you; (on a mountain), you’re just trying to stay ahead of it.

I&T Today: What do you think it takes to be an innovator?

LH: Thomas Edison has a quote that I absolutely love: “All you need to be an inventor is an imagination and a pile of junk.” I also think boredom is a little bit of it, and maybe just not accepting the status quo. The willingness to fail is a key element in the character of someone who is going to truly innovate; you have to have no issues with failing, no matter how it looks to others. You can’t fall victim to trying to fit in or to peer pressure. A majority of us prefer to stay within things we know, and that ability and the willingness to fail I think that allows you to really change things. You must be relentless in your pursuit. ■

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Smacircle S1 – The lightest, most compact ebike available, the Smacircle S1 by Wham-O and Smacircle LMT Ltd will change the way you look at your commute through the city. Weighing only 17 pounds and able fold down to fit into a backpack, the Smacircle S1 is fun, fast, and convenient. $1,400

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CYBER SCARLETT JOHANSSON TALKS ACTING, TECH, AND IN GHOSTTHE SHELL

By Paul French

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Science fiction is said to hold a mirror to the present – with stories escorting us into fantasies and futures still rooted in reality. And, if this is true, one might think sci-fi wouldn’t have much staying power – that after each decade we would cast off the old commentary and never give it another glance. However, since Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in 1818, the genre has been home to classics that, because of their narrative richness or technological foresight, remain relevant today.

here in your upcoming film Ghost in the Shell, you’re once again starring as an artificially intelligent character. How did you prepare for this role and can you cite any specific influences?

Case in point: Ghost in the Shell, a Japanese comic originally published almost 30 years ago, with a story that depicts a world of people both connected and disconnected through their technology, and one in which cyber terrorism is one of the most dominant threats.

SJ: It is complicated, but she’s experienced a sort of loss of identity, and this film is as much about her search for a cyber terrorist as it is about her search for the truth about herself. Her own identity, her past…the experiences that have been taken away from her.

Released in March of 2017, Paramount’s live action adaptation of the popular manga and anime made major headlines, in no small part because of leading star, Scarlett Johansson. While Johansson received some criticism for whitewashing a Japanese character, it’s hard to doubt the influence she’s had on the sci-fi/fantasy genre, and the film industry in general.

In 2019, Johansson delivered two critically-acclaimed performances in Marriage Story and Jojo Rabbit, being nominated for a Golden Globe and two Oscars. Now, in 2020, her solo Marvel film, Black Widow is set to release, satisfying fans that have long awaited Black Widow’s story.

Back in 2017, we had the opportunity to speak with Johansson about her role as The Major in Ghost in the Shell, discussing the film itself while also exploring her long career and the characters she’s portrayed. In a time when Johansson’s career is hotter than ever, we are excited to revisit this interview two years later.

Innovation & Tech Today: In one of your most memorable performances, you played the digital assistant Samantha in the film Her, and

Scarlett Johansson: Well, I wouldn’t say my character is actually an AI character because she has a human brain. She’s sort of a cyborg, I guess you would say. I didn’t have any influences really. I think it’d be sort of an impossible character to be influenced because she’s, you know, a person who's experienced – well, she’s both a person and not [laughs].

I&T Today: It’s complicated.

I&T Today: Here you are, an empowered female main character in a futuristic police surveillance state where everyone is connected through technology. Dare I ask, why now? What drew you to this role and what do you think makes its themes particularly relevant today?

SJ: I think oftentimes when we see the future, it’s portrayed in a dystopian way and other times it seems sort of sterile and characterless. I think Rupert’s [Rupert Sanders, the director] idea of the future is one that is a lot more realistic, or at least based in some kind of realism. I think it shows a society that is very much disconnected as a result of how connected they are. And you see different characters in the film – people in general – having these sort of cyber-enhancements to make their lives easier. But, in a way, some of the characters in the film, certainly my character and also Pilou's [Pilou Asbæk] character Batou, who is very much human, express longing for just everyday life as it was, or as they remember experiencing it. And it seems like a conversation that is echoed in the discourse today.

It seems like a conversation I have with friends of mine where we kind of yearn for the good old days where you could actually just get on the phone and call somebody, and not have to decipher a text message or wait for an email. I watch my friends kind of struggle with what the appropriate email 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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Cyber Scarlett

etiquette is. I think we all sort of yearn for a time when everything was more to the point, more visceral and real.

really a character-driven story, and really the story of one woman’s journey to understanding herself and accepting herself.

I&T Today: I know what you mean.

There are protocols and standards that we have to follow, and it does seem a little impersonal at times.

I&T Today: The anime is very sophisticated, and it does seem to have an emphasis on mystery and conflicted characters. I noticed that this is a recurring theme for you. Looking through your filmography, we see a lot of rebels, misfits, skeptics, and black sheep who are often given power (Black Widow, your character in Under the Skin, Lucy, and now The Major with Ghost in the Shell). Is there a conscious attraction between you and this kind of role?

SJ: It seems like Rupert’s idea of the future is one that has both beautiful possibilities and also sort of a disconnect.

But, y’know, I really loved Rupert’s vision for this project. I mean, when I saw the anime it seemed like it would be a challenge to kind of fill it out. I didn’t necessarily get from it exactly what the full picture of this character’s experience was. And the script kind of followed the anime and was more plot driven. It was hard to get a feel for how the character was going to drive this story.

And Rupert and I really talked about this as a kind of coming of age story, a sort of a loss of innocence, which I hope comes across in the film. Of course, there was plenty of action. The world is explosive and it’s visually intoxicating, which is what the audience is expecting. But probably what they’re not expecting, which hopefully will take them by pleasant surprise, is that this is

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SJ: Gosh, I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it I guess. Perhaps subconsciously there is some kind of connection with these characters that are trying to carve a different story for themselves, perhaps, than what’s expected of them. I’m interested in characters that are curious about themselves, and I think that because of that I’ve often played characters that are on this particular journey of self.

I hope to always play characters that are questioning their own destiny and characters that fight against the status quo.

Cyber Scarlett

I&T Today: I know cybersecurity is an important component in the film. More and more movies are incorporating cyber security as a plot device (and, of course, it’s topical). Do you think this will continue to be an obsession in cinema and, if so, why?

SJ: Well, I think so, because it’s topical like you said and it’s a good threat. It has a good threat component. It’s a powerful threatening component in any of these stories, like the total takeover. I think as we realize how vulnerable we are, how dependent we’ve become on, whatever you want to call it, cyber intelligence. I can barely operate a Blackberry. But I think we’ve sort of suddenly, in the past couple years, gone, “Oh, wait, there’s a dark side to this.” I think we, as a society, had been kind of living blissfully and consuming information and also leaving information and have rarely thought about what the long term or even the short term consequences are. And now it’s certainly like it’s really come back. It’s like a beast, seemingly with no end in sight. So I think it will continue to be a trend, definitely. And it certainly works well for a plot device.

I&T Today: It’s definitely a doubleedged sword. And speaking of that, looking back at your history with acting, there’s a lot of classic theatre experience, like your work in the Tennessee Williams play. Of course, you also play in a lot of big budget films that employ CGI, and I know some actors have talked about struggling with that relationship in the past. You’ll see clips of them in front of blue screens and they’re trying to imagine what’s in front of them. How would you describe your relationship between your art and the new technologies that help facilitate it?

SJ: Acting in any kind of a CGI environment doesn't really change the process of acting so much. I mean, I wouldn’t say it’s much different than any other kind of contemporary theatre piece. It

depends on how something is staged. I mean, I remember seeing a production of Our Town not that long ago, and the stage was almost completely bare, just chairs, and that was it. And the whole cast was just in that kind of zone. They were experiencing, probably, a similar thing to how any other actor does in a CGI environment. I don’t think it’s that different. You’re making a kind of unbelievable experience seem believable, I guess. And, when you’re really in it and you’re emoting and you’re experiencing the character’s emotional journey, it doesn’t really matter what's in front of you. You’d be surprised at how you can kind of surprise yourself. And I think, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve been able to suspend disbelief much more easily for some reason. I think, because I’m maybe less self-conscious as an actor, and so I can go far in an environment where in the past I would have felt self-conscious and a little weird. But it doesn’t seem to have so much of a difference, I don't think.

I&T Today: I’ve actually never thought of it that way. That Our Town production is a good example. It’s true that you don’t have that many resources really on the stage either.

SJ: I mean, you can sometimes. But sometimes you don’t. I remember in that production at the end of the show when they’re cooking the bacon, and all of a sudden they introduce the element of, like, real bacon cooking. And because you smell it, it was so mystical. It was really an amazing experience. It was really a success because I think there was this journey with the characters and kind of just letting their imagination free and trusting the actors to take them where they wanted to go. So when this real element was added, it was pretty powerful.

I&T Today: That’s awesome. Well, I know we were talking about this earlier, but from your perspective, do you feel like all this technology in general is making us more connected or less? (continues on page 92)

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order – Voted our favorite game of 2019, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will have you traversing across a galaxy far, far away. Playing as Cal Kestis, a surviving Padawan after the Jedi fall to Order 66, you’ll learn exactly what it feels like to be a Jedi. Available on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. Prices vary.

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connected life

Michio Kaku is

AT HOME IN THE FUTURE

By Paul French

When Michio Kaku was in fourth grade, he happened upon a riddle.

Not one of the monumental queries that would consume his later life. No, this one was simple. Leafing through a pamphlet, a young Kaku saw the question, “What do physicists and baseball players have in common?” Curious, he turned the page to read the answer: “They both get paid to do what they love.”

Now globally renowned, Dr. Michio Kaku is one of the great popular scientists of our age.

A co-founder of string theory, this theoretical physicist has a flair for engaging the masses with education – with appearances in numerous television shows and viral videos.

Not to mention, he’s a three-time New York Times #1 bestselling author.

However, Kaku might be best known as a futurist – as someone who generates interesting projections about what the technological world of tomorrow will look like. This begs the question though: What qualifies a physicist like Kaku to peer into the future? Over the past few centuries, Kaku explains, physics has been a driving force behind many of the world’s greatest inventions. For instance, the principles of Newtonian physics and thermodynamics set the stage for the complex machinery of the industrial revolution.

Since physics reveals the universe’s rules and possibilities, it’s usually one step ahead ofthe technology that applies them. Thus, as an expert in physics, Kaku can see where new tech is headed better than most.

Back in 2016, we explored the tech of the future with Dr. Kaku. Now, four years later, the ideas he shared are just as relevant today as they were then.

Photo by Daniel Riff

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Innovation & Tech Today: What do you predict will be the most significant technological advancements in the home of the future? Say, 2030?

Michio Kaku: First of all, in the coming decades [computer] chips will cost about a penny. That’s the cost of scrap paper. Intelligence will be cheaper than bubblegum wrappers – meaning that intelligence will be everywhere and nowhere.

The future of the computer is to disappear…It is to be woven into the fabric of our lives. In the future, paper will become intelligent. Your wallpaper will become intelligent. Say you want to talk to a doctor at four in the morning, because you have a pain in your chest. Is it a heart attack? Or is it the pizza you had last night?

You go to the wall (because your wall is intelligent) and you say, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, I want to talk to a doctor right now.”

Boom. A doctor appears on your wallpaper.

Robo-Doc! Robo-Doc is artificially intelligent.

You talk to it; it accesses the internet, speaks to you in plain English, and gives you a diagnosis that’s pretty accurate, right there in your home.

I&T Today: You’ve mentioned in lectures that the “toilet of the future” will also constitute a cure for cancer. To those who haven’t heard, this might sound outlandish.

Could you explain?

MK: Your toilet will be intelligent. Pee several times a day and you’ll get a complete medical exam, compliments of your smart toilet. There will be a chip in your toilet, which gives what’s called a liquid biopsy. Liquid biopsies are becoming commercially available this year. So you’ll be able to detect cancer years before a tumor forms.

So your toilet has a chip in it. It scans your bodily fluids and tells you that you have 100 cancer cells growing in your body. One hundred.

That’s years before a tumor forms. Tumors have billions and billions of cells in them. So the word “tumor” will disappear from the English language, all because you will have a doctor in your toilet.

5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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connected life

Michio Kaku is at home in the future

I&T Today: In your estimation, how close are we to an intersection between the Internet of Things and the “Internet of Minds,” and what will that world look like?

MK: The next revolution in the internet is brain net. Brain net is how we’ll send emotions, feelings, and memories on the internet. We can do that now with simple memories. Simple memories can now be sent through the internet.

It’s been done in mice. Next year it’ll be done on primates, and after that we’ll record memories for Alzheimer’s patients.

The movies will be totally revolutionized.

What is a movie? A movie is a flat screen with sound. End of story. That hasn’t changed for what, 60-70 years? The next revolution will be with emotions. We know that memories are recorded in the hippocampus. We know that emotions are recorded in the amygdala, and we’re beginning to map how they function. And, like I said, we can now send simple memories on the internet. This has already been done at Wake Forest University, MIT, and other places.

Teenagers will go crazy. On Facebook, teenagers will send memories of their first senior prom, their first date, their first kiss, all of that, on the internet.

When we talk to our grandparents, it’s hard for us to believe that they lived in a world where there was no television. Our grandkids will look at us and they’ll say, “What? You lived in a time when, the movies, you couldn’t feel them? You couldn’t upload memories? I mean, how barbaric!”

So, yeah, I think in the future the mind will be connected to the internet so that we’ll be able to communicate mentally with other people. And already we can record what you are thinking. If you think about the Mona Lisa, we can actually print a reasonable copy of the Mona Lisa from

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

your brain. And we can even begin the process of recording dreams.

