Connecticut Technology Council

Online to Multiscreen Video Opportunities 2011 - March 9, 2011

CTC, CVG & CT Digital Media present: Online to Multiscreen Video Opportunities 2011, 3/9 in Fairfield, reg. free http://bit.ly/ftRZHA

Online to Multiscreen Video Opportunities 2011 HOSTED BY Kantar Video

Join us on the evening of March 9th for a networking and panel discussion around the developing opportunities in the online video industry. Our panel of experts will discuss the state of online video, multiscreen video and where the best opportunities are for content creators, distributors, advertisers, entrepreneurs and investors.

Confirmed speakers include: Bill Lederer, CEO, WPP's Kantar Video Steve Ronson, EVP of Digital Media, A&E Television Networks

When: March 9th; networking at 6pm and panel discussion at 7pm Where: WPP/The Kantar Group, 501 Kings Highway E, Fairfield, CT (near downtown Bridgeport)

CTC's Feb Newsletter: ADmantX Spotlight, CTC 2011 Agenda, IT Jobs report, more...

CTC's Feb Newsletter: 2011 Public Policy Agenda, CT Tech News & Events http://t.co/vpZ6Yzk

In this issue
CTC's 2011 Public Policy Agenda
2011 Women of Innovation

Innovation Coalition Fly-In Day

Connecticut IT Jobs Report for February 2011

Member News

Member Spotlight - ADmantX

 

Connecticut Technology Councils Calls for Support of High Growth Firms, Provide More Funding For Connecticut Innovations and Asks Governor to Oversee Building of Innovation Eco-System

State second largest statewide business trade association issues 2011 Agenda

East Hartford, Conn. – Connecticut Technology Council said future economic growth is very possible as it issued its 2011 public policy agenda today for the consideration of the new Governor Malloy Administration, the State Legislature and other economic development groups .  The Agenda is organized around the key parts of what has become known as the “innovation eco-system.” This is the set of conditions and relationships that give a region the ability to create companies and jobs through the complex process of commercializing intellectual property.  Parts of this eco-system include university or corporate tech transfer, adequate investment capital, start-up business acceleration, incentives, networks, available talent, global connections and regional infrastructure.  Each of these ingredients is addressed in the Agenda.

Board members Kevin Burns, CEO of Precision Combustion in North Haven and Frank Marco, a partner in the New Haven founded Wiggin & Dana law firm, were the co-chairs of the task force that oversaw the drafting of the document over several months and involving over half of the groups 45 person board during many meetings and discussions. 

“Building on the findings of our ground- breaking Competitiveness Agenda report published two months ago, this Innovation Agenda sets out government objectives and strategies needed to build high quality jobs and a sustained growth environment in Connecticut,” noted Burns. “We can rebuild Connecticut’s competitiveness, but we must act.  We will follow this Innovation Agenda immediately with specific policies and action steps and will be talking about these with the administration and the legislative leaders in the weeks and months ahead.”

“We are delighted that Governor Malloy and the legislative leadership have indicated their appreciation of the importance of innovation to creating the jobs of the future economic prosperity for the state, and believe that the public- private initiatives recommended by our Agenda can play a key role in this effort”, said Marco.

“Connecticut finds itself in a categories of locations that are going to depend on high value added jobs and very competitive companies, in a league with places such as Silicon Valley, Boston, Austin Texas, and countries such as Denmark, Singapore and South Korea. We are moving full speed into a post industrial future – that doesn’t mean we won’t have manufacturing – but it does mean that R&D and innovation will drive our economic growth. This agenda addresses what we and other locations have learned about what it takes to compete in this league. Ironically we invented this type of economy in the 1840s and excelled for 150 years. We can do this again,” said CTC President and CEO Matthew Nemerson.

The technology council will produce a third document later this month outlining a range additional specific projects and concepts in each of the eight areas in which the Agenda has issued broader recommendations.

The Agenda is viewable below and available as a downloadable PDF file at www.ct.org.
Press Contact: Matthew Nemerson 860 289-0878 x333 or 203 444-6482, [email protected]

Connecticut Technology Councils Calls for Support of High Growth Firms, Provide More Funding For Connecticut Innovations and Asks Governor to Oversee Building of Innovation Eco-System

View more documents from CTTech

CTC Participates in meeting with White House office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)

Matthew Nemerson met with representatives of the OSTP to discuss the President’s Startup America and JumpStart America  efforts while in Washington DC on February 16 to take part the first ever Innovation Coalition Capitol “fly-in”.   

