Texture, Vol 4 Issue 1

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VOL 4 ISSUE 1

TEXTURE 2007

O R L A N D O ’ S

T E C H N O L O G Y

L A N D S C A P E

SCIENCE, N O T

FICTION Central Florida biomed cluster takes hold

A MAJOR

ONE COOL

Orlando's fast becoming videogaming industry hub

Dan Rini & team's cool tech could save lives

P L AY E R

DUDE

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contents

TEXTURE

ORLANDO’S TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPE

Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission President & CEO Texture Executive Publisher Raymond Gilley Vice President, Marketing Texture Associate Publisher Maureen Brockman Vice President, Tech Industry Development Texture Editor John Fremstad

TEXTURE WINTER/SPRING 2007 VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1

Departments

Director, Public Relations Texture Project Support Jennifer Wakefield

FROM THE EDITOR 5 INTERFACE 6

Director, Publications & Web Design Texture Project Support Lisa Addy

PEAK PERFORMER 8 OFF THE WIRE 10

Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc.

SPECIAL FX 12

President Texture Publisher William C. Peeper

TECH TRENDS 14 INNOVATION ALLEY 34

Vice President of Publications Texture Associate Publisher Deborah Kicklighter Henrichs

NEW COs 36 INTELLIGENT FORMS OF LIFESTYLE 38

Features

Managing Editor Connie Sue White

18

Central Florida biomed cluster takes hold.

Production Coordinators Shelley Hampton and Dennis Lessard

Contributing Writers Steve Blount, Michael Candelaria, Jessica Chapman, Nancy Christianson Curry, Rafaela Ellis, Jackie Kelvington, Scott Leon, G.K. Sharman, Jennifer Wakefield and C.S. White

A MAJOR PLAYER 24

Orlando is becoming a hub for the video-gaming industry.

Contributing Photographer Phelan Ebenhack

A LEAGUE OF ITS OWN 28 Orlando’s growth of women-led businesses among tops in the nation.

28

Publication Artist Laura Bluhm

Senior Director of Advertising Sales Sheryl Taylor 407.354.5568

SCIENCE, NOT FICTION 18

On the Cover: Photo courtesy of The Burnham Institute for Medical Research.

Director, Business Development Texture Project Support Amy Edge

24

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This publication is sponsored in part by the Orange County Government’s Economic Stimulus Package 2.0 and the University of Central Florida. Texture magazine is produced by everything ink, a division of the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc.® (Orlando CVB), for the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission.

Orlando CVB: 6700 Forum Drive, Suite 100, Orlando, FL 32821, Phone 407.363.5841, Fax 407.370.5021. Texture magazine assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, negatives or transparencies. Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission 301 East Pine Street, Suite 900 Orlando, Fla 32801. Phone: 407.422.7159 or 888.TOP.CITY. Fax: 407.425.6428. E-mail: info@orlandoedc.com. Advertising information: 407.354.5512. Copyright 2007 Metro Orlando EDC. All rights reserved. Any reproduction in whole or in part without the express written consent of Orlando CVB, on behalf of the EDC, is prohibited. Printed in the U.S.A.

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from the editor

AIR

Magic is in the

Grant Hill, John Fremstad and Dwight Howard

By all accounts, 2006 was a banner year for the Metro Orlando region. In fact, it was Magic-al. Sincere congratulations and thanks to ALL involved. Without collaboration from both the private and public sectors, and the “can do” tone that was set, this year’s achievements would not have been possible.

What we have accomplished together in the last 12 months is truly astounding. To mention a few sucesses ... The Burnham Institute for Medical Research announced it would establish its East coast operations in Orlando; UCF Medical School is slated to open

by Fall 2009; Progress was made in finalizing plans to build a Performing Arts Center and a new arena, while also renovating our Citrus Bowl Stadium; Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and

Babies and Nicholson Center for Surgical Advancement both opened; SAIC and Lockheed Martin both expanded ... and the list goes on!

Add to this new regional residential development and the skyline change in our downtown core — including a mixed use of commercial, residential and retail — and we’re becoming one of the top destinations in which to live, work and play.

With this growth, Metro Orlando offers exciting, challenging work with a secure future in a city with abundant natural beauty, affordable housing and an outstanding quality of life for people of nearly every income bracket.

We’ve used our imaginations and inventiveness to grow from a citrusbased to a hospitality-based to an

innovation-based economy. In less than 50 years, we’ve moved from a sleepy town without a university to a top 20 metro that is home to America’s sixth largest university and a top 10 research park.

But don’t take my word for it, here’s what others are saying: >> Wired magazine names Orlando one of the nation’s “Best Geek Cities,” citing the area as a top tech town. >> BusinessWeek magazine recently featured Metro Orlando among its picks of “global hot spots.”

Orlando is one of three communities in the world to be selected. >> Metro Orlando was named one of ten “Blooming U.S. Cities for Tech” according to eWEEK.com. >> Forbes.com ranks Metro Orlando second on their annual list of “Most Wired Communities.” >> Expansion Management ranks Metro Orlando as one of “America’s Hottest Cities.” >> Metro Orlando ranks 3rd among Inc. magazine’s “Hottest Large Cities for Doing Business.” >> The region ranks 6th among Milken Institute’s 2006 “Best Performing Cities.” >> And, we’ve been named the “Number One City for Entrepreneurs”

by Entrepreneur Magazine.

This issue of TEXTURE provides a closer look at some of our recent successes and what they mean to a young community committed to enhancing our competitive advantage.

John S. Fremstad Metro Orlando EDC vice president, Tech Industry Development & Texture editor

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interface

FINDING MOJO

By C.S.White

MIGHTY MOJO STUDIOS’ IAKE EISSINMANN

>>

Many may see the resemblance of Iake Eissinmann (originally Ike Eisenmann) in ‘Tony’, the young “alien” in Disney’s popular classic family films Escape to Witch Mountain and Return From Witch Mountain, or from the short TV series The Fantastic Journey, among other roles before he moved behind the camera. In his latest adventure, Iake, along with his actress/writer wife Alexi, escaped from L.A. to Orlando four years ago for a less hectic lifestyle, with “no business plan” in hand. In late 2005, the creative duo formed Mighty Mojo Studios, a digital animation company based in Celebration. The Eissinmanns and team of artists are working on the studio’s first project, The Mystery of?, a half animation/half live action children’s production that seeks to inspire learning in kids through the “mysteries” of the natural world. The title is already under contract for distribution on DVD this summer. It seems they have found their mojo.

Eissinman, fresh off the set from a weekend shoot of live action scenes for the production, took some time to talk with Texture about Mighty Mojo.

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Troy had a vision of this character called Tol Stilts and his eccentric world that just translated perfectly into a digital animation environment. Alexi and my personal backgrounds in live action production made it fairly simple to keep the entire production under one roof.

With the growing demand for educational-oriented entertainment, we felt that this would have considerable commercial appeal. For us to have our first co-production under contract for distribution before we even finish production is almost unheard of.

PHOTOS BY PHELAN EBENHACK

T Texture: What is the story behind the Studio’s name? ie Iake Eissinmann: We wanted something fun that identified us as an animation studio and the word ‘mojo’ kept cropping up. ‘Mojo’ means ‘magic power’ or ‘charm’ and that seemed a good connotation for what we wanted to create.

T What role does The Mystery of? play in Mighty Mojo’s progression? ie It is a perfect project at a perfect time for us. We didn’t anticipate bringing in an original project for at least another year while we built the studio’s assets, let alone one with 50 percent live action. Chap Chappell of Chappell Entertainment [in Casselberry] brought the project to us last August. He was looking for an animation partner to help him produce this clever idea created by writer Troy Eggleston. We liked it so much that we decided to take the jump.

T Drawing and animation have been a passion for you since your teens — and you had success as a fine artist — but it all seemed to take a backseat to acting and production work.

Do you miss acting or do you see it as a stepping-stone? ie I actually see the grand sum total of all my professional experiences coming together for this effort. Yes, I am passionate about animation, I deeply love art, photography, storytelling and filmmaking. All of these passions come to bear when working on these projects and I get to dip into each discipline at a different time through the process.

T Your next project, Finders, Keepers , focuses on providing secular morality lessons for adolescents, as well as promoting reading, through action adventures. Much of your career has been involved with family/children-oriented projects … is that by chance or by intention? ie I think it has to do with both chance and intention. Having been a major participant in a classic family film that has touched so many young people, I have seen how powerful the impact can be for children who grow up with something special that was made just for them. I personally feel a great deal of satisfaction in being able to create for children. A large part of that effort goes toward making a product that we as a studio like and want to see.

T Do you actually get a chance to do any of the art/animation or do you leave it up to your production team?

ie I rely completely on our team. I’m basically a huge fan of their work and I get to be around it every day. My personal dream is to learn the animation software well enough to be able to animate at least one shot before I retire.

It’s dense, complicated stuff but I figure with that generous timeline I should be able to achieve my goal.

T What would you say are the key lifestyle differences between L.A. and Orlando? ie Alexi and I spent a lot of years fighting the congestion and chaos of Los Angeles, so we don’t miss that town very much. A major attraction about Orlando for us is that it has a strong sense of community due to its smaller size. The lifestyle pace is slower and more intimate, but opportunities are here for any number of exciting ventures. There’s an entrepreneurial spirit here that I believe is a foundation for Orlando evolving into a very unique business destination.

T Did that entrepreneurial spirit surprise you? ie We have been quite surprised by what Orlando has to offer in terms of these opportunities. There is a lot of talent here for our industry due to the number of schools offering quality education programs for the digital arts.

Between Full Sail, UCF and The Dave School alone we have qualified individuals coming into the marketplace on a constant basis. I look forward to growing our studio and being able to offer career opportunities that will allow some of these talented people to remain in this market if they wish.

