Kalamazoo

Kalamazoo’s name is so distinctive strangers around the world have been known to break into song at hearing the name. With such a recognizable moniker you’d think Kalamazoo wouldn’t need nicknames, but through the years changing names have reflected the city’s refusal to stand still. The Zoo, Celery City and the Mall City are a few. The innovative thinking that brought downtown K’zoo the nation’s first pedestrian mall in 1959 continues to work today. Innovators have developed thriving life sciences, biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms. They build on the expertise of Kalamazoo’s universities. Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Davenport College all are centers of research, development and technology. They surround a downtown vibrating with condos, apartments and homegrown, top-notch restaurants. The universities are woven into the city’s social fabric and contribute to a cultural scene that Kalamazooans love to boast about. The Kalamazoo Symphony, Kalamazoo Institute of Art and a vibrant local theater community are a few of the offerings. Locals also love their festivals that fill the air with music and the scents of ethnic foods wafting over the Arcadia Festival grounds and the Kalamazoo River. Outdoor activities from biking on the Kal-Haven trail to disc golf and standard golf on a nationally-acclaimed course in Milham Park are the start of the city’s leisure side. Sports fans have competitive college teams, minor league baseball and hockey to follow. And it all comes with a Promise. All high school graduates who live in Kalamazoo qualify for a scholarship that pays 100 percent of their tuition at any public university or community college.

Local company’s parts help build soccer-playing robots

By Newsroom

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Development News

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March 18, 2010

High school students around the world are building competition robots with parts provided by Parker Hannifen in Otsego.Parker Hannifin donated brass fittings and valves — a contribution valued at between $10,000 and $50,000 — in the kit of 577 items given to teams of robot builders as part of the competition, which combines science, technology and a sporting event. A variety of companies provided part for the kits used in US FIRST — United States Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology - competitions worldwide.US FIRST was founded in 1989 to inspire young people's interest and participation in science and technology.As part of the FIRST Robotic Competition, teams of high school studentsreceive motors, batteries, a control system, a PC and a mix ofautomative components. No instructions on how to assemble a robot areincluded. Instead, teams work with mentors to build, design, programand test their robots over a six-week period. The goal of the competition is to put the latest technology in the hands of students, give them the opportunity to use the same tools as professional scientists and engineers and ultimately impart skills they could carry into the workplaceThe robot-building kits were distributed to more than 1,800 teams of high-school students in January. More than 45,000 students from 12 countries will design and build robots for regional competitions, which are now underway. The world championship is scheduled for April 15-17 in Atlanta. Participants are eligible to apply for nearly $12 million in scholarships offered by universities, colleges, and companies.This year's competition is called Breakaway and it calls for robots that can shoot soccer balls into a net, drive over a bump to round up soccer balls,and hang suspended from a tower. Robots that can hang from another robot earn extra points for their team.Paul R. Gudonis, of FIRST, praised Parker Hannifen for its contribution, saying the Fluid System Connectors Division has helped "to create a world where science and technology are celebrated… where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders."Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Paul R. Gudonis

Business booms nationwide for Kalamazoo’s iyeTek

By Newsroom

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Innovation News

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March 18, 2010

Demand keeps growing for software developed for law enforcement agencies by the Kalamazoo information technology company, iyeTek.When iyeTek moved into Western Michigan University's Business and Research Park two years ago it had six employees and three interns. Today, 10 employees are on staff, and at any one time six to eight interns work on the company's software solutions for law enforcement agencies. Those are now used in 28 states compared to eight states that used iyeTek two years ago.When it moved into the research park in March 2008, iyeTek occupied 1,300 square feet of space at 4664 Campus Drive. Business has been so good since then the company has nearly doubled the amount of space it uses.The company's various software, including electronic ticket writing and crash reporting systems and information sharing with local, state and federal agencies, is now used all across Michigan. The software is used in handheld and mobile devices.Company co-founder and Director of Operations Salman Anwar gives much credit for the company's success to the support it has gotten in the BTR Park and its partnership with WMU. Among iyeTek's successes is the crash reporting system that has proved to be the most popular of its products, Anwar says."We're making the roads safer for people who drive on a daily basis," Anwar says. The iyeTek crash reporting system is one way it does that. The system helps police officers document crash details that give law enforcement agencies and traffic engineers information to analyze. It can help them determined the causes of crashes and also lead them, if need be, to take actions to make roadways more safe. "It's all about saving lives of police officers and citizens," Anwar says. Another popular software package involves information sharing that alerts officers during traffic stops and calls to be notified of any NCIC — National Crime Information Center — and FBI warnings related to a vehicle or suspect.The company was founded in Kalamazoo by Anwar and Jeremy Vainavicz, both alumni of WMU's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.Writer: Kathy JenningsSource Salman Anwar