The Coalition is made up of various national trade associations including TECNA (the Technology Councils of North America) of which Matthew is currently the volunteer President of the Board of Directors.  Other members of the coalition include ACA (Angel capital),  SSTI (tech policy), NASVF (seed and venture funds), NBIA (incubators), AURP (Unversity research parks) and AUTM (University technology managers). [link to slide deck].

The meeting with the OSTP was to work out ways the group can work with the Obama Administration to help target funding for the development of regional “innovation eco-systems” around the country and to coordinate future grant programs for innovation from the SBA and EDA.

About 150 represenbtives of the coalition including the heads of seven tech councils attended the meeting and heard from Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR); Representative John R. Sarbanes (D-MD),  John Fernandez, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development,  Phil Singerman, Associate Director (AD) for Innovation and Industry Services, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and former Yale Law student and Yale Entrepreneurship Institute graduate Doug Rand, Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).  Dan Berglund, President and CEO, State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI) and Matthew addressed the larger group as well.

Afterwards Matthew met with the new staff of Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal and talked personally with Senator Joe Lieberman.

The topics addressed in the morning session included the America Competes Act , national Angel Tax Credit concepts, the importance of innovation for sustainable job creation and worries about decreases in budgets for critical agencies such as NIST, NSF and NIH.

Special thanks to CompTIA for that groups sponsorship of the day.

CT Tech/Media News - February 17th - Foursight app launchs, Toluna expands, Women of Innovation finalists, jobs and more

In This Issue- e-Integrity Spotlight, Vertex’s new VTXcompare, ITWP to buy Toluna, March 9th Event, Jobs, and More.

Start-Up Spotlight

Stratford-based e-Integrity, a consulting/solution development/implementation firm, focuses its media business around MarketingHub, a SaaS web-based, template-driven marketing automation tool for self-serve, on-demand applications utilizing print, email and web channels. Modular in structure, e-Integrity’sMarketingHub delivers core template-based functionalities that are customizable for print communications, branded email, microsite or PURL web pages, web banners and more, followed by campaign execution and tracking capabilities. (And their website will definitely get a chuckle out of you!)

Digital News

Holy Toluna! The Wilton-based company released two bits of big news this past week...
(1)  There is a proposed acquisition of Toluna on the table by ITWP, a new company created for the acquisition by Verlinvest (a major Toluna shareholder). When the purchase is completed, Toluna CEO/Founder Frederic-Charles Petit will be named as an ITWP director in addition to continuing to serve as the CEO of Toluna Group, an online panel and survey technology provider.

(2)  On the client side, Toluna and nurago are expanding their digital media measurement offerings with BrandSpector in the U.S. The new digital service, already available in the U.K., France, Germany, Italy and Spain, analyzes over 290,000 Toluna panel member responses to better evaluate digital campaign effectiveness and will launch in another 14 countries this year.

