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VOL 6 ISSUE 2

TEXTURE 2009

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 & TECHNOLOGY

MEET HEALTH AND WELLNESS

URBAN LIVING In Downtown Orlando

SECRETS

OF THE CENTRAL FLORIDA

RESEARCH PARK Official Publication of

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/b C14 Sf^SQbObW]\a RSbS`[W\S ]cbQ][Sa That’s why we set out to make history by oering four-year scholarships to our 41-student charter class. Chosen out of 4,307 applicants, our College of Medicine students will help shape the future of UCF and Central Florida—as well as the lives of countless patients. What’s next for UCF? Partnering with the Orlando VA Medical Center, Nemours Children’s Hospital and Burnham Institute for Medical Research in a new $2 billion medical city. When you dream, and dream big, the impossible becomes the inevitable.

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ORLANDO’S TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPE

Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission President & CEO Texture Executive Publisher Raymond Gilley Vice President, Marketing Texture Editor & Associate Publisher Maureen Brockman Texture Project Support Lisa Addy Director, Publications & Web Design

T E X T U R E FA L L / W I N T E R 2 0 0 9 V O L U M E 6 , I S S U E 2

Departments

Suzy Spang Vice President, Film & Technology Development

FROM THE EDITOR 5 bioOrlando: From Dream to Reality

Eric Ushkowitz Director, Tech Industry Development Jennifer Wakefield Director, Public Relations

PEAK PERFORMER 6 Meet Sandy Shugart: poet, performer, college president.

Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc.®

TALENT POOL 8 Incubator companies take flight.

President Texture Publisher Gary C. Sain

INTERFACE 10 Dr. Rippe moves needle from treatment to prevention.

SPECIAL FX 22 Video games enhance military training.

NEW COS 24 Next gen “dot coms” thrive.

Vice President of Publications Texture Associate Publisher Deborah Kicklighter Henrichs

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Contributing Writers Justin Campfield, Michael Candelaria, Sandra Carr, Kendall Litton Jensen, Kristen Manieri, Kerry Martin, Jack Roth, Russ J. Stacey, Jennifer Wakefield

OFF THE WIRE 30 Breaking news bytes

Contributing Photographers Jacque Brund and Phelan Ebenhack

INTELLIGENT FORMS OF LIFESTYLE 32 Urban living options abound.

Features

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THRIVING ON VISION 18 Orlando’s other themed park, the Central Florida Research Park, is home to the nation’s largest modeling, simulation and training industry cluster.

On the cover: As elite athletes at the National Training Center in Clermont have discovered, Metro Orlando leads the way when it comes to the science of performance and health.

Publication Artist Lisa Buck

Associate V.P. of Advertising Sales Sheryl Taylor 407.354.5568

INNOVATION ALLEY 28 Orlando emerges as patent powerhouse.

Home to leaders in the fitness and healthcare industries, Orlando lies at the crossroads of technology and wellness.

Managing Editor Jessica Chapman

Production Coordinators Shelley Hampton and Stacey Smith

TECH TRENDS 26 Agritech advances aim to make planet greener.

THE SCIENCE OF HEALTH AND WELLNESS 12

Amy Dinsmore Director, Business Development

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This publication is sponsored in part by Orange County Government 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, FL 32801. Phone: 407.422.7159 or 888.TOP.CITY (867-2489). Fax: 407.425.6428. E-mail: info@orlandoedc.com.

Advertising information: 407.354.5512. Copyright 2009 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 publisher

From Dreams to

By Ray Gilley

REALITY

PHOTO BY JACQUE BRUND

>>

“ Yo u m a y say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.

I hope some day you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.”

— John Lennon, Imagine

Imagine ... a place where people come not only for the theme parks, but to be cured of deadly diseases; where medical miracles are performed everyday; where doctors from around the world are trained; and where scientists discover the secrets to longer, healthier lives. Imagine ... a place known worldwide as a leader in medical excellence.

A few short years ago, this was all a dream for Orlando. Despite the region being home to two of the nation’s largest hospital systems — Florida Hospital and Orlando Health — Orlando was not a real contender for the life science and biotech industry.

Well, this is a community that dreams big. Within a remarkably short time frame, all that has changed.

As with many success stories, ours started with a failure. In 2003, Orlando was short-listed as a location for the Scripps Research Institute. When Scripps ultimately decided to locate elsewhere, we learned an important

lesson: Metro Orlando needed a medical school to realistically compete for the development, expansion and relocation of life science companies.

Taking that lesson to heart, community leaders immediately began to work with the University of Central Florida (UCF) to make this happen.

And, on a remarkably fast track, in March 2006 the UCF College of Medicine was approved.

That was the tur ning point.

Orlando became a realistic location choice for life science companies; a fact quickly proved when the Burnham Institute announced, just weeks after the UCF College of Medicine was approved, that their east coast expansion was to be in Orlando. The eyes of the life science community turned to our region.

Together the Med School and Burnham Institute became the anchors of a medical city emerging here. Now planned or under construction at Lake

Nona’s new Science and Technology Park are a state-of-the-art Veterans Affairs Hospital, M.D. Anderson Orlando’s Cancer Research Institute, Nemours Children’s Hospital and University of Florida Research Center.

And the seismic tremors don’t stop there. In the past few years, this region has also become home to the Global Robotics Center, Nicholson Center for Surgical Advancement, Florida Hospital-Burnham Clinical Research Institute, Virtual Reality Medical Center, and much more. Within a short span of time, the dream of creating a world-class life science cluster has taken shape.

In August 2009, the entire Metro Orlando community watched with pride as the University of Central Florida, the nation’s 5th-largest university, opened its doors to America’s newest College of Medicine. Forty-one students strong, this accomplished and diverse group of scholars was selected from a pool of over 4,300 applicants, making UCF’s College of Medicine inaugural class likely the most competitive med school class in history.

Today there is no limit to what we imagine possible. As this issue of Texture outlines, wellness and personalized medicine are areas in which we are working not only to excel, but to differentiate Central Florida as a leader — from the lab to the bedside.

Ray Gilley President & CEO Metro Orlando EDC

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RENAISSANCE

VCC PRESIDENT SANFORD SHUGART, PH.D. IS ALL ABOUT RESULTS.

PHOTO COURTESY OF VALENCIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

By Nancy Curry

>>

With 46,000 students, Valencia Community College (VCC) ranks among the top of the nearly 1,200 such institutions in the country, but not just for the number of graduates it produces — its student success initiatives are earning the school national recognition. At its helm is a “Renaissance man” who believes that “anyone can learn anything under the right circumstances,” and has the results to prove it.

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Sanford Shugart, Ph.D. became VCC’s president in January 2000, after eight successful years heading North Harris College in Houston, because he’d woken up one night “with the notion that I was swimming in the shallow end of the pool — and I belong in the deep end.”

“Valencia had always had a great reputation as a good institution,” he says. “What I discovered here was a commitment to authentic work that is uncommon — hundreds of people who are not interested in reputation, but in results.”

That focus meshed well with Shugart’s approach to education, and his fascination with how people learn. After earning a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of North Carolina, he had planned to study philosophy, but ended up with a doctorate in learning theory. “I went from ‘how do we know the truth is true?’ to ‘how do we know anything?’” says Shugart.

That quest has made the critical difference for Valencia, which the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation selected in June as the Florida leader for its Developmental Education Initiative. The program awarded $16.5 million to just 15 community colleges in five states to expand groundbreaking remedial education programs that boost college completion rates for low-income students and students of color. Shugart considers the recognition even more important than the $743,000 grant.

“People all over the country are watching what we’re doing,” he says.

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“That’s not to be arrogant — we have a lot to learn. I see it as we’re in the lab and the work we’re doing is very promising work.

“We are getting results — lots of them. Valencia has one of the highest graduation rates in the country, is consistently at the top of that list, and has the number one community college foundation in America.

“The way America goes to college has changed. The traditional student who goes to college full-time right after high school, that’s only 17 percent of undergraduate students today.

What many people don’t realize is that more than half of U.S. students begin at community college — it’s become the dominant mode of access to higher education in this country. And, we’re in the vanguard of creating a system that really works for this new student profile.

“I believe that anyone can learn anything under the right circumstances,” he says. “Most people believe that they are math-disabled, or that only some people can learn a foreign language or how to play a musical instrument. It’s simply not true.

Everyone has the biological ability to learn anything.”

The Valencia difference lies in high engagement pedagogies, or teaching styles, such as smaller groups, a focus on problem solving, less dependence on traditional lectures, the creative use of media and very clear expectations.

“Our classes are scaled like seminars, not huge lecture halls,” says Shugart. “When we induct students, we use extravagant learning support systems — not just tutoring, but creative, sub“I WOKE UP ONE NIGHT WITH THE NOTION THAT I WAS SWIMMING IN THE SHALLOW END OF THE POOL — AND I BELONG IN THE DEEP END.” stantive materials about how to learn better. We’re able to show ways that we’ve closed the gaps between students of different races, ethnicities and educational backgrounds. That’s led to more progress and faster learning.

“Our microelectronics manufacturing AA degree is producing lots of engineers, architects, and high-tech health workers, and our West campus has a new 100,000-square-foot building to support that. We have 1,700 engineering majors, 350 architecture majors. These are programs you don’t usually find at a community college.”

The school is providing local undergrad access to the University of Central Florida (UCF) via a program called Direct Connect, which Shugart calls “a guarantee — finish two years at Valencia and you’re guaranteed admission to UCF. We are the largest producer of transfer students in the world, and in fact, 10 of the 11 distinguished undergrads at UCF this year were transfer students. Four were from Valencia.”

Married 30 years, the father of four and a published poet and musician, Shugart thrives on the multitasking inherent in running a college, and has found a novel way to incorporate his artistic and work lives. About 12 years ago, he began singing and playing the guitar as part of his frequent local and national presentations. He published his first CD, “Irons in the Fire,” in 2001. “I couldn’t do one without the other,” he says.

“The work nourishes my writing and the performance nourx ishes my work.”