So in the future, when you wake up in the morning in your intelligent house, you’ll push a button and see the dreams you had in the previous night. Already with MRI scans we can begin the process of extracting out primitive aspects of the dreams you had. This can already be done at Berkeley, for example. In the future, we’ll be able to print out a motion picture of the dream you had the previous night.

I&T Today: The year is 2045. Which smart home building materials are more expensive?

The “smarts” – i.e., the computer chips, circuitry, and hardware woven into every nook and cranny of the house? Or the actual lumber used for the frame (assuming lumber will be used)?

MK: Well, I think in the future nanotechnology will replace all construction. So that, for example, a bridge could be supported by threads so it looks as if the bridge is floating midair, but it’s actually held together by nanothreads.

Graphene is one of the strongest substances known to science, stronger than diamond. You can take an elephant, balance that elephant on a pencil, and put the pencil on graphene and the graphene will not break.

I think the coming of nano-material is going to change the way we view homes entirely. I mean, why do homes have to be built using such heavy construction materials? Why are they so expensive? And why do they crash when there’s an earthquake? Nanotechnology will revolutionize construction.

Photo by Daniel Riff for I&T Today | thebrothersriff.com

We’ll have a brain chip…a brain pacemaker in a chip that records memories in your hippocampus. It records them, plays them back, so that, if you’re lost, and you don’t know who you are (because you have Alzheimer’s), you push a button and memories come flooding into your hippocampus. We can also begin to process recording memories, and perhaps recording feelings and emotions.

Now, what’s the catch? There’s always a catch.

The catch is that pure nanofibers are extremely hard to make. We can see them in the laboratory, but one of the largest amounts of pure nanothreads and nanosheets is about the size of a postage stamp. So, we have a long way to go before we can create nanomaterial the size of a house. Once we do that, that can revolutionize the way we view homes.

Nanofibers in turn conduct electricity. So the nanofibers can become intelligent. So your house literally will become intelligent – it will be one gigantic computer. You will essentially be living inside a computer because nanofibers can conduct electricity and can sustain transistors.

I&T Today: You once claimed that “science is the engine of prosperity.” Of course, this optimism has its opposition in the fears of those who get anxious hearing about visions of the future. Why do you think this fear of the future exists? Can you recall a time when, perhaps talking to you, someone tried to rationalize his/her concerns about this?

MK: We are genetically hardwired to be fearful of the future. Why is that? Because our ancestors were timid apes. The apes who were

brave and had no fear, they got eaten by tigers.

Our ancestors were the ones that ran away from the tiger, hid from the tiger. That’s why we’re here today! We’re here today precisely because our ancestors who were not timid, who were too bold, they got eaten by tigers. Their genes are no longer here. Our genes are here because our ancestors were timid. So, we’re genetically hardwired to be fearful of anything new. And the future of course is always new by definition!

So, this means that we will be fearful of the future.

I remember when the internet first came out. I did a book tour. People were just getting the internet. The very first interview I got – I’ll never forget this – the lady that interviewed me said, “How awful! This is terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. I am never, never going to get on the internet.” And I said to myself, “Look, you just get used to it. That’s all. It’s useful, okay?” I’ll never forget the look on her face: absolutely horrified. Today, of course, it’s second nature.

And that’s how timid apes deal with new technology. At first, they’re horrified, and eventually later on they say, “Oh, I knew it all along. Anybody knows that. Child’s play.”

I&T Today: I have to admit, I’ve been a little guilty of that sense of horror too at times.

MK: It’s your genes. Your genes are functioning and your genes are telling you,

“Watch out. This is new stuff. Be careful.” You know, we’re genetically hardwired to feel that way. But…in a few years you’ll say to yourself, “Ha! I knew it all along.”

I&T Today: We love STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. As someone who built an electron accelerator in his garage when he was in high school, what advice would you give young tech enthusiasts/scientists?

MK: It’s true. When I was in high school, I

built a 2.3 million electron volt betatron electron accelerator in the garage. It consumed 6 kilowatts of power. It created a magnetic field of 10,000 gauss, or 20 times the Earth’s magnetic field. So, gee, what advice should I give people?

It sounds kind of trite, but you do have to follow your dreams. I get a lot of emails from people who are established. They’re lawyers and they’re accountants and they’re very wellestablished, but they went into accounting and law because their father wanted them to go into those fields. Now they’re very successful. Now they email me saying, “Is it too late to become a physicist?” They were not allowed to follow their dreams because of practical considerations…I tell people to follow your dreams.

When I was young, I read a pamphlet (and I was in, I think, 4th grade) and the pamphlet said, “What do physicists and baseball players have in common?” So I said, “That’s an interesting question.” I opened it up and the answer was “They both get paid to do what they love.” And I said to myself, “Wow, that’s pretty good.” Baseball players get paid to do what they love and we physicists get paid to do what we love, too. I mean, great! I say to people follow your dreams, go as far as you can to understand the secrets of nature, and hopefully at the end of the rainbow you get paid to do what you love.

5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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connected life

The Greatest Moments of the “Techade”

In only 10 short years, technology has come a long way. We’ve seen trends come and go, and some innovations that seemed world-changing at the beginning of the decade are now relics of the past. Here, we’re taking a trip down memory lane, highlighting the major tech moments from each year of this decade. While some years were very clearly more eventful than others, each innovative moment had its own role to play in our technological development as a species.

Matthew Yohe at en.wikipedia

By Alex Moersen

2010 The beginning of the decade saw releases of two technologies that would set the pace for the next 10 years, although one would have a bit more staying power than the other. Uber launched a beta version of its app in May 2010, officially starting the ride-sharing revolution that took over the decade. Just a month before, the very first iPad was released, shifting the public’s attention away from the ever-dominant laptop.

2012 In the year that the world was supposed to end, the pace of technology really started to pick up. The Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro won Le Mans, marking the first hybrid vehicle to do so, a major win for hybrid and electric vehicles. In August of this year, the Curiosity rover officially landed on Mars. A couple of months later, Microsoft released the Surface, the first tablet to successfully rival the iPad.

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

2011 This year saw the loss of one of the greatest technologists of the century when Steve Jobs died of pancreatic cancer on October 5. Before this, people spent most of the year with their eyes on Google. The very first Chromebook started shipping on June 15, and Google’s supposed Facebook rival, Google+, launched just a couple of weeks later on June 28.

Little did the company know that one of these launches would become one of their biggest failures.

2013 The console wars reached a new level in 2013, when both the Xbox One and Playstation 4 were released in November, ushering in a new era of gaming. Oculus Rift also came on the scene this year, bringing virtual reality into the mainstream. The year started with Pebble shipping the very first smartwatch that could connect to Android and iOS devices, being the first snowflake of the rolling snowball of current smartwatches on the market.

connected life

2014 Now this is when things started to get a little weird. In 2014, something called the Hoverboard, popularized by celebrities like Justin Bieber and Kendall Jenner, was released. Although it didn’t technically hover, teens and adults everywhere would roll around on them; that is, until they started catching fire and had to be recalled in 2016. Boston Dynamics, following a Google acquisition in 2013, was growing in fame, revealing their Cheetah robot that could jump over obstacles while running, a major feat in robotic movement.

2016 The decade ups the pace once again. Pokémon Go occupied the entire summer, peaking at 45 million daily active users on July 19. By the end of the year, Nintendo had sold 1.5 million units of its NES Classic, showing how powerful nostalgia can be. Apple released the iPhone 7 and its Apple Airpods, officially digging the grave for headphone jacks everywhere.

Sophia the Robot, the humanoid android with nearly full conversational abilities, was revealed, striking awe and terror in the public eye. Finally, Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully landed its Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship at sea, a major advancement in future, sustainable space travel.

2015 On June 23, 2015, the Amazon Echo started shipping and officially began the voice-first revolution, teaching us that we can simply yell at our technology rather than control it with buttons or remotes. The Apple Watch came along to completely outshine Pebble’s original smartwatch, leading the way to the future of wearables.

2017 Elon Musk’s momentum continued into 2017 with the launch of Tesla’s Enhanced Autopilot HW 2.5. Musk had been spending the second half of the decade leading the way in autopilot and selfdriving technology, with HW 2.5 being the most successful iteration yet. Nintendo once again separated itself from the gaming console pack with the very transportable Switch, and has now hit 36 million units sold. The Sonos One gave voice-activated speakers a much higher quality sound. The LG Wallpaper TV, exactly as thin as it sounds, showed how far we have come since the days of boxy televisions.

Finally was the release of the iPhone X, which completely redesigned the iPhone as we knew it (although, it’s still just an iPhone).

2018 If you’re wondering what groundbreaking event Elon Musk pulled off this year, you probably weren’t expecting the launch of a Tesla into space. SpaceX successfully launched their Falcon Heavy rocket, the most powerful commercially developed rocket ever created, with a dummy payload in the form of a Tesla. This successful launch marked the new era of space travel, showing that private corporations could outshine the likes of NASA. Quite possibly the most world-changing event was the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data breach, during which it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica had harvested personal information from millions of Facebook profiles to use in political advertising. Later that year, Zuckerberg was forced to testify before Congress, an event that changed data privacy as we know it.

2019 Last but not least, 2019, too, was full of innovation and wonder. 5G began rearing its head and spreading across the world, giving new capabilities to smart cities. The Mars rover Opportunity, which had been operational since 2003, finally shut down, relaying one final, tragic message: “My battery is low and it’s getting dark.” But, in more positive space-related news, the first-ever direct image of a black hole was published, marking a major moment in space exploration and observation.

To close out the year, in October, NASA hosted its first ever all-female spacewalk.

This decade was a snowball of advancements racing down a hill. While the decade may be coming to a close, the snowball will continue to roll – likely at increasing speed – and we’ll just have to wait and see what sort of innovations come out of the 2020s. ■ 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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connected life

Moto Z4 – With up to two days of battery life and a 25 MP selfie camera, the Moto Z4 is the next evolution of Motorola’s smartphones. Because of the device’s compatibility with moto mods, you can turn your Moto Z4 into a projector, speaker, or mini gaming console. $500 Altec Lansing Super Lifejacket 2.0 – Designed with durability and adventure in mind, the Altec Lansing LifeJacket 2.0 is the ideal Bluetooth speaker for the outdoor explorer.

Waterproof and snowproof with up to 16 hours of battery life, the LifeJacket 2.0 can take on the elements and keep the music playing.

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Deep Sentinel Starter 3-Cam Kit – Setting itself apart from the competition, the Deep Sentinel Starter 3-Cam Kit has actual guards maintaining your home’s security 24/7. Featuring everything you’ll need to leave your home alone stress-free, this kit shows how Deep Sentinel’s focus on live monitoring is truly disrupting smart security. $500

BenjiLock TSA – Making a major appearance on ABC’s Shark Tank, the BenjiLock TSA has received plenty of attention for its advanced security features.

Able to use your fingerprint or PIN code and TSA approved, this innovative lock is making security smarter. $50

Toshiba e-STUDIO5015AC – With A3 color output and incredibly fast 50ppm printing speed, the Toshiba e-STUDIO5015AC is a high-end printer for the modern office. Featuring an easy-to-use display similar to a tablet for control and customization, this printer can fill all your office’s needs. Visit toshiba-business.com to

request a quote.

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

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BUSINESS INNOVATIONS

The Art of

CRUSHING IT

By Charles Warner

Internet personality Gary Vaynerchuk gives his patented entrepreneurial advice and reflects on the growing worlds of podcasting and cryptocurrency.

Photos Win Wolloff

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

“ Passion is an unmatched fuel.

Add being happy to that and you have a wonderful formula for good health.”

This is just one example of the inspirational words of Gary Vaynerchuk. There’s good reason that people look to him for advice – Vaynerchuk is an experienced entrepreneur, author, social media influencer, CEO, and online personality. In his 2018 book, Crushing It!, he builds on his previous experiences, giving advice while reflecting on our constantly changing business landscape.

In 2018, we spoke with Vaynerchuk about his views on the current state of cybersecurity, the advantages of creating audio content, and advice for the many entrepreneurs who look up to him.

Innovation & Tech Today: Tell us how a typical day starts for you.

Gary Vaynerchuk: There is no typical day because I travel 30-40 percent of the year. So it could be lots of airports. This morning I woke up in Denver. Tomorrow I’m going to wake up in Chicago. But usually, I wake up and look at my phone, make sure nothing’s on fire. What’s lonely about ownership and being a CEO is you’re the last line of defense. So there’s always a little buzzer that goes off and there’s a sense of anxiety. There are always things going on.

I&T Today: Do you find that, on the road, you can actually get more done?

GV: 100 percent. Yesterday, I finally did my email. Because I got lucky; the Wi-Fi wasn’t working when we first got in the plane and so I just got into a rhythm and didn’t get distracted and cleaned up my inbox. The airplane is disproportionately the place where I get the most tangible amount of work done, answering questions that are sitting in my inbox. When it was pre-internet on a plane, I really crushed it. Offline, boom. But the internet, you know, you can get distracted. You can get into a Twitter hole, you can get into,

you know, looking up something. You can get caught up.

I&T Today: What are your thoughts on the current state of cybersecurity?

GV: I think it’s bigger than people realize; I think this is more about being a good person than about security. Most people don’t care about privacy. You think you do, but I don’t think you do, because your actions show that you don’t. We care about the health and wellbeing of ourselves and our loved ones and we care about our money, right? As long as those things aren’t compromised. When the 15 biggest celebrities are murdered tomorrow because they gave away their location, I have a funny feeling privacy’s going to start to matter.