T What is next for Mighty Mojo Studios? ie Right now we feel very strong about our commitment to educational entertainment titles. There is a massive demand for this product and it allows us to establish ourselves as a studio while tapping into a wide-open market. A quality product that entertains is a worthwhile achievement; a quality product that entertains and teaches is very special. We’re proud to be a part of that. x

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peak performer

One

COOL DUDE

DAN RINI AND RTI ARE DEVELOPING CUTTING-EDGE COOLING TECHNOLOGIES THAT COULD SAVE LIVES.

By Scott Leon

PHOTO BY PHELAN EBENHACK

>> 8

Most of us living in Florida take our comfort for granted. We can even control our own personal environment with the simple flick of a switch â&#x20AC;&#x201D; until we walk outside. But what if there were a way to create a personal air conditioner portable enough to take with you anywhere you went?

texture Winter/Spring 2007

This may seem a bit decadent for everyday life, even in our summer heat, but what if your job required you to wear a heavy, barely-breathable suit for safety reasons under harsh environmental conditions? Imagine a solider working in a sealed biohazard suit in a HazMat situation in Iraq, or a firefighter attempting to control an intense chemical blaze.

In these cases a personal air conditioner

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could actually save lives. The concept of personal climate control, one that has interested the military for decades, caught the attention of Dr. Daniel P. Rini, founder of Oviedo-based Rini Technologies, Inc. (RTI). An expert in cooling technology, Rini’s company recently produced the first viable prototype of an ultra-portable personal air-conditioner.

RTI’s work in the realm of cooling technologies currently focuses in two main areas. The first, for the U.S. Department of Defense, involves the development of a cooling system for high-power lasers used in missile defense systems.

“The lasers themselves are small enough to place into tanks or helicopters, but the cooling systems for these lasers currently take up entire rooms in a laboratory setting. Those systems need to be much smaller to make them useful in a fighter jet or on a HumVee,” says Rini.

His company’s second focus is on the development of the personal cooling system for the Army, NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

“For twenty years, people have been working to get a personal cooling system down to about five pounds,” explains Rini. “Any more than that and it takes away from a soldier’s other necessary gear. We’ve been working for the last four years on a prototype and have finally produced one that fits all the requirements. While some of the components, like the cooling vest we use, have existed for a while, RTI is the first to produce a complete functioning

system that is small, lightweight and energy efficient. The cooling unit itself is about the size of a water bottle. It connects to a type of undergarment covered with tubes that connect to the cooler and circulate chilled water through the garment. In theory we can even reverse the system to make it heat instead of cool.”

Since its founding in the spring of 2000, RTI has been issued four patents.

Four more U.S. patents are currently pending, plus an additional one pending in Europe. One of the issued

ical engineering and became intrigued by thermal management technologies,” says Rini. “I had the vision for this company while I was still in graduate school. I applied for and received several grants from the military and other government agencies to begin my initial research into thermal management systems.

“In reality, the whole concept of this company was fostered in large part by UCF’s Technology Incubator, which was just starting up at the time. It was a perfect synergy for me because the

“FOR TWENTY YEARS, PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WORKING TO GET A PERSONAL COOLING SYSTEM DOWN TO ABOUT FIVE POUNDS. ANY MORE THAN THAT AND IT TAKES AWAY FROM A SOLDIER’S OTHER NECESSARY GEAR. ... RTI IS THE FIRST TO PRODUCE A COMPLETE FUNCTIONING SYSTEM THAT IS SMALL, LIGHTWEIGHT AND ENERGY EFFICIENT.” — DAN RINI patents and two of those pending are related to the personal cooling system.

“That includes the European patent. While half of what we do is specifically for our government, the personal cooling system has a myriad of uses among civilian firefighting crews, police, first responders and hazardous material teams. We want to protect our technology, no matter where it’s used.”

Rini founded RTI while finishing his doctorate at the University of Central Florida (UCF). A native Canadian, he first came to Orlando to attend UCF as an undergraduate on an athletic scholarship and was one of those rare freshmen who fell in love with physics rather than changing majors to avoid it.

“I immediately switched to mechan-

Technology Incubator Program’s purpose is to foster the start-up of high-tech companies. I chose to stay near the university because it allows us to continue the collaborative research we’ve maintained.”

RTI works with UCF’s professors and graduate students regularly, he says, getting help with research needs. The shared success of the partnership has put RTI in a position to help fund graduate students and other research projects.

“In addition to UCF’s outstanding engineering department, Orlando itself has had a continuing commitment to high tech development and related industries for the past decade,” continues Rini. “It makes it attractive for companies like mine to set up here and provides the groundwork for us to remain competitive, successful x and growing.”

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off the wire

INSTITUTE

The Burnham

By Jennifer Wakefield

SETTING THE STAGE FOR A BIOMEDICAL CLUSTER IN METRO ORLANDO.

>>

Few tasks are more worthy than working to unravel the mysteries of diseases that affect those we love. At the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, scientists work day in and day out trying to find treatments and cures for Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes and a myriad of other diseases that may one day help those we care about most.

East Coast operations of the Californiabased Burnham Institute for Medical Research (shown here) will be located in Orlando. The new facility is expected to be a catalyst for future growth of biotech/life sciences companies in Metro Orlando.

It is a righteous mission. One that leaders in Metro Orlando and throughout the State of Florida recognize and embrace. That’s why Florida has scrupulously courted biotechnology companies in recent years. And why an outpouring of community pride was felt when Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Dr. John Reed, president and CEO of the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, announced that Metro Orlando would become the future home of its East Coast operations.

WHAT’S TO COME Within the next few years, Burnham plans to create 300 research jobs and build a 175,000-square-foot facility in Orlando’s Lake Nona area. The company’s goals for their Florida location include expansion of capabilities in chemistry, pharmacology, and functional genomics, themes that will complement and fortify the Institute’s

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current commitments to cancer, degenerative diseases and infectious diseases, while allowing expansion into other areas, such as diabetes and obesity research.

HOW IT HAPPENED The effort to lure Burnham was the result of partnership between many different organizations, universities and governments. The recent approval of the University of Central Florida’s medical school helped to solidify Burnham’s choice of Orlando.

This prestigious company’s choice also speaks volumes about the quality of the area’s research and science communities, from the groundbreaking work being done at UCF, now the nation’s 6th largest university, to the breakthrough treatment provided through two of the largest hospital systems in the world, Florida Hospital and Orlando Regional Healthcare, both of which are headquartered in Orlando.

“The expansion of The Burnham Institute’s world-class biomedical research and operations into Florida illustrates the strength of the state’s inter national reputation as a hub for cutting-edge biomedical research and development,” according to Gov. Bush.

ECONOMIC IMPACT In addition to the obvious worthiness of the medical advancements to take place, the announcement of Burnham’s decision to locate in Metro Orlando has an enormous economic impact on the region.

The Burnham announcement will go down in Orlando’s history as a milestone event. With the arrival of Burnham, Metro Orlando is instantly catapulted to the forefront of the nation’s biomedical/life sciences efforts.

“The entire Metro Orlando community is excited ... this positions our state at the nexus point of some of the world’s leading medical research and provides an opportunity to diversify our economy in a critical and much needed direction,” says Ray Gilley, president and CEO of the Metro Orlando Eco-

FLORIDA’S BLOOD CENTERS, A BURNHAM PARTNER While the Lake Nona facility is under construction, through a partnership with Florida’s Blood Centers (FBC), Burnham’s east coast operations will be temporarily housed at the FBC’s headquarters located on the corner of John Young Parkway and Sand Lake Road.

“We’re excited to be able to assist in bringing such a prestigious institution to Orlando,” says Anne Chinoda, CEO of FBC. “A partnership like this is an example of the impact that the Burnham Institute will have on this community. It will open many doors for Central Florida in years to come.”

Florida’s Blood Centers is the largest blood bank in Florida and the fourth largest independent blood bank in the nation.

Additionally, FBC was one of the first blood banks in the country to implement new capabilities and services such as: frozen blood storage, a national clearinghouse system for exchanging blood, community branches, and bloodmobile collection. Closer to home, FBC is also the sole supplier of blood and blood products to 70 healthcare facilities in a 21-county area and collects more than 360,000 units of blood and blood products each year. To learn more about FBC, visit www.floridasbloodcenters.org.

nomic Development Commission.

The Burnham Institute will bring high-wage, high-value jobs to the area with an average annual wage for positions to be created between $60,000 and $70,000, with some positions reaching as high as $175,000. In comparison, the average annual wage in the Metro Orlando region is approximately $35,000.

The facility will anchor the region’s new ‘medical city’ in Orlando’s Lake Nona community, which will also include the University of Central Florida’s new medical school and a University of Florida medical research lab, with more to come.

In addition, the prestigious Burnham Institute is expected to be a catalyst for future growth of biotech/life sciences companies in Metro Orlando.

Already home to 150 such companies, since the announcement in August, interest in biotech in the region has already significantly increased.

In 10 years, experts estimate job creation from additional developments in the realm of life science and health technology could exceed 10,000 jobs.

PARTICIPATION KEY “The willingness of Florida universities to partner...has played a huge role in our decision, “ says Dr. John Reed, president and CEO of The Burnham Institute for Medical Research.

Three universities have begun a distinct collaboration specifically for this project. To expand R&D capabilities with Burnham, the University of Florida is bringing a significant research arm to Orlando. Burnham will be located adjacent to the new University of Central Florida medical school. And, Florida State University is also considering relocating their existing Orlando medical school program to the Lake Nona area.

LOOKING AHEAD In the future, when the medical community meets to discuss advances in containing infectious diseases, or a cancer patient’s family rejoices over a critical breakthrough in treatment, Orlando will share in their celebration, knowing that this area has contributed to the success of Burnham scientists working to benefit not only the citizens of Metro Orlando, x but the citizens of the world.

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THE TIMES

Signs of

By Jessica Chapman

THE INTERACTIVE PERFORMANCE LAB AT UCF IS LEADING THE PACK WHEN IT COMES TO SIMULATION AND ROLE PLAYING.

