Tri-Cities Tech Business Update

September 2010 Issue

Tech News and Notes

Tri-Cities ranks first in lowest cost of living

Of the state's top five metropolitan statistical areas, Seattle/Bellevue/Everett, Spokane, Tacoma, Yakima, and Kennewick/Pasco/Richland, the Tri-Cities remains for another year the least expensive place to live. The index is calculated by The Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER), based in Arlington, VA. The index measures the relative price levels of groceries, housing, health care, utilities and transportation in more than 300 metro areas nationwide. Contact Traci Jao at 509-735-6609.

Innovation Center design completed

The schematic design for the $25-million first phase of the mixed-use Innovation Center at the Tri-Cities Research District was completed on July 9. The company responsible for the design is evaluating the inclusion of a Tier III Data Center in the project based on local user needs. Visit the Innovation Center website or contact Rick Parsons

Tri-Cities continues national lead in employment growth

The Kennewick/Pasco/Richland area has experienced the highest average monthly year-over-year employment growth among the nation's 372 metropolitan areas. The Tri-Cities tops the nation in job growth for the first half of 2010 and continues to show growth in the months of June-July 2010. Since the March 2010 Garner Economics job growth in U.S. metros report, the Tri-Cities average monthly job growth rate has increased from 3.4% to 3.8%. Read more.

Amendment to WA air regulations benefits R&D activities

A consortium of research institutions initiated and led an effort to obtain an exemption from the Washington state air regulations (WAC 173-400 and WAC 173-460) for R&D and teaching laboratory activities. The exemption-which applies statewide-appears in WAC 173-400-110(4)(f)(iv) and reads: "Laboratory research, experimentation, analysis and testing at sources whose primary purpose and activity is research or education. To be exempt, these sources must not engage in the production of products, or in providing commercial services, for sale or exchange for commercial profit except in a de minimis manner. Pilot-plants or pilot scale processes at these sources are not exempt." Read more.

PNNL EDO on Facebook

The Economic Development Office at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is now on Facebook. The EDO page provides frequent updates and information about economic development activities and opportunities to help businesses start, grow, or revitalize. The Office helps businesses connect with technology experts, facilities, and other resources available at the Laboratory, many at no cost. Link to EDO Facebook page.

Tech Opportunities and Resources

Call to entrepreneurs

The ZINO Society will present the 5th annual ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum (ZZIF) on September 15, 2010 at the Bell Harbor Conference Center in Seattle. At the event, attendees can meet, learn, and connect with 200+ angel investors, business professionals, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and community leaders via company presentations, exhibition space, networking, and expert panels. Register online.

Resources online

The column "Widely different 'elevator pitches' still vital," was published in the Tri-City Herald on August 15. The article discusses how to develop and deliver the right "pitch" for the right audience. Read the article.

Tech Dates and Deadlines

6th Annual Oregon Lab2Market Entrepreneurship Intensive

September 15. Targeting innovators with early-stage ideas, the Oregon Lab2Market Entrepreneurship Intensive is an experiential workshop that assists in reaching the marketplace. The workshop integrates lectures, exercises, and team projects. Applicants must commit to attending the whole day. Register online.

Washington Future Energy Conference

November 9-10. Presented by Washington state and the Northwest Environmental Business Council, this event offers a forum to connect those developing strategies for energy security and economic development with the businesses making it happen. The content will cover energy policy & economic development, the business side of renewable electricity & fuels, and energy efficiency. Register online.

Certified Enterprise Risk Manager Workshop

Quality + Engineering is offering the Certified Enterprise Risk Manager® (CERM) certificate programs in Seattle. The solution to managing volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity is enterprise risk management (ERM), and the courses below are designed to provide integrated training in these four areas:

• Process Risk Management - September 27, 28
• Project Risk Management - October 28, 29
• Enterprise Risk Management - November 11, 12
• Supply Risk Management - December 9, 10

Register online or contact Greg Hutchins at 503-233-1012

Tri-Cities Research District Speaker Series - Energy Storage: The current landscape for alternative energy storage technologies and what the future may hold for multi-scale storage applications

September 22. The September TREN event speaker is David Lucero, Director of Alternative Energy Storage at EaglePicher Technologies, LLC. Mr. Lucero will outline the company's current efforts in energy storage, discuss why it is an important market to pursue, and expand on the company's projections for where the market is heading. Register online.

8TH annual Gesa Smartmap Expo

September 29-30. The Smartmap Expo is the state's premier manufacturing networking event that brings together many of the 3,500 manufacturing companies in eastern Washington for a two-day conference. The Expo provides a venue to view the latest technologies, products, and services; participate in educational seminars; take advantage of one-on-one meetings with industry professionals, and locate suppliers and service provides. Register online.

Strategic investment conference

October 13-15. The National Association of Seed and Venture Funds (NASVF) annual conference, to be held in Baltimore, MD, exchanges strategies and tools for building and managing strategic investment programs and institutions. Newly formed organizations receive the benefit of different viewpoints, while established organizations track new approaches and resources. Participants meet with professionals from outside their local networks and communities, making one-on-one contact with specialized practitioners and discussing new methods of facilitating capital formation. Register online.

WBBA's Governor's Life Sciences Summit

October 22. The Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association (WBBA) is combining the Governor's Summit and its annual meeting for this year's Life Sciences Summit. More than 800 leaders of Washington's life sciences community are expected to attend the event to be held in Bellevue, WA. This program will celebrate successes, as well as address current challenges and coming opportunities in life sciences locally, nationally, and globally. Register online.

PNNL This Month

Wax, soap clean up obstacles to better batteries

Consumers use long-lasting rechargeable lithium ion batteries in everything from cell phones to the latest portable gadgets. Staff at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and State University of New York at Binghamton wanted to explore both cheaper metals and the more stable phosphate in place of oxide for these batteries. Researchers found that wax and soap can help build electrodes for less costly lithium ion batteries. The one-step method will allow battery developers to explore lower-priced alternatives to the lithium ion-metal oxide batteries currently on the market. Read more.

PNNL named finalist for Washington's Best Places to Work

More than 1,900 staff members cited innovation, teamwork, loyalty, job satisfaction, and development opportunities among the primary reasons they consider Pacific Northwest National Laboratory an outstanding employer. Their responses resulted in PNNL recently being named as one of "Washington's Best Places to Work" in a competition sponsored by the Puget Sound Journal of Business. PNNL was named one of ten finalists in the competition's "extra-large" (more than 500 employees) category.

Got News?

We invite your contributions! We will consider items that fit the mission of this publication, including your tech-related news, awards, and notices of upcoming events. Please send text and photos to Andrea McMakin or call (509) 372-6013.

Tri-Cities Tech Business Update is published by the Economic Development Office at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Each month, we send you an e-mail message, giving you the link of news, tips, awards, upcoming events, and other information about local technology-based businesses and organizations that support them. With business and community partners, our goal is to build and diversify the Tri-Cities economy—adding skilled jobs in primary-sector industries that bring in outside dollars. Currently, more than 1,100 tech-related businesses, investors, and economic development stakeholders subscribe to the newsletter, mostly in the Mid-Columbia area and the rest of the Pacific Northwest. This newsletter (RL-P00-009) supports DOE-Richland's vision for the future of the Hanford Site and surrounding area through the creation of research opportunities, new industries, and new business clusters