If your money was stolen by a scam on the internet and you couldn’t get it back, Chase Bank or Wells Fargo says, “Sorry, tough luck,” I think you would start caring about your credit card number.

I think what you’re going to see is something completely different; I think all of us are going to start acting in a way that we realize people could see this. Does that stop us from texting dumb s***? No. Does that stop people from sending nude photos? No. We’re still going to be us but I think we’re going to start being more empathetic and less hypocritical of each other as we start all realizing that we’re all flawed. So I have a very different point of view on this. I don’t see this as terrible; I see this as phenomenal. I see that transparency is the gateway to happiness and I’m extremely bullish of the human race over the next hundred years.

I&T Today: Tell us a bit about your collaboration with K-Swiss.

GV: I got a random email almost two years ago that said, “I’m the president of K-Swiss

5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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BUSINESS INNOVATIONS The Art of CRUSHING IT

and we’d like to make a Gary V sneaker.” I liked that email and I was curious if he was for real. I was worried it was going to be an influencer, like there was a sneaker they already made, but I wanted to put my signature and have a Gary V sneaker. But there were two things that mattered to me. One, I thought it was cool; I want to buy nostalgic brands in my career, K-Swiss was a nostalgic brand. And I also like that it could have failed. I liked the fear of falling on my face because I thought that was a good energy and I liked the idea of giving my friends ammo to make fun of me.

Literally one of the reasons I signed the deal was I romanticized this vision 28 years from now where my friends are like, “Hey, remember when you were a d*** and thought you could sell sneakers? You idiot.” I think that’s a good idea to always push yourself where the downside is you can make fun of yourself and move on. That’s how that deal felt. It went really, really well. We have the new one coming out, the 003, in July. It’s going to be a challenge, going to be a lot of pairs, me and the team are looking at it. It’s going to take work but I think it’s going to be successful.

I&T Today: You’ve participated in a fireside chat with Shark Tank’s Daymond John. Did he give you any advice?

GV: He didn’t, but Daymond is awesome. First of all, I tend not to take advice because I think it’s ego but I also think it’s slow. I like taking advice from the audience. I’d much rather read every single person’s comment to this interview than take advice from somebody fancy, I really mean that. And by the way, that’s how I learn, I spew advice all day. If you get value from it, that’s amazing. If you don’t – I love when people are like, “Hey bro, sorry but I don’t watch your stuff.” I’m like, “Great, I wouldn’t watch it either.”

I&T Today: You’re an early investor in Bitcoin, correct?

GV: Let’s not get excited here, but I did buy some Bitcoin in 2014.

I was curious about crypto; I bought some Ethereum. I made some bucks, but I didn’t put in real money. So, it’s nothing, you know, I’m not going to buy the Jets just yet. Maybe the Steelers. [Laughs] I’m unbelievably bullish on blockchain technology. But this would be like somebody saying to me, “Do you believe in the internet?” Yes. “Do you believe in Ask Jeeves?” Maybe. “Do you believe in Netscape Navigator?”

Maybe. “Do you believe in Google?” Maybe. So the winners on top of

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blockchain are a little murky. Obviously Bitcoin’s out and about, but I’m bullish on blockchain.

The internet was a decentralization of a lot of things, but it was still a centralized place, which is why you see big companies built on it. Blockchain goes to a totally different place. I think it brings reputation, and who you are, and your brand to a whole new level, and so I’m very excited to see how it plays out in the next two to three decades.

I&T Today: What do you think is one of the biggest misconceptions about you?

GV: I’m a very interesting contradiction. I’m super emotional, soft. Because I’m not financially driven, I don’t have that cutthroat, “I’m making a money decision, sorry ma’am it’s just business” mentality. I’ll drag out firing someone; I’ll try to put them on; I’m always there for them.

So I think the biggest misconception is that between my Jersey energy and my bravado, I’m winner take all.

I&T Today: What are some of the advantages of podcasting and voice technology?

GV: Podcasting is audio and audio is passive. Audio is convenient and we love convenience. There are a lot of people that now listen to my podcast instead of watching my videos because it’s easier, like while you’re running, or while you’re driving, or while you’re on a plane, because you have to give the attention to the screen. I’m a very, very big fan. I think we saw pictures and videos have their day, but I’ve done incredibly well in the last seven years on the internet. We’re seeing it and more to your point about voice: A.I., machine-learning intelligence, speaking to Alexa, speaking to Google Assistant, these are incredible technologies.

Typing is faster than making a phone call, that’s why we text and don’t call. But voice is way faster than search.

Search is in deep s***. I would not want my life to be dependent on Google search. Google search is going to decline over the next two decades, very quickly. Look at your kids, or kids in your world. Go look at a seven-yearold, they’re not typing search, they’re voicing search.

They’re using Alexa and Siri on their iPad. 25 percent of all Google searches on mobile devices are voice. 25 percent. Staggering and it hasn’t even slowed to the home market. And I’m excited. In six years when it’s completely dominating, people are going to look back on all the content I made during this time and say, “Wow, he was right.” (continues on page 92)

“Google search is going to decline over the next two decades, very quickly. Look at your kids, or kids in your world. Go look at a seven year old, they’re not typing search, they’re voicing search.

They’re using Alexa and Siri on their iPad.” A closer look behind the scenes with the always-enigmatic Gary Vee during his exclusive interview with Innovation & Tech Today Editor-in-Chief Charles Warner. Vaynerchuck shares his thoughts concerning the rise of cybersecurity, the decline of the traditional Google search, and the investment atmosphere surrounding bitcoin.

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BUSINESS INNOVATIONS

5 Years in the Tank Over the last five years, we’ve spent a lot of time in the water with these sharks.

The sharks of Shark Tank have become some of the most famous investors in the world, making multi-million dollar deals both on television and behind the scenes. They are business gurus with experience in a variety of industries, but if there is one thing they all love, it’s tech. Over the past five years, our team at Innovation &

Tech Today has had the opportunity to speak with many of the sharks. In these interviews, they’ve provided business advice, described their strategies, and, most importantly, hinted at what it takes to be a shark.

Here, we’re breaking down the highlights from our interviews with Daymond John, Robert Herjavec, and Kevin O’Leary. While they all happened within the last five years, the insight they share is timeless.

Compiled by Alex Moersen

Daymond John On the Best Advice He Ever Received Money is a great slave but a horrible master.

Never do things for money. You have to do your true love and your passion, which will make you money. But you have to do it first. When I didn’t have money and I tried to do things for money, I never enjoyed it. It never worked. Even when I did have money and tried to expand into other areas of business I wasn’t really fascinated with, but wanted to make money, it never really worked.

It doesn’t mean that I took this advice at first, but when reality struck, I realized what they were saying. The other thing I learned was to keep good people around you that have the same interests, a mastermind group. They will be your mentors in so many ways, but they will also be your partners and your family. Keep people that have the same goals in mind.

On His Favorite People and Companies to Work With There are so many. I get to work with so many amazing people, like Nate from Mission Belt, Maury from Hanukkah Treetopper, and Rabbi Moshe from Sound-bender. They are really amazing, energetic people that light up the room when they come in. There’s [former Cleveland Browns great] Al “Bubba” Baker from Bubba’s Q boneless ribs. I could go on and on.

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As far as companies, the newest ones that have been really cranking have been Sleeping Baby, Sun-Staches, and Bomba’s Socks. There’s Titin Weighted Compression Vests, which I think will be bigger than Under Armour and bigger than FUBU. The Titin vest contains medical gels in a workout vest; you can put them in the microwave before you work out if you want to heat up any part of your body. You can also freeze it up for faster muscle recovery. The vest can weigh up to 15 pounds when it’s full. The Netherlands speed skating team won 23 medals in Sochi and attributed winning so many medals to this vest because it helped them recover quickly for the next day of competition. It’s a really amazing device.

On His Daily Technology Use Uber has been a life changer for me. iRecorder allows me to record meetings with my staff and send them out. I was going to throw out my Blackberry, but I love their email system – not only that it’s secure, but that I can find emails easily. Voice dictation has also saved me about an hour and a half a day with texts, tweets, emails, all of that. And, of course, social media.

I wear enhanced hearing devices from Starkey.

It’s basically like a hearing aid but I can listen to audio books, etc. It’s very small, but now they have an app with TruLink and I can do everything from record a conversation in a meeting to someone tapping into my app and talking in my ear, things like that.

On Education Financial intelligence is very important.

Understanding structure and business is really the basis of anything you do, whether you’re a mom running a household, an entrepreneur or “momtrepreneur,” or running a company as a CEO. Money is very hard to make, but ten times harder to keep.

I also think we need team building and more curriculum on how to work with other people because we have really lost this social aspect of our lives. Kids these days don’t know how to work with others. Even though they claim to have thousands of friends online, and you and I probably had ten friends growing up, they don’t actually work with the friends. I find this with my younger staff members. They’re kind of in their little worlds. When they come in, they don’t know how to work with each other.

There’s a way to do it; it’s about emotions. It’s not about a text or a Tweet.

On His Advice for Entrepreneurs First of all, they have to research what they’re doing and then take affordable steps. People think you need Shark Tank —you don’t need Shark Tank these days! I met 57 individuals that did over $1.5 million this year alone. The beauty of technology is the fact that people are now able to reach the entire world and take in money ahead of time, test it with their customers, and then buy and sell the good to the consumer.

Photo: ABC/Bob D’Amico

I’ll give you one example: One kid shared with me how he wanted to be rapper. I said, “Okay, well I can’t really help you with that area,” and I exited the hotel lobby. He had a very beautiful car. I said, “It looks like you’re doing well. What are you doing?” And he said, “I’m a graphic artist.” “OK, well, you’re doing well.” Then he told me, “Well, I have 100,000 followers on Instagram, and every Wednesday I take a shirt, paint it, put it up on Instagram, and I tell everybody, ‘Put your orders in now. You’re only going to see this shirt for 24 hours.’ I get everybody’s money, on Tuesday I go to the screen print store and I make however many prints I’ve already sold and I give the printer the money people prepaid.” I asked him, “How much did you do this year?” He said, “$1.8 million.”

So, look at how he takes affordable next steps.

He tests the market, people pay for it, and he sells the goods. I think that good entrepreneurs will figure it out and take affordable next steps like that.

Robert Herjavec On Shark Tank’s Impact The amazing thing that none of us saw happening, which we’re really all proud of, is the effect that we have on kids. You can understand how adults and people want to start a business.

It’s a financial decision based on their circumstances. And who doesn’t want to make

Photo: ABC/Matt Petit

Photo: ABC/Eric McCandless

Photo: ABC/Eric McCandless

Photo: ABC/Matt Petit

more money? It’s one of those questions you ask people: “Gee, would you like to open up your own business one day and make more money?”

Who’s going to say no to that?

But what we really didn’t see coming is that kids would be so heavily invested in the show. I always say to people, the biggest thing you would notice if you walk around with me or any of the Sharks is 50 percent of the people that come up to us are kids. And I don’t mean 19 or 20, I mean eight years old, 10 years old. It’s remarkable.

On Cybersecurity The idea of privacy will be completely changed because consumers are willingly giving up their privacy. Consumers are posting pictures, telling people where they are, all sorts of information that you couldn’t imagine 10 years ago. And so, privacy will change from the things we think about today to very specific things like medical records and personal financial data. The personal data in terms of who I am, where I am. The change for that again is becoming seismic, because people are voluntarily giving up that information. Our identity as individuals will be completely tied to our identity online. And, in some ways, if we don’t have a good identity online, we won’t have a good identity. It’s a fascinating process for us.

We look at it from a security component, obviously, in a very self-serving way. It’s an explosion of devices that can all access data and

all break into a network. So there’s no surprise that cybersecurity is the fastest growing segment of the computer business…

If you really want to inflict pain on the very large scale, it’s fundamentally easier to do that through the internet or some element of a cyber attack than it is by targeting individuals.

Obviously, the loss of life is catastrophic, but short behind that is the loss of connectivity and automation. If a hospital can’t access data, it’s going to make bad decisions. It won’t know what to do; it won’t know how to operate. There’s an element to all that. And the cost of outfitting an entity to go after the internet infrastructure grid is a much lower cost proposition. The cost of a tank or a bomb is very, very expensive; the cost of a highly trained cyber terrorist is actually very low compared to that.

On the Future of Transportation If you would have looked at the car industry 10 years ago, you would have said there really is no innovation. Today, it’s one of the most innovative elements. We’re talking now, “Are people even going to drive cars in 20 years?

What is a car going to look like?” There’s an electric car company here in California. They are funded by a Chinese billionaire. But their entire idea of a car is simply a pod that people get in that will take them somewhere. So they’re not even designing it with the idea of a driver experience. They’re simply designing it as a pod for transportation. It’s their design element. It’s 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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BUSINESS INNOVATIONS 5 Years in the Tank

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fascinating. And this isn’t 10 years away; this is a couple of years away.

I look at that and I say, “What about airplanes?

What about other elements of consumerization?” I took a commercial flight the other day. It is one of the most archaic ways to travel. I mean, doesn’t flying today remind you of bus travel 30 years ago? And the delta between a commercial flight and private aviation is vast. The only people who can afford private aviation today are the ultra wealthy or the ultra busy. But there’s got to be an element between those two.

On What Keeps Him Motivated I think it’s the scale of the opportunity. I love to create. Business is a very creative process.

