Innovation Pipeline

A recent report from SRI Consulting forecasts that in less than 20 years global demand for water will exceed supply by 56 percent. This is a problem.
What’s the solution? The SRI report, Water and Sustainability in the 21st Century, says that along with conservation, reuse and supply management, fresh-water supplies must increase. That means finding [...]

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Silicon Valley and the broader Bay Area still generate the majority of venture capital investments, according to recent quarterly data from the MoneyTree Report. The Valley’s share saw strong 9 percent year-over-year growth and outpaced other tech hubs with 35 percent of the total $7.1 billion in venture investments in the United States.
Where is the [...]

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What do an electronic chemical-sniffing device and a glob of chemical-sensitive gel and a Star Trek tractor beam all have in common? They’re recent innovations from the lab benches of MIT. And all provide a glimpse of the future and the new generation of sensing devices that will shape personal lives and business.
The electronic nose [...]

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As the global-technology market grows, it gets harder to gauge innovation. International patent filings are one good way to measure companies’ and countries’ technological leadership.
A recent study of patents by the Kauffman Foundation shows the usual U.S. states leading the pack.
The foundation’s look at universities and industry is also informative. The survey indicates that [...]

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Turns out biofuels are not only hungry, threatening to take a serious bite out of crops like corn, they are also thirsty. Ethanol refineries drink serious amounts of water. And in areas like Burley, Idaho, it’s causing concern about the draw down on the water table.
In that Midwest city, a recent story estimates that one-eighth [...]

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