PHOTO BY JUSTICE MITCHELL

>>

At one time or another, everyone has left an important meeting thinking, ‘I should have said this,’ or ‘I knew the answer to that — I can’t believe my mind went blank!’

The staff of i.d.e.a.s. participating in an iRoleplay session produced by the UCF Interactive Performance Lab. On the screen is Duncan Kennedy (left) of i.d.e.a.s. immersed in a roleplay scene with an inter-actor.

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No matter how many questions or scenarios for which we prepare ourselves, we’re limited by our personal viewpoints and thought processes. But groundbreaking initiatives at the University of Central Florida (UCF) are about to revolutionize how companies train their employees to make better decisions, sharpen their negotiating tactics and interact more efficiently with people of all backgrounds.

The Interactive Performance Lab was developed five years ago by its executive director, Jeff Wirth, and is an applied-research laboratory in the School of Film and Digital Media.

“The focus is on live, human-tohuman interaction that’s supported with digital media,” Wirth explains. “The idea is not to replace the human experience, but to augment it.”

One of the lab’s applications is being adopted by the business world.

Called iRoleplay, the process is fairly simple, but what it accomplishes is unique.

Here’s a real world example of how iRolePlay works: the vice president of a company is sending his sales manager to meet with an important client. He wants to ensure the manager will be able handle whatever is thrown at him.

So he contacts Wirth’s team to stage a role-playing experience that gives the manager an opportunity to practice his people and negotiating skills.

Wirth’s team goes directly to the business. There they set up cameras in an office where the scenario will play out, and they send video to another room where others can watch.

“Because the viewers are in a different room with a live video feed,” Wirth explains, “the participants are not as self conscious as they would be when role playing in front of a crowd.”

The V.P. briefs Wirth and his team of “inter-actors” about the details of the situation, including what he hopes to accomplish from the meeting and some background information about the client. The inter-actors then interact with the manager in the role of the potential client, facilitating a particular experience or variety of experiences.

During the training session, those

watching can deliver feedback to the main participant in real time through a digital messaging system. So in this case, the V.P. could advise the manager to talk slower, or to stop tapping his feet, or listen more closely. This allows the person to change his behavior immediately — in real time — instead of after the fact.

By acting out potential scenarios while receiving continuous input from colleagues, participants are able to alter their tactics immediately to master the situation at hand. Having the opportunity to respond to the inter-actors’ different questions and behaviors allows employees to go into their meetings better prepared to handle whatever comes their way.

“What’s interesting about iRoleplay is that the real-time interaction and learning is not just between the two subjects involved in the training simulation, but also among the observers back in the control environment,” comments Duncan Kennedy, vice president of innovation for i.d.e.a.s., a past iRoleplay client.

Everyone on Wirth’s team is uniquely trained in five areas: acting, story, technology, improvisation and social psychology.

They are students and graduates as well as professional performers, all of whom have been trained at the Interactive Performance Lab. Most of Wirth’s work so far has been for research purposes, but he is currently in discussions about adapting iRoleplay for use by several businesses in the medical, legal, sales and hospitality fields. While other companies and universities are engaging in simulation and role-playing, only UCF’s iRoleplay application combines inter-actors, digital delivery, and real-time feedback.

There are almost no limits to where this application could be used. Wirth believes it will prove valuable in the medical industry because it integrates both hard and soft skills, such as technical ability and bedside manner.

“You get the best of both worlds,” Wirth says, “the human experience and x digital media.”

TAKING IROLEPLAY A STEP FURTHER The University of Central Florida Interactive Performance Lab’s iRoleplay isn’t limited to business-related scenarios. The team has ventured into healthcare, as well.

According to Executive Director Jeff Wirth, the team has participated with UCF’s Department of Communicative Disorders as part of a research program on styles of Alzheimer’s care giving.

“We brought in people from the Alzheimer’s Association to coach the actors so they accurately represent the characters (Alzheimer’s patients) they’re playing,” says Wirth.

The goal: to give the caregivers an external perspective on the situations they confront daily. The research compared traditional in-service care giver training versus an in-service with interactive role playing to find out which style is more beneficial.

The Lab is currently in discussion with the UCF Center for Autism-Related Disorders to conduct role playing with parents of autistic children.

“Parents would have a chance to practice some of the skills that they’ve been trained in before they apply them in real life settings,” explains Wirth.

Now, that’s a role worth playing.

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tech trends

INFLUENCE

A Spreading

DIGGING DEEP ROOTS IN THE GLOBAL BUSINESS OF WA

By Michael Candalaria

“WE TRY TO MINIMIZE OR ELIMINATE ANY WASTE, AND WE RECYCLE VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING USED SO IT DOESN’T GENERATE MUCH WASTE. WE JUST TRY TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF NATURAL RESOURCES.” — ADAM SKOLNIK

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WATER CONSERVATION.

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Who could have known? In the early 1960s, Joe Senninger, a citrus grower in Groveland, was merely seeking to rid himself of pesky mud daubers. The wasps, measuring less than an inch in length, were working their way into the often-muddy overhead sprinklers used in area citrus fields and impeding water flow.

So, Senninger invented an insect-proof device that he adapted to the old brass impact sprinklers of the day.

Essentially, the device was a long narrow cylinder, like a straw. When water flowed to open the sprinkler valve, the “dauber stopper” was pushed back to let the water flow out the nozzle. When the water was turned off, the cylinder returned to its original position and prevented dirt daubers from getting inside.

Simple enough, right? Well, the name Dauber Stopper was trademarked, a patent soon arrived and shortly thereafter a company was formed, with Senninger as the founder.

In 1963, the company began designing and manufacturing a plastic dauber stopper. Or, as current company president Adam Skolnik describes: “The guys had applied space-aged materials — engineering-grade thermal plastics — to designing impact sprinklers that had this insect-proof feature for overhead citrus irrigation.”

Today, five decades later, Skolnik runs a 150-employee operation that, while still headquartered in Central Florida and continuing to sell the option of dauber stopping on its sprinklers, has

subsidiaries in Brazil and South Africa, in addition to warehouses in Nebraska and Texas, and other locations in Colorado, Connecticut and Guatemala.

Based in Clermont, Senninger Irrigation now is a global manufacturer of irrigation components that include sprinklers, spray nozzles and pressure regulators, mostly for use in agriculture but also for nursery, wastewater treatment and mining applications.

“We run this operation twenty-four hours a day, three shifts,” says Skolnik, whose work with the private, closely held company dates back 25 years, including 23 years as an employee.

Much of that work also results from a second key 1960s innovation, this one involving water pressure. Central Florida’s rolling terrain, mainly in Lake County, made pressure consistency problematic. The sprinklers on the top of a hill had low pressure, because of the elevation, and wouldn’t perform well. Conversely, there was excess pressure at the bottom of the hill. In response, Senninger, officially a citrus grower-tur ned-inventor by then, patented a pre-set pressure regulating valve that effectively maintained constant pressure, regardless of terrain.

Through the years, cites Skolnik, Senninger Irrigation has been driven by the same motivation that led its founder to those initial inventions: water and energy conservation.

“We always considered ourselves a ‘green’ company,” he says. “Everything we design our products around is low energy, so they are meant and designed to operate at the lowest pressure possible. Regarding water, we try

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to use as little as possible by developing products that have uniform application of water.”

The company’s Super Spray nozzle, for example, helps reduce water and energy requirements on center pivots, which are used to irrigate up to 200 acres from one machine. Its interchangeable parts and wide range of spray patterns helped it quickly become one of the world’s best agriculture spray nozzles.

Similarly, the Quad-Spray was developed specifically for Low Energy Precision Application (LEPA). LEPA is a relatively new irrigation practice that requires very little water and energy to operate. One of the biggest benefits of LEPA is that it makes pivot irrigation possible in regions previously hindered by limited water supplies.

Notably, the need for water conservation is great, according to the Irrigation Association (IA), based in Falls Church, Va. Approximately 80 percent of water withdrawn nationwide is used for agriculture.

“That means there’s a lot of room for water savings by just increasing the efficiency in agriculture,” comments Beth Casteel, the trade group’s communications manager.

“Green” thinking is also evident in Senninger Irrigation’s manufacturing process, adds Skolnik, a past president of IA and present chair of its Education Foundation.

“We try to minimize or eliminate any waste, and we recycle virtually everything used so it doesn’t generate much waste. We just try to be good stewards of natural resources,” he says.

The result: marketplace distinction, Skolnik contends.

“A car isn’t a truck. A truck isn’t a car.

There are differences. Now, do they [competitors] all sling water? Yeah. In its simplest form, we spread water out, as do others. But, when it comes to efficiency and reliability, that’s where you start differentiating yourself,” he says.

Not coincidentally, the word is spreading, too. While all manufacturing occurs

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in Clermont, roughly 30 to 40 percent of the products go overseas.

Still, Senninger Irrigation’s broadening horizons don’t include a move out of the region. Pointing to Metro Orlando’s infrastructure and labor pool, he says, “There’s absolutely no need to move. Central Florida is definitely the place to be.”

Nor are there any intentions of straying from the simple approach used by Joe Senninger so many years ago: One, identify a problem; two, find a solution.

In other words, it seeks to stay ahead of the curve in business by harkening back to the past.

“At the end of the day, the real innovations come from the field,” Skolnik concludes. “It’s solving the problems. ... So, it’s our ability to be well connected and in tune with what’s happening in the field — who is using the products, who is running into the problems, then our ability to take that information and put it into a product.”

Just like the old Dauber Stopper. x

Located in Orlando, Florida, Netpads, Inc is a pioneer in the world of interactive hospitality inroom computing.

They provide a custom digital interactive system to the hospitality industry. The turnkey package includes touch-screen computers, wireless Internet access for the entire property and a full range of content. With this package, hotels and resorts are able to provide their guests with web access, information about the on-site amenities, links to local advertisers and a host of other features that can be accessed quickly on-screen.