And I’m an opportunity-driven guy, so when I see an opportunity I want to create something great. For me, it’s always about pushing yourself, trying to be better, looking at the things that scare you. Whether it’s racing cars or doing Dancing with the Stars, I’m always trying to say, “Where’s the limit? Where can I go? How can I be better?”

From a business perspective, part of it is you have to find the opportunity. And when you find that opportunity, you’ve got to go at the speed of the opportunity. Our business is going through hyper growth right now and we’re smart enough to know, “Yeah, we’re a great company and we’ve worked really hard, but the timing is now. And so it took us five years to grow six million in sales. In the next five we got

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to a hundred million. And in the next three we’ll get to 200 million.” Part of that is us, but also there’s a macro condition that allows us to participate in that market. And when the market says run, you’ve got to run full speed. Through walls, over walls, through obstacles. You’ve just got to go.

Kevin O’Leary On Being Honest I’m not mean. I just tell the truth. The one thing that differentiates me, versus the other Sharks, is they just don’t have the guts to tell these people the truth. What is the point of encouraging somebody to continue on a business plan to zero? I’m telling the truth.

Nothing mean about that…

Business is binary. Either you make money or you lose it. You think I’m tough in Shark Tank, wait until the real world gets a hold of you. It’ll chew you to pieces. I think it’s a great thing to get in front of investors like in Shark Tank, who should be at arm’s length and unbiased, so they’ll tell you the truth. But I think there’s a lot of concern about people’s feelings. Screw all that! This is about business. I’m not trying to make friends, I’m trying to make money. If I want friends, or if you want another friend, buy a dog.

On Deciding Whether or Not to Invest Well, I like to use anecdotal data because I’ve got a whole team that does due diligence, obviously, when I have to, because we look at so many different deals all the time. But I like to

actually use the product myself. I love to invest in products or services that I actually pay for and use myself.

So if I’ve got a product that looks interesting – like BenjiLock, for example – I’m going to buy BenjiLock for my lake house, and many of my other homes because I have that problem. I have lost the key for the lock on my boathouse garage. Well, that’s a real pain in the butt, and I wish I had the ability to just use a fingerprint to open it up. I mean, even if it’s been sitting there for two years, and you can charge the battery up and push your finger on it again and “Bingo!”

That saves so much of a headache and I think it’s so brilliant.

Now that kind of a thing is easy for me to make a decision on because I know I would use it. It doesn’t mean it’s going to be a great investment, but in the case of something that solves a problem globally ... I mean, pad locks are used from Cambodia to Cameroon to the United States to Ethiopia to Cypress. They’re used everywhere. We don’t see that too often on Shark Tank – where we can take a product and blow it up globally.

On Execution Well, there’s lots and lots of great ideas. There’s no question technology is completely disrupting many different industries. You can see it in retail all across America, for example. What we’re missing a lot of is executional skills. Shark Tank really highlights something that’s important for entrepreneurs to understand.

Photo courtesy of Kevin O'Leary

Photo courtesy of Kevin O'Leary/NYSE

Photo courtesy of Kevin O'Leary/Kevin-Harryrosen

Photo courtesy of Kevin O'Leary | Artman Agency/Cyrille Margarit

Photo courtesy of Kevin O'Leary/CNBC

There are three elements to a deal. Number one is a great idea. And then there’s the concept of executional skills – to actually execute the deal itself. Just because you have a great idea doesn’t mean you’re going to be successful.

Much harder is to execute on the vision and being able to pivot when things don’t work out.

We really struggle with that, even on Shark Tank. I have great ideas with weak entrepreneurs and I have to make changes in their companies over time. Then I’ve got incredible entrepreneurs that come out with ideas that I think are mediocre, that end up being very successful because they have such amazing entrepreneurial or executional skills. So, it’s kind of a combination of both.

What we need more in America – and any country would – but we need more great entrepreneurs with executional skills because you can start to see, after a couple of years on a great idea, if the people that are driving it don’t know what they’re doing, it’s not successful.

On Turning Your Idea into a Reality Be an apprentice for two years. Take a sector you like and work in it and prove to the people there who run a real business that you’re a great value to them. This is something that Europeans do very well. Many people in Switzerland, for example … And I’m well aware of how that country works. They leave college, and they work for two years as an apprentice. If they like the biotech sector, they go there. If they like the pharma sector, they go there.

What I’ve learned in life is that great

entrepreneurs understand the value equation. In other words, if you’re very good at what you do and you can add value to a business, you become, yourself, a primary asset. The reason that’s important is, when you go out there to raise your own money, you have a bit of a track record as a successful element of a company that’s made in the sector you’re interested in. In other words, you’ve worked for somebody in a sector that you’re now asking to break out in and get funded for. That’s very interesting for me as an investor. I like to see executional skills, I said that earlier. Executional skills are what I invest in, because great entrepreneurs with executional skills know how to pivot, they know how to solve problems, they know how to do things to keep their dream alive. I love to invest in people like that.

On Routine Well, the value of success in entrepreneurship is that it provides for personal freedom. So the rule I have in my family is, on the weekends we always gather together. I can afford to do that.

Last week it was in Paris. The week before that, Geneva. This weekend, it’ll be New York. I’ll bring my kids to be with me and the rest of my family. We try and get together as often as we can. I try and shut down for those two days.

I do get up pretty early in the morning because I’m a chairman of O’Shares. We’re a global investor. We run ETFs on the New York Stock Exchange and we invest all around the world. I like to look at the European and Asian markets, so I get up pretty early, about five o’clock, and I do it from a bike. I ride for an hour, and try and

burn off 600 calories. Do my stretches. Get caught up with the market. I got a routine that I really enjoy and that quiet time in the morning, probably between 5:00 and 7:30am, is when I get 90 percent of my work done, because then the phone starts ringing. Crazy stuff happens and I do the TV stuff. But, in that early morning, I just love to be in my office and do my thing.

Just watching the world, go through emails and all my trading screens, and everything else. I think it’s very interesting.

On Personal Productivity You know, I think there’s a lot to be said about personal productivity. What I do – and I teach this too now – I write on a yellow sticker three things I’ve got to get done before I accept a phone call or write an email. It’s just three things that are going to happen. You can’t believe how productive you get when you’ve just put your top three things … Could be anything. When you get those done before you do anything else, you become extremely productive. I learned that from one of my woman CEOs. It’s rather remarkable in Shark Tank history, the majority of my returns have come from the companies run or owned by women. I’ve learned a lot from working with them, because they tend to be extremely good at managing time. There’s that old adage, “If you want something done, give it to a busy mother.” But they also set goals that are achievable. They have lower staff turnover.

The have higher IRRs [Internal Rate of Return] for me, so I’ve really started to try and institutionalize some of their philosophies into all of my businesses. ■ 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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Renaissance rapper Akon discusses the Akon Lighting Africa project, as well as his newfound role in the tech world.

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Switched On

By Paul French & Charlie Hernandez

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Since the mid-2000s, Akon has been recognized for his catchy tracks and energetic performances. His high, modulated vocals – partly inspired by his Senegalese roots – have made him a model act of contemporary hip-hop, earning him numerous awards and several Grammy nominations.

We first met Akon at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, at a convention center mobbed by blister-toed techies and exhibitors the world over. He wasn’t speaking on a panel either. He was right there with the rest of us on the show floor. A scrum of onlookers forming around him, he shook our hands warmly and smiled.

We probably shouldn’t have been so surprised. Over the last few years, Akon has emerged as a major player in the tech world – this arguably starting in 2014 with the advent of Akon Lighting Africa. A joint effort with solar energy provider Solektra International, the project seeks to supply impoverished African nations with sustainable light sources. Claiming an average investment of $75,000 per village, this initiative has provided solar lamps and generators to more than a dozen countries across the continent.

Most recently, in 2019, Akon finalized plans to build a 2,000-acre city in Senegal, powered by his personal cryptocurrency, Akoin. Naturally, it will be called Akon City.

The hip-hop/R&B artist has been a surprising and welcome addition to the tech community, lending to a great interview back in 2017. Still today, the thoughts he shared on his Akon Lighting Africa venture informs his more recent Akon City project, and his views on sustainability and the tech world are still relevant today.

Innovation & Tech Today: In the past, you’ve claimed that music and business are inseparable. In fact, you’ve said that you have to be a businessman first, even though you work in an artistic industry. There could be a parallel here between this and the world of sustainability, because obviously there’s money to be made there. So, what comes first for Akon Lighting Africa: sustainable value or monetary value?

Akon: It’s more about the sustainability value. I think that makes sense, because if you focus on the sustainability factor, the monetary factor is going to automatically fall into place. As long as it can happen continuously, almost forever, people are going to benefit from it. I think if you look at the sustainability factor, there’s no way you cannot be successful, if you have the right product. Ultimately, it’s about how that product impacts people, who it impacts.

I&T Today: What do you think about the power fossil fuel industries have attained with the new presidential administration? You’re an optimistic guy. How do you cope with the overt presence of non-sustainable special interests at the top of the pyramid?

After all, Rex Tillerson, former CEO of ExxonMobil, is now the Secretary of State. How do you react to all of this, and, more importantly, what do you do?

A: With stuff like that, you just promote what you’re doing a little bit more. I think what they’re doing is a huge mistake. Now we’re stepping backwards.

Because clearly, like you said, special interests are involved, and everyone’s trying to get as much money as they can for the four years that Trump is in. And, clearly, he’s in it for a big paycheck as

well. But it sets us back. And all it’s gonna do is allow people like Russia to move ahead of us in technology. We have to think beyond the actual wallet. And we have to look at it from a standpoint of how does that impact humanity in America. Clearly those decisions are purely business and not for the people’s interest. And I think the people can clearly see it. And we’re just hoping that they see it before it damages us.

I&T Today: We heard a lot about Akon Lighting Africa in 2015 and 2016, and I wondered what the plan was for 2017. What are the next steps?

You’ve made a lot of significant progress. What’s next for Akon Lighting Africa?

A: Well, clearly, we’re closing out all the contracts we’ve currently signed. And now we’re following up on certain countries. Just kind of revamping, restarting. We’ve opened up a solar academy in Mali where we train the locals to facilitate those contracts and give some energy education to all those people interested in tomorrow’s energy.

Of course, there’s poverty in Africa. We just want to grow a real business. We’re not approaching it from no charity standpoint. We want to hire people, give people real jobs so they can provide for their real families. Not only that, but it’s literally giving light. Not just from a mental standpoint but from a physical standpoint. Clearly, from there, Akon Lighting Africa will go into Akon Building Africa, which is the infrastructure aspect of Africa. So that’s stage two, which will probably start around 2018, 2019.

I&T Today: You’re a musician, a peace advocate, a businessman. And now you’re a name in the world of technology. This last year it was 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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Akon: Switched On

announced that you were the Chief Creative Officer for the 3D mobile theater company Royole. I want you to describe your experience with this new venture. Why did they choose you and what do you bring specifically to the table in that regard?

A: Well, I got approached by so many headphone companies. Headphones, headphones. And I’m like, “Where’s the originality?” Ok, it worked for Beats. That don’t happen often. So I wanted to do something totally different. I don’t want to deal with no headphones.

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I wanted to get into virtual reality space. But then I also realized that the virtual reality space is just a tad bit premature if you’re not into gaming. So I said, okay, let’s go into the basic thing that leads people into virtual reality. And that’s theater, movies, Netflix, Hulu. And I partnered up with Royole because I felt like they were the best company with the best quality.

So now I came in and I’m pretty much doing all the designs. I’m pretty much creating a remodel of the whole mold, taking it from regular LED to now 3D and IMAX theater quality. So we really just upgraded this thing to a level of real competition.

And it’s not gonna look like the corny 3D glasses that you see. It looks sexy. It sounds amazing. And it looks impeccable. So it’s a product I think that once you buy it, you’re definitely going to want to engage with it a lot more. As you travel, as you’re at home doing nothing, or you just want to look at things that you don’t want everyone to look at. Or you just want to be in the privacy of your own space. You can watch everything on it, from movies to pornos. [laughs] It’s amazing.

I&T Today: Were you always interested in the tech world, or was it your work with Akon Lighting Africa and solar energy that sparked your interest?

A: Oh yeah, I was always interested in technology, and moving forward into the future. That was one of the reasons I was the first on ringtones. Like, even when everyone was beating us up, I was like, “Yo, this is the future.” Like, I don’t see how you guys don’t see the difference. Look at the math: you got a song that sells for fifteen seconds for, what, $4.99 at the time? And I’m over here trying to sell you a full song for four, five minutes for a dollar. C’mon, bro. I sell you a fifteen second clip, and that’s like selling five singles. How you not see the difference in that?

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Akon: Switched On

I&T Today: Synthesis is a common theme in much of your music. You take inspiration from many different media – perhaps as a result of your multicultural upbringing (for instance, I’ve read that one of your first instruments was the djembe drum). Now that you’re involved in all of these different enterprises, do you find that each influences the other?

A: I feel like, with me, with all my ventures, I use the one hand washes the other, both hands wash the face concept. I don’t get into one thing that doesn’t help the other, or go into something else that will stall me from getting more active in something else. Every piece of business is connected somehow, whether it’s from music to film, to philanthropy to actual business.