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LEAVING

By Kerry Martin

LOCAL BUSINESSES TAKE FLIGHT.

>>

Inside the walls of the University of Central Florida’s (UCF) Technology Incubator, nascent companies are learning, growing and maturing into fullfledged business ventures.

Meet three business leaders who led their companies through the hatching process to see their ideas take flight.

Cliff Ingari

Cliff Ingari, AVT Simulation A pioneer in the simulation industry, AVT Simulation provides commercial and government clients with realistic training software to recreate virtual environments.

“Twenty-six years ago when I began my career in the simulation and training industry, it was a challenge explaining what a

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simulator was and what it was used for,” says Vice President/COO Cliff Ingari.

“But with the current popularity of gaming technology and sophisticated theme park rides, it is a lot easier to explain what we do. While the objective of companies like Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft is to entertain, our objective is to train the war fighter.”

In 2004, Ingari, president Robert Abascal and their three-person team applied for the UCF Technology Incubator’s 21-hour Excellence in Entrepreneurship course.

“In the UCF Incubator, the staff is there to guide you and provide expertise in business operations on anything from accounting, to HR, to tax issues. Not only was it great having other companies in the same stages

of their business, but you couldn’t beat the location,” says Ingari.

Centered in the heart of the 23county Florida High Tech Corridor (www.floridahightech.com), Metro Orlando has attracted and grown some major leaders in technology innovation, especially in the defense industry.

“Having most of our customers in our own backyard provides many advantages for us. With nearly every branch of the military represented in Central Florida’s Research Park, there’s no better place to be than Orlando if you’re in the Training and Simulation Industry,” says Ingari.

AVT Simulation set up its corporate offices in a 12,000-square-foot facility in Research Park for its 60-person staff.

Revenues last year topped $12 million.

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Mansooreh Mollaghasemi

Mansooreh Mollaghasemi, Productivity Apex Realizing opportunities in Orlando’s market for advanced engineering solutions, UCF professor-turned-entrepreneur Mansooreh Mollaghasemi took a shot at growing her company in the UCF Incubator. Productivity Apex, Inc. is a modeling and simulation company that helps commercial enterprises and government agencies improve productivity.

“I always had a love for solving problems, but as a professor, sometimes it felt like my work was being done in a vacuum,” says Mollaghasemi. “I wanted to serve a broader audience by using stateof-the-art tools and techniques in solving different, real-world, complex problems.”

As a UCF insider, Mollaghasemi was already familiar with the UCF Incubator from its Director and Associate Vice President for the Office of Research & Commercialization, Tom O’Neal.

“Even though we had clients that were very pleased with the work we were doing, we were almost a ‘best-kept secret’ to other audiences. The Incubator gave us the backing of the best in the industry: Tom, and Site Managers Carol Ann Dykes and Gordon Hogan. They were out there in the community, giving us the exposure through their networks of business contacts.”

What is her number one piece of advice for budding entrepreneurs?

“Manage your finances very effectively.”

While there is truth to the saying ‘you've got to spend money to make money,’ Mollaghasemi urges new business owners to learn how to spend it the right way. “And if you're unsure, ask someone who has been through it.”

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Helene Abrams

Helene Abrams, eprentise and FlexField For entrepreneurs, the lure to start a company that addresses real-world problems is like “having a puzzle sitting on your dining room table.” So says serial-entrepreneur Helene Abrams, founder of the software development companies FlexField and eprentise.

Abrams tackled a problem she saw in the management systems used by major corporations who were going through changes, such as mergers or acquisitions. She engineered software that restores flexibility to the Oracle E-Business Suite program, which can be difficult and costly to change or re-implement.

Referred to the UCF VentureLab and Incubator by the Orlando-based Disney Entrepreneur Center, Abrams became a virtual client. That association kick-

started her product line, FlexField, which she brought to market in just five months. Business continued to boom as she gained widely-known customers such as Yahoo, Experian and the U.S. Department of the Interior.

“Since my customers are on five continents, I haven’t met with many of them face-to-face. But that’s the beauty of Orlando — they eventually come to me.

I meet my clients when they take a trip to Walt Disney World or attend a meeting at the Orange County Convention Center. It’s one thing that makes Orlando a great place to start a business.”

Abrams credits much of her early success to the counsel she received from the UCF Incubator. "The advice, the contacts, the connections ... it was like having my own personal business-in-a-box." x

Training aand Training nd Certification C ertification Prep P rep iin n IIT T aand nd So ware So ware Applications A pplicatiions >C CISCO ISCO > CompTIA CompTI A >M Microso icroso >O Oracle racle > SSAS AS > Red Red Ha Hatt LLinux inux > Databases Databases > Programming Programming > SSystem ystem SSecurity ecurity > Computer Computer BBasics asics

Prooviding technolog Providing technologyy training and certification c certifica tion needed in to today oday and tomorrow’s tomorrow’s business environment e – ffor oor individuals and organizations. organizations.

For more information,

407-582-6688 | valenciaenterprises.org

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HEALTH

Doctor By Michael Candelaria

DR. JAMES RIPPE COMBINES HEART AND HEAD IN A PASSIONATE PURSUIT OF PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE AND FITNESS.

As an avid runner, Dr. James Rippe had for many years been personally interested in sports and nutrition. So, with training at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, his gravitation toward cardiovascular medicine was a natural. Then came a decision that today is transforming how many doctors and patients perceive health. Rippe moved toward preventing heart disease instead of trying to cure the disease after patients were diagnosed. In the mid-1980s, he established an exercise physiology laboratory that eventually broadened to include nutrition and weight management.

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That lab now has evolved into, reportedly, the world’s largest research organization exploring how daily habits and actions impact short- and long-term health and quality of life.

Under the umbrella of Rippe Health, the Rippe Lifestyle Institute focuses on research, while the Rippe Health Evaluation is an executive health diagnostic and treatment program. Both operations are based in Celebration, Florida, just south of downtown Orlando. Additionally, Rippe, who spends part of his work life in Massachusetts as a Tufts University School of Medicine associate professor, consults with other doctors and publishes academic papers, books and journals, including the American Journal of

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Orlando? Orlando has tremendous advantages going for it. There’s the year-round warm climate; it has a powerful and large university in the University of Central Florida, which has a new medical school; it has a medical city being planned at Lake Nona with the Tavistock Group; and it also has a very visionary healthcare community. ... There are so many things that point to Orlando as being the ideal place for this.

PHOTOS BY PHELAN EBENHACK

Lifestyle Medicine, the first academic, peer-reviewed, national journal on the topic. He also serves as chair of the Center for Lifestyle Medicine at the University of Central Florida (UCF), the first university-based organization to conduct basic research and teach students at all levels in the area of lifestyle medicine.

Rippe also is a professor of biomedical sciences at UCF. Buoyed by that intellectual capital, plus an alliance with the Orlando Health hospital system, Rippe has designs on helping turn Orlando into a showplace for his innovating ideas.

T Texture: There’s a movement afoot, it seems, to make Orlando the healthiest city in the nation. Can that really happen? jr Dr. James Rippe: You have to start somewhere, and in academic medicine we often start with demonstration projects in a limited area. Why not

T Can subtle lifestyle changes make a difference in a person’s health, or must the changes be substantial? jr There are incremental, small changes that should be able to fit into the fabric of your life. For example, if you are obese and you lose 5 percent of your body weight, you get tremendous benefits. You can lower the risk of diabetes, lower the risk of heart disease. You don’t have to get back to your college weight to get those benefits. You just have to stop the forward progress, not gain any more weight and, optimally, lose about 5 percent. If you are sedentary, just walking 30 minutes a day can dramatically lower your risk of both heart disease and diabetes.

T Other variables are involved in good health, such as genetics, perhaps environment and even luck.

How do those variables factor into the institute’s work? jr There’s no question that some people are more predisposed to gain weight. It’s complicated. But, for most people, weight is about 60 percent genetically determined, and 40 percent is determined by what you do every day. You have control over 40 percent of that health equation. Those people who, from family background, are genetically predisposed to cancers, heart disease and obesity are the very people who ought to be paying the most attention to what they do every

day. For example, it’s now estimated that over 50 percent of all cancers have a lifestyle component.

T The idea of a "world-class assembly of medical expertise," as your institute promises, sounds good.

How is that achieved? jr It starts with leadership. Through our Institute’s work, I have an international reputation in this area. And I’m blessed to have as my research director and colleague on the faculty of UCF, Dr. Ted Angelopoulos. He’s a former Rhodes Scholar and a brilliant scientist.

We recruit people from all over the country. In our executive health program at the Institute, for example, we have Dr. Katia Gugucheva as director of Executive Women’s Health. She trained at Yale. Once you get these kinds of things going, you start getting like-minded people who join you. And with Orlando Health, it’s a collaboration of mutual shared interest.

T Big picture, what is the ultimate goal for your work? jr My goal is to help people understand that what they do on a daily basis profoundly impacts their long-term health and quality of life. Even more than that, I would like to see a paradigm shift in how we view health. I wrote a book that was published a couple of years ago, called High-Performance Health.

The basic premise of that book was that most people, I found, view good health as the absence of disease. That’s a very limited way of thinking about health. I want people to think about health as a performance tool. Good health is not just ‘not being sick.’ It’s about feeling vital and happy and energetic. Then we can start getting people to say, ‘I want a part of that.’ And that’s what we’re trying to accomplish with our work in Orlando.

For more information about Dr. Rippe, his research laboratory and executive health program, visit x www.rippehealth.com.

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The Science of

HEALTH & WELLNESS ILLUSTRATION BY JONATHAN SIMON

By G.K. Sharman

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HOME TO LEADERS IN THE FITNESS AND HEALTHCARE INDUSTRIES, ORLANDO LIES AT THE CROSSROADS OF TECHNOLOGY AND WELLNESS.

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>>

You count calories. You watch your fat intake.

You exercise all the time. You do everything you’re supposed to do, everything every expert has advised ... but it’s not working.

COURTESY NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER

Athletes come to the Human Performance Lab at the National Training Center in Clermont to fine-tune their bodies.