Therman Bronaugh, President of Netpads, points out that “a major goal for our system was simultaneously minimize the upfront costs, give guests maximum convenience and provide hotels a substantial revenue boost.” Based on the client feedback, it is clear that the product seems to be on track. “The Netpad gives our guests the ability to stay connected while they are on vacation,“says Bill Jones, manager of the Clarion Universal Hotel. He adds,“The revenue sharing and the increase in our REV-PAR have been tremendous. That’s why we signed a three-year agreement with them.”

1-800-998-PADS • www.netpads.net

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SCIENCE,

NOT FICTION CENTRAL FLORIDA BIOMED CLUSTER TAKES HOLD.

By Steve Blount

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The future of medical care is being invented right here. In the middle of the last century, jet packs and wrist radios were science fiction. Central Florida companies like NASA, Harris Corp. and Lockheed Martin were key players in turning those fictions into fact. Now local leaders have embarked on a new quest, one that may seem similarly far-fetched, but one that promises to benefit every person on earth.

BIORESEARCHER TAKES ON BIOTERRORISM

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BURNHAM INSTITUTE

“We’ve taken the top ten diseases outlined by the World Health Organization — malaria, cholera, cancer — and we’re working on all of them,” says Dr. Henry Daniell of the University of Central Florida (UCF).

That may sound pretty ambitious but consider this: Daniell’s lab has already found a way to produce enough anthrax vaccine from a single acre of tobacco plants to protect everyone in the United States and has grown lettuce that cures diabetes in mice.

Anxious to get these discoveries to people who can be helped, Daniell has spun off his successes into a biomedical company, Chlorogen, that uses plants to produce vaccines and therapeutic proteins, like insulin.

“Our first goal was to produce vaccine at low cost, and anthrax was our first vaccine because of bio-defense concerns,” Daniell explains. “The Department of Defense had given a contract to another company for $975 million to buy only 35 million doses.”

Conventional vaccines are costly because the pathogens — the bugs that do the dirty work — are grown inside of yeast or bacterial cells in very expensive fermenters. The bacteria are then extracted, killed, and the dead pathogens made into a vaccine that, when injected, prompts your immune system to make antibodies to that pathogen. You then develop immunity.

Instead of using whole, killed pathogens, Daniell’s method places copies of the antigen — the part of the

bacteria responsible for creating the immune response — and puts up to 10,000 copies of the antigen in each cell of a plant.

In his initial study, the antigen was extracted and injected into mice, who were then exposed to extremely large doses of anthrax. Every one of them survived.

Because the actual vaccine is already proven effective and available, this advance doesn’t need to go through the usual lengthy process to which new treatments are subjected before they can be widely used. The tobacco produces the same vaccine that’s already in use, but does it better and more cheaply.

Daniell has built on that success by perfecting a process using whole plants, instead of extracts that must be injected.

The plants are harvested, dried, powdered and put into capsules that can be swallowed. The plant cells protect the vaccine until bacteria in the human digestive system break down the plant cells and release it to be absorbed.

In addition to being far less expensive, the powdered vaccine can be shipped and stored without refrigeration, thereby overcoming a key stumbling block to delivering vaccines in the Third World.

Producing vaccines in plants has one other critical advantage, Daniell says: they don’t contain toxins or human pathogens.

Vaccines made from bacteria grown in fermenters are not often pure, free of such contaminants. They all contain some contamination. That contamination took a heavy toll on soldiers vacci-

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“We’ve taken the top ten diseases outlined by the World Health Organization — malaria, cholera, cancer — and we’re working on all of them.” — Dr. Henry Daniell nated against biological agents before the first Gulf War. The Department of Defense has paid compensation to more than 110,000 of the 696,000 who fought in the war.

“Part of the Gulf War Syndrome was traced back to lethal factors [in vaccines] that weren’t found when the Federal Drug Administration tested some of the batches,” Daniell says.

The lab has ventured well beyond bio-terror to produce vaccines for amoebeosis, a debilitating water-borne disease common in underdeveloped countries, and for rotovirus, which affects children throughout the world, including the United States.

Vaccines are just the beginning, Daniell says. Plants can also be used to produce therapeutic proteins, like the insulin-infused lettuce or interferon — which can cost a patient $25,000 $45,000 per year — for pennies.

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And while AIDS is still out of reach because there’s no single effective treatment, Daniell’s lab has been able to grow a protein that blocks the transmission of HIV and can be used in a topical cream. Daniell’s hope is that this protein can help slow the spread of HIV and AIDS.

A BIOTECH CLUSTER Daniell’s work alone has generated enormous media attention for UCF’s molecular biology research, including a Discovery Channel documentary. But there’s more. Much more. Daniell is just one of more than a dozen researchers working to improve human health at UCF. That’s impressive progress for an effort that’s less than a decade old.

Pappachan Kolattukudy (known as Dr. P.K.) is dean of the Burnett College of Biomedical Science at UCF and one of the prime movers behind the emerg-

ing Central Florida biotech cluster.

Kolattukudy was recruited to come to UCF from Ohio State University where he had spent 17 years setting up and managing OSU’s biotech center.

For Kolattukudy, the lure was the chance to help build a young university almost from the ground up.

“The 20th century was the time of advances in physical sciences,” Kolattukudy says. “In the 21st century the major advances will be in life sciences.

“Henry Daniell was here when I arrived, but most of the folks in the department have been hired since then.

We hire a group of people each year and that will continue until we reach our goal of about 50.”

That’s 50 researchers, plus graduate and undergraduate students, technicians and others, most funded by grants from the National Institute for Health (NIH) and philanthropic organizations.

“Nationally, the major part of federal funding for research and development is through NIH, almost $30 billion annually. When the science journal Nature analyzed how that money is distributed among the 50 states, Maryland was a big winner — in part because of Johns

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Hopkins — and there were a few states including Florida, that they considered weren’t getting their share of the funds,” Kolattukudy says.

“That situation is unhealthy for the state, and the biomedical cluster we’re trying to develop will help change it.

Florida will soon be the third largest state, and we have a long way to go to catch up. “ If Kolattukudy has anything to do with it, that could happen comparatively fast. It took decades to build other major bio-tech centers, but Kolattukudy sees Central Florida emerging as a leader in less than 20 years.

“I still see myself as a newcomer,” he explains, “and this state has the economic opportunity and unrealized potential to become a major biotech hub — it can be, and it should be.”

BEYOND THE LAB To do that requires more than university labs, though, and Kolattukudy is working on that, too.

“We have quite a few patents being applied for coming from the research in our labs, and we hope to increase that number,” he explains. “Those have already been spun off into local biotech companies, including Henry’s company, Chlorogen.”

Other companies have relocated to Orlando to work with the UCF spin-offs.

One of those, VaxDesign, received a large grant from the DARPA to create a living laboratory model of the human immune system.

Each researcher and company relocation adds to the overall power of the cluster.

“We collaborate with scientists all over the world — Japan, France, Germany, the U.K. — but when something comes into our neighborhood, the interaction is better and there’s the chance to share facilities,” Kolattukudy points out. “Biomedical research involves very expensive equipment — we have some microscopes that cost a million dollars each — and the best way for researchers to have access to that kind of equipment is to share it. We call those core facilities.

“The arrival of The Burnham Insti-

“What’s being offered is the chance to make a difference, not to come into an established bureaucratic system that’s been in place for 30 years and where your suggestions aren’t needed. There’s a real emphasis on working together, and everyone’s opinion matters.”

— Dr. Cheryl Baker, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando Research Institute

tute, for example, will help with that.” [see Off the Wire, “The Burnham Institute,” page 10 for more information] The missing piece of the puzzle was a medical school — so Kolattukudy proposed one.

“When I looked at this place it was obvious the biggest impact we could have was to build up bio-medical research in a way that would end up in a medical school. In 2003, I put out the hope and dream that UCF could have a medical school at a meeting with local leaders downtown. [UCF President] John Hitt picked up on it.”

In 2006, the medical school was approved by the state and the very first building erected at the new med school will be a 195,000-square-foot home for the Burnett College of Biomedical Sciences.

Having doctors and clinicians co-located with the researchers is an extension of the work UCF is already doing with local hospitals.

Dr. Cheryl Baker is the director of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando Research Institute, and she and her staff

collaborate with UCF’s researchers constantly, she says.

“You can’t live in a silo anymore,” Baker says. “I’m always out at UCF. We have a special niche and can offer services to others, but we also need collaboration to improve what we do.”

Baker echos Kolattukudy’s call for expanding the core facilities in the area.

Baker completed her undergraduate degree at Rollins, but, in looking around for a high-end research university, she left the state, first going to the University of Texas and later to Harvard, where she also taught courses. Her research took her back to Texas, to the main campus of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

“Development of core facilities is key. Houston is very attractive because it has those core facilities, as do Harvard and MIT. Orlando has the hospital systems, now they’re building core facilities for multidisciplinary research.”

Founded in Houston in 1941, M.D. Anderson itself is a major piece of that landscape and is considered one of the nation’s top cancer research institutions.

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“Rippe-d” One of the nation’s most comprehensive health assessm e n t t e a m s i s r i g h t h e re i n C e n t r a l F l o r i d a .

Getting state-of-the-ar t medical advice too often r e q u i re s n a v i g a t i n g a n a rc h i p e l a g o o f s p e c i a l i s t s , e a c h o n e a n i s l a n d t h a t c a n ’t c o m m u n i c a t e w i t h t h e o t h e r s , leaving you to sor t out what it all means and how the various findings fit together.

That’s especially tr ue o f p re v e n t i v e m e d i c i n e , w h e re p a r s i n g the complex interac tions of lifestyle, medications and underlying physiolo g y t a k e a d i ff e re n t set of skills than those needed to t re a t a n a c u t e i l l n e s s like cancer or hear t disease. Add in the h i g h - s t re s s , f a s t - p a c e d l i f e s t y l e l e d b y b u s i n e s s o w n e r s and executives and it’s not surprising that many highp e r f o r m a n c e i n d i v i d u a l s d o a b e t t e r j o b t a k i n g c a re o f t h e i r c o m p a n i e s t h a n t a k i n g c a re o f t h e m s e l v e s .

