Innovation Campus. Message from Ned M. Weinshenker. Inside This Issue: Volume 5 s Issue 1 s 2008 Online Newsletter

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Adele Barnett
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completed and we will enter the design phase in February, 2008. Groundbreaking may begin as soon as the end of 2008 or early in 2009.

, the two buildings will represent approximately 133,000 square feet of modern space for our USTAR Teams doing cutting edge research in areas such as Biofuels, 3-D imaging, and Advanced Nutrition.

1 Message from Ned M. Weinshenker Ned M. Weinshenker VP of Strategic Ventures and Economic Development Innovation Campus The programming phase for the new 100,000 square foot Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) building has been completed and we will enter the design phase in February, Groundbreaking may begin as soon as the end of 2008 or early in The new building will be located just to the east of the 620 building on Grand Avenue., the two buildings will represent approximately 133,000 square feet of modern space for our USTAR Teams doing cutting edge research in areas such as Biofuels, 3-D imaging, and Advanced Nutrition. Please look to future newsletters for additional information and updates. After several months of renovations, InTech Collegiate High School has expanded into the north half of building 1747 allowing the school to complete their transition into a full, four-year high school program as originally planned. In the spring of 2009, InTech will have their first graduating class. A ribbon Cutting ceremony was held on February 5, We are now in the design phase of expanding the Grand Avenue to 800 East. Construction is expected to begin in the late spring of We are looking at several different designs; however, the new extension will not be a divided road and will allow for improved emergency vehicle access. USU s Technology Commercialization Office (TCO) has recently hired a new employee, Berry Treat. Berry comes to us from the University of Florida Licensing Office. He will specialize in the life sciences group with an emphasis in plant technology. Please see the TCO website ( for access to additional information concerning Berry and the TCO. As a note, please remember that Utah State University Technology Commercialization Office can provide services and consulting to all Innovation Campus Business Partners Inside This Issue: Message from Ned M. Weinshenker InTech Collegiate High School Expands Business Partner ID Cards Be Ready Utah: Shelter in Place Tom Wilkerson Receives Governor s Medal 2008 Economic Summit Sponsors Business Partners in the News Upcoming Events Calendar

2 InTech Collegiate High School Expands In the summer of 2007 after a year of operation at the USU Innovation Campus, InTech Collegiate High School began renovation of the north end of building 1747 for the expansion of the school. This new area includes social studies classrooms for Mr. Dewey and Mrs. Reeder, Mr. Baker s engineering classroom and lab, the new kitchen area where lunch is served, a new commons area and more bathrooms. The new addition also includes two offices one for Ashlee Godfrey, our bookkeeper and the other for Janene Dykstra, our part-time resource teacher, says Interim Principal John Hernandez. On November 27, 2007, the wall between buildings 1747 and 1787 was finally ready to come down, however to ensure that the building passed the safety qualifications before any students entered, the entrance was barricaded. After the finishing touches had been put on the building InTech faculty, staff and students assisted in moving desks, filing cabinets, and bookshelves to help the teachers prepare for the spring semester. The move was completed in time for students to begin school on Monday, January 7, The expansion into building 1747 extends to the middle of the building; the rest of 1747 will be occupied by the Space Dynamics Laboratory. Innovation Campus Business Partner Cards As an Innovation Campus Business Partner, many special benefits are available from Utah State University. Some of the special benefits received are similar to University staff, such as access to the Merrill-Cazier Library. Discounts are available at the USU Bookstore, University Inn and Conference Center, and through Campus Recreation as well as some athletic events. In the community, the sports academy has offered discounts on memberships for our Business Partners and their families. To utilize the benefits, an Innovation Campus Business Partner ID Card as well as Photo Identification is required. For those Innovation Campus Business Partners who do not yet have a card and would like one, or for additional information, please contact Monica Neilson in the Innovation Campus Administration Office, Building 1770, Suite 120, phone number Page 2

Be Ready Utah: Shelter in Place In many emergency situations, it is important to have a proper, effective and practiced evacuation plan, however in certain situations, such as tornados and chemical

3 Be Ready Utah: Shelter in Place In many emergency situations, it is important to have a proper, effective and practiced evacuation plan, however in certain situations, such as tornados and chemical incidents you may be instructed by local authorities to take shelter. If it is feasible, try to develop a type of system indicating who may be in your building and establish a warning system that can be tested regularly. Keep in mind that you may have to communicate with people with hearing impairments as well as those who may not speak or understand English. Account for your workers, visitors and customers. In general, employees cannot be forced to shelter, but there are times when officials will order everyone to stay put. This is why it is important to discuss shelter in place ahead of time with your employees, avoiding confusion in the case of an emergency. Assign specific duties to employees in advance, creating checklists for each responsibility, making sure to designate an alternate for each responsibility. Also, if it is possible, keep your emergency supply kit in the shelter place. If instructed to take shelter and seal the room, you must create a temporary barrier between people and contaminated outside air. This will require some additional preplanning. Identify the location that you will be most protected, usually an interior room with as few windows as possible. Close the business and bring everyone inside. Lock doors, close windows, air vents and fireplace dampers. Turn off fans, air conditions and forced air heating systems. Take your emergency supply kit unless you believe it has been contaminated. Seal all windows, doors and air vents with plastic sheeting and duct tape. Measure and cut the sheeting in advance to save time, cutting pieces several inches wider than the doors and labeling each piece. Be prepared to improvise and use what you have on hand to seal gaps to create a barrier. Included with your emergency supplies should be a battery powered radio, allowing you to listen to official news, indicating when it is safe. When the officials declare it clear to go outside, be sure to air out the building, allowing any contaminated air that has entered to escape and be replaced with fresh outside air. Page 3