Everything has to flow and flow together. And we move it together. And, as I’m marketing one thing, I’m marketing the other. And no matter what I’m getting into, the market’s the music, ‘cause that’s my base. And that’s how I look at it. Royole, for instance. When I do films, boom! All my content will be naturally installed in it. When I record albums, clearly, all those albums will also be installed in it. You know what I mean? As I’m doing my albums, I give them away to fans. So there’s so much that can be done. And in the process of all that profit being made, I dump it right back into Akon Lighting Africa, Akon Lighting America, Akon Lighting Asia, or wherever our focus is at that moment.

So all of them work together.

I&T Today: Do you think that there’s a sort of mainstream aspect to the sustainability movement at this point? Before it was kind of like left vs. right thing. But now do you think it’s moving more toward the mainstream? If so, why do you think that’s happening?

A: I think it’s happening. It’s happening only with the younger generation though. The older generation is much more stubborn. They’re used to doing things a certain kind of way. They’re used to making their money a certain kind of way. And they really don’t understand the latest technology or the new ways of how the millennials are moving well enough to transition into this new way of how we move it. So that’s why there’s a lot of resistance from the old generation.

The older guys that think younger are the ones actually beating everyone to the punch. You can kind of see the difference in how they’re moving and the difference in their success level as well. So they really have to adapt to a new future. Otherwise, they will be left behind.

You can learn more about Akon and his efforts in Africa by visiting akonlightingafrica.com.

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Jane Goodall and infant chimpanzee Flint reach out to touch each other's hands. Flint was the first infant born at Gombe after Jane arrived. With him she had a great opportunity to study chimp development—and to have physical contact, which is no longer deemed appropriate with chimps in the wild.

(National Geographic Creative/ Hugo van Lawick)

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P E R S O N O F T H E Y E A R 2 0 17:

Jane Goodall Produced in partnership with

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By Anthony Elio

A detailed look at Jane Goodall, the influential primatologist we are happy to name our Person of the Year.

2017 has seen plenty of ups and downs throughout the world. Times seem incredibly dark for some, with a divided country and an increasing sense of distrust regarding issues that could affect the planet forever. However, one person went above and beyond to keep alive feelings of positivity, hope, and giving to the world: Jane Goodall. Known best for her extensive research in the field of wild chimpanzees, Jane Goodall’s fascinating career and commitment to improving the world make her an obvious choice as Innovation & Tech

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Today’s official Person of the Year for 2017.

Born in 1934, Goodall grew up with a special place in her heart for animals, which would eventually grow into her career path. According to Livescience, she was reported missing at the age of four, only to be found in a henhouse, watching the animals and discovering how they laid eggs.

Eventually, an invite from a family friend would be the catalyst for a trip to Africa, which would begin her life’s work of studying chimpanzees.

What made Goodall’s work memorable was how it challenged so many preconceived notions of science. Upon her entry into the field, there was still not very much research on chimpanzees, let alone their relation to human beings. Rather than attempt to study them from afar, Goodall got up close and personal with the creatures, allowing her to understand their behaviors and

emotions, providing a springboard for her extensive research. This led to a number of groundbreaking discoveries, such as the fact that chimpanzees use tools, something previously believed to be exclusive to humans. This discovery, which led to more research on the relationship between humans and chimpanzees, was called “one of the greatest achievements of 20th-century scholarship” by paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould.

However, there are still many achievements the general public may not be aware of. In addition to her extensive work as a primatologist, Goodall also helped to redefine how we view conservation. She founded the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977, an extension of her own beliefs and commitment to the enviornment. In addition to assisting her chimpanzee research, the Institute also aids in two very important pillars

Beyond the influence of Goodall’s work, many stars also gave insight into how the film itself will inspire those in the audience. On what people will take from the documentary, actress Jane Lynch told Innovation & Tech Today, “the wonderful research she’s done on the behavior of primates and how they’re so very close to us. There’s a lot for us to learn…I don’t think anybody has that much research or is responsible for that much knowledge for this particular area of wildlife. ” And, even after decades of hard work, Goodall is still as committed to improving the role of humans in the world as ever. As Goodall said herself at the film’s premiere, “How bizarre that

Photo National Geographic Creative/Hugo van Lawick

Photo Jane Goodall Institute

this intellectual species is destroying our planet.

And we need to get together and make things different. And I hope this film will inspire people to join together to try and make that happen quickly.” In an uncertain time when protecting the planet has been a large point of contention, the iconic primatologist’s words ring true now more than ever.

Goodall’s work has no doubt been revolutionary to the wildlife community and inspirational to the general public. It’s this dedication to sustainability, environmentalism, and wildlife conservation that makes Innovation & Tech Today proud to announce Jane Goodall as the official Person of the Year for 2017. While nobody quite knows what 2018 will bring, the spirit of hope, passion, and caring that Jane Goodall provides will continue to inspire. ■

Photo Jane Goodall Institute) Photo: National Geographic Creative/Hugo van Lawick Photo Steve Pyke

The official premiere of the event, which featured red carpet appearances by stars such as Howie Mandel and Jane Lynch, was a perfect reflection of Goodall’s influence throughout her career. As actress and author Jamie Lee Curtis said in an interview with Innovation & Tech Today, “There’s a wow factor to her and her work and her passion… not a lot of people in my life have had that impact on me.”

Photo John P. Fleenor

The film itself was in great hands, as Jane was directed by Brett Morgen, best known for his work on 2015’s Cobain: Montage of Heck (chronicling the life of Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain) and 2002’s The Kid Stays In The Picture (a look at the career of Paramount producer Robert Evans).

Photo Jane Goodall Institute

While her impressive career spans many decades, 2017 brought with it a new wave of admiration for Goodall’s work, as seen with the theatrical release of Jane. The film, officially released on October 20, 2017, chronicles Goodall’s long career, utilizing over 100 hours of footage that has never been seen before. Kept in the National Geographic archives for over 50 years, the footage provides visual insight to her story, detailing her incredible life in the world of conservation and primatology.

Photo: National Geographic Creative/Hugo van Lawick

of its founder’s beliefs: protecting chimpanzees in the wake of rapidly declining populations and addressing the predicament of deforestation. In 1991, Goodall co-founded Roots & Shoots, collaborating with youth in 100 countries to encourage them to embrace their dreams for a bright future for the planet and its inhabitants.

Top Row: A young Jane Goodall poses for a picture in her school uniform. David Greybeard was the first chimp to lose his fear of Jane, eventually coming to her camp to steal bananas and allowing Jane to touch and groom him. As the film Jane depicts, Jane and the other Gombe researchers later discontinued feeding and touching the wild chimps. 2nd Row, Jane Goodall and Hugo van Lawick during their wedding. Jane watches as Hugo van Lawick operates a film camera.

3rd Row, Jane formed a close bond with young Fifi.

"Flint" peeks into a tent at Jane Goodall. Final Row: (left) Director, Writer, and Producer Brett Morgen (right) Composer Phillip Glass

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FLY ME TO THE COSMOS

Neil deGrasse Tyson will be returning to Cosmos in 2020.

D

By Charles Warner

“Do you like walks on the beach?” Neil deGrasse Tyson jokingly asked when we sat down with him. It may be a stereotype of the scientific community, but one might not expect such charisma and humor from an astrophysicist. But it’s exactly this demeanor that makes Tyson so relatable, and in turn, makes astrophysics relatable.

From his book Astrophysics for People in a Hurry to his television series Cosmos, based off of the book by Carl Sagan, Tyson has become a prominent spokesperson for science promotion, education, and edutainment. In fact, Cosmos, a limited series that debuted with critical acclaim in 2014, is finally getting a second season, hosted once again by Tyson.

In addition to Tyson, this season will be helmed by returning Executive Producers Jason Clark and Seth MacFarlane.

Earlier this year, we had the opportunity to sit down with both Neil deGrasse Tyson and Jason Clark to discuss the current climate of science education, what made Cosmos so popular, and what fans can expect from this upcoming season.

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Photo: Cosmos Studios

Innovation & Tech Today: Are you surprised at how much people love Cosmos?

Neil deGrasse Tyson: Yes and no. The “No, I’m not surprised” part comes from the fact that the recipe was already tested in 1980 and that recipe is the interplay of science and storytelling; representing science not as a set of different disciplines but as a tapestry of all branches of science becoming one because nature doesn’t split chemistry from physics from biology – it’s all intermingled in nature. Cosmos wove that tapestry and presented it to you in a way that mattered. In a way that you felt you weren’t simply learning from a documentary, you were being compelled to use this new wisdom that the show was sharing with you to try to make a better world for yourself and for everyone and that got tested in that series. That was an immensely successful series so we said, “Let’s do that again.”

Now, here’s a behind-the-scenes thing you don’t even know. It was not obvious initially that it was going to land on National Geographic or Fox in the 2014 incarnation and we took it around to various places and what they all said

was, “Well, this is modern times, and we can’t use any writers from the original one,” and it’s like they don’t really understand, as Ann Druyan is quick to point out, there are people walking among us who have tattooed on their skin quotes from the original Cosmos.

And you’re going to say we have to bring fresh writers; bring in a young set because that’s your grandfather’s documentary? And Ann stayed strong on this and said, “No. We know what we’re doing here,” and it would finally land in the way it did where he had creative freedom to tell the story in the way we intended with the DNA that was traceable from 1980.

I&T Today: Right, and Seth MacFarlane really championed the series because he was such a fan of it?

NdT: Of the original [series], correct. And he brought it to Fox and Peter Rice and the team.

I&T Today: That’s an odd combination.

Seth MacFarlane and Cosmos, where does that come from?

NdT: I think that he saw what it could be and then he gave the support to allow us to create

(Left) The Ship of the Imagination heads for Enceladus, a restricted Category-5 world which keeps its potentially life-harboring secrets hidden deep beneath its surface.

(Above) Explore the Cosmos with host Neil deGrasse Tyson. Photo: Patrick McElhenney/FOX

something that stayed within the voice. So that’s why I’m not surprised. But, I am surprised by how, holding aside Flat Earthers and vaccine deniers and the like, I remain surprised how large the science enthusiast community is today.

Measured by several metrics, for example the attendance at Comic Con. Everybody at Comic Con is science literate top to bottom. They might have light saber sword fights at the bar, but at the end of the day they are not wondering whether the Earth is flat or whether the universe is 14 billion years old. Another example is the success of the TV sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

Jason Clark: And the score itself is created by Alan Silvestri, you know, who did The Avengers and Forrest Gump; one of the most incredible composers. And he went to London, to Abbey Road, and hired musicians to record the score and it shows in the execution and it creates an

emotional connection to the story.

NdT: And the director of photography was the same guy who did Independence Day and Stargate, so these are people with very real pedigree, and why would they just do something for TV science unless they were touched by the

An imagined human settlement on an exoplanet moon is offered as a reminder that we are capable of greatness.

Photo: Cosmos Studios

And another one is, why do I have 14 million Twitter followers? Everyday I wake up and ask, “Do you guys know I’m an astrophysicist?

There’s still time to back out, you don’t have to stay with me, you know.”

I’m surprised but delighted that there’s this enthusiasm out there and it’s a matter of, “can we have that enthusiasm spread?” And with Cosmos, I know of no greater vessel to make that happen. Because of its reach, because of its multi-disciplinary tools that were brought to bear to tell the science stories that we do.

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FLY ME TO THE COSMOS pre-existing legacy of what Cosmos represented to them and what they think Cosmos represents to the world.

I&T Today: And that passion comes through.

Photo: Cosmos Studios

NdT: Oh yes, and he says it better than I can because he worked more closely with them, but the energy level of the teams of people that came to work on it…

JC: Oh, we had people first and foremost.

NdT: It wasn’t just a payday, right?

JC: No, we had a thousand people around the world and were asking them all to, at a haircut price, help us out and they overachieved, painstakingly. I mean, there are versions of visual effects shots we did over 30 versions of because what we were doing is defining the scientific accuracy while creating a visual that would be exciting and pleasing and feel every bit as good as anything you would see in a big visual effects extravaganza, and we had exactly the same artists. We had guys who were designing spaceships, the production design team for the Star Wars thing who said, “Oh I want to do Cosmos, please let me get a ship in Cosmos, please let me do something for that.”

Photo: Lewis Jacobs/FOX

Yeah, it’s important to them, so that passion that you talk about, we were able to capitalize upon that with the artists that came to us because they were rooted in this in a way that was very meaningful for them.

Photo: Cosmos Studios

In the 1970s, Carl Sagan collaborated with fellow astrophysicist Ed Salpeter to design lifeforms with plausible evolutionary histories for long-term survival in the roiling clouds of Jupiter. Among them were "floaters," vast hydrogen blimps pumping helium and heavier gases out of their interior to retain only the lightest gas, hydrogen. These themes of scientific creativity are present throughout Cosmos: Possible Worlds, celebrating innovators such as Thomas Young, looking deeply into subjects such as how Earth would appear with a ring system, and would an imaginary extraterrestrial observer think that there's anything we do that distinguishes us from every other living thing on Earth?

Photo: Cosmos Studios

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Host Neil deGrasse Tyson enters the Palace of Life, an imaginary place of ancient towers hidden by the mists of time and enshrouded in myth. Here, he moves into its largest, most ancient realm, to walk among the life at the bottom of the sea. Photo: Cosmos Studios

I was profoundly moved by people’s reaction to the last season and I think this season with all these great artists and Neil’s performance, all of that exceeds my dreams for what we could have done.

I&T Today: Do you think we’re in a golden era of science communication right now?

NdT: I think we are in an era where we are figuring out the best ways to be science communicators, and I look on the internet each day at people who are doing experiments, who are doing things. You have other people who are not scientists – have you seen all the videos that are on Mentos and Diet Pepsi? That’s a chemical thing that’s going on and people are doing this.