Dr. James Rippe (above right),, a renowned Harv a rdt r a i n e d c a rd i o l o g i s t , s a w t h i s c h a l l e n g e a n d t a c k l e d i t head on. He created the Rippe Lifestyle Institute,, and his Rippe Health Assessment is a one-day, 360-degree review of your health status conducted at Florida Hospital’s Celebration Health campus just south of Orlando.

T h e p ro g r a m h a s b e e n c a l l e d t h e b e s t h i g h - t e c h , h i g h - t o u c h h e a l t h a s s e s s m e n t p ro g r a m i n t h e w o r l d . I t When looking for a place to expand, Anderson chose Orlando and Baker was one of the first of the Houston staff to sign up for the move.

Baker was intrigued by the same opportunity as Kolattukudy — the chance to build something new from the ground up plus, in her case, the chance to come home.

“What’s being offered is the chance to make a difference, not to come into an established bureaucratic system that’s been in place for 30 years and where your suggestions aren’t needed. There’s a real emphasis on working together, and everyone’s opinion matters.

“Orlando is an easy place to live. You

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puts the latest technology — including hear t and lung CT scans — into the hands of nationally known physi cians and practitioners but then goes beyond the boundaries of conventional “exams” to include an extensive lifestyle assessment with a full nutritional workup, analysis of your activity level a n d t h e e ffect and interactions of any medi-cations you’re taking.

There a re t h ree levels of assessment keyed to your age — 30 to 39, 40 to 49 and over 50 — with those 50-plus getting the most extensive batter y of tests along with two specialty consults of their choice and a spa t re a t m e n t .

Rippe Health’s practitioners integrate the results to g i v e y o u a h o l i s t i c p i c t u re o f y o u r s t a t e o f h e a l t h i n b o t h s u m m a r y f o r m , d e l i v e re d o n e - o n - o n e b y a R i p p e H e a l t h p h y s i c i a n , a n d i n a c o m p re h e n s i v e 5 0 - p a g e re p o r t . T h e r e p o r t i n c l u d e s i n - d e p t h re c o m m e n d a t i o n s o n l i f e s t y l e , diet and medications that can be used by you and your primar y physician to maximize your health.

High-pro f i l e c l i e n t s f ro m a l l o v e r t h e c o u n t r y f l y i n t o take advantage of the world-class medical talent Rippe Health brings to bear on their well-being; all you have to do is step into one of the program’s town cars and take a shor t drive to better health.

can get to M.D. Anderson from UCF in twenty minutes. Even though it looks like our facilities are very spread out, try living in Houston for a few years,” she chuckles. “There it takes a half-hour to get to the grocery store. Orlando is very easy to get around, whether it’s to go to work or a Magic game, the beach or parks. There’s a lake on every corner.”

According to Baker, that quality of life has helped M.D. Anderson recruit a solid group of medical oncologists, researchers, statisticians, physicists and surgeons.

“We’re using every available resource to defeat cancer, taking it from the DNA all the way up to a pill that we

give to a patient,” Baker explains. “We design individualized cancer therapies — specifically for individual patients — rather than global cancer strategies.”

Unlike diseases such as viral infections which act virtually the same way from patient to patient, Baker says that cancer is individual because the cancer cells interact with the particular genetic and chemical makeup of each patient: “There’s a constant conversation between the host cells and the tumor.”

While global treatments, like radiation, work on most patients, more targeted treatments can achieve better results and eradicate more of the cancer cells.

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“We pick a disease site — I specialize in pancreatic and kidney cancer — then build a multidisciplinary team around it: radiation, oncologists, surgeons, pathologists, nurses, basic and translational researchers.

“We study the biology of the disease in animal models and old-school, tissue culture studies. Then we move those findings into the clinical setting. We hand off the baton to clinicians to find out how our treatments work in actual patients. The clinicians then hand the results back to the researchers asking for modifications and improvements.”

Baker is enthusiastic about the potential for collaboration with The Burnham Institute and UCF’s new medical school. She’s already seen results from existing local relationships and with the pharmaceutical industry.

“Pharmaceutical companies are now recognizing our abilities and are starting to drop their agents in our laps, asking us to test, modify and validate their treatments and get them into clinical

use,” Baker points out. “Our radiation department is studied by people from all over the world. Patients receive very advanced technology-based radiation — very individualized — so we have a vehicle to incorporate radiation therapy into our research models that not many institutions have the ability or the willingness to do.”

Willingness and cooperation seem to be the hallmarks of the Central Florida bio-med initiative.

“The advantage here is that you’re talking to CEOs, presidents and big donors directly about what needs to be done,” Baker says. “Central Florida is going to be an incredible place, not just for what exists now, but for what will exist in wellness, sports medicine and research.”

How does that affect you? Even if you never get injured or suffer from diabetes or cancer, the economic impact of biomedical research on Central Florida is already enormous: 9,000 plus workers in 155 bio-technology and life

sciences companies with an estimated $2.5 billion in earnings.

As Cheryl Baker points out, that will only increase, offering opportunities for local residents and new arrivals to train as lab technicians, nurses, research associates and researchers.

“I think Central Florida will be a huge place for recruitment,” Baker says. “The state is bringing in top notch scientists and companies. Families want to settle here because there’s a future for their children. It’s going to become a teaching environment.”

Pappachan Kolattukudy agrees that teaching and training are the keys to success in the fight against disease and the fight for research grants: “In the San Francisco Bay area the University of California system supplies undergraduates to do technical services, and many of their undergrads find jobs in the biotech industry. Without that manpower, biotech companies can’t survive.

We’re now generating that manpower x for Central Florida.”

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Is the video-gaming industry the entertainment side of the computer business, or the computer end of the entertainment business?

Let’s see: Like the computer business, video gaming hires engineers from the best tech schools to churn out miles of ever-more-complex code. Like the entertainment business, it relies on writers, artists and producers to turn that technological ability into riveting, bestselling recreation. The gaming industry shares a talent pool with GE Aerospace and Lockheed Martin, as well as the Walt Disney Company and Universal Studios. Its CEOs not only have engineering degrees, they have talent agents.

In other words it’s neither one business nor the other. It’s an animal unto itself: the computer-entertainment business.

And quite a business it is, selling some $7 billion in products in 2005 and contributing some $30 billion to the economy overall. It’s also one of the fastest-moving industries in this breakneck business era, a niche where “the cheese” is moved so far and so frequently that only the hardiest mouse-clickers survive.

Just as its product has evolved over 30 years from the crude graphics of “Pong” to the lifelike grisliness of “Grand Theft Auto” and its ilk, so too has the video-game business transfor med from an entrepreneurial

sideshow of the larger economy into the spotlighted center of mainstream business, a place where the computer, entertainment and retail sectors merge to create an economic powerhouse.

Now, another evolution is taking place in the video game biz. Its longestablished hubs — Santa Monica, California; Atlanta, Georgia; and Austin, Texas — are welcoming a fourth member, our own Orlando. In addition to Maitland-based Electronic Arts (EA), the mega-manufacturer of such games as “Madden NFL Football” and “NASCAR Thunder,” Orlando also is home to a unique graduate school offering master’s degrees in Interactive Entertainment: UCF’s Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA), launched in August 2005.

And that’s not to mention Orlando’s longest-standing video-game maker: n-Space, Inc. Started in 1994 by three engineers from Lockheed, the company now employs some 70 engineers, artists, designers and production personnel at its 14,000-square-foot facility in Westwood Plaza near SeaWorld.

Working across various game platforms, including Nintendo Gamecube and Sony Playstation, n-Space has created its own games (including the spiritand-demon fantasy “Geist”) along with

“When we started making games, a game took seven people 10 or 11 months and cost just under a million dollars. Now, we have projects with 40 people that run for two years, with a just-getting-in-the-door budget of $5 million.”

— Erick Dyke

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games based on well-known movies, TV shows and comic books. “Rugrats Studio Tour,” “Mary-Kate & Ashley: Sweet Sixteen,” and “Die Hard Trilogy 2” are among the 12 projects n-Space has released thus far.

“It’s what I wanted to do since I was a little kid,” says Erick Dyke, n-Space’s president.

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MAJOR PLAYER

ORLANDO IS BECOMING A HUB FOR THE VIDEO-GAMING INDUSTRY, A UNIQUE HYBRID THAT WEDS SEATTLE GEEK WITH HOLLYWOOD CHIC.

By Rafaela Ellis

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PHOTO COURTESY OF FIEA

tionships that are so vital in the gaming business, which relies heavily on licensing agreements and intellectual property sharing. Enter Interactive Studio Management (ISM), a pioneering video-game talent agency headquartered in California. In 1996, the agency recruited n-Space as its first-ever client, and the next year helped n-Space put its first game, “Tigershark,” on store shelves.

“Their efforts have directly impacted our worldwide sales and contributed to our impressive longevity in an industry where independent developers are a rarity,” Dyke told Game News in an article celebrating ISM’s 10th anniversary.

FIEA programming student Jennie Gritton.

GAME WARRIORS The birth of n-Space is itself a tale of how quickly things morph in the gaming biz. Dyke, a 1991 engineering graduate from Michigan Tech, originally came to Florida to work on military projects for GE Aerospace in Daytona Beach. But then the company got a contract from the game maker Sega, and Dyke and his colleagues were thrust into the video game racket.

“That sort of got me into the business,” Dyke says. “And then that was bought out by Martin Marietta and then Lockheed, and after they ended their relationship with Sega I wanted to keep making games. So I and a couple of people left and started nSpace.”