Step into the Human Performance Lab at the National Training Center (NTC) in Clermont, Florida, where exercise physiologist Sharlyne Rivera can hook you up to her computers and tell you exactly why you can’t lose those last five pounds. Or why you’re having trouble with your pitching arm. Or whether you’re overtraining or are just what she terms “a flat-out wimp.”

At the NTC, science and technology meet the world of health and wellness, to the advancement of both.

South Lake County, with its history as a triathlon training mecca, is flexing its muscles in the wellness arena.

That’s no mean feat in Central Florida, which already sets the pace in the fields of science and health. Home to two of the nation’s largest hospital systems and a major research center, our area also boasts a climate that lets us — and our visitors — take advantage of great outdoor activities year-round.

The NTC, part of a 300-acre-andgrowing health-science city in south Lake, is the only facility of its kind in the world. Half of the facility caters to the community. About 3,000 local residents

enjoy such fitness-center amenities as a gym, pool, track and weight room, plus classes such as pilates and yoga. In the main corridor are stores selling fitness gear, and a smoothie shop.

A physical therapy and rehab area sits off to one side. Out in the pool, some 200 kids participate in swim teams and camps in the summer.

Its other constituency is elite athletes of college level and above. About 10,000 Olympians and other top sports men and women train at the center each year. Spring break finds 40 or more college softball teams on the fields.

Outside the NTC’s front door, the rest of the complex spreads across the low hills of Lake County. There’s a campus of Lake-Sumter Community College, the headquarters of Special Olympics Florida and Brandy Johnson’s Global Gymnastics.

The nucleus of this sports-wellness complex, however, is South Lake Hospital. Part of the Orlando Health network, the 100-bed hospital strives to keep its community well, not just treat illnesses.

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“The South Lake Hospital campus focuses on preventive health, wellness and education for the communities we serve,” says Leslie Longacre, South Lake Hospital Chief Executive Officer.

“Through our initiatives at the National Training Center, we are able to provide community members, as well as national and international athletes, with the tools and knowledge to become healthier and reach their fitness goals, whatever those may be.”

The hospital and NTC are a “living lab” for students at Lake-Sumter Community College (LSCC), says college President Dr. Charles Mojock.

LSCC has 37 students in its health/ wellness program, where they study applied science — how muscles work, how to reach maximum sports performance, and how to avoid injuries — as well as legal issues, administration, coaching theory, and more.

Why study science and fitness? One reason, Mojock says, is “that’s where the jobs are.”

Operated in conjunction with the University of Central Florida, the program provides “a seamless transition for students from lower division to upper division,” says Dean of Programs Dr. Mary Jo Rager.

When students graduate — they can take their A.A. degree, though most go on to UCF — they’re prepared for jobs as coaches, in local recreation programs, or as therapists.

COURTESY BURNHAM INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH

SKYShades Powerbrella generates up to Dr. Philip Wood at the Burnham Institute 128 watts ofthe electricity hour and stores researches role of per genetics in the it in a battery. process of fat metabolism.

The Magic of

GREEN SPACE

We all know that exercising in the fresh air and sunshine improves our physical fitness.

But it can do much more than that. It can make us feel better. It can make us feel safer. It can make our kids smarter — or at least improve their test scores. Researchers in numerous fields have been studying nature’s effects on us. Here’s a sampling of what they’ve found:

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>> Areas of well-maintained trees and grass can increase the sense of safety in neighborhoods. >> Proximity to parks increases the property values of nearby homes.

Recent data indicate an economic boost for commercial properties, as well.

>> Landscapes can reduce temperatures, remove air pollutants and improve water quality. Vegetation absorbs heat, provides oxygen and filters the air. >> Green space has been proven to promote emotional and physical healing and to have a positive effect on children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Research published in the American Journal of Public Health also found that young people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) who participate in common outdoor activities are better able to stay focused and complete tasks.

The college also has a nursing program that averages more than 150 students countywide, with about 60 at the South Lake campus. The program’s high-tech simulation models can be programmed to mimic diseases — a big plus for the aspiring nurses.

“The students get good practice without taking the chance of sticking a needle in the wrong place,” Rager says.

MOVE IT Meanwhile, back at NTC’s Human Performance Lab, Rivera goes over two of the most common tests she runs: the Lactate Threshold test and VO2max.

The lactate test measures lactic acid, a metabolic byproduct of carbohydrate metabolism. VO2max, as the lab’s printed handout explains, is a function of the amount of blood pumped by the heart and the working cell’s ability to extract oxygen from the blood.

The tests quantify how bodies work when they exercise, and therefore how

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people don’t move nearly enough. Government studies have found that more than 70 percent of the U.S. population is not physically active. Our sedentary lifestyle is a huge public health problem, contributing to high rates of obesity, Type II diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke.

There are no magic bullets in medicine, experts maintain, but physical activity comes close. People who are physically active can cut their risk of heart disease in half.

Moving is only part of the equation.

Avoiding injuries — another factor that Rivera can assess in her lab — means moving your body the right way. Throwing a ball correctly, for instance.

It’s all about the mechanics of human motion, and if anybody knows how to throw it’s Dr. Dot Richardson.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist and surgeon is the NTC’s medical director. In 1996, she hit the game-winning home run to win the gold in the

There are no magic bullets in medicine, experts maintain, but physical activity comes close. People who are physically active can cut their risk of heart disease in half. they can be better at it — how athletes can train more economically, train at a faster pace without increasing blood lactate levels and strengthen the efficiency of their heart’s ability to pump blood.

The reason the tests matter is that

> A Congressional committee recommended environmental immersion as the number one strategy for improving U.S. schools. >> Students taking standardized tests score higher when they have a view of green space. >> The greener the neighborhood, the lower the risk of childhood obesity for inner-city kids. The Indiana University of Medicine study of 3,800 urban children between the ages of 3 and 18 found that “greener” neighborhoods were associated with slower increases in body mass index, regardless of age,

Atlanta Olympic Games, the year softball debuted as an Olympic sport. Today, in addition to her duties at NTC, she serves as vice chair of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

A perfect pitch — or at least an accu-

KELLY LADUKE

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Dr. Dot Richardson, two-time Olympic gold medalist, heads the National Training Center. .

rate one that won’t ruin a rotator cuff — starts with the stance. Keep your side to the target. Keep your throwing arm close to your body. Rotate your upper and lower body together and keep your elbow toward your target, advises Metro Orlando’s most famous Olympian.

But true fitness goes beyond the mechanics of movement to the mental aspects of sports.

Fitness starts in the mind, Richardson maintains.

“The computer can tell you what your structure is doing,” she says. “But it’s about what your whole body is doing.”

race or sex, which could reduce the risk of child obesity in the long term.

the hospital, need fewer painkillers and have fewer complications.

>> Green space can help you feel younger. A 2001 study in the Netherlands found that a 10 percent increase in nearby green space decreased people’s health complaints an amount equivalent to a five-year reduction in their age.

>> Office workers with views of nature report lower stress, higher job satisfaction and fewer illnesses.

>> A few minutes under the sun supplies bone-building Vitamin D. >> Studies show that hospital patients with a view of trees and grass recover faster, spend fewer days in

>> Gardening helps reduce stress, encourages nurturing behavior and builds social networks. Horticultural therapy also is used in prisons and special-education classes, as well as in programs for the elderly and the developmentally disabled. Indoor plants help too — in offices, they can improve air quality and increase productivity.

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The Burnham Institute in Lake Nona is at the forefront of diabetes and obesity research. Studies show that regular exercise can cut the risk of heart disease in half.

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“There’s more to the individual than just protoplasm.”

TEAM BURNHAM On the other edge of the Orlando metro area, the Burnham Institute for Medical Research at Lake Nona focuses on the problems of obesity and diabetes.

Dr. Philip Wood researches the role of genetics — specifically the mitochondria — in the process of fat metabolism.

He’s also the author of a book on the subject, How Fat Works.

The questions he’s trying to answer include: How does the body process the foods it takes in? At what point does

Using mouse models, he’s zeroing in on the complex multi-gene interactions that underlie obesity-related traits found in pre-diabetic states. In short, he’s looking for the exact spots in DNA that affect where fat-consumption happens — or where it goes awry.

Models are then genetically deconstructed in an effort to understand genetic predisposition and find the genetic tipping point in obesity-related diseases. In other words, if he can locate the defective steps in the genes, he and his team can rev up metabolism — or turn down other factors, as the case may be, to keep people healthier.

Anybody can participate in Florida Hospital’s CREATION Health lifestyle program, which promotes the eight Adventist principles, to help people live longer and be happier.

COURTESY NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER

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fat consumption and the body’s processing of it become a problem? And what can be done about the consequences, including obesity and Type II diabetes?

Mitrochondria is “the powerhouse of the cell,” he explains. When fatty acids come in and energy — in the form of exercise — goes out, the body works pretty smoothly. Intake and expenditure that are out of balance can lead to obesity and pre-diabetic and diabetic conditions.

If everybody could eat right and exercise, Wood admits he’d probably be out of a job, or at least a research specialty.

“If we knew how to change people’s behavior on the front end,” he says, “there wouldn’t be much for us to do.”

Reality, however, is more complicated. In addition to the science of weight and metabolism, there are other factors that affect why we pack on the pounds, including advertising, work that keeps most of us in our offices all day, subdivisions that require us to drive if we

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COURTESY BURNHAM INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH

want to go somewhere, and the fact that food is readily available and relatively cheap.

So finding other ways to reduce the burden of fat on the body will help improve people’s lives, he says.

The emphasis on health and fitness doesn’t stop at Burnham’s front door.

Sometimes it involves a little run around Disney World.

Team Burnham for Medical Research has run in the Disney Marathon, held at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, for the past three years. The goal, says Elizabeth Gianini, vice president for external relations and a Team Burnham member herself, is to promote a healthy lifestyle and show the community that Burnham puts its research to practical use.

In the most recent race, 72 people started and all 72 crossed the finish line, Gianini says. Participants ranged in age from mid-20s to the 60s and included Burnham’s top management, scientists and staff, as well as local leaders and celebs — including Mayors Rich Crotty and Buddy Dyer.