4 Wilkerson receives 2007 Utah Governor s Medal for Science and Technology North Logan, UT The Space Dynamics Laboratory is proud to announce that Dr. Tom Wilkerson, SDL senior scientist, received a 2007 Utah Governor s Medal for Science and Technology. Wilkerson, who also serves on the faculty of USU s Physics Department and its Center for Atmospheric and Space Sciences, received the award during a ceremony hosted by Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr. at Salt Lake City s Clark Planetarium on Nov. 13, The state of Utah awards the Governor s Medal to recognize individuals who have provided distinguished service to the state of Utah in the fields of science and technology. It is the highest honor awarded by Utah for scientific and technological achievements. Wilkerson is an internationally recognized expert in the use of lasers to perform remote sensing of the atmosphere known as light detection and ranging or LIDAR. Wilkerson has focused much of his 50-year career on characterizing molecular and particulate matter in the atmosphere and determining how these atmospheric constituents are influenced by human activities. In conjunction with USU, SDL has deep expertise in LIDAR applications, fostered in no small part by Wilkerson s expertise, said his colleagues. I have seen first hand Tom s love of science, said Jed Hancock, SDL engineer. He consistently sets an example of creativity and professional integrity. He is always mentoring and seeking success for the students and colleagues he works with. Throughout his career and his many personal achievements, Wilkerson has maintained a commitment to mentoring young scientists. His former students include a Nobel Prize winner and a Fulbright Scholarship recipient. Wilkerson also shares his passion for science with K-12 students. USU alum Jan Marie Andersen, a former student of Wilkerson, received a Fulbright scholarship to study physics at the University of Copenhagen s Niels Bohr Institute. Andersen credits much of her success to Wilkerson. Tom has definitely been one of the most influential people in my physics career, and I owe much of where I am today to his mentoring and teaching, she said. At Wilkerson s urging, his students call him Tom, Andersen said. The relationship that Tom has with us is much more than just a teacher/student or supervisor/employee relationship. As Tom s students, we know that he cares about us both our academic careers and our lives. (Continued Page 5) Page 4

5 Andersen, who is from California, credits USU s research focus for her decision to come to Logan. Working with Tom Wilkerson at the Space Dynamics Lab has given me an opportunity and experience I couldn t have found anywhere else. One of the reasons that I chose to go to Utah State is because of their emphasis on research, and I couldn t have asked for a better research mentor than Tom Wilkerson. Wilkerson has been a senior scientist at SDL since 1997 and with the USU physics department since Prior to his arrival at USU, he held positions at the University of Maryland and at Princeton University. The Governor s Medal award program was initiated in The awards are made in four categories: Academia, Science Education, Industry, and Government. For more information contact: Karen Wolfe, Utah State University/Space Dynamics Laboratory, (435) Economic Summit - Sponsors The third annual What s Goin Down Up North Economic Summit is now scheduled for September 25, 2008, from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. The summit takes place here on the Innovation Campus, and includes attendees, sponsors, and speakers primarily from Box Elder, Rich and Cache Counties, as well as Salt Lake County, Northern Utah and Southern Idaho. Each year, sponsors are invited to advertise at the event. Some of the sponsors from previous years include the Governor s Office of Economic Development (GOED), Grow Utah Ventures, Rocky Mountain Power, and Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). Sponsorship is an excellent opportunity for many of Northern Utah s most proactive businesses and individuals to become acquainted with your company. The Summit will display your logo online, during the summit proceedings as well as during lunch, highlighting your business s offerings throughout the event. For more information concerning What s Goin Down Up North, sponsorships or registration please visit or contact Monica Neilson at Page 5

Furniture Retailers Embrace elearning in 2007 North Logan, UT The Furniture Training Company, exclusive provider of sales training over the Internet for NHFA and many other industry associations and