So it’s not that we’re at a golden age, it’s that we are rising up as more and more people are on this landscape who want to talk about science.

We’re not at the golden age yet but we’re on the ascent to it.

I&T Today: How has the show impacted public education, making astrophysics approachable?

NdT: Well, there are segments of Cosmos that are slotted into classrooms. I don’t know if it’s because the teacher’s lazy or they really want to show it.

JC: I’ve had teachers come up to me… First of all, it’s very important to Ann Druyan, who

created the show with Carl, that they inspire.

When you get really focused you say, “Can we inspire one person, kid,” and to have teachers say, “I’ve played episodes to my class.” We went and talked to the school. I took Ann to a great school and these kids were geniuses. I mean it was remarkable the way and the depth at which they had received the information from the previous season, so hopefully it will happen again. There will be a complement education program that National Geographic is putting together, which will be really important and Carl’s son is going to be working on creating a curriculum for that.

I&T Today: Do you think that the younger generation is going to be the next greatest generation, considering the challenges they’re facing, like climate change?

NdT: My answer to you is yes, because of their awareness of the role of science in their lives and in the health of civilization going forward. So, with people 30 and under, there are very few climate deniers in that community.

Climate deniers lean older, but these younger people know what science is. Science gave them their smartphone and they can’t live without their smartphone and they are not in denial what that smartphone is doing for them and they also know that the smartphone talks to orbiting satellites around a spherical Earth.

So I think they are our best hope for the future. Now, Cosmos is addressing all generations and for me the most important generation, and I’m unorthodox in this sense, are the adults, because the adults are in charge now. They are in charge, they wield resources, they are shaping what the next generation is going to inherit, so they have to be influenced now. I don’t have the patience to wait around for my eight-year-old to become old enough to run for senate. We have to educate the senate now. So I think Cosmos has the strength to be potent at all ages, the visual storytelling and content latitude can touch people at all those ages.

“ I remain surprised how large the science enthusiast community is today.” ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson JC: There’s no better time for this than right now and there’s no better spokesman than Neil and there’s no better show than Cosmos and what Ann and Carl and Brannon Braga have created for this season and I think that it can reach people and it can transform the world. ■ 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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Ann Druyan’s Cosmic Journey Cosmos: Possible Worlds writer Ann Druyan details what it will take to get us to Mars.

By Charles Warner “And what greater might do we possess as human beings than our capacity to question and to learn?”

my God, we moved so far from our mother.”

So in some ways it has exceeded my wildest dreams and in other ways it hasn’t lived up to my wildest dreams because the way that science is respected and valued has not lived up. The respect for evidence, for truth, not the ultimate truth, but these beautiful successive approximations of reality that science can give us. I think back then when we did the first season of Cosmos, there was a more widely distributed regard for fact.

This is just one of many iconic quotes from writer and director Ann Druyan. A Peabody and Emmy Awardwinner, Druyan is best known for her work on six different New York Times best-sellers, the 1997 film Contact, and the original Cosmos series, all collaborations with her husband Carl Sagan. She also wrote for the 2014 Cosmos revival, as well as its newest iteration, Cosmos: Possible I&T Today: What Worlds. The quote also Executive Producers Brannon Braga and Ann Druyan and Co-producer Sam Sagan on set. discovery in the past 10 or Photo: Dan Smith/FOX perfectly summarizes the 20 years has most surprised themes of Cosmos, which is or even astonished you?

Ann Druyan: Well, I think more and less. I itself an exploration of space think we have discovered more about the nature AD: Well, I think the achievement of actually and science through the lens of human curiosity. of the universe than I could’ve anticipated, but registering gravitational waves, which even In this exclusive interview, Druyan opens up we’ve explored less than I might’ve hoped.

Einstein, who had probably the most limitless about the incredible discoveries of the past few That’s two steps forward, one step back.

So I imagination of any human, even he thought that decades as well as the possibility of life on Mars. always think of the toddler who ventures from would be impossible. So the achievement of Innovation & Tech Today: When you and her mother’s skirts and runs out there for a measuring those and registering those first Carl [Sagan] worked on the original Cosmos, minute and then suddenly realizes, “Oh my gravitational waves, that was an epic you spoke about how much our exploration God, I’m on my own here!” then rushes back achievement. God, since the first season of of the heavens would grow with technology and gloms onto the mother’s legs. That’s what I Cosmos, the mapping of the human genome; the and discovery. Now, 40 years later, have we think happened to us. Failure of nerve. We went discovery of thousands of exoplanets! That’s the found and learned more than you to the moon, which was a mythic achievement. thing about science. It delivers the goods. You anticipated?

And then we lost our nerve. We realized, “Oh can’t bullsh*t your way too much. Every single

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step of the 100,000 or the million steps in a single mission have to be for real because if somebody fudges even the tiniest thing it will go horribly awry. That’s the strength and the beauty of science and that’s what attracts me to it, actually.

I&T Today: Do we know everything we need to know to live on Mars?

AD: No, we don’t know everything we need to know. We need to know much more about how to deal with perchlorates in the soil, about a lot of different aspects of the Martian environment that we’re not yet prepared for.

We don’t know everything we need to know about anything, and certainly the effect of space travel on human muscles and tissues and psyche and all of those things. These are things we need to explore more deeply.

Ann Druyan walks through a scene with Elizardo Torrez, who plays a young Carl Sagan, on set in his family's apartment.

Photo: Lewis Jacobs/FOX

I&T Today: What potential for future deep space discovery exists if we can set up research bases on Mars?

AD: Oh, well the sky is the limit really. Once we learn how to flourish on Mars, we will be capable of many more things than we are now.

One of the things we have to deal with is the vastness between the stars. Through the use of solar sailing nanocraft, as we depict in the series, the idea of sending a flotilla of a thousand nanocraft to Proxima Centauri, the nearest star, becomes more feasible. I just saw a few days ago that yet another possibly habitable world was discovered around Proxima Centauri. So that’s our next stepping stone in our travels and explorations.

Executive Producer Ann Druyan (center) speaks with Executive Producer Brannon Braga (right).

Photo: Lewis Jacobs/FOX

I&T Today: Given the current climate of science and politics, how important is a show like Cosmos when it comes to engaging a lot of young people in space and science?

AD: When Carl [Sagan] and I and Steve Soter set out to create Cosmos, the original series was exactly that, to convey that the great power of science is not just a collection of amazing facts, but it’s a way of seeing absolutely everything and of winnowing out stuff that isn’t real. If we had that in our politics, it would be really amazing. ■

In a distant future when our species has ventured to other planetary systems, our descendants revere the wonders of a world that is only a memory. Photo: Cosmos Studios

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The USA Science and Engineering Festival returns with new pavilions, new exhibits, and 350,000 students and influencers ready to carry us into tomorrow.

By Robert Yehling

Over 350,000 students are forecast to attend USASEF 2020, participating in exciting activities and learning from some of the best STEM minds in the country.

Imagine the most amazing science fair you’ve ever experienced. Then think of the most inspiring and motivating people you’ve heard in a public setting. Aim this powerful mix at our national and global future in STEM-based fields (science, tech, engineering, and math). Finally, invite an estimated 375,000 people to join this massive creative mind party.

This will be the scene later in 2020 in Washington, D.C., (USASEF has been postponed due to COVID-19) when some of our nation’s and world’s most brilliant young minds join teachers, influencers, industry

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leaders, and celebrities for the fourth USA Science & Engineering Festival. For three days, STEM-focused students and adults will partake in presentations, exhibits, theme- and careercentered pavilions aimed at their field-in-waiting, and a science and technology fiesta unlike any other. Where else will you find astronauts talking space tech with musicians?

Or teenage robotics experts mingling with automation thought leaders?

“This event is a World’s Fair for students,” USASEF Executive Director Marc Schulman says. “It really is. Think of what they’re exposed

to at this event. I’m pretty sure before they come, they’ve never met a geospatial scientist or seen a DaVinci robot. You’re not only seeing every STEM job and career opportunity under one roof, but you can spend hours talking to specialists in a particular field, in a particular booth.”

Over the three-day event, an estimated 600 organizations will spread their booths, exhibits, and presentations over 2.4 million square feet of exhibit space. According to USASEF spokesperson Carly O’Brien, up to 3,000 exhibits will be available for attendees to check

“ It’s so inspiring for participants, and now, they’re able to start leaving USASEF and connecting to either school programs, or college courses, or internships, or career opportunities. It’s a lot more than ‘come to the festival and see all this great technology and go home.’” ~ Marc Schulman

out and experience. They cover the full spectrum of career opportunities, top science and technology work today, and also the vast number of future applications coming in the 2020s.

The USASEF show floor will be punctuated with a record number of themed pavilions that cover the gamut of STEM-centric fields.

Students will be joined by hands-on exhibits, experts, and leaders in the pavilions, which afford a 360-degree look to students interested in specific fields or technologies. For example, NASA’s stand-alone exhibit has morphed into the new Space pavilion. This will celebrate the huge resources and energy being poured into missions to the Moon and Mars by SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin, and hundreds of other companies involved in the effort.

Another new pavilion is Girls in STEM, reflecting the surging numbers of girls and young women focusing on STEM subjects in school, and converting their passions into careers. “We’ve had any number of organizations and NPOs targeting girls, but we’ve never had an area specifically for them,” Schulman said. “This is a big mainstream topic.

There’s huge interest. A lot of company workforces are expanding diversity, trying to attract females into their companies.“ Teachers will also have their own dedicated space at USASEF with the Teacher Resources Pavilion. This will enable teachers not only to compare notes and approaches to presenting STEM subjects, but also to check out dozens of tech-savvy resources to optimize their classrooms and create greater interactivity with projects and assignments.

Other Pavilions for 2020 include: Aviation, Career, Earth Sciences, Engineering & High Tech, Energy, Health & Medicine, Math & Computer Science, National Security/DOD STEM, Natural Sciences, and Sustainability.

In short, the festival presents the full range of STEM – and where students can take it from here. This workforce development approach is new to USASEF, but according to Schulman, it is also becoming the primary focus of the event as organizations begin seeking future technology experts, coders, scientists, and engineers through high schools, colleges, and trade schools.

“We encourage exhibitors and speakers to key in on the future of workforce,” Schulman says.

“We, as an organization, are getting away from calling ourselves a STEM outreach event; that’s run its course. We’ve begun concentrating on future workforce development. We encourage exhibitors to talk about what kids could be working in.”

To that point, USASEF has instructed exhibitors within the pavilions to focus some of their messaging on potential career paths through the 2020s. That’s not easy, when you

consider how technology exploded in the 2010s, and where it could go in the 2020s as 5G, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, and advanced streaming options become more central to our world and economy. However, their core future workforce will be the students in the room.

As Schulman concluded, “If you can talk about how artificial intelligence will affect the industry – or advanced manufacturing, 3D printing, or cloud computing – then that’s what inspires people to research and go into it. A lot of exhibitors will bring technologies they’re working on, especially the researchers of the world like the NSF (National Science Foundation), NIH (National Institute of Health), and National Academy. We’re looking to present subjects with stuff that is not only coming to fruition now, but will do so for the next 7 to 10 years.” ■ The event is free to students and teachers, $15 for other attendees. Stay tuned to the USASEF website (www.usasciencefestival.com) for COVID-19 updates, new show dates, and tickets.

Innovation & Tech Today is a founding media partner of USASEF. 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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Biggest

THE WORLD’S SCIENCE FESTIVAL

An Interview with Marc Schulman, Executive Director, USA Science & Engineering Festival

By Robert Yehling | Photos courtesy of USASEF Every two years, children and teens descend upon Washington D.C. for three days of fun and activity. This isn’t the ordinary eighth grade tour of our nation’s capital, though. They come by the hundreds of thousands, many of the smartest students in the world, to attend the biannual USA Science and Engineering Festival.

In 2018, attendees wore out the turnstiles.

More than 375,000 students, educators, STEM experts, and government, industry, and corporate types gathered at the Walter Washington Convention Center to indulge in their favorite STEM pavilions and topics, spread over 2.4 million square feet. This was a remarkable leap in attendance for an event that only began in 2010 from the vision of the late Larry Bock.

Bock’s successor, Marc Schulman, became Executive Director in 2012. He started out working at the Fiesta Bowl Foundation, then in 2006 joined the X PRIZE Foundation as VP of

Partnership and Marketing – perfect for the numerous marketing and content partnerships that make the Festival happen. He also owned a consultancy working with experiential marketing and event management.

As we roll out our exclusive coverage of the 2020 USASEF, Schulman spoke of the Festival and its ever-growing reach, not only into classrooms and STEM labs, but into the workplace. Let’s face it: the STEM kids of today are our future workforce in this increasingly digital and automated world. According to Schulman, the line between classroom and workplace is blurring, which he discusses.

Innovation & Tech Today: The USA Science and Engineering Festival is, by anyone’s definition, massive. How would you characterize this event and the impact it makes on students, educators – and, for that matter, our workforce in the 2020s and beyond?

Marc Schulman: This event is nothing less than a World’s Fair for students. It really is.

Think of what they’re exposed to at this event.

I’m pretty sure before they come, they’ve never met a geospatial scientist or seen a DaVinci robot. Exhibits like this make for very interesting interactions between exhibits, exhibitors, and students. You’re not only seeing every STEM job and career opportunity under one roof, but you can spend hours talking to specialists in a particular field, in a particular booth. It’s so inspiring for participants, and now, they’re able to start leaving USASEF and connecting to either school programs, or college courses, or internships, or career opportunities.