Membership on the team is open to anyone who can visualize the finish line and who will commit to raising money for Burnham Institute. Team Burnham provides the necessary training.

The marathoners join an elite group.

Only 1 percent of 1 percent of the world’s population will ever run 26 miles,

says Gianini, who has her sights on races in San Francisco and New York.

PRINCIPLES OF LIVING So what’s the point of all this wellness?

To live longer, of course.

Those who study longevity claim that there’s no reason why humans can’t hit 100 and be healthy doing it. The U.S. currently has the largest number of 100year-olds in the world — more than 95,000 — according to census figures, in part due to population trends between 1890 and 1910 and the availability of long-term care facilities. Japan, with more than 36,000, is second, a figure experts attribute in part to the low-fat Japanese diet. France has the highest per capita centenarian rate: one for every 3,076 people.

One strategy is to live like a Seventh Day Adventist.

Adventists don’t smoke. They consume a largely plant-based diet and eat nuts several times a week. They exercise regularly and, in general, maintain a healthy weight throughout their lives.

As a result, they live longer — about 89 years, compared to general American life expectancy of between 77 and 78 years. A pair of Adventist health studies has documented lower instances of lung, colorectal and breast cancer and heart disease.

But anybody can participate in

The science of wellness extends beyond the gym and into laboratories, as doctors study how to maximize longevity and quality of life.

Florida Hospital’s CREATION Health lifestyle program, which promotes the eight Adventist principles — choice, rest, environment, activity, trust, interpersonal relationships, outlook and nutrition — to help people live longer and be happier.

The Adventist-run hospital system — which marked its first 100 years last October — decided to celebrate by “imagining a healthy 100,” says Des Cummings, president of the Florida Hospital Foundation.

The result is its “Healthy 100” initiative, set to begin this fall. Healthy 100 will have both national and personal benefits, Cummings says, with a focus on “how to age healthy and die without a long period of convalescence.”

Healthy 100 hopes to enlist 100 companies in the program, which aims to improve the health of the working population and also lower healthcare costs by focusing on smoking cessation, fitness, weight management and reduction of stress in the workplace.

Breaking the age barrier is an attitude, he says, just as space exploration was in the previous century. “This is the health equivalent of going to the moon.”

Cummings has more than a passing interest in longevity.

He turns 66 in August — though his real age, as measured on realage.com and through other criteria — is 12 to 15 years younger. As an Adventist, he could certainly expect to reach 89 — which he sees as only 11 short years from the century mark.

With a healthy lifestyle and science on his side, he may one day be the x youngest centenarian in town.

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A pa r t of SA I C ’s I n te g ra te d Simulation Center, the Common Trainer allows U.S. Army personnel to train for countless scenarios faced while driving a variety of vehicles.

Thriving on

VISION CENTRAL FLORIDA RESEARCH PARK IS HOME TO THE NATION’S LARGEST CLUSTER OF MODELING, SIMULATION AND TRAINING COMPANIES.

By Justin Campfield

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Each day in Orlando, thousands of people drive through the manicured entrance of a park that draws visitors from all over the world, pumps billions into the local economy and was created with an uncannily prescient vision of the future.

Walt Disney World? Think again. The Central Florida Research Park.

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Opened in the early 1980s and located adjacent to the University of Central Florida (UCF), the research park has built a reputation in technology circles for world-class research and product innovation while quietly operating in the shadow of Orlando’s tourism industry. Relatively few people outside of techies in Central Florida understand the sophistication of the work taking place there, but even fewer understand how two fortuitous decisions — one made in the early 1980s and the other earlier this year — have not only kept the heart of the research park in tact, but have also ensured its prosperous future.

The research park got its start, on paper at least, when the Florida Legislature created the Orange County Research and Development Authority in 1979. With a mission to strengthen interaction between government, business and the university, while providing high value jobs, the research park, ironically enough, received a boost from the poor economy of the early 1980s. In 1982 the authority was able to purchase the 1,027 acres that now comprise the park at a discount because the residential development slated for the property went bankrupt.

But while the park had the fortune of good timing when it came to purchasing the land, its next move would become even more fortuitous.

In 1968, more than a decade before the research park broke ground, the U.S. Navy established the Orlando Naval Training Center as one of three primary basic training bases.

One of the lesser-known components of the base was the Navy Training Devices Center, an early modeling, simulation and training program. As

fortune would have it, the introduction of this industry to Orlando coincided with the start of classes at UCF, then called Florida Technological University.

“From day one, the university and the Navy worked together on all of the different disciplines that go into making a simulator training program,” says Joe Wallace, the research park’s executive director for the last 22 years. When the research park got its start, a major priority was to convince the Navy to move its modeling, simulation and training activities there.

“One of the first things we did was to give the Navy 40 acres, so the people at the training center could come out and work with the university,” says Wallace.

“By that point the military had been working with the university, but they had to do so across town, so we said, ‘look, you are working with the university anyway. If you accept our offer, you can come out and build your complex here and be right next to the university.’ They loved it. That was what really put the research park on the map.”

With the Navy onboard, the research park quickly became the focal point of what is now the world’s largest modeling, simulation and training cluster.

Today, the industry employs approximately 17,000 people in the region, including 1,600 U.S. Department of Defense employees, and more than $5 billion worth of business is generated by the 100-plus Orlando-based companies.

But luring the Navy to the research park did more than just provide the park with an anchor tenant and foster the creation of a cluster, it helped save the modeling, simulation and training industry in Orlando altogether.

Wallace is certain that the industry would have left Orlando when the mid1990s BRAC (Base Realignment and

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THE CENTRAL FLORIDA RESEARCH PARK AT A GLANCE RECOGNITION: The Association of University Research Parks has named the Central Florida Research Park one of the world’s ten largest parks in terms of employees COMPANIES: 116 EMPLOYEES: 10,000, with an annual payroll of $820 million INDUSTRIES: behavioral sciences computers and software engineering lasers and optics medical devices modeling, simulation and training wireless communications BUILDINGS: 56, 3.5 million sq. ft.

AMENITIES: six fiber optic net- works, two hotels, bank and restaurant FUTURE: Build out expected in 2010 with an estimated 16,000 to 18,000 employees

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Closure) process led to the shuttering of the Naval Training Center near downtown Orlando.

“Had we not gotten the Navy to join us at the research park, when the Naval Training Center closed it would have taken the modeling, simulation and training industry with it,” says Wallace.

“The Navy would have relocated the

just a few examples — that means an economic engine for the entire region.

“All of the modeling and simulation departments of the services are represented in Orlando, including the U.S. Coast Guard, with the emphasis on providing training to the war fighter,” says Captain Harry Robinson, Commanding Officer, Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD). “To my way of thinking, this co-location has evolved into the perfect environment for sharing both challenges and solutions in the modeling, training, and simulation fields.

Solutions developed for a military mission requirement, for instance, can often be included in products offered by private industry to their commercial customers — and vice versa.”

Prominent military installations in the research park include NAWCTSD; the Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation; the Army Simulation, Training and Instrumentation Command; U.S. Army Research Institute; Simulator Systems Research Unit; and the U.S. Marine Corps Ground Program.

“THIS CO-LOCATION HAS EVOLVED INTO THE PERFECT ENVIRONMENT FOR SHARING BOTH CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS IN THE MODELING, TRAINING, AND SIMULATION FIELDS.” — CAPT. HARRY ROBINSON, COMMANDING OFFICER, NAWCTSD Navy Training Devices Center and industry would have been forced to follow to wherever it ended up.”

For at least one key figure in the creation of the research park, formalizing the relationship between the military and UCF was the right approach.

“We identified the right industries to anchor the research park and the right relationships with the university,” says Orange County Mayor Richard Crotty, who as a member of the state legislature in the 1970s amended legislation creating the park to solidify the relationship between it and UCF. “The two facilities side-by-side create a center of activity that has a huge economic impact for our entire region.”

That center of activity today includes a slew of military acronyms — PEO STRI, JTIEC, NAWCTSD and PMTRASYS are

The National Center for Simulation’s (NCS) Russ Hauck says that it is easy to see what draws the Department of Defense and companies alike to the research park.

“Having the research park here, and to work with government and academia in a setting where you can walk across the street and meet with client, partner, teammate or contractor, is really of great value,” says Hauck, director of the research park-based NCS. “That environment is really conducive to doing business.”

And while the research park has certainly benefited from having UCF so close, UCF President John Hitt says that the perks have traveled both ways.

“The Research Park provides exceptional research opportunities and high-wage, high-tech jobs for our

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students and graduates,” says Hitt, whose university has, within the last few years, both crossed the $100 millionmark in external research funding and cracked Intellectual Property Today’s patent scorecard top ten. “Many undergraduates and graduate students pursue research in modeling and simulation, optics, nanotechnology and a variety of other fields with companies in the park.

In addition, more than 400 UCF students and graduates are employed there.

“Faculty members also benefit from the close proximity of the park. Many of our faculty members have either started their own companies in the Research Park or work closely with the high-tech companies based there,” adds Hitt.

But while a flood of military installations and the emergence of the modeling, simulation and training cluster began to make the research park’s prominent standing in the technology world look unshakable, an unthinkable act threatened to strike it at its very core.

On September 10, 2001, the military’s installations in the research park were considered safe and secure. But one day later all that would change. Suddenly, Wallace says, the very features that made the research park so attractive for the military was the very thing that could have forced them to leave.

“The concept of openness and access that convinced the Navy to move to the research park in 1988 worked perfectly for 13 years,” says Wallace. “And then, on 9/11, obviously the world changed. The military then found themselves in a park without a gate and in an open environment. In the process of moving them from the Naval Training Center to the park, we had gotten them off of a secure base.

The Defense Department reacted to the new post-9/11 environment by issuing security requirements, scheduled to take affect in 2010, which are markedly increased for all U.S. military installations.

At the time, the research park did not meet those requirements.

That is where the second decision came in, and according to Wallace, it was a collective one that included a potent collection of state legislators, county and

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city mayors, university presidents, the Metro Orlando EDC, and business and community leaders.