Working from a small rental in Grand National Plaza, the group discovered that in addition to the technical knowhow to create games, they needed to begin building the rela-

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THE COMING WORLD Now Dyke and company, along with a roster of local and regional political and business types, are preparing for the future of gaming by working to make Orlando as attractive as possible to the young, hip engineers and artists who take video games from concept to reality.

While the California companies who publish

“Geist” and “Rugrats” video games are just two popular titles by n-Space. the material on which games are based have caught on to Orlando’s benefits — “They like the fact that we’re in Florida because we have a less-expensive cost of doing business,” Dyke says — the next step is to further develop the region’s tech-savvy, creative workforce.

Dyke is optimistic that Orlando’s efforts to create a high-tech creative

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF FIEA

village adjacent to UCF’s FIEA in downtown Orlando will be a catalyst to attracting talent to drive this industry, although he notes that the gaming industry has changed since he and his cohorts left their comfortable — and well-paying — engineering jobs to start up n-Space.

“Our business is really tough right now,” he says. “When we started mak-

ing games, a game took seven people 10 or 11 months and cost just under a million dollars. Now, we have projects with 40 people that run for two years, with a just-getting-in-the-door budget of $5 million.”

That makes it harder for young engineers to run their own companies out of a garage, as the legendary tech wizards of the past generation did.

Nevertheless, Dyke says, Orlando still offers plenty of opportunities for recent graduates.

“My advice is to find a good job at

A Squishy Hero to the Rescue What’s green, amorphous, and out to save his colorful subterranean world?

W h y The Blob , o f c o u r s e , t h e h e ro o f a v i d e o g a m e c re a t e d a t t h e University of Central Florida’s Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) , a g r a d u a t e s c h o o l f o r g a m e r s t h a t o p e n e d i n A u g u s t 2 0 0 5 i n downtown Orlando.

Created over two semesters by a team of 12 FIEA students, “The Blob” is the latest manifestation of FIEA’s g o a l o f c re a t i n g a c l a s s o f g a m e p ro d u c e r s , a r t i s t s a n d p ro g r a m m e r s re a d y t o t a k e O r l a n d o t o t h e n e x t l e v e l a s a gaming hub. “ T h e v i d e o - g a m e i n d u s t r y w i l l h i re a p e r s o n a d a y f o r the next ten years,” says Benjamin Noel, executive director of FIEA. “How do we maintain that? Orlando was not k n o w n a s a h o t b e d o f v i d e o - g a m e t a l e n t ; 7 0 p e rc e n t [ o f g a m e - m a k i n g t a l e n t ] w a s c o m i n g f ro m o u t o f s t a t e . ” So Noel, a for mer senior manager at video-game giant Electronic Arts (EA) in Maitland, joined with UCF, the city of Orlando and the Florida Gover nor’s office to place a new graduate school for game developers at the c e n t e r o f a p l a n n e d d o w n t o w n “ c re a t i v e v i l l a g e ” a i m e d a t a t t r a c t i n g t h e y o u n g , h i p t a l e n t t h a t g a m i n g re l i e s o n . “ T h e c i t y a n d t h e m a y o r a re v e r y f o c u s e d o n b r i n g i n g t h e s e j o b s h e re , h a v i n g p e o p l e l i v i n g h e re , w o r k i n g h e re at high tech jobs,” Noel says.

T h e h o p e i s t h a t o n c e s t u d e n t s g r a d u a t e f rom FIEA — o r f ro m o t h e r l o c a l e n g i n e e r i n g a n d a r t p ro g r a m s — t h e y w i l l b e t e m p t e d t o s t i c k a ro u n d O r l a n d o t o e n j o y d o w n town’s mixed-use housing, nightlife, and the high-paying tech jobs that suppor t them.

So far, it seems to be working, Noel says. “We set up a s t u d i o e n v i ro n m e n t , a n d w e ’ re d o i n g t h i n g s t h e r i g h t w a y. We bet that if we built it and funded it and brought in the right faculty, the kids will show up. And they have.”

Successes like “The Blob” should make it even easier t o a t t r a c t t h e b e s t s t u d e n t s , N o e l s a y s . A l re a d y “ g o l d m a s t e re d ” — t h e t e r m f o r p u t t i n g t h e f i n a l p ro d u c t o n m a s t e r d i s k — a n d w i t h p a c k a g i n g d e s i g n e d a n d re a d y t o b e m a n u f a c t u re d , t h e g a m e h a s g a r n e r e d p o s i t i v e a t t e n t i o n i n g a m i n g c o m p e t i t i o n s a n d w i l l b e e n t e r ed i n t h e G a m e D e v e l o p e r s C o n f e re n c e a t t h e u p c o m i n g n a t i o n a l S t u d e n t Gaming Competition. “ T h e s t a r s a re l i n i n g u p , ” N o e l s a y s o f t h e s y n e rg y b e t w e e n t h e s c h o o l a n d t h e g a m e m a n u f a c t u re r s i n t h e a rea. “We w a n t t o h a v e t h e b e s t f a c i l ity in the best place to live and work.”

a company that exists,” he says.

With n-Space, EA, and a host of military-simulation concerns hungry for qualified workers, such advice should be easy to follow.

“Right now, it’s become a lot easier to find local talent and to find people interested in living and working here,” he says. “The business is x maturing.”

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Present-day Orlando has become home to a league of its own, with a growing number of all-star players whose back-of-jerseys include the names: Crofton, Waltz, Sonntag, Weeden, Seay, Nodarse, Engfer, Schirm, Hostetter, Beeson, Mollaghasemi, Ruiz, Mitchell, McCall, Dominguez, Costa, Booker and Koenig, to name a few. These women, who own or lead their respective organizations, have not only generated individual success, but have helped their home team of Metro Orlando move into the ranks of the big leagues.

The region has seen a rapid rise in the number of womenowned businesses with more than 71,000 privately held (50 percent or more woman-owned) firms as of 2004, according to the Center for Women’s Business Research. That’s a 29 percent increase since 1997, earning Orlando a number 10 spot among the leading U.S. metro areas for growth in the number of privately held, womenowned firms. Most recent data shows that these Orlando businesses generated $18 billion in sales and employed nearly 100,000 people.

Orlando’s women business leaders own or oversee companies that range from Walt Disney

By Jackie Kelvington World to the primary Madonna, Geena Davis and Rosie O’Donnell. If you remem- local newspapers; techconstruction ber the hit movie A League of Their Own, you recall them nology, and engineering firms; portraying the key players in a women’s baseball league that was and a host of profesformed when the World War II draft threatened to shut down sional service firms, including commercial Major League Baseball. And you remember the characters they real estate, public relaplayed for their talent, determination, spirit and accomplishments. tions, banking and

A LEAGUE OF

ITS OWN

GROWTH OF WOMEN-LED BUSINESSES IN ORLANDO AMONG TOP IN THE NATION.

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legal services. On top of that, a quick look through our region’s top-ranked lists reveals that half of the chambers of commerce, non-profit service organizations and top credit unions are all led by women.

What’s spurred this growth? The answers are as diverse as the women business leaders here. Many cite the region’s strong entrepreneurial spirit, economic strength and sheer growth.

Others say it’s a great place to raise a family and become ingrained in the community.

“Since I moved to Orlando from Philadelphia twenty-four years ago, I have always felt that the region was ideal for entrepreneurs,” says Linda Costa, president and creative director of Costa DeVault.

Founded by Costa in 1985, the company has become one of Central Florida’s most prominent marketing communications, public relations and graphic design firms.

“The climate is business-friendly and full of opportunity, with plenty of venues for networking and business development,”continues Costa. “The majority of decision-makers are involved in the community, approachable and accessible. It’s a great environment to build and foster relationships.”

Metro Orlando also has a competitive edge when it comes to resources for women in business. The region has an abundance of national, state, local and industry-specific association chapters that connect women business leaders, offer professional development and help them grow their businesses. These include: the National Association of Women Business Owners, Executive Women International, the Orlando Business Professional Women’s Association, the Ya Ya Network, Florida Executive Women, the Florida Association of Women Lawyers, Commercial Real Estate Women and the Hispanic American Professional Business Women Association.

The Orlando office of national law fir m Holland & Knight started a

“Since I moved to Orlando from Philadelphia twenty-four years ago, I have always felt that the region was ideal for entrepreneurs.

The climate is business-friendly and full of opportunity, with plenty of venues for networking and business development.

The majority of decision-makers are involved in the community, approachable and accessible.

It’s a great environment to build and foster relationships.”

Linda Costa, president and creative director, Costa DeVault (locally founded communications marketing firm)

Women’s Initiative program, through which the firm hosts regular forums for women business leaders in the area.

Orange County government launched an annual Women’s Leadership Summit that offers day-long programs and seminars on professional development, balancing work-family and more. All this on top of the fact that Orlando is home to several noted organizations that help nurture entrepreneurs, including the Disney/SBA National Entrepreneur Center and the University of Central Florida’s Small Business Center and its Technology Incubator.

“Metro Orlando’s ‘can do’ attitude is what sets it apart,”says Joanie Schirm,

president of Geotechnical and Environmental Consultants, Inc. “Central Florida is an increasingly dynamic and welcoming marketplace. The velocity of change over the past three to five years is a phenomenon that most communities would wish for in ten years,” Schirm founded GEC in 1991. Her company has since become a leading engineering and environmental consulting firm known for major community-shaping projects.

“The Burnham Institute’s choice of Orlando, the new University of Central Florida Medical School, and our community’s investment in a new Performing Arts Center, events center/arena,

“Metro Orlando’s ‘can do’ attitude is what sets it apart. The region is an increasingly dynamic and welcoming marketplace. The velocity of change over the past three to five years is a phenomenon that most communities would wish for in ten years.”

Joanie Schirm, president, Geotechnical and Environmental Consultants, Inc. (locally founded engineering and environmental consulting firm)

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and a renovated Florida Citrus Bowl are just of a few of the major happenings that underscore a community on the

move,” comments Schirm.