Foursight, a new board game app created by Stamford-based clinical psychologist Reid Daitzman, Ph.D. and developed by Digital Dopamine Entertainment, arrives on Apple and the iTunes App Store and in the Lite version on Facebook. The strategy board game app promotes critical thinking while the mind is at play…a game of calculation and deception.

~~~~~~~CT Digital News Sponsor – Robinson & Cole  ~~~~~~
Click here to learn more about how the lawyers in Robinson & Cole’s Digital Media Group help media, entertainment, and analytics companies and industry operators resolve legal issues and get to their business goals. Our clients include multinationals as well as start-ups, private equity and venture capital investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers.
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Software News

Stamford’s PASSUR Aerospace, Inc. inked another client agreement for its PASSUR Landing Fee Management Solution. Colorado Springs Airport signed on use PASSUR’s software to simplify its landing fee revenue process inaddition to contracting for its flight and airspace visualization tools.

Up in New Britain, Vertex, Inc. unveiled VTXcompare, a new XML compare utility service for businesses. The insurance and financial services software provider’s new web-based service is geared to help companies allay risksthat are characteristic to changes in data by comparing 2+ XML documents’ semantic equivalencies and figuring outthe significant differences.

A second office, albeit a little farther north in Massachusetts, has been opened by Core Informatics. The Branford-based Laboratory Information Management Systems software provider opened up a new location in the Cambridge Innovation Center, a hubbub of biotech and technology in the town.

Not to worry droiders! Defentect Group, Inc. is anticipating a 2Q2011 release of its DefenCall for the Android OS. This SmartPhone application and service from Norwalk’s Defentect, which enables the broadcast of a user’s location in case of an emergency, is currently offered on both the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Tech News

Seven lucky and hard-working startup companies have received a funding commitment totaling over $1 million from Connecticut Innovations’ Pre-Seed Fund. The funds, which can be used for a variety of startup expenses, were awarded by the quasi-public authority to AlloStem Therapeutics LLC (Farmington), Alphachromics Inc. (Farmington), CMDBioscienceSM (Orange), eGen LLC (Groton), Floop Inc. (New Haven), HDB Newco Inc. (New Haven) and Shizzlr Inc. (New Haven) with all companies also securing matching funds from private investors. Congratulations!

The Connecticut Technology Council has announced the finalists in 8 categories for its 7th annual Women of Innovation Awards program. The award dinner recognizing women leaders in the fields of technology, science and engineering will take place March 31st with author and academic Dr. Ella L.J. Edmondsen Bell, Ph.D. delivering the keynote address at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington.

Our newest CT Senator has picked up an important subcommittee assignment in D.C. for our tech-centric businesses. One of the four Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittees Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) will serve on is the newest one to the group, the Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, which focuses on privacy and security in the digital age.

Job Opportunities

Java Technical Lead/Application Architect - Reinsurance IT - Product Engineer: Software Quality,Travelers, Hartford, CT

Senior Software Developer, Gartner, Inc. Stamford

Digital Associate Producer, Octagon. Norwalk

Senior Software Developer, Pitney Bowes, Shelton

Enterprise IT Architect and Web IT - Delivery Manager - App Development Director, CIGNA, Bloomfield

Application Development Manager-Web IT, CIGNA, Windsor

Software Test Supervisor and Software Quality Engineer III, DRS Defense Solutions. Danbury

UX Designer, Gerber Scientific, Inc., Tolland

Website Marketing Manager, CIGNA, Hartford

Database Administrator, University of Connecticut, Storrs

Software Developer, Helicopter Support (Sikorsky Aerospace Services), Trumbull,

VP of Digital Marketing, The Hartford, Hartford

Senior Software Engineer, Digitas, Stamford

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March 9 Online Event: Online Video Business and Startup Opportunities in 2011 -  Join WPP's Kantar Video and A&E Television Networks for a panel, demo and audience networking and discussion, March 9th at 6pm.  Register here: http://ctdmmarch2011.eventbrite.com

Visit us at www.ctdigitalmedia.com. Send news to [email protected]; sponsorship requests and other inquiries to [email protected].

Governor Dannel P. Malloy Fiscal Year 2012-2013 Budget Address

Gov. Dan Malloy, Budget Address, Feb. 16, 2011

“We are combining our economic development efforts under one agency so we can have a single powerful voice when it comes to attracting, retaining, and growing jobs in Connecticut...like our new First Five initiative that will offer powerful incentives to the first five companies that bring hundreds of new jobs to Connecticut.

“This program takes our best job creation tools, like the Reinvestment Tax Credit, the Manufacturing Assistance Act and the Job Creation Tax Credit, and allows them to be combined and the benefits increased for companies that bring more than 200 new jobs to the state.”

This has been redistributed with thanks to
State Science & Technology Institute
Westerville, OH 43081

CTC Announces Finalists for Seventh Annual Women of Innovation Awards Program

Women leaders in technology, science and engineering to be honored during March 31 awards dinner

Dr. Ella L.J. Edmondsen Bell, noted author and academic to keynote 

Read more about the Women of Innovation event-->

Click here to REGISTER for this event-->