Despite a challenging economic environment that forced the state to slash millions from its budget, a group of Central Florida leaders began a push for a state allocation to save the military installations at the research park.

Those efforts paid off during the 2009 legislative session in the form of a $29 million allocation to build a new 118,860-square-foot building that allows many of the military’s research park operations to be consolidated into a single, more secure facility, as well as providing Pentagon-requested security enhancements throughout the park. New security measures include the likes of vehicle-resistant fencing and gates, additional electronic monitoring and a commercial vehicle inspection station.

“We are very grateful to those who worked so hard to help us meet the 2010 Department of Defense requirements to provide the necessary secure working facilities for our Federal employees,” says NAWCTSD’s Capt.

Robinson. “This will allow us to transfer Federal workers from commercially leased facilities into a more controlled and secure environment and to expand our capabilities in the research, development, and acquisition fields.”

With the state funding secured and a groundbreaking ceremony for the new building already completed, the research park’s Wallace finally has the time to allow himself to think about what could have happened.

“When you look at Orlando’s other two major clusters, tourism and medicine, they are not going to move anywhere,” says Wallace. “But our oldest cluster, modeling, simulation and training, could move with the stroke of the federal government’s pen. While nothing is ever assured, let’s just say I don’t have to worry about that as much anymore.”

Fortunately, a couple of key decisions made at pivotal times have ensured that that pen won’t be writing anything but O-R-L-A-N-D-O for a x long, long time.

RESEARCH PARK COMPANY SNAPSHOTS DME Corporation, a $68 million, wholly owned subsidiary of Astronics, specializes in providing aviation safety and lighting products and airfield solutions to both private aviation industry and military customers.

VaxDesign Corporation, an emerging biotechnology company, has pioneered methods to test pharmaceuticals and vaccines in the lab that provide results functionally equivalent to tests on human subjects. The growing company relies on relationships with the university and within the research park to support commercialization of their products and processes.

With more than 400 employees and operations in thirty states, JHT Incorporated has come a long way since its modest beginnings in 1990. Initially established to provide training programs to the Pentagon, the company has expanded to include technical data management, construction, management and operations support and environmental and marine sciences. The broad range of work the company performs for its clients includes research in marine ecosystems for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, using gaming technology to educate students and workers.

Kaplan University brought hundreds of new jobs to the region earlier this year when it opened its 124,000-square-foot facility in the research park. The building houses personnel and information technology representatives who support more than 44,000 of Kaplan University’s online students.

The latest addition to the park is the UCP of Central Florida’s East Orange/ Bailes Campus. Opened in August, the new 35,000-square-foot facility is UCP’s sixth location in the region. In addition to serving children with cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities, this facility will serve as a research and development ground in the search for new ways to integrate technology and art into daily lesson plans. The building’s 21 classrooms are equipped with the latest in educational technology, such as a full complement of computers and a virtual reality room.

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Military

By Russ J. Stacey

MIGHT

SOPHISTICATED GRAPHICS AND ANIMATION BORROWED FROM THE ENTERTAINMENT WORLD ARE DRIVING MILITARY TRAINING TO NEW LEVELS OF REALITY.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DIGIMATION

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Instructing recruits how to disassemble and reassemble their rifle. Training fighter pilots how to react after a crash. Planning an accurate and effective response after an enemy attack.

Digimation created a 3-D plane for a realtime air refueling (BOWST) simulator.

These and other military training and simulation scenarios are accomplished in more realistic, controlled environments than ever before, thanks to Department of Defense simulation and training command proximity to the world-class entertainment, film production and video game companies located in Central Florida. This truly is the place where sophisticated tech-

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nologies collide, and everyone benefits as a result ... especially war fighters.

GAMING MEETS DEFENSE With its full 3-D modeling and animation services, Lake Mary-based Digimation designs digital content for defense contractors and other companies. Their

OpenFlight format library offers 20,000 real-time models of vehicles, machinery, and human anatomy.

“Interestingly enough, what the military wants and what games and entertainment people want is pretty much the same thing: very accurate, realistic representations of a car, a plane, a helicopter, a part, whatever,” says Digimation President David Avgikos.

Anticipating interactive training as the future already here, the company’s current projects include a CH-47 Chinook helicopter maintenance trainer for the Army and electronic courseware to train pilots and maintenance personnel for the Joint Strike Fighter Program.

“You can either spend your time flipping through a two-inch-thick manual to get your answers, or you can go through this interesting and fun interactive training to get the same results,” he says.

“But the military has been a bit behind the cutting edge in terms of graphics and simulation. Games and movies have really pushed the boundaries of that realism, and people are using the technologies developed and pioneered by gaming companies to teach the military how to disarm a mine or field-strip a weapon or heal a wound.

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We’re going to see more realism as the game side of things creeps over to the defense side of things.”

starting to become a place where you can afford to put high production values because the volumes are there now.”

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

PREPARING FOR THE WORST

Located at the UCF Center for Emerging Media, 360Ed is a media company providing interactive content to the education and training industries.

Though the company doesn’t have any current contracts with the military, that may soon change thanks to the increasing convergence between the gaming and defense worlds. Take “Burn Center,” for example.

360Ed’s medically accurate, interactive, first-response video game is used to train doctors, nurses, EMTs and other personnel how to treat burn and blast victims after a massive disaster.

The simulation begins with a terrorist attack at a theme park. Marketed to hospitals, medical schools and the like, President and CEO Ben Noel envisions future possibilities for the game.

“This game would definitely fit for the military. We just haven’t pursued some of those arenas as much. We’re in education, but if somebody wanted us to change it from a theme park to, say, a C-130 airplane setup, we could do that.”

Noel also sees the wheels of progress turning in the government sector’s increased willingness to adopt advanced graphics and animation.

“Simulation and animation in the military and government sectors are really

One company that already provides medical simulation training to the defense industry is SAIC Orlando. The local division of the San Diego-based company is a major vendor to the Army, supplying live, virtual and constructive simulation and training systems.

Major programs include the Common Driver Trainer (CDT), a virtual simulator for military vehicles, and One

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SAIC (2)

SAIC Orlando, the local division of the San Diego-based company, provides medical simulation training to the defense industry.

Beverly Seay

change out the dashboard to switch scenes or anything that looks or feels different from vehicle to vehicle,” she says.

On the medical simulation side, SAIC Orlando, employing about 500 in its Central Florida Research Park headquarters, has developed such products as a human patient simulator and a

“YOU CAN EITHER SPEND YOUR TIME FLIPPING THROUGH A TWO-INCHTHICK MANUAL TO GET YOUR ANSWERS, OR YOU CAN GO THROUGH THIS INTERESTING AND FUN INTERACTIVE TRAINING,” — DIGIMATION PRESIDENT DAVID AVGIKOS

Semi-Automated Force (OneSAF), a program for virtual and constructive battlefield simulations.

According to SAIC Orlando Senior Vice President and General Manager Beverly Seay, a concept her company has developed called “composability” affords wide flexibility with architectural platforms. By adding components or models, SAIC engineers can compose a system to work in different environments for different customers.

“Integrating software and hardware with the CDT, for example, you take common parts that you’d find in many simulators. All we do is reuse everything that can be reused and maybe

mass-casualty medical training and evaluation system. By applying those same composability principles, they’re able to push the technological envelope even further.

“We can take a vehicle platform like the CDT and create a medical evacuation simulation,” explains Division Manager/Program Manager Brian Levine. “Or we can take constructive simulation and build on the algorithms to achieve a more advanced model for wound aging.”

As innovation continues to thrive in MS&T, one thing is almost certain: Orlando will retain its position at the forefront of the industry. x

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Tech-savvy

By Kendall Litton Jensen

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SOLUTIONS

FROM HEALTHCARE TO HOSPITALITY, FOUR ORLANDO-AREA COMPANIES ARE DISCOVERING INNOVATIVE WAYS TO MEET CLIENT NEEDS.

The Internet has redefined the way organizations do business. Web-based companies seem to pop up daily, eager to transcend physical boundaries and to capitalize on new opportunities. Coming of age in a community that supports entrepreneurship, several of these ventures are finding success right here in Central Florida.

NURSETOGETHER.COM In 2007, Randy Holloran saw an opportunity to reach out to the global nursing community. Building upon his 15 years experience in the staffing industry, he founded NurseTogether.com, a communication and information center for nurses and prospective nurses from around the world.

“I realized that nurses don’t have a central resource for their profession at the international level,” Holloran explains. “I wanted to create a place for them to get objective information that would help guide their career choices.”

By completing a free registration, nurses can access a variety of tools on NurseTogether.com, including job listings, professional advice and special events.

They can also participate in forum discussions and a 24/7 live chat.

Designed with the nursing lifestyle in mind, NurseTogether.com balances industry information with personal interest topics such as finance, relationships and work/life balance. The site also relies on industry partnerships to offer discounted products and services to users.

Since going live in June 2008, Orlando-based NurseTogether.com has become one of the fastest-growing

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nursing Web sites in the world. The site averages 70,000 visits per month and already has members in more than 70 countries.

Holloran says he is thrilled by the success and is excited to see his vision come to fruition.

“We developed this site out of a genuine passion for nurses and their busy lifestyles,” he says. “They always take care of others, and we are happy to provide services that help take care of them.”

people never make it past page one of the search engine results,” explains Knorr. “With optimization, we can push negative pages down in the results and decrease the likelihood that potential customers will see them.”

Since its inception, Buildtelligence has experienced rapid growth, adding 13 to 18 clients to its portfolio each month.

“We’re growing like mad in an economy where everyone else is dying,” Knorr says. “It’s really amazing, and there’s nothing else I could ask for.”

BUILDTELLIGENCE

MEDIA GEARHEAD

In today’s high-tech world, a company’s Internet presence is critical to its success.

But with more than 100 million Web sites in cyberspace, how does an organization stand out?

Meet Ken Knorr, founder of Buildtelligence Web Solutions. His goal, he says, is to help businesses use technology to achieve their online marketing objectives.