Here is what some of Orlando’s other “league” members had to say:

“Central Florida is one of the largest centers in the world for modeling and simulation. That’s been critical to our success, and so have our ties to the University of Central Florida, which is now the sixth largest university in the country. UCF provides us an extensive and growing knowledge base which has contributed greatly to the company’s human capital and our competitive advantage.”

Mansooreh Mollaghasemi, president of Productivity Apex, a locally founded company that uses technology and process-improvement tools to increase productivity and efficiency in organizations

“There are many things that make Orlando a great place. What I most admire is that our civic and business leaders all share a common goal — a vision for a great city.

I’m excited about where this city and region are headed and proud that Disney is a leader in this great community.”

Meg Crofton, president, Walt Disney World Resort

“Metro Orlando is an ideal place for women-led businesses to thrive and flourish. Our region is relatively young, progressive and diverse when compared to older established areas with entrenched non-women-led businesses. Here, there is a culture of encouragement, acceptance and support for women in leadership positions throughout our community. “ Leila Nodarse, president & CEO of locally founded engineering consulting firm Nodarse & Associates, Inc.

“Orlando is a great business location for SAIC because of the synergies among the military services (our customers), the business community and the University of Central Florida, which all work together to generate success in the high tech domain.

What I like best about the region is that here, more than anywhere I have lived, there is a sense of community. There are so many great people living here — people who are willing to get together and help each other, both on a business and on a personal level.”

Beverly Seay, senior vice president, Business Unit General Manager, SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation, a leading provider of scientific, engineering, systems integration and technical services and solutions to all branches of the U.S. military) x

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THE ROYAL TREATMENT FOR ROAD WARRIORS.

When the body is weary but the brain needs to be on, it’s time for Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport. You’ll love it for the location and the luxury with its newly renovated, impeccably designed rooms, featuring down comforters, soft pillows, 340 thread count sheets (ahhh, now that’s comfort); a host of terrific business amenities, like high speed Internet, elegantly appointed boardrooms, great dining and Hyatt caliber service; and the ambiance of our soaring six story tropical atrium, outdoor pool and sundeck with runway views. So give yourself a break and stay at the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport, where relaxation and rejuvenation are always included, no extra charge.

The next time you’re heading out on the road, call 407.825.1234 or visit us at orlandoairport.hyatt.com.

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WELCOME

The following Central Florida Businesses Welcome t

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e the Burnham Institute for Medical Research to Orlando Axium Healthcare Pharmacy, Inc.

J. Rolfe Davis Insurance

Nationwide Specialty Pharmacy Services

Premier Insurance Brokers, Risk Management Consultants and Alliance Partners

888-315-3395

CB Richard Ellis

407-691-9614

The Global Leader in Real Estate Services

Johnson Bros.

407-843-4020

National Civil Contractor

CBR Public Relations

407-248-9208

Specializing in Public Relations Management, Media Relations and Crisis Communications

Knight

407-834-7777

407-206-1011

City of St. Cloud

Lake Nona

Celebrating Small Town Life

Real Estate Development

407-957-7300

407-888-6500

Consensus Communication

The Mall at Millenia

A Full-Service Public Relations Firm Providing Strategic Communications Counsel and Support

World Class Dining & Shopping You Were Meant for This

407-835-0020

407-363-3555

CORT Business Services

Moore Stevens Lovelace, P.A.

Office & Residential Furniture Rental & Relocation Services

So Much More Than an Accounting Firm

407-678-2677

Curascript

Marketing and Advertising Agency

407-246-1981

Nodarse and Associates, Inc.

Dedicated to the Delivery of Extraordinary Care, One Patient at a Time

A Full Service Geotechnical, Environmental Consulting, and Construction Materials Testing and Inspection Engineering Firm

888-773-7376

800-457-4745

Dynetech Corporation

Orlando Magic Basketball

Specializing in Strategic Positioning of Products and Services in the Marketplace for Businesses

407-89-MAGIC

407-206-6500

Fifth Third Bank Financial Services, Private Banking and Investments

407-999-3053

Orlando Regional Healthcare Dedicated to Improving the Health and Quality of Life of the Individuals and Communities We Serve

321 841-5111

Florida’s Blood Centers

Real Estate Research Consultants, Inc.

Florida’s Blood Centers – Central Florida’s Blood Bank

We Put the Knowledge in Your Hands…

Run With It

407-226-3853

800-767-5635

GEC

Tavistock Group

Geotechnical and Environmental Consultants, Inc.

Private Investment Company

407-898-1818

407-909-9000

UCF Foundation, Inc.

Greater Orlando Aviation Authority

Welcoming the Burnham Institute and worldclass medical research to Central Florida.

Orlando International Airport Your Connection to the World

407-882-1220

407-825-2001

Walt Disney World

Haines City Economic Development Council, Inc.

Welbro Building Corp.

863-422-2525

Holland & Knight The Firm of Choice for Proven, Results-Defined Legal Services

407-425-8500

Construction Services & Support, Full Service Real Estate Improvement service

407-475-0800

Workscapes Providing Commercial Furnishing and Design Solutions for the Workplace407-599-6770

Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport Beautifully appointed. Newly Renovated.

Inside the airport.

407-825-1234

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innovation alley

BUSINESS

Generating

ELECTRODYNAMICS ASSOCIATES SEES ENORMOUS POTENTIAL IN SMALL GENERATOR.

By Nancy Curry

>>

Advances in technology tend to make things smaller ... consider how one of today’s laptops can perform tasks that formerly required a roomful of mainframe computers. But what about the electrical power that drives so much technology, and almost every aspect of daily life?

Orlando-based Electrodynamics Associates, Inc. is on the cusp of introducing a vastly smaller and more efficient electric generator with the potential to revolutionize the military, aerospace and commercial sectors. Established in 1995, the company develops compact, highdensity electric power generators and alternative energy solutions.

The firm has produced a prototype 2.5-megawatt generator roughly the size of a rolled-up sleeping bag.

“It weighs approximately 350 lbs,” says Electrodynamics Associates Founder and President Jay Vaidya, “as opposed to comparable commercial machines that weigh 15 times as much and are considerably larger. Nobody else has this kind of generator.”

For perspective, a 2.5-megawatt generator can power 2,000 homes continuously.

“After a hurricane, you could take it in to provide power to an entire subdivision,” says Vaidya. “It’s transportable because it’s so lightweight. This is a product that’s ready for final testing and

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getting a lot of interest for both military and commercial applications.”

The generator is timely, says Vaidya, because it will support the aircraft industry’s move toward more efficient and compact generators in airborne propulsion systems.

“Current generation aircraft utilize bleed air from the engine to de-ice the wings,” he says. “And the engine also directly drives the compressors for environmental control systems. The ‘more electric engine’ on next generation planes will delegate these functions to the electric generator, substantially improving fuel efficiency and reducing the overall weight and cost of building the airplane.

“With this development, the generator coupled to the propulsion engine needs to be more powerful than current technology generators. We can support that requirement.”

There are myriad applications for the transportable generator, but the biggest challenge for the entrepreneur is transitioning into production.

“It will probably be eighteen months before we make that move, but we are getting certain inquiries for quantities of our products.”

One prospective buyer wanted to purchase 4,000 generators over the next five years ... potentially a $40 million contract ... but ultimately passed on Electrodynamics’ proposal because the cost of producing prototypes was too high.

“We were looking at $300,000 for three units and controllers,” says Vaidya, “but with large-scale production, we could produce them for as little as $10,000 a piece. At this point, only a much larger company can underwrite this kind of production. We need a partner to amortize the cost of prototypes and large-scale production.

“Airplane manufacturers ask us for proposals to develop generators for the new generation planes. The reason they come to us is the handful of large companies that can produce on this scale tend to be highly invested in their technologies, so in response to a problem, the solution they provide is based on their production abilities. That’s how we differ. As a small company, we try to

look at a problem and apply the best solution to it ... independent of existing production constraints.”

The company is also exploring applications for biomass-fueled generators.

“Probably the most effective application is using the waste from agricultural products, such as sugar cane,” says Vaidya. “The processing waste left behind after you extract the juice can be converted to fuel and put into a high-speed turbine engine to drive the

researchers,” says Vaidya. “This product has had perhaps the most impact from the initial FHTCC funding. UCF helped us design the generator in a very compact size that makes it suitable for airborne applications.”

Most of the company’s growth has taken place in research and development, increasing from two to seven employees. The firm also works with 10 outside consultants from around the country.

“[THE 2.5 MEGAWATT GENERATOR] WEIGHS APPROXIMATELY 350 LBS AS OPPOSED TO COMPARABLE COMMERCIAL MACHINES THAT WEIGH 15 TIMES AS MUCH AND ARE CONSIDERABLY LARGER. NOBODY ELSE HAS THIS KIND OF GENERATOR.” — JAY VAIDYA generator to produce electricity. If you had one of these generators in a sugar cane factory, you could use the power to actually run the factory, and even send some power back to the grid.”

AN ELECTRIFYING START Vaidya developed its 2.5-megawatt generator in response to a broad solicitation by the U.S. Air Force, but his company has been propelled by several different research grants. One such boost came from the Florida High Tech Corridor Council (FHTCC)’s innovative Matching Grants Research Program, which partners high tech companies with research universities.

In 2000, FHTCC provided Electrodynamics Associates with $54,000 as part of a study for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) program to design power supply for its groundbased computers. The firm successfully delivered the high-efficiency sample power supplies to NASA and has since applied for and won two additional FHTCC matching grants worth $90,000.

These correspond to eight Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) phase I contracts, and five Phase II contracts for research in the field of high power density electric generators.

“The 2.5-megawatt generator has benefited from a lot of analysis on the thermal side from the University of Central Florida (UCF) and its student

UCF and the engineering talent in Florida’s High Tech Corridor were key to Vaidya’s decision to found his company in Orlando. Despite building a successful career in Illinois at Sundstrand Aerospace, including a stint as chief research engineer, he returned to Central Florida when it was time to build his own company. He had earned his Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from UCF in 1974, when it was known as Florida Technological University.