It’s a lot more than ‘come to the festival and see all this great technology and go home.’

I&T Today: What are some of the new pavilions and features planned for 2020?

MS: We’re still working on these, and a couple I can’t comment on right now, but I can tell you

(Left) Executive Director of USASEF Marc Schulman. (Right) An expo attendee conducts an experiment at a previous USASEF event.

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At USASEF, students have no shortage of activities to partake in, from science experiments to virtual reality.

that we will have a Nuclear Energy Pavilion, Food Science Pavilion, Chemistry Pavilion, and a Girls in STEM Pavilion. We’re also looking at an Exploration Platform, showing the expansion of our space program. NASA has been our most popular booth for years, so we’re expanding that out.

I&T Today: Let’s get into future workforce. There’s a big effort nationwide to tie STEM students’ education to future career tracks, through alliances between corporations and colleges, corporations and magnet schools, internships, and the like. How is the USA Science and Engineering Festival addressing that?

MS: We encourage exhibitors and speakers to key in on future of the workforce. We as an organization are getting away from calling ourselves a STEM outreach event; that’s run its course. We’ve begun concentrating on future workforce development. We encourage exhibitors to talk about what kids could be working in. For example, at another of our events, XSTEM, we tell speakers to hit on three main things:

1. What got them motivated for their career?

2. What are they working on today?

3. W hat will they be working on in the future?

I&T Today: It seems like the third question is the departure point for these students, and for the companies.

MS: That’s right. The third piece is what motivates the kids. If you can talk about how artificial intelligence will affect the industry, or advanced manufacturing, 3D printing, or cloud computing, then that’s what inspires people to research and go into it. A lot of exhibitors will bring technologies they’re working on, especially the researchers of the world like the NSF (National Science Foundation), NIH (National Institute of Health), and National Academy. We’re looking to present subjects with stuff that is not only coming to fruition now, but will do so for the next seven to 10 years.

I&T Today: Along those lines, there’s high demand for educators who are proficient in specific STEM skills – not something that comes with the typical teaching credential.

Could you discuss how schools, and teachers, are better equipping themselves so they can be effective STEM educators in the classroom?

MS: You make a good point. One of the trends in education is that all of these teachers are trying to teach STEM, in after-school groups or science classes, but it’s outside their educational training and specialties in many cases.

I was recently at UC San Diego, at an event put on by a local math teacher. He noticed that public schools offered few coding classes. On his own, he picked up a program, taught himself how to code, and created opportunities in his school. After a couple years, the [San Diego Unified School] District was so impressed with his course that they put it into some of their other schools – but then he had to teach those teachers how to code. We want more teachers to be trained in specific STEM subjects, which increases the resources available to students at the schools. ■ USASEF has been postponed due to COVID-19.

Visit www.usasciencefestival.com for updates.

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STEM Since our inception, Innovation & Tech Today has championed STEM education in all of its forms. We found it appropriate to revisit one of our favorite STEM interviews, when we got to sit down with famous STEM and edutainment advocate Bill Nye in 2015.

Photo courtesy of Lightsail (2015)

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Bill Nye The Science-PoliticsEducation-Social MediaHome AutomationGlobal Warming-Guy

Interview by Melissa Hirsch & Charles Warner

If you grew up in the 90’s, your brain will automatically recall the words “The Science Guy” – and maybe even the show’s iconic theme song. Nye hasn’t missed a step since his days teaching kids about the earth’s crust, how light works, and so much more. For starters, he’s the CEO of the Planetary Society, which was co-founded by his former teacher, Carl Sagan.

He’s taken on the antiscience mongers of the world in interviews. On #TuesdaysWithBill, he hits the Twitter-verse with nononsense answers to the world’s science questions.

In recent years, however, Nye has taken a more serious tone in his work, possibly trying to grow with those kids who watched him in the 90’s. His Netflix show in 2017 kept his light and humorous tone, but combined it with more urgent calls to action. In 2019, Nye appeared in an online video exclaiming, “the planet’s on f***ing fire!” Hopefully, the juxtaposition between his old, child-friendly self and his new, in-your-face attitude is enough to catch the attention of the public. It’s Nye’s sense of humor, intelligence, and willingness to discuss these tough issues that make him a hit with millennials.

In this exclusive interview, Nye shares his views on just about everything under (and including) the sun.

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STEM Special: Bill Nye BN: Yes. The strongest evidence I can think of is The Big Bang Theory.

It is the biggest TV show on television – not just the biggest sitcom, but it has the highest ratings all week.

They’re all lovable geeks! That alone is incontrovertible evidence that it’s hip to be a square.

I&T Today: What are the biggest obstacles to getting kids in STEM?

“ I want the millennials to be the next Great Generation.

I want them to change the world.

This is my hope.

This is my dream.

This is what I work towards.”

Photo courtesy of Lightsail (2015)

Innovation & Tech Today: Why are events like the USA Science & Engineering Festival so important?

Bill Nye: Well, the big thing we all talk about continually is hands-on learning.

You want kids to be able to touch things – not just watch them. Everybody agrees: it is important to give students an opportunity to really touch things and really see things. All of our technology and our food and our weather reports – everything comes from a relatively disease-free society compared to a hundred years ago. That’s all a result of science, so of course you want to get kids excited about that. But also, from a

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practical standpoint, you get to get kids excited about engineering jobs.

If you’re a corporation like Lockheed Martin who has a strong presence there, you have to get engineers in the pipeline, too. You gotta get kids excited about science and engineering so you can hire them as employees someday.

I&T Today: I think another point about the USA Science & Engineering Festival people talk about is the importance of kids having role models and seeing people who are really happy in their jobs. Do you think experience combats the stereotype that it’s uncool to be a geek?

BN: It turns out algebra is the single most reliable indicator of whether or not a kid pursues a career in science or math. It’s not clear that it’s cause-andeffect, but what we want to do is start teaching algebra earlier and have it be lower pressure. Traditionally it’s taught in middle school, and either you like it and get into it, or you hate it and no one ever makes you do it again. We want everybody to be fluent in algebra.

It’s a solvable problem. You do not need to scrap the entire school system. It’s a tweak to enable science, technology, engineering, and math for a better tomorrow for all of humankind. Is that so wrong?

When you have a space program, you do not have to run around obsessing about creating STEM! STEM! STEM! STEM just happens as part of your everyday experience.

I&T Today: And that’s really closely related to the project-based learning you hear a lot of buzz about, too.

BN: We love project-based learning.

That’s also the hands-on learning. You want to build a robot? That’s all you.

I&T Today: And then the math and science is something that you learn so you can do something really awesome like building a robot instead of just passing a test.

BN: Yeah, exactly. This is part of the theater background, but I remind everybody, it’s test time! You nervous?

Yes, you’re nervous. And before a show

you’re nervous. As the saying goes, if you’re not nervous, quit doing it. When you teach people, remind everybody to take the nervousness and turn it into excitement. Not saying, “Wow! A pop quiz! Cool!” But just, “Well, a pop quiz.

Okay. Time to focus.”

and encouraging them to vote for the environment in the short, medium, and long-term would be in everyone’s best interest.

I&T Today: What’s the importance of adding the “A” in STEM and making it STEAM?

I&T Today: You talk about intelligent design, homosexuality, fracking…

BN: When you do that, you diffuse it a little bit. You don’t want to eschew the arts. They’re very important. You know, I was just in Japan, and it’s a real thing – when Japanese society does anything, they take into account how it looks. And why don’t we all do that? Japanese companies want U.S. students engaged with their students, because it is generally agreed U.S. students are somewhat more creative.

They also want U.S. students to see disciplined Japanese science students doing disciplined things – not just dinking around. Toshiba has an exchange program. It’s called Tomodachi, which means friendship. The better you know your neighbors the more likely you’ll do business with them, and the more productive and creative everyone will be, and the better the world will be tomorrow.

I&T Today: With the hashtag #TuesdaysWithBill, reading mean tweets, and your cameo on Inside Amy Schumer, do you think it’s important to really be engaging the millennial crowd and getting them thinking and talking about science?

BN: Well, of course, but those are the people who grew up watching the show.

It’s fun for me to engage them, and those are people that are going to finally change the world. This is to say we are living in an extraordinary situation where people are denying climate change. This is a problem, I realize now, has to be solved in parallel with actually solving climate change. So, engaging millennials

BN: I guess I’ve expressed opinions on all those things, haven’t I?

“ It’s a tweak to enable science, technology, engineering and math for a better tomorrow for all of humankind.

Is that so wrong?!”

I&T Today: Yes, and it’s really important that you do. Have you noticed a change in Photo courtesy of USASEF/Colella Digital the political climate and how we address eliminates or greatly reduces the chance these sorts of issues? What role do you of having grandkids. I can understand think science plays in shaping these where top-down management of a conversations? religion would discourage that. But, BN: The absolute most serious problem humankind faces is climate change. That is science-based policymaking. Vaccinations – that’s science. It is not freedom of choice. I have a right to not have your smallpoxinfected kid running around my society.

I went to elementary school with a guy who had polio. You do not freaking want polio, I’m telling you right now.

So there’s a vaccine for it, and that’s a science-based policy. When it comes to homosexuality, the proof that there is a sound policy is that the Supreme Court just issued a ruling that you can marry anyone that you want. And that is also, if you look at the biggest picture, sciencebased decision-making. Homosexual people exist in society. Deal! That whole thing for me is so personal. A guy wants to marry another guy. So what? I can understand now, from an evolutionary standpoint, there are traditions which discourage homosexuality, because that

there’s a lot of kids happening anyway with seven billion people in the world.

I&T Today: So, do you think our society and the world at large would be better off if science dictated more policy and religion?

BN: Well, religion you’ve got to keep separate. That’s another idea those people who wrote the Constitution had. It’s a great idea. These guys running for president right now bringing it up is very troubling. But we want sciencebased everything. This doesn’t mean you seek a single scientific authority and do what he or she says. It means you have a society where all the voters and taxpayers are scientifically literate.

They’re not all engineers. They’re not all scientists. They don’t all write scientific papers. But they have an appreciation for it in the same way everybody has an opinion on what’s right and wrong as manifested in our laws. People have 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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STEM Special: Bill Nye

opinions about whether or not a law is good. In the same way, we want everyone to have an opinion about science from a scientifically literate society.

I&T Today: I’m interested in how you would go about differentiating a good scientific perspective from a bad one.

BN: That’s the whole thing – we want everybody involved. The one thing you can count on in science is that it’s going to change. The information you find tomorrow is going to be different from the information you have today. That’s part of the process, and that’s what we celebrate. So when it comes to climate change, it has been politicized. That is to say you can argue about whether or not it’s really happening. That’s wrong from a scientific standpoint. Climate change is very well-documented from a scientific standpoint, and at least 97 percent of the world’s scientists are very concerned about it. But in the United States, especially, the fossil fuel industry has been involved in so many political campaigns, a great number of politicians have been influenced to believe or to say they believe that climate change isn’t a settled issue. That is based on the fossil fuel industry.

I&T Today: I love what you said about the millennials being the ones to change the world.

BN: Climate change denial is not entirely, but generally, a generational issue. Millennials do not deny climate change. It’s old guys, people my age, who deny climate change.

I&T Today: I think that they’re more savvy than we give them credit for, and they have a few tricks up their sleeves to be a positive force for change, especially with regards to climate change and politics. What do you think about that?

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“ Dismiss science because it changes? No, we prefer you dismiss your other beliefs.”

Photos courtesy of USASEF/Colella Digital

BN: Well, I mean that’s my dream.

Last night, I submitted the last version of the manuscript of my next book, which is called Unstoppable: Climate Change in the Next Great Generation.

My parents were both veterans of World War II. My dad was a prisoner of war, and my mom was in the Navy. People call them the ‘Greatest Generation.’ I want the millennials to be the next Great Generation. I want them to change the world. This is my hope. This is my dream.

This is what I work towards.

I&T Today: Have you noticed a change in corporate America’s attitude toward sustainability?

BN: Well, “Green is the new black,” as they say. Corporations have their whole brands based on this now. The interesting thing is an organization like REI. They’re like, “Hey! We were here first!” Whole Foods and Chipotle, too. These guys are all about sustainability. You go into a restaurant, and the pork is all grass fed. It’s in the culture. In car companies, you have fully recyclable body panels, recyclable tires, and so on. It’s all the rage.

Of course, from my point of view it’s not enough, but the longest journey begins with a single step.

I&T Today: Hopefully it’s moving away from just the lip service that you’ve seen in the past, even if it is just in small steps.

BN: Well, small steps are how you get going on this. And the millennials are going to demand it. There’s an interesting market question. I just mentioned Chipotle (it must be on my mind). They’re saying no to genetically

modified organisms. We’ll see how well that does. We’ll let the market sort that out. I strongly feel that genetically modified organisms are not inherently bad. We’ll see how sustainable that is for businesses – if they can raise enough food without GMO’s, if people really do prefer the old technology flavors versus the new ones.

I&T Today: What are the biggest obstacles to having your dream of millennials changing the world actually come to fruition? On the other hand, what are the most encouraging things you’ve seen in this group of people that lead you to believe this could happen?

BN: These people, those who work at the Planetary Society, they work hard.

They’re enthusiastic, passionate people who accomplish great things. And the technical savvy is after my time. Double thumbs juggling. It’s amazing. The obstacle is climate change denial. It’s a serious problem in the U.S. The other thing is people feeling powerless. The problem is so big, there’s no way to get started on it.