“It’s our responsibility to figure out how to drive the right traffic to our clients’ sites at the right moment,” Knorr says. “Getting an action out of a potential customer is what we’re all about.”

Launched in May 2007, Buildtelligence is an Internet marketing firm that provides consulting and development services to clients from all over the world. Based in Mount Dora, the company incorporates numerous tactics to help businesses maximize their Web presence.

Buildtelligence’s Pay-Per-Click Management division develops sponsored advertising campaigns on search engines like Yahoo! and Google. When users search for specific words, the client’s ad is featured above or alongside the organic — or unpaid — results.

The Search Engine Optimization (SEO) division helps clients tweak their Web sites to rank higher in organic search-result listings. Similarly, the Reputation Management division uses SEO tactics to overcome negative Web content that may hurt a company’s image.

“Research shows that 62 percent of

Recent college graduate Giles Wells is already making a name for himself as a Web developer. Through his moniker Media Gearhead, the Full Sail University alumnus has helped clients in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, as well as in Orlando.

His most noteworthy professional project is the United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) of Central Florida’s Virtual East Orange/Bailes Campus School House, an innovative fund-raising platform for UCP’s new $9.2 million charter school.

Launched in May, the project allows visitors to “tour” an interactive model of the building and donate supplies and equipment for specific dollar amounts.

The site also offers naming opportunities for the physi- cal campus’ facilities.

To increase donations, Wells added a built-in campaigner system, which allows companies and individuals to receive

EZYIELD.COM Edward St. Onge was only 22 years old when he embarked on an entrepreneurial venture with Henry Danish.

While working for a small online travel provider, the pair saw a need to automate distribution procedures across all travel Web sites.

“Hotels used to have to manually update their rates and availability on each individual site,” says St. Onge.

“It was very time consuming, and we had an idea for streamlining the process.”

In 2002, St. Onge and Danish founded EZYield.com, a first-of-its-kind channel management system that allows hoteliers to update their rates, restrictions and inventory on multiple travel sites simultaneously.

After an initial $1,000 investment, the startup company in Winter Springs has grown into a multinational powerhouse.

“Our first client was Caribe Royale in Lake Buena Vista,” says St. Onge.

“Today, we do business with more than 2,500 hotels in 65 countries.”

With EZYield.com, clients have quick and easy access to 430 third-party Web sites, including Expedia, Orbitz and Hotwire. They can also take advantage of services like RoomRez, a secure reservation system for hotel company Web sites, and GDSConnect, which delivers client inventories to more than 600,000 travel agents worldwide.

“IT’S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DRIVE THE RIGHT TRAFFIC TO OUR CLIENTS’ SITES AT THE RIGHT MOMENT.” — KEN KNORR, FOUNDER OF BUILDTELLIGENCE WEB SOLUTIONS group recognition for their contributions.

To date, campaigner gifts have topped $3,500.

In recognition of his efforts, UCP named a classroom after Wells when the real East Orange/Bailes Campus opened in August.

“This has been my first shining project,” Wells says. “Getting it off the ground took a lot of work, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

Recently, EZYield.com expanded internationally, opening an office in Sydney, Australia, where it acquired the hotel distribution and marketing firm HotelProphets. The company shows no signs of slowing down, and is even considering expanding into other sectors of the hospitality industry. While St. Onge remains mum on the details, he hints that a new project may launch as x early as next year.

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WARRIORS

Water

By Kristen Manieri

HOW AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY PIONEERED IN CENTRAL FLORIDA IS “GREENING UP” THE WORLD. Lumiere the loggerhead is released into the wild with a transmitter attached to its back. Below: Wendy Noke Durden responds to help an animal found on the beach.

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COURTESY WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT

COURTESY HUBBS-SEAWORLD RESEARCH INSTITUTE

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If there’s one thing Florida has a lot of, it’s fresh water. With more than 51,000 miles of rivers and streams, and 7,700 lakes, the Sunshine State is incredibly rich in the world's most valuable resource. And while supply might seem abundant, the issue of water conservation and protection in Florida definitely gets top billing on the state’s environmental agenda.

MREC in Apopka is at the forefront of the agricultural technology industry, leading the way when it comes to water conservation and protection.

At more than 2,500 million gallons per day, according to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), agricultural irrigation uses the largest amount of freshwater in the state.

Finding a way to use this water efficiently, and with little to no waste, has become the focus of a select group of researchers at Apopka’s Mid-Florida Research and Education Center (MREC), a branch of the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS). Besides a

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Researchers work with local growers.

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chemicals from fertilizers. “There is a very serious need to protect the quality and quantity of our water resources,” Pearson explains. His research aims to understand how nutrient runoff occurs, as well as to minimize its impact on surrounding bodies of water. In Florida, where the building of residential subdivisions around natural waters such as lakes and rivers is commonplace, finding a way to preserve water quality is crucial.

What makes MREC such a treasure in Metro Orlando is that the studies conducted at this multi-million dollar research and education facility have immediate applications in the community. Established in 2000 after combining research centers in Apopka, Leesburg and San-

As the home of the Grapevine Genetics and Plant Pathology Research Laboratories, MREC is on the forefront of research into Pierce’s Disease, caused by a harmful grape bacterium that has threatened grape crops around the world. Two on-site grape vineyards provide researchers with specimens. Also on-site is the Termite Management School, where students learn to understand and predict termite behavior, as well as methods of thwarting and treating structural infestations.

You’d be hard pressed to find a bigger supporter of MREC than Orange County Commissioner Fred Brummer, who’s quick to point out how important MREC is to Central Florida. “What’s unique here is

Finding alternatives to insecticides is just one of the goals at MREC.

ford, MREC spans over 239 acres and boasts state-of-the-art administrative, office, and laboratory buildings, as well as classrooms, teaching labs, a library, and a multi-purpose auditorium. This ideal setting blends real-time research with ongoing education, resulting in solutions for timely issues facing the surrounding community and beyond.

Besides focusing on water conservation, MREC leads a number of often

CHRIS FOOSHEE

myriad of innovative research endeavors that make MREC a beacon in the world of agricultural technology, water conservation and protection remain the cornerstones of at least two major research initiatives at this cutting-edge facility.

“My work is focused on maximizing water efficiency and minimizing water waste,” says Dr. Richard C. Beeson Jr., Associate Professor of Environmental Horticulture at MREC, whose research has focused chiefly on the water use of plants grown in nurseries. Dr. Beeson has developed a system that measures how much water plants use on an hourly basis, taking into account everything from temperature and solar radiation to cloud coverage and rainfall. The results give growers the ability to determine exactly how much water a plant has used and how much water it will need to replenish.

Plants get exactly what they need, nothing more and nothing less.

The outcome is an optimal growing process and irrigation algorithm with little water waste. “By fully understanding the micro-climate’s affect on water use, the grower can manage their irrigation so that it’s more responsive to the plant’s use,” explains Beeson.

Dr. Beeson’s work not only impacts nurseries, but also the field of landscape ornamentals, where optimum water programs allow trees and plants to flourish after replanting. Establishing trees and shrubs into new soil tends to call for more water than growing, so optimum water usage and maximum efficiency are critical.

More research into water protection is being done by MREC faculty member and researcher, Brian Pearson. Pearson studies storm water nutrient runoff, particularly in residential areas, which impacts local waterways by introducing

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that researchers interface with local growers, finding solutions to their challenges in real-time,” says Brummer.

While MREC may sprawl across acres of pastoral Apopka, there’s lots of room for neighbors. The facility is a gateway to IFAS and the University of Florida in general, with great potential for synergies with a number of technology partners. “We welcome the arrival of irrigation technology firms, IPM technology firms, bioen-

“MY WORK IS FOCUSED ON MAXIMIZING WATER EFFICIENCY AND MINIMIZING WATER WASTE.” — DR. RICHARD C. BEESON JR. significant research endeavors with a global impact, both environmentally and economically. Within its laboratories and working greenhouses, researchers are finding alternatives to insecticide use; such as the utilization of predatory bugs in place of insecticides, which translates into increased economic vigor in the agricultural industry, as well as a decreased impact on the planet.

ergy research firms, or pharmaceutical and nutraceutical firms,” says Wayne Mackay, Center Director at MREC. “The sky’s the limit when thinking about partnerships.”

In an age when inventive environmental solutions are more sought-after than ever before, MREC rises to the forefront in the agricultural technology industry. x

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Creations of

By Jack Roth

theMIND

A CULTURE OF COOPERATION HAS ESTABLISHED METRO ORLANDO AS A HUB FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.

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Research suggests that both entrepreneurship (new and growing firms) and innovation (patents, research & development, high-tech industries) are key drivers in the growth of regional economies.

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As regions worldwide adapt to new economic realities, finding the right mix between scientific ideas and successful commercialization of those ideas is critical to sustainable economic growth.

Time and again, Central Florida has proven it has the wherewithal, foresight and culture of cooperation to accomplish this.

“In this region, people have bought into the idea that by helping others and cooperating, everyone benefits,” says Cameron Ford, founding director of the UCF Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI). “It’s fairly unique to this community, partly because of our strong high-tech industry, and it has helped to create a culture that benefits intellectual property endeavors.”

Intellectual Property (IP) refers to creations of the mind. These include inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images and designs used in commerce. IP is divided into two categories: Industrial Property, which includes inventions (patents), trademarks, industrial designs, and geographic indications of source; and Copyright, which includes literary and artistic works such as novels, poems and plays, films, musical works and artistic works.

CEI is part of a broad network of resources, all working in tandem to create economic competitiveness by

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taking initiatives and ideas and enhancing the entrepreneurial/innovation ecosystem in the region. “Innovation goes nowhere without the entrepreneurs to keep it local and grow it,” says Ford. “CEI offers the educational and motivational support to turn scientific work into intellectual property. We help students and faculty develop a broader

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ing. When a UCF researcher comes up with a novel invention, the process starts with disclosure to ORC. The ORC then makes a determination as to whether or not it wants to move forward with the filing of a patent or copyright application. If it doesn’t, it returns the IP to the inventor. If it does, it starts the process, working with IP lawyers to

“INNOVATION GOES NOWHERE WITHOUT THE ENTREPRENEURS TO KEEP IT LOCAL AND GROW IT. WE HELP STUDENTS AND FACULTY DEVELOP A BROADER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THEIR WORK CAN BENEFIT OTHER PEOPLE.” — CAMERON FORD, FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF CEI understanding of how their work can benefit other people.”