Vaidya estimates there are no more than six to eight companies doing similar work nationwide. And, he and his firm are making waves in the industry: in 2005, the Orlando chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) honored Vaidya as its entrepreneur of the year.

“Mr. Vaidya is really a brilliant man,” says Tom Wu, PhD, associate professor in UCF’s department of electrical and computer engineering and chairman of the IEEE’s 2005 awards committee. “He’s done outstanding work with high-speed generators, and it’s work that’s very imporx tant for the future of this country.”

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newcos

Tech that

By G.K. Sharman

WORKS

TWO NEW COMPANIES ARE AMONG THOSE GROWING IN CENTRAL FLORIDA’S DIVERSE HIGH-TECH LANDSCAPE.

>>

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In September 2005, Jeff Douglass moved his live eventproduction company, Cybis, out of his home into an office in Oviedo. It’s time to move again already.

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“We keep growing by word of mouth,” says Douglass, the company’s founder, CEO, president and executive producer, who expects to outgrow the current office by the end of January.

Word of mouth is a strategy that has worked for him since his first foray into business in 1995.

Douglass, a 2002 graduate of UCF, began as a technology and computer networking consultant. In addition to developing business information systems and providing computer training, his early trademark was free telephone computer service to his clients.

After a small initial marketing effort, he began generating 100 percent of his new customers by word of mouth.

Douglass always kept up with the latest technology and began adding desktop video editing and computer graphics to his list of services. By 1999, Cybis was moving into media production, creating corporate identities, developing promotional videos and combining media and technology to help clients meet their goals.

Cybis Communications Corp. was officially established in February 2001 and quickly moved into conference production, using technology to orchestrate large-scale events. The initial client was a national high-school leadership conference in 2002. Cybis continues to draw its clientele primarily from the non-profit sector, working with Preserve America Summit, a historical preservation project, and with the White House on Helping America’s Youth, a series of conferences led by First Lady Laura Bush. Most recently, Cybis worked the White House Summit on Malaria in Washington, D.C., featuring the President.

The company expanded with the client base, from one guy — Douglass — to 15 people, either full- or parttime, working on the shows.

What sets Cybis apart, Douglass says, is its focus on the client’s message.

The company doesn’t just provide some audio-visual bells and whistles, he said, it uses technology to further the mission and goals of the organization.

For instance, most conferences have an

awards ceremony or other major event.

Cybis does it up big, making the audience “feel like they’re at the Grammys or the Academy Awards,” Douglass says.

He wants the participants to walk out of the event feeling energized and ready to change the world.

The expansion is as much about expanding Cybis’ market and strategic efforts as it is about additional office space.

Many of Cybis’ clients are from out of town, and Douglass hopes the company can one day open satellite offices in other cities.

But Orlando is one of the nation’s — even the world’s — top meeting and event destinations, and Douglass, who grew up here, sees growth potential among local companies.

“It’s about time to let Central Florida know who we are and why we can set a new standard for events,” says Douglass.

SONA PILLOW Dr. Najeeb Zuberi’s invention can help you lose weight, live longer, sharpen your memory and improve your love life.

Actually, the Sona Pillow prevents snoring — which Zuberi, a Harvard-educated neurologist and sleep specialist, says helps people sleep better and therefore improves their lives in a variety of positive ways.

The pillow itself, with a hump in the middle that gradually flattens out toward the sides, looks deceptively low-tech. But don’t be fooled. Zuberi holds a patent on it and it’s the only such pillow that’s FDA certified.

Researchers at the Departments of Neurology and Sleep Medicine at Florida Hospital-Kissimmee studied the pillow’s effects and found that it reduced snoring and sleep apnea (a temporary breathing stoppage),

increased oxygen saturation and improved the snoring sufferer’s quality of sleep. Their findings were published in the medical journal, Sleep and Breathing.

It’s the latest solution to a frustrating and worldwide problem that’s more serious than it appears. According to Zuberi, who uses the pillow himself, snoring is linked to heart attacks, high blood pressure, stroke and heart failure, as well as increased tiredness, weight gain, memory loss and a decline in, ahem, romantic relations, as anyone who sleeps with a windowrattler can attest.

Snoring has a genetic component.

What happens is, when snorers sleep on their backs, their jaws fall backward and cause an obstruction in the back of the throat. The Sona Pillow ensures that users sleep on their sides, thus putting the jaw at the right angle to improve breathing and prevent snoring and sleep apnea.

Unlike other methods, Zuberi says, the Sona Pillow is easier to use and at $69, far less expensive. It doesn’t have to be customized to the user and there’s no ongoing maintenance other than occasional fluffings.

The pillow has been on the market for about a year, says Zuberi, who estimates that he’s sold between 3,000 and 4,000 of them through his Web site, sonapillow.com. Made in China and shipped back to the United States to be stuffed with hypo-allergenic fill, they’re popular all over the world. Zuberi has testimonials from former snorers from Britain and several other countries and recently shipped an order for four pillows to Afghanistan.

Since the venture is Web based, it could operate anywhere in the world, Zuberi acknowledges, but he finds Kissimmee an ideal home base for his neurology practice and four-bed sleep lab as well as for pillow sales.

He’s loved the area since he and his wife honeymooned here in 1990.

Central Florida is warm, clean, new, relatively affordable compared to other cities and, according to Zuberi, has “a big-city feel without the bigx city problems.”

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intelligent forms of lifestyle

Unique

TECH

PUTTING A DIFFERENT SPIN ON TECH APPLICATIONS.

By Denise Bates Enos

>>

Technology is such a part of our lives these days that it’s easy to be blasé. Computers — ho hum. E-mail on the cell phone — been there, got that. But every once in a while, technology can surprise us with different and unique applications.

SCINET Need a permit for a pool? Click. Real estate and school district information?

Click. Rezoning, utility projects, tax information, street widening, inspection requests — click.

SCINET — which stands for Seminole County Integrated Network — is an interactive Web site that will let people get almost anything they want or need from the county with just a couple of clicks.

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The idea was to streamline the process, putting everything in one place to make it easy to access information and service from the county, says Colleen Rotella, Seminole’s acting director of IT. But everybody says that, she acknowledges. What makes SCINET different isn’t just the tech stuff, impressive as it is. It’s that the county started at the beginning with a customerservice focus and “drilled down,” in

Rotella’s words, to find out what people really wanted and how they would use a government Web site.

SCINET was developed by the county with expertise from University of Central Florida’s computer and engineering students. Seminole is the only county in the nation with such a comprehensive program, Rotella says, and Microsoft, which has its own government software packages, is watching to see if they can learn anything.

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BODILY SCIENCE We’re all kin under the skin, right? If so, we should all be able to relate to Our Body: The Universe Within at the Orlando Science Center.

More than 200 specimens, including 20 complete bodies, are displayed in a dignified and tasteful environment, according to Science Center President Brian Tonner.

The bodies and body parts are preserved with a polymer impregnation process that replaces fluids with polymers that prevent decay and decomposition.

But it’s not the “Bodies” exhibit that caused such a stir — and drew record crowds — at the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa. Tonner, the museum staff and the board saw that show, though, and were so impressed that they

wanted to bring a similar exhibit here.

It’s part of a strategic plan to reach out to more adult audiences, he says, even though the exhibit has more of an educational focus than the Tampa version. Displays include studies of cellular-level biology and artistic views of anatomy through the ages.

The show also delves into an ageold question, Tonner says: “How do we approach the need for scientific inquiry into ourselves while preserving human dignity?”

Visitors can expect to come away from the exhibit understanding more about how we humans work and also, Tonner says, “how distinctly unique each of us is.”

UN-CONVENTIONAL COOKING Suppose you have to cook dinner for 1,000 people.

What you need is something that can keep the food hot — and more importantly, edible — until it can be served.

At the Orange County Convention Center, the solution to that culinary dilemma is the portable banquet cart made by A la Cart Inc., the latest hightech helper for high-volume cooks.

“It’s just unbelievable,” says an enthusiastic James Katurakes, executive chef for Levy Restaurants, the Convention Center’s food service operation.

The term “banquet cart” is misleading, says Chef K, as he’s known to his staff. What the portable, programmable unit does is safely store and retherm food — that’s chef-speak for warm it up — so everything can be served at the right temperature. No warming trays are required, which means food comes to the table or buffet line with the right temperature, texture and taste.

The goal is to “bring the food closer to the guest,” explains Chef K, whose staff of 15 has used the carts for nearly two-and-ahalf years. The Convention Center is one of only a handful of largescale food operations to use the carts, Chef K estimates.

Chef K has 20 of the units, each of which can provide two entrees, veggies and potatoes for a party of 100 for buffet service, or 60 pre-plated meals for a sit-down dinner.

Now what’s for dessert?

HI-TECH MEETS CANVAS When is an iPod not a luxury entertainment item?

People who used one to understand the art and mind of Edouard Duval Carrie at the Orlando Museum of Art see the high-tech little music players in a new light. iPods are the perfect tool for a 21st-century museum visit, according to Danny Daneau, one of the tour’s developers.

The UCF graduate student in entrepreneurial digital cinema developed the tour in cooperation with Laura Lopez, his partner in Orlando-based Dora Media, and the Museum.

He used the iPod’s channels to organize content about the art, offering far more than a standard rent-a-headphone tour could provide and doing it in such a way that each visitor can customize his or her experience.

The most complicated part of the procedure was explaining to non-techies how to use the iPods, he says.

Using their own iPods or renting one at the desk, visitors subscribe to a free podcast about the exhibit. A panel next to the piece of art tells visitors which channel to select, then they scroll down and choose what they want to listen to: background information, the words of the modern artist talking about his own work, other experts’ opinions on the art and more.

“It’s a fully-integrated-from -beginning-to-end iPod tour,” says Daneau, who was pleased with the way the project turned out and is looking for opportunities to do another one.

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