6 Furniture Retailers Embrace elearning in 2007 North Logan, UT The Furniture Training Company, exclusive provider of sales training over the Internet for NHFA and many other industry associations and buying groups, describes 2007 as the year that furniture retailers embraced elearning to train their sales associates to sell more furniture. Mike Petersen, Marketing Director of The Furniture Training Company (FTC), said that in 2007 their online training company enrolled over 3,500 furniture sales associates and designers in interactive training courses and delivered over 75,000 sales training and product knowledge lessons. Jennifer Eickoff, Manager of Hatch Furniture and Flooring, Yankton, SD shared some of her excitement for the benefits of elearning when she said, We have found elearning to be a great asset in training our salespeople this year. Even those associates that have been with us for a long time have found the online product knowledge and sales training programs we ve licensed from The Furniture Training Company to be helpful in teaching them valuable new knowledge and skills. This new approach to training has helped our staff to overcome some bad habits that videos and seminars just couldn t change. With the competition we face today, and with business being sluggish at best, interactive training makes us more expert and professional and especially helps our associates to sell more furniture. Mark Lacy, President of FTC, explains, Recently the Wall Street Journal reported that over 82% of all small businesses in America have turned to elearning as a solution for training employees. 2007, he says, is the year that furniture retailer s enthusiastically jumped onto the elearning band-wagon From large furniture chains like Wickes, RoomStore, RC Willey s and Lack s to smaller firms such as Kasey s, Dearden s and Olindes, more than 100 furniture retailers are now reaping the benefits of using FTC s elearning courses for training. Training that helps transform new hires and under-performing sales associates into high volume furniture sellers allowing retail furniture owner s to overcome some of the economic challenges forecast for the year ahead. About The Furniture Training Company The Furniture Training Company is a business of LetterPress Software, Inc. that provides technologybased training services to the retail furniture industry. Since 2001 they have been providing training services to furniture retailers world-wide, from single-store independents to large retail furniture chains and department stores. Successful furniture retailer chains and independents nation-wide are using and benefiting from The Furniture Training Company s various affordable and easy to implement furniture sales training courses which provide management tracking and offer sales associate certification. For training that really works visit Page 6 Business Partners in the News

7 Mountain Plains Creates New, Larger Center: Technical Assistance for Excellence in Special Education (TAESE) Mountain Plains Regional Resource Center would like to introduce a new organizational structure that should improve our ability to deliver technical assistance and information in special education throughout our region. The evolution of special education and services for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities has been interesting and fulfilling to observe. The passing of the Education of all Handicapped Children Act (EHA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act in the mid-1970s has resulted in equal educational opportunities for children and youth with disabilities. We have gone from a period of trying to secure physical access for children and youth with disabilities to the present where there is an emphasis on improved educational results and increased accountability. Technical Assistance for Excellence in Special Education (TAESE) is the umbrella center for the Mountain Plains Regional Resource Center and numerous contracts with State Education Agencies (SEAs) and Lead Agencies (LA). The TAESE staff has a 28-year history of providing quality technical assistance in the area of special education and related topics. They have expertise in all areas of special education and can respond to almost any State need for information, in-service, and technical assistance. TAESE is connected to a variety of regional and national consultants, centers, and resources in special education that can be linked to States, school districts, and schools in solving persistent problems that impact services to children and youth with disabilities. Special education has become very complicated; there are increased demands for accurate and timely data, demonstrating results, and ensuring compliance of all special education laws and regulations. This is extremely challenging for States with small staffs and school districts/schools that have limited resources. TAESE is willing and able to respond to State and school special education needs. The TAESE logo is a symbol that represents striving for excellence in delivering technical assistance and information resulting in positive outcomes for children and youth with disabilities. Our goal is to develop trust; form positive relationships; and collaborate with States, school districts, and schools. Excellence in everything we do is our main goal. Our goal is also to keep it simple and keep children with disabilities as the main focus. For more information, contact John Copenhaver, 435/ , Ext. 16, or John.Copenhaver@ usu.edu. Page 7 Business Partners in the News

8 Upcoming Events and Important Dates -February 18 President s Day USU Innovation Campus Administration Office Will Be Closed. -February 19 Chamber 3rd Tuesday Luncheon Guest Speaker: Leigh Dean, 12:00 Noon at the Copper Mill, $12 RSVP by Friday, 15th to rsvp@cachechamber.com. -February Partners in Business Information Technology Seminar at USU. -March 5 Career Fair at USU Largest Annual Recruiting Fair in Utah, 9:00 a.m. -3:00 p.m. with follow up interviews on March 6. -March 11 Chamber Women in Business Luncheon -March 12 CPR/First Aid/AED Certification Class $20 per person, attendee must be registered and paid prior to the beginning of class. Classes fill quickly, contact Judy Crockett at or judy.crockett@usu.edu. -March 13-May 1 CERT Training Every Thrusday from 1-4 pm. Must be registered by March 1, Contact Judy Crockett at or judy.crockett@usu.edu. -March 18 Chamber 3rd Tuesday Luncheon -March 26 Partners in Business Women in Business Seminar at USU. -April 8 Chamber Women in Business Luncheon -April 15 Chamber 3rd Tuesday Luncheon -April Partners in Business Human Resources Seminar at USU. -May 2-3 USU Graduation Congratulations Graduates! -May 13 Chamber Women in Business Luncheon -May 26 Memorial Day USU Innovation Campus Administration Office Will Be Closed. Page 8

CACHE Business Resource Center

CACHE Business Resource Center Providing resources to assist emerging and established businesses. Business Plan Cache Business Resource Center Bridgerland Applied Technology College (BATC) 1000 West 1400