Ford works in concert with UCF’s Office of Research and Commercialization (ORC) to help foster the creation of intellectual capital. Together they facilitate the development and pre-award administration of sponsored research activities for UCF. The Office of Technology Transfer helps facilitate the transfer of technology from the University to the commercial sector; the Business Incubation Program provides early stage companies with the enabling tools, training and infrastructure to create financially stable highgrowth enterprises; the Compliance Office ensures that local, state and federal regulations are followed on every research project conducted at the University; and the Research Foundation promotes, encourages and assists the research activities of faculty, staff and students.

It’s a team effort, and it seems to be working. IEEE Spectrum Online , the world’s leading association for the advancement of technology, recently ranked UCF’s body of patents among the top 10 strongest in the nation. It’s the University’s second top-10 ranking by a leading industry organization in less than a year. By definition, a patent is a legal monopoly that prevents others from making, using or selling an innovation covered by the patent. The fact that UCF is consistently ranked alongside such nationally recognized leaders in research as MIT and Stanford bodes very well for the region.

Researchers typically do the invent-

Tom O’Neal

put the application together. With a patent in hand, it then will license the patent or copyright to an existing company, or sometimes to a new start-up business formed to commercialize the technology.

“Intellectual capital is the raw material for the innovation economy, and

& Lardner in Orlando, has seen firsthand the development of an innovation economy in the region. She also understands that such an economy is driven by IP, as such, providing IP solutions to companies, non-profit institutes and research institutes in the region has become a daily, and critical, goal.

“Companies make mistakes by viewing IP as an isolated legal matter rather than a tool for driving company strategy and profitability. They need the support from experts to both guide and protect them, and we provide that in Orlando,” she explains.

Hakim credits state efforts to bring top non-profit institutes, such as the Burnham Institute for Medical Research to the region; as well as the presence of proactive higher ed institutions, such as UCF and Rollins College, to the successful development of innovation companies. The increase in life sciences and medical device companies, as well as the continued growth of established high-tech companies, has also enhanced the innovation-to-commercialization success in Central Florida.

“The potential benefits to the region are endless,” she adds. “The transformation of the region’s economy to one driven by innovation leads to more jobs, better quality jobs, a more educated workforce, better educational facilities and greater opportunities.”

CEI’s Ford agrees. “The key to regional growth lies in our ability to keep innovations here and make them

IEEE SPECTRUM ONLINE RANKED UCF’S BODY OF PATENTS AMONG THE TOP 10 STRONGEST IN THE NATION. UCF IS CONSISTENTLY RANKED ALONGSIDE SUCH NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED LEADERS AS MIT AND STANFORD. universities tend to work better with industry then the innovators themselves,” explains O’Neal. “By protecting their inventions, we’re giving companies the competitive advantage they need to succeed. This all translates into creating wealth in a community with higher-paying jobs, royalties for inventors, and a better quality of life overall.”

Anat Hakim, a partner in the Intellectual Property Department of Foley

commercially viable through entrepreneurship,” he stresses. “In doing so, we build up the region as an entrepreneurial destination. At UCF, we work with many other regional entities to achieve this, and it’s a broad concern in the community. The culture of working together and supporting each other dictates we are all connected, and the benefits derived from this positively affect the x entire community.”

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Economic

By Jennifer Wakefield

DEVELOPMENT YES, THERE ARE NEW JOBS COMING TO METRO ORLANDO.

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While the economy overall has slowed down, there is still plenty of economic development activity in the works. Recognizing that economic development equals economic recovery, the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission (EDC) has continued to aggressively market our region as the premier location for business worldwide. Here are a few recent payoffs:

LOCATIONS & EXPANSIONS >> Avocet and sister company Aircraft Parts Sales, Inc. has relocated their headquarters from Miami to Orlando Sanford International Airport. The company is occupying temporary space on airport property while a new 44,000square-foot hanger is being built. Avocet’s anticipated capital investment is more than $5 million. The EDC and Seminole Community College worked to help the company secure a Quick Response Training Grant, which will help them hire and train 150 new employees. >> The Father’s Table, a dessert manufacturer based in Sanford, is expanding into an 118,000-square-foot facility, also near Orlando Sanford International Airport. The expansion will create 30 new full-time and 20 seasonal jobs and is expected to generate over $2.5 million in capital investment. >> Access MediQuip, LLC, a $200 million healthcare firm based in Houston, provides medical implant outsourcing to support surgery centers. The company assists manufacturers, payors and providers in managing the acquisition,

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financing delivery and reimbursement of orthopedic and spinal implants, drug pumps and other medical devices.

Access moved its 18 Central Florida employees into just under 13,000 square feet in Primera in Lake Mary. Plans are to grow to a 26,000-square-foot facility and add 145 new jobs within three years.

That translates into over $2.5 million in new capital investment. >>Seminole County-headquartered Nomad Aviation, Inc. has plans to double their workforce, adding 124 new positions over the next few years. The company will add 33,000 square feet to its existing facility, which is based at Orlando Sanford International Airport.

The EDC and Seminole Community College assisted Nomad in acquiring a Quick Response Training grant for $180,579, which will be used to train their new hires.

For the latest economic development news in Orlando, visit Orlando EDC.com/News.

ORLANDO ROCKS The EDC’s marketing team has developed a new Web landing page, which is designed to show the dynamic

The EDC’s new “Orlando Rocks” Web site highlights the region’s dynamic nature. nature of our region through the eyes of those who know it best: the diverse people from diverse backgrounds with diverse interests who call Metro Orlando home. Deemed “Orlando Rocks,” the promotional portal links to specially designed Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube accounts, as well as gives a close-up look at what sets our region apart — from a robust downtown night life and a rich arts underground, to offthe-beaten path enclaves and yearround outdoor activities.

Feel free to add to the images and conversation at OrlandoEDC. com/OrlandoRocks.

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TOPPING THE CHARTS Metro Orlando has received a plethora of accolades lately. From a “top place to start a business” to “best place to live” and beyond, here are just a few of the rankings Orlando has achieved: Entrepreneur magazine named Orlando one of the "top ten places to start a business."

Money magazine ranks Lake County, FL #8 on their newest list of “where the jobs are,” a compilation of the 25 U.S. counties that have experienced the most job growth over the last eight years.

Lake Mary and Oviedo are named among Money magazine’s “Top 100 Best Places to Live” in its list of America’s best small towns.

Forbes names Orlando a “best city for technology jobs.”

Orlando is a “hot spot for young professionals” to live and work in the U.S., according to Next Generation Consulting.

And, Florida ranks fourth in the nation in terms of high-tech employment, with 20,000 doctoral scientists and engineers and more than 276,000 high-tech workers, according to a report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center.

For more Metro Orlando rankings, visit OrlandoEDC.com.

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INCUBATORS ARE HATCHING

New Photonics Academy Established As a nationally recognized leader in the optics and photonics industry, Metro Orlando is home to a strong and qualified workforce in this specialized realm.

Despite this distinct advantage, skilled workers are still in high demand. But help is on the way! Northrop Grumman Laser Systems is working with other local companies — including the Metro Orlando EDC, Valencia Community College (VCC) and Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) — to address the workforce dilemma. The result ... the new Photonics Academy at Wekiva High School.

Through the Academy, which began in the 2009-2010 school year, students interested in careers as laser/ photonics technicians are dual enrolled at Wekiva High School and VCC. Upon graduation from high school, students will also receive their A.S. degree in photonics from VCC, allowing skilled technicians to immediately enter the workforce. Many local photonics companies also plan to offer tuition assistance programs to existing employees.

According to the Florida Photonics Cluster, an industry trade association based in Orlando, about 150 area companies employ a total of 170 photonics technicians. Such jobs typically pay between $45,000 and $70,000 annually.

The goal of the Academy is to fill the 20 to 40 photonics technician jobs created in Central Florida annually.

The photonics industry remains strong in Central Florida.

JAUQUE BRUND/UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA

Simulation Partnership Between UCF and Embry-Riddle The University of Central Florida (UCF) and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will offer a new modeling and simulation post-bachelors program this fall.

The two-year, online, Professional Science Master’s program will have two components: UCF will offer 36 credit hours and Embry-Riddle, through its Worldwide Campus, will offer 18 credit hours. The two universities designed the program for working professionals, and program graduates also qualify for Embry-Riddle’s Certificate in Modeling and Simulation Management.

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Attraction, retention, creation. Those “big three” strategies in economic development are all equally important t o g ro w i n g a n d d i v e r s i f y i n g a n economy.

Here in Metro Orlando, the creation component of this three-pronged approach most often begins when an entrepreneur with a good idea approaches the University of Central Florida’s Business Incubation Network. Since its founding in 1999, this UCF program, which was named best in the nation in 2004, has helped more than 100 emerging companies create over $500 million in annual revenue and more than 1,600 new jobs.

And more is on the way. UCF, the City of St. Cloud and Osceola County recently broke ground on its Business, Technology and Research Center, which will be located at Stevens Plantation in St. Cloud. Upon opening in early 2010, the new 14,000-square-foot facility will be the 8th in the University’s Incubator Network.

The UCF Business Incubator-Lake County/Leesburg is another recent addition to the network. This facility, whose newest client is Green Solar Solutions, focuses on supporting growth of companies in three of Lake County’s targeted industry sectors: clean tech, agritech, and life sciences.

Along with mentoring and management counseling, incubator clients are provided with office fur niture, equipment, and other resources. The Small Business Development Center and Florida High Tech Corridor Council are also partners in this Lake County-based program.