HARTFORD, Conn., February 15, 2011 - The Connecticut Technology Council (CTC)'s Women of Innovation planning committee today announced the finalists for the seventh annual Women of Innovation Awards Program. This program recognizes women across Connecticut – those in the workforce and students – who are innovators, role models and leaders in their technology professions or fields of study. 

The winner in each of the eight awards categories will be announced during the 2011 Women of Innovation Awards Dinner at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington on March 31, 2011.

“This year's 2011 finalists represent another outstanding class of women innovators and leaders,” said Beth Alquist, chair of the planning committee for the Women of Innovation Awards Program. “These women represent extraordinarily, outstanding contributors to their professions and to their employers. 

This year’s list of 56 finalists includes researchers, educators, engineers, managers, and entrepreneurs who work in biotech, pharmaceuticals, software, computer hardware, advanced materials, medical devices and Information technology. 

High school, undergraduate and graduate students who have demonstrated extraordinary and unique achievements in their technology studies disciplines are also among the finalists. The winner in the Youth Innovation and Leadership category will receive a scholarship from Covidien Medical Devices.

This year’s keynoter is Ella L.J. Edmondson Bell, Ph.D., the founder and president of ASCENT‐Leading Multicultural Women to the Top, as well as an Associate Professor of Business Administration at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. She is considered by industry to be one of the leading experts in the management of race, gender, and class in the workplace. PepsiCo, American Express, Intel, Goldman Sachs, Booze Allen Hamilton, and the U.S. Department of Labor are among her clients. Dr. Bell is also the coauthor of the groundbreaking and critically acclaimed book Our Separate Ways: Black and White Women and the Struggle for Professional Identity (Harvard Business School Press). She has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Boston Globe, Black Enterprise, Newsweek, Working Mother, and Fast Company. Her latest book is Career GPS: Strategies for Women Navigating the New Corporate Landscape.

The Women of Innovation Program is sponsored by the Boehringer Ingelhiem USA Corporation, the law firm of Day Pitney LLP and United Technologies Corporation.

The 2011 Women of Innovation awards finalists are, by category: 

Academic Innovation and Leadership

Antonella Bona, teacher, Farmington High School
Deborah Day, science research instructor, Amity Regional High School
Donna Jean Fredeen, dean of arts and sciences, Southern Connecticut State University
Amanda Harper-Leatherman, assistant professor of chemistry, Fairfield University
Rachel O'Neill, assistant professor of molecular and cell biology, University of Connecticut

Collegian Innovation and Leadership

Jacquelynn Garofano, doctoral student, University of Connecticut, and EO Coordinator, CRISP (Yale/SCSU)
Elisa Jorgensen, medical student, Yale University
Anuradha Kodali, doctoral student, University of Connecticut
Junxia Ma, doctoral student, University of Connecticut

Community Innovation and Leadership

Nadia Glucksberg, hydrogeologist, Haley & Aldrich
Sharon Killian, accounting associate, Pratt & Whitney
Elizabeth Peterson, nuclear engineer, Dominion/Millstone Power Station
Theresa Riggs, senior engineering analyst, Pratt & Whitney
Madeline Sola, structural engineer, Pratt and Whitney

Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership

Phoebe Browning, COO, YourNurseIsOn.com
Jill Lawrence, principal, J Lawrence LLC
Lakshmi Nair, senior founding scientist, Soft Tissue Regeneration, Inc.
Leonora Valvo, CEO and founder, etouches
Nancy Westcott, president, GoatThroat Pumps 

Large Business Innovation and Leadership

Theresa Christy, fellow, Otis Elevator Co.
Teresa Cowles, AMS project Lead, Airbus A380 Air Generation, Hamilton Sundstrand
Jennifer Diederich, senior design Engineer, Covidien
Beverly Elliott, director, project management, Comcast’s Western New England Region
Dorothy Goettler, engineering specialist, Electric Boat Corporation
Laura Holmes, general manager, Customer Training Center, Pratt & Whitney
Agnes Klucha, program manager, Eng Innov Center , Pratt & Whitney
Jeanne Larsen, senior fellow, discipline lead, Hamilton Sundstrand
Mary Lombardo, director engineering, Carrier Corporation
Elizabeth Maerz, vice president, strategy and execution,The Travelers Companies, Inc.
Irina Moore, senior vice president, Risk Analytics and Regulations, GE Capital Aviation Services
Janice Nykyforchyn, principal engineer, Electric Boat Corporation
Deborah Orosz, AMS manager, Operating Effectiveness, Hamilton Sundstrand
Tara Picard, senior project manager, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
Danyel Racenet, manager of R&D, Covidien

Research Innovation and Leadership

Tahany El-Wardany, principal engineer, United Technologies Research Center
Rajeswari Kasi , assistant professor of chemistry and polymer programs, University of Connecticut
Andrea Marra, associate director, Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Susanne Opalka, principal engineer, United Technologies Research Center
Lisa Pfefferle, professor of engineering, Yale University

Small Business Innovation and Leadership

Laura Dietz, vice president, Sonalysts, Inc.
Billie Jo Mitchell, director, Manufacturing, RSL Fiber Systems, LLC
Pauline Murphy, managing director, Investments, Connecticut Innovations
Jessica Rowen, president, Mitchell-Vance Laboratories
Carla Tillery, associate and team leader - Northeast Traffic, Fitzgerald & Halliday, Inc.

Youth Innovation and Leadership

Dominika Bajguz, high school student, Sacred Heart Academy
Emily Briere, high school student, E.O. Smith High School
Jennifer Dalecki, high school student, Amity Regional HS
Pauline Dutka, high school student, Amity Regional HS
Emily Feng, high school student, Amity Regional HS
Marina Kaneko, high school student, Greenwich High School