I&T Today: I think they don’t believe they have a voice. Politics is all bought and paid for, so it is hard to get representatives who stand up for what the people want.

BN: And it’s not that they’re evil.

It’s that we’ve accidentally created a system where you need so much money to stay elected. This goes back to gerrymandering of congressional districts. Each time it was done, it seemed like kind of an okay thing to do. But we’ve gotten really out of hand.

Gerrymandering is a solvable problem.

It’s going to take voters and taxpayers agreeing that we need to solve it, but the biggest picture to remind everyone of is we’re more alike than we are different. You think you don’t have

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STEM Special: Bill Nye

“Vaccinations – that’s science. It is not freedom of choice. I have a right to not have your smallpoxinfected kid running around my society.”

Photo courtesy of USASEF/Colella Digital

anything in common with those people in that neighborhood, but you do. The reason we don’t fix gerrymandering is for the most part because we’re afraid of people that we don’t know. It turns out that you actually have more in common with them than you think.

That’s my claim.

I&T Today: What are your thoughts on home automation and the Internet of Things?

BN: I have a Nest thermostat and it’s fantastic. It cools off the house from my car. This week, I had use of the BMW i3.

It’s their small electric vehicle, which is excellent. And you have got to be able to check your vehicle’s state of charge from your phone! You need that as part of your life! After you drive an electric car, you will never go back. One of the reasons you’ll never go back is when you get in your car in the morning, the cabin has been preconditioned: the air-conditioner or heater has been turned on. It’s automated. I’m a big fan of having sensors in the refrigerator, reminding you to get a get a quart of milk. With that said, you have to protect the infrastructure. You cannot let the internet get hacked. It cannot go down.

These are things we have to keep in mind. The internet isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. I’m a big fan of net neutrality.

As soon as you have a communications company making a deal that gets you faster internet than your neighbors, you’re heading for trouble. You want to democratize information.

I&T Today: What do you think about the line of reasoning that privatizing internet will make for a better product?

BN: Disagree. Do you want to privatize the sewer? To privatize the voltage?

“Over here we use 195, over here is 98” – No! That is almost certainly lobbying from communications companies who see the opportunity to make a very good

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living without having to change much. In fact, you could even argue that service would go down if you privatize it. What does everybody complain about? Any talk show host can make a joke about the cable company. There is a comedian, Larry the Cable Guy, whose name is a joke. I want everybody to have a highest-quality internet possible. In the argument that the free market always does it better, I disagree. The example everybody gives is that we went to the moon. Yes, we went to the moon on the lowest bidder. Hoover Dam was built by private companies, but somebody had a vision. It was not a private company.

Somebody will make wire, somebody will make modems, and somebody will make Bluetooth devices. But the standards will be agreed upon through a democratic process, and the quality will be kept up because you want the best service for everyone.

I&T Today: Is that the same with healthcare?

BN: Yes! Well, yes! That’s a solvable problem. Why not have the best healthcare in the world in the United States? Why not have the best healthcare for everybody?

I&T Today: A recurring theme in our discussion is the alignment of science with common sense. It seems like the two are connected in one way or another.

BN: Well, as my parents, especially my mom so often said, “Common sense is not that common.” It seems obvious to me that you don’t have poor people who can’t get access to the internet. That’s not in your best interest. You do not want a situation where rich people get water for their lawns, but poor people can’t get clean water for the baby’s formula. As obvious as that is to me, other people think if someone doesn’t have money, they just shouldn’t have

[that resource]. They’re just as passionate and believe just as strongly as I do, but I just disagree with them. What we want is for everyone to get a vote, and then we sort out what’s right and wrong. I’ll give you an example. I used to think genetically modified food was sort of dangerous because we couldn’t predict what would happen in the ecosystem.

But, after having spent another two years with it, I was wrong. I think genetically modified food is actually a pretty good idea. What we need is not to regulate new organisms so much as to regulate farming practices.

I&T Today: Since science changes over time and new studies sometimes disprove what we thought was foundational, do you think people use that fact to further solidify their religious or political beliefs? Are they misguided in doing so?

BN: Dismiss science because it changes? No, we prefer you dismiss your other beliefs. Everyone would really prefer that. For a long time people thought that diseases were caused by evil spirits. A reasonable premise, but it turns out that’s not what causes diseases. People used to think that only virgin women could plant seeds to have a successful harvest. That’s probably not true. It’s a hypothesis that you can disprove, so that’s the essence of science. And that it does change is not to say that everything changes.

Because changes in science don’t mean that Rubidium has a different number of protons. There’s a lot of things in science that are true that are going to be true forever. The sun is hot. There you go.

People used to think that emotions come from your heart, but they most certainly come from your brain. People didn’t believe that blood circulated in veins and arteries, for crying out loud! ■

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GoBone Smart Dog Bone – Designed to be played with all day long, the GoBone is a durable, smart dog toy for your four-legged friend to play with while you’re busy. With app connectivity to turn it into a game device for your dog, the GoBone truly levels up puppy playtime. $200

Superheated Steam Countertop Oven – Allowing you to cook your food with superheated steam without the need for defrosting or preheating, the Superheated Steam Countertop Oven will change the way you make your meals. Featuring five different cooking modes and up to an hour of steam cooking, this is one appliance that belongs in your kitchen. $500

Plasmacluster Air Purifier – Getting rid of all the microscopic pollutants a general filter will not prevent, the Plasmacluster Air Purifier is a health-conscious piece of tech.

Built-in smart tech helps to not only clean the air of pollutants and allergens, but even humidify when necessary. $221-554

Ember Temperature Control Mug – Fight off the everpresent threat of lukewarm coffee with the Ember Temperature Control Mug. Able to connect to the Ember app adjust your beverage temperature and change your LED color, this is truly the coffee mug of the future. $80

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CYBER SCARLETT

The Art of CRUSHING IT

Photos Win Wolloff

SJ: I think it’s both, you know…I don't have any social media, and I don't really know how to use it. I guess I have a different perspective because of that, but I look at people like my mom, who's on Facebook or whatever, and she has had enormous success finding people she probably really never thought she’d ever see again, and kind of reconnecting with them. And you know, that element of it is awesome. Personally, if I haven't known somebody up until this point, my argument is I don't want to hear from you [laughs].

I mean, I’m curious, but not that curious. I guess I keep my close friends pretty close, and I don't know if that’s it.

But for some people, it’s awesome. You know, it truly gives them pools to reach out to…people that share their life with relatives across the country or people in the armed forces. FaceTime. I mean, how many marriages has that saved? In other ways, the idea of being able to be whoever you want to be and never really having to fail exactly or showing whatever parts of your life that you want everybody to see.

The facade of an existence you can have, create for yourself online, is... I think it’s strange. That element of it is very dark to me. We’re disconnected from each other because they’re disconnected from themselves. And the reality is the life that they’re living, that they can be living, can be unhealthy and have many negative effects on general relationships.

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I&T Today: It’s liberating but there is a kind of a constant escapism there that can be problematic for a lot of people.

SJ: Yeah, I think escapism is definitely important. Hell, I’m in the industry that is, I think, the most successful at it and thank God for it. I love to be entertained, and to – gosh, it’s great to step into a dark theatre and get away for a couple of hours.

But you have to actually be proactive and go to a theatre and buy a ticket and sit down and shut off. And the fact that you have a device and you’re both dealing with real life and fake life at the same time. And sometimes you can be having a really visceral conversation with somebody on your device and simultaneously living this other life that feels just as real. It’s strange. It’s a lot for the future generations to navigate, and I wonder what will happen.

I&T Today: I’d hate to finish up what has been an intriguing discussion of technology and film with a softball question, but it wouldn't be an interview without one. So what’s your favorite movie robot of all time?

SJ: [laughs] My favorite movie robot of all time? I would probably have to say the Terminator, I guess.

I&T Today: That’s an excellent choice.

SJ: Yeah, [laughs] gotta go with the Terminator. Yeah, I mean, I don’t even think it’s a contest.

Vaynerchuck shares his winning smile with the team at Innovation & Tech Today while dispensing inspiring insights to Editor-inChief Charles Warner. His advice for entrepreneurs continues to push his brand over the top while motivating aspiring businesspeople to find the intersection between passion and practicality.

I&T Today: There are a lot of people out there with ideas – the entrepreneurial spirit’s strong and you’re their spirit animal. What advice would you give them?

GV: Please, make sure if I’m your spirit animal or anybody else you think is cool – and I know a lot of you think a lot of different people are cool – make sure you understand those people usually deployed a bit of self awareness. They knew who they were. Zuckerberg knew who he was, right? Sheryl Sandberg knew who she was. I knew who I was, forget about anything that I’ve done, I understood who I was. I wasn’t going to build a cap of a venture capital fund when everybody wanted me in 2009.

Know who you are – self awareness. It’s cute that you’re sitting in class right now thinking you’re going to build the next Uber. But do you have that ability?

Know who you are, get in the game, and put yourself in a position to be successful based on what you’re good at, what you’re passionate about. The delta of what you are good at and what are you passionate about. If you’re one of the great, lucky, fortunate people that what you love is what you’re great at, you’re going to have some crazy things happen. Try to get as close to that as possible; don’t do something for the most amount of money; don’t do something so not practical that you have to sleep in a cardboard box. These are important conversations, find that delta. I think way too many people are making an extra $30,000 but hate what they’re doing. But they’ve built a lifestyle around the $30,000 so they literally hate their life to have an extra bedroom in their house that they don’t use. ■

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Missing your technology news and community during the COVID-19 crisis? We don’t blame you. Luckily, Innovation & Tech Today will continue to deliver emerging tech and science news, keeping you informed during this crisis.

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coming next issue And Many More…

We’ve had an amazing time celebrating our five-year anniversary, looking back on previous features and taking some time to reflect on how much our publication, and our team, has grown over half a decade.

But, while we’ve enjoyed looking into the past, it’s time to look to the future! Stay tuned for our summer issue for fresh perspectives and new surprises as we enter the next chapter in our quest to cover the ever-changing technological landscape.

Building the Sustainable Kitchen

The food world saw massive innovation in 2019 with the proliferation of plantbased meat sales. This has resulted in everywhere from grocery stores to fast food establishments embracing the trendy (and Earth-friendly) food. With this in mind, we’re putting together a “sustainable kitchen,” with appliances, ingredients, and recipes that put the environment first.

Athletic Tech Roundtable

It’s not uncommon to see summer as a time to shake off the cobwebs and get outdoors. Considering the massive growth of wearable technology over the years, fitness watches and trackers have become a mainstay for athletic enthusiasts more and more. But, while a jogging hobbyist might be excited about a new FitBit, does a professional athlete feel the same? In our exclusive roundtable, we look to discuss the intersection of fitness and tech, as well as how to avoid fads, with athletes from a number of backgrounds.

The Future Belongs to the Youth

Throughout the past few years, protecting the Earth has surprisingly become a contentious topic. This has been especially highlighted with the Trump administration’s controversial views on environmentalism, which has sparked protests and backlash across the U.S. However, the silver lining of this conflict may be the inspiration of the next generation. Young activists such as Greta Thunberg and Xiuhtezcatl Martinez have attempted to shake their fellow Gen Z members out of their apathy, garnering widespread attention for their passion. Our summer issue’s exclusive feature will focus on the importance of youthful activism, highlighting the personalities that are fueling inspiration across the world.

5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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The Lighter Side

Games to Watch for in 2020

By Anthony Elio A new decade means plenty of new opportunities for hard work and self improvement. While others are busy bettering themselves, you’ll want to find a way to distract from the fact that personal growth is an utter waste of time. Thankfully, there are plenty of new video games on the horizon to fulfill your personal lust for simulated violence and looking at screens. Here are the major releases you’ll want to pre-order this year.

Sonic Knee Replacement - Sonic the Hedgehog games have long been lauded for their breakneck speed and innovative, creative gameplay.

However, SEGA has decided to flip the script for their newest adventure, exploring an aging Sonic’s struggles with chronic issues with his femur, tibia, and patella. After the game’s opening cutscene shows Sonic’s full knee replacement surgery, each level explores the character’s various states of postoperative rehabilitation.

World Curling Federation 2020 - While sports series such as Madden and FIFA are consistent bestsellers, the World Curling Federation franchise is looking to make a huge step forward in 2020. Thanks to advancements in graphics and hardware, more complex moves such as double takeouts and split-raises are a breeze, something unheard of in previous console generations. Gracing the cover this year is international icon Lüdvig Töllak, wick shot expert from the East Norweigan Wombats.

Gilmore Girls Simulator - Level editing games have been on the rise over the past few years, with Super Mario Maker and Little Big Planet allowing you to create your very own gaming experience. This concept has evolved with the upcoming Gilmore Girls Simulator, which allows you to develop your very own episodes of the popular program with your own direction, allowing you to utilize such iconic locations as Luke’s Diner, the Gilmore residence, and Doose’s Market, developing your own snappy dialogue and dramatic situations in between. Future DLC is rumored to include the return of bad boy love interest Jess.

Guitar Hero Local - The Guitar Hero franchise made major waves in the 2000s, with casual gamers able to replicate major hits from rock n’ roll mainstays such as Van Halen and Aerosmith. With the decline in sales, the creators have decided to forego the massive rock anthems and focus on the rock career of a local musician. New challenges include paying for a new amp instead of health insurance, struggling to fit into your old leather pants, and asking your aunt for a ride to the next big gig.

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Amp

The versatile amplifier for powering all your entertainment

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