The network is growing in Seminole County, as well. UCF is opening the UCF/Sanford Business Incubator this fall. The 4,000-square-foot space will be located in the center of Sanford’s historic district. Like the others, this program will focus on emerging business enterprises that exhibit potential for growth.

For more information, visit www.incubator.ucf.edu. x

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intelligent forms of lifestyle

The

GOOD LIFE

By Sandra Carr

URBAN LIVING ABOUNDS IN DOWNTOWN ORLANDO.

The recently opened Paramount Towers includes a Publix grocery store.

COURTESY THE VUE AT LAKE EOLA

The VUE at Lake Eola offers spectacular views of the city’s skyline.

>> COURTESY ZOM RESIDENTIAL SERVICES

Living in a high-rise condominium, shopping at an urban grocery store, or a night out at the movies. None of these were feasible in downtown Orlando 20 years ago. Nowadays, however, these options are the norm with “The City Beautiful” evolving into a place where many choose to live, work and play.

Third generation Orlandoan and visionary Craig Ustler, owner and president of Ustler Development, Inc., was ahead of the game eight years ago when he built loft condominiums at Thornton Park Central. He was one of the forerunners in shaping one of downtown Orlando’s urban neighborhoods.

“Thornton Park Central is the signature project we think was catalytic in launching a lot of the redevelopment in downtown. We also feel that we have transformed downtown into a neighborhood,” says Ustler.

Ustler has also brought upscale,

casual dining destinations to downtown with his other company, Urban Life Management Restaurant Group.

Restaurants include HUE, Citrus, Cityfish and Kres. The eateries have made a mark in O-town.

“Our thought process was to have a restaurant group that would bring unique and one-of-a-kind concepts to downtown Orlando and make them specifically be anti-chain or very different from the other offerings that were available in the market.”

Living blocks away from work has its advantages.

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COURTESY CHURCH STREET ENTERTAINMENT

COURTESY EVERETT & SOULE, INC.

COURTESY URBAN LIFE RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT GROUP

Downtown Orlando offers a plethora of unique drinking and dining experiences, from Citrus (left) to Ember (center) to the Big Belly Brewery on Church Street.

“Having residents in downtown helps reduce urban sprawl,” explains City of Orlando’s economic development director Frank Billingsley.

“Downtown is a major employment center with 60,000 workers. A lot of those workers now have the opportunity to live footsteps away from their office, which takes cars off of the road.”

Besides walking, the free LYMMO bus service has delivered residents and commuters alike to different parts of downtown Orlando seven days a week for the past 12 years. The system transports 10 million people each year.

By this fall, LYMMO will utilize biodiesel buses, and in the next year hybrid-electric buses will hit the streets. LYMMO has come a long way with its downtown shuttling service.

“LYMMO was the first bus rapidtransit system in the country and is a model that’s now being used throughout the U.S.,” says LYNX spokesperson Matt Friedman. “LYMMO provides a way to move people around to urban cores in a timely fashion with bus-only lanes.”

A plethora of condominium options are appealing to downtown dwellers, ranging from young professionals to empty nesters. Open floor plans include one, two and three bedrooms, as well as penthouses with 24-hour security, concierge service, floor-toceiling glass and balconies, modern appliances, wood or tile flooring, pools, fitness centers, community rooms with state-of-the-art technology and pet areas.

Historic Creations Design & Development (HCDD) was involved in the

design, development and marketing of The Sanctuary and of Star Tower. Each 18-story high-rise condominium has an upscale ambiance, but a charm of its own.

The Sanctuary, which opened in December 2005, has 173 condos between 1,325 and 5,000 square feet The Sanctuary

COURTESY HISTORIC CREATIONS DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT

for $400,000 and up. The building is almost sold out but its counterpart, the Star Tower, has availability.

The Star Tower opened in December 2007 and features 100 condos that are around 2,000 square feet. Framed photos of movie stars and musicians decorate the building and a “Sky Garden” features an array of plants along with its view of downtown Orlando. Star Tower prices are in the high $300,000s and up.

Both condominium complexes provide urban dwellers with convenience.

“You’re in the heart of everything and it’s a better and more efficient way to live,” says HCDD’s chief operating officer Ted Maines.

The VUE at Lake Eola, opened two years ago, provides residents with

spectacular views of Lake Eola Park and the city’s skyline. The 36-story, contemporary building has 375 condos ranging from 568 to 3,209 square feet with a price tag of $199,000 to $2.9 million dollars.

Developers and owners Westminster Partners went the extra mile when building The VUE. “The primary target when building The VUE was a single woman that wanted nice things and convenience,” explains vice president of sales and marketing, Lindsey Pfaender. “The VUE offers a high-end, luxury, urban lifestyle catering to someone that wants to have the quality of life of home but the social interaction of what you get in downtown.”

Art deco makes a resurgence in ZOM’s Paramount Towers. The 16-floor facility opened last year and features 313 condos available in 650- to 4,000square-foot options for purchase or rent. Penthouses and villas also have private parking garages. Condos are priced from the low $200,000s to over $1 million. Rentals are $1,400 to $9,000 a month.

The Paramount Towers provides its residents and other urban dwellers with a shopping option.

“The 28,900-square-foot Publix grocery store is the most unique amenity that we have and it’s a first in downtown Orlando in almost 30 years,” says senior vice president Greg West.

Newcomer 55 West on the Esplanade will open this fall. Grosse Pointe Development has taken over the project from Euro-American and is

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COURTESY HOK SPORT

COURTESY DPAC

Urban dwellers will have a host of new entertainment options when the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center (left) and the new Amway Center (middle) open. Right: Developments such as 55 West are making urban lifestyles easy to achieve in Orlando.

tainment experience with an upscale urban feel,” says director of business development Kim Ellis.

In the future, downtown Orlandoans can look forward to attending Orlando Magic games and concerts at the $380-million Amway Center in the Church Street district, which is slated to open in fall 2010. The 875,000square-foot, environmentally-friendly facility will seat 20,000 patrons and feature seven levels, including suites,

“DOWNTOWN IS A MAJOR EMPLOYMENT CENTER WITH 60,000 WORKERS. A LOT OF THOSE WORKERS NOW HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LIVE FOOTSTEPS AWAY FROM THEIR OFFICE ...” — FRANK BILLINGSLEY, CITY OF ORLANDO’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

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an outdoor patio, six clubs, full-service themed restaurants and lounges overlooking the event floor, and stateof-the-art amenities.

The Amway Center hopes to bring even more vigor to downtown Orlando.

“We really believe that this is going to be a catalyst for development here, particularly in an area of downtown that needs some revitalization,” says Orlando Magic’s chief operating officer Alex Martins.

Urban dwellers also will have an opportunity to appreciate the arts at the $383-million Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center (DPAC). The state-of-theart, green venue will be situated across from City Hall in downtown Orlando.

On the drawing board at DPAC are an amplified hall, which will feature a proscenium for Broadway and largescale productions and seat 2,800 attendees; an acoustic hall for the Orlando

Philhar monic Orchestra and the Orlando Ballet; a glass community hall, designed as a multi-purpose area for local groups, and education space with classrooms; as well as performance areas, rehearsal halls, a roof garden and a public plaza for outdoor performances, which will accommodate 3,000 people.

Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center’s president Kathy Ramsberger says the facility will fill a void in Orlando.

“The nobility of this institution [Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center] is what Orlando is craving. The key is to engender pride and to really start putting a pulse in downtown that x galvanizes the community.”

The New Plaza Cinema Cafe is in the hub of downtown.

COURTESY PLAZA CINEMA CAFE

For those living and working in downtown Orlando there are an array of entertainment options. Dining and nightlife are steps away from downtown condos. Choices include grabbing a bite to eat and a brewski with friends in the Church Street district, at Ember or in the Wall Street Plaza; to wining and dining the Italian and Mediterranean way at The Black Olive restaurant at the Plaza Orlando.

Afterwards, catch a flick around the corner at the Plaza Cinema Cafe. The almost 60,000-square-foot, high-end theater opened in RP Realty Partners, LLC’s space last May and features 12 screening rooms, 10-inch custom armrest tables with beverage holders at each chair and around 1,200 leather rockers in a stadium-seating atmosphere, along with two wine bars.

“The Plaza Cinema Cafe is in the hub of downtown’s entertainment district and provides an affordable enter-

COURTESY 55 WEST

managing the 32-floor high-rise condominiums located in the Church Street district. The building will feature 377 units ranging from 1,010 to 1,808 square feet. The condos currently rent in the low $1,000s.

“55 West is in the center of it all. It’s a landmark building where there are a lot of things to do within walking distance and it’s a great addition to the city’s skyline,” says chief executive officer Bob Hensley.

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BC Advertising:000 Lifestyle

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Come take a tour of Reliable Plaza and learn about green building pracƟces

It’s Easy Being Green When Someone Shows You How At OUC, environmentally sound building principles are something we promote to our customers — by puƫng these green ideas into pracƟce.

Our new customer service and administraƟve center at Reliable Plaza is a perfect example. Designed to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold CerƟĮcaƟon standards, this new tower incorporates a 2,000-square foot solar photovoltaic array, a solar hot water system, rain water collecƟon for irrigaƟon and dozens of other energy and water saving features.

In fact, our new home is helping us spread the word on sustainable building in Central Florida. If your professional group or organizaƟon would like to schedule a tour of the energy and water saving features at Reliable Plaza, just email your request to communityrelaƟons@ouc.com.

Seƫng a strong example through conservaƟon, sustainable development and environmental stewardship . . . it’s all part of OUC’s ongoing commitment to building toward a greener Orlando and a cleaner tomorrow.

Reliable Plaza ͻ ϭϬϬ tĞƐƚ ŶĚĞƌƐŽŶ ^ƚƌĞĞƚ ͻ KƌůĂŶĚŽ͕ &ůŽƌŝĚĂ ϯϮϴϬϭ ͻ WŚŽŶĞ ϰϬϳ͘ϰϮϯ͘ϵϭϬϬ ͻ &Ădž ϰϬϳ͘Ϯϯϲ͘ϵϲϭϲ ͻ ǁǁǁ͘ŽƵĐ͘ĐŽŵ