Amanda Kelly, sigh school student, Sacred Heart Academy
Joan Kim, high school student, Amity Regional HS
Jenny Liu, high school student, Amity Regional HS
Katherine Schultz, high school student, Greenwich Academy
Guste Urbonaite, high school student, Newington High School
Rachel Winsor, high school student, Stamford High School

Finalists were nominated by their peers and selected based on their professional experience, history of innovation, ability to think creatively and solve problems and demonstration of leadership. Students were judged on inventiveness and accomplishment in science and technology and academic achievement. To view the full list of criteria, please visit CTC’s Web site, www.ct.org. Please contact Mike Scricca at (860) 289-0878, ext. 334 or [email protected] with questions regarding the program or awards dinner.

About the Connecticut Technology Council, www.ct.org

The Connecticut Technology Council is the state’s industry association for the technology sector. CTC’s mission is to be “the catalyst for innovation and growth. CTC seeks to identify and connect the entire technology community, works to increase innovation that leads to entrepreneurship and job creation in all size firms and is a strong advocate for specific programs as well as a public understanding of the need for a world class innovation environment in Connecticut. The Council produces many events that help, bring together and recognize achievement from start-ups to the state’s fastest growing companies.

 

2011 Commerce Committee Presentation by Matthew Nemerson

Matthew Nemerson gave a presentation about 2011 Introduction of key job growth and economic development issues for the Commerce Committee on January 20, 2011.

You can watch the full video from this presentation below:

2011 Commerce Committee Presentation by Matthew Nemerson from Connecticut Technology Council on Vimeo.

You can also find the presentation below:

Commerce Committee Presentation by Matthew Nemerson on January 20, 2011

View more presentations from CTTech.

To read more about "CT Competitiveness Agenda Report", please click here

 

 

Connecticut IT Jobs Report February 2011

February 2011 - Employers in Connecticut showed more interest in technology workers in January. The year began with a 3.7% increase in job opportunities supporting optimism which had been voiced by economists and news outlets in December. While there is no reason to celebrate yet, the development in January was another positive sign. Employers in Financial Services, HiTech and IT Services stepped up demand.

In Massachusetts job openings increased 6.2% and in the New York Metro area 5.7%. These increases are more in line with our expectations for the season than the development of the IT labor market in Connecticut. We expect demand to pick up further in February. All local IT labor markets grew above the national average with gained 2.2% in January.

While job openings for IT Management declined in January (down 4.2%) demand for other occupations increased. Software Development gained the most (up 13.3%) followed by Systems Engineering / Support (up 7.7%) and IT Architects / Consultants (up 6.3%).

Download Skillproof Connecticut IT Jobs Report February 2011

View Archive of Connecticut IT Jobs Trends Reports

Click here for a range of data and articles on the economic outlook for Connecticut and the New England region, prepared by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics..

See the data for unemployment among all New England states.

What Connecticut Can Learn From Pfizer's Decision

Excerpted from (Hartford Courant) courant.com - No Surprise, When Jobs Go Packing - by Rick Green:  The goal for Connecticut — land of zero job creation since 1990, according to a new report is that we should never be taken by surprise again when a leading employer dumps us for someone else.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says he heard about Pfizer's plan to whack 1,100 Connecticut workers and move hundreds of jobs to Cambridge, Mass., only the evening before the announcement.

"Everybody in the previous administration knew that Pfizer was doing this review," Malloy said. "It's clear this decision was made over a long period of time and a while ago."

Where were our state agencies in charge of economic development? Was anyone in state government making a case that New Haven and Yale might have been a possible location for the 350 neuroscience and cardiovascular research jobs, instead of Cambridge?

"You have to constantly be in touch with people, directly, said Malloy aide Roy Occhiogrosso. ... One thing (Malloy) is squarely focused on is sending a signal to the business community that he is serious about getting its fiscal house in order."

"Some things actually do better if there is a concentration and critical mass," said Matthew Nemerson, president of the Connecticut Technology Council. "There are a few places where this 'super agglomeration' is happening. Cambridge is one of those places." Nemerson said that Connecticut must recognize how it can compete with this — an expanded UConn research hospital, and the growing partnership among New Haven, Yale and private research companies,
are two important examples.

We're certainly not Boston or Harvard and Cambridge. But New Haven and Yale are dramatically showing us that Connecticut can again be competitive, if we are willing to invest in new research and partnerships between business and our universities.

"We've got a clear niche where we are competitive,'' New Haven Mayor John DeStefano said Thursday. "New Haven's grand list growth this year came in large part from the biosciences and life sciences research that has expanded there. The grand list of taxable property grew by nearly 3 percent over last year, larger than any other municipality in the state. "Our growth demonstrates that New Haven is a desired place for business and development,'' DeStefano said.

That's more than the state of Connecticut can say. 

To read more, please Click Here