$350,000 supports WMU’s study of greenhouse gas storage

By Newsroom

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Innovation News

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March 18, 2010

A total of $350,000 in grants to Western Michigan University will further studies into greenhouse gas storage as the push for clean coal energy heats up.WMU researchers are looking for ways to further develop clean coal technology by capturing the greenhouse gases it creates and storing them deep under the earth.Success could mean economic development opportunities for the state, including the creation of high-tech jobs, more affordable energy costs for consumers and reduction of pollution from the gases.The research, which has been ongoing in some form at WMU for six years, recently got a boost of $350,000 from federal stimulus funds.Most of the money comes from the U.S. Department of Energy and the University of Illinois, which is studying four states for their suitability to store the greenhouse gas or CO2. Together, they contributed $306,000. The remaining $44,000 comes from the Department of Energy and Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative Inc., a nonprofit member-owned utility in Cadillac and is being used for engineering design and cost estimates for the capture of 1,000 metric tons of CO2 per day from a proposed power plant in Rogers City, MI.In science-speak, what WMU is doing is carbon capture and geological carbon sequestration research. In layman's terms, they are looking at deep geological formations underground in Michigan to figure out if they could be used to store captured carbon gases.Dr.David A. Barnes, professor of geosciences at WMU, is the principal investigator on the two research projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009."Fossil energy has been fundamentally responsible for development in modern industrialized societies, but the associated greenhouse gas emissions are seriously threatening our environment," Barnes says. "The capture and deep geological storage of greenhouse gas emissions provide a critical bridging technology as we move, as aggressively as possible, to renewable energy technologies."Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: David A. Barnes

MAVCON’s president becomes a believer

By Chris Killian

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General

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March 11, 2010

Turning old, vacant buildings to places for people to live and shop have made a downtown believer out of James Dally. Find out what's in the works.

$250K invested in RealBio Technology Inc. of Kalamazoo

By Kim North Shine

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Development News

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March 11, 2010

Research into cell and tissue culture technology got a boost when the Biosciences Research and Commercialization Center at Western Michigan University invested $250,000 in Kalamazoo-based RealBio Technology Inc.RealBio, founded in 2009, has three full-time employees and six part-time employees working at its headquarters at the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center at Western Michigan University.BRCC invests in growing early stage companies in Michigan and is located in the Western Michigan University Business Technology and Research Park. RealBio is commercializing cell and tissue growth systems and developing a new generation of three-dimensional cell culture technology, which is exclusively licensed by the company. It has a patent pending.The RealBio Culture System enables researchers to study the growth of human primary cells and tissues over a long period of time. It also will allow access to a steady supply of stem cells for research purposes and for the formation of human tissue for in-vitro toxicology.RealBio President and CEO Paul Neeb says this is the first phase of funding in building toward the release of RealBio's cell and tissue collection tools, and that another half-dozen or so employees will be hired within the next year as the product comes to market.RealBio is part of the Southwest Michigan First Life Sciences Fund portfolio and has received financial and logistical support from the fund as part of a regional effort to foster further medical research, generate jobs, stimulate economic development and create wealth in Southwest Michigan. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Southwest Michigan First

Diploma in hand for first Kalamazoo Promise grad

By Newsroom

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Development News

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March 11, 2010

The ambitious and unique Kalamazoo Promise, with its full-ride college scholarship offer to each of the city's high school graduates, has produced its first college graduate.Stacy Westhoff, a member of the 2006 class of Kalamazoo Central High School, made quick work of her college education, finishing in January, just three and 1/2 years after Kalamazoo Promise accepted its first public high school graduates.The program, which was launched in 2005 and enrolled its first students in 2006, is funded by anonymous donors who promise to provide a college education at state institutions to all graduates of Kalamazoo's public schools.The idea behind the promise is to spark economic development in the city by attracting residents who wish to send their children to school for next to nothing. The philosophy behind it also holds that more highly-educated citizens lead to good things for a community.Westhoff, for one, says she is already seeing positive changes that she believes could be connected to the Kalamazoo Promise. "More schools are being built. More neighborhoods. More development ... I could have gone to college without this, but for so many people this is the chance of a lifetime."The 22-year-old majored in philosophy with an concentration on professional and applied ethics. She minored in business.And, she's headed toward another life milestone in May, when she will marry.Bob Jorth, Kalamazoo Promise's executive administrator, says seeing the first student cross the stage was a big deal, but May will bring many more reasons to be proud as 50 to 75 Kalamazoo Promise students are expected to don their caps and gowns.About a dozen students have already received two-year degrees or certificates, Jorth says. About 190 students from the city's high school graduating classes of 2006 remain currently enrolled, and in total 342 have used Kalamazoo Promise dollars to pay tuition. Kalamazoo Promise recipients have 10 years to complete their degree."We had no idea what our retention rate would be" Jorth says. "Of our first class we have an 80 percent retention rate. I'm not an expert on this, but I expect that number is quite high."Currently,about 1,000 students - from 2006 to the most recent high school graduating classes - are attending college on Kazoo Promise's dime.Writer: Kim North ShineSource: Bob Jorth, Kalamazoo Promise

New philanthropy partnership brings in $2.7 Million

By Kim North Shine

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Development News

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March 11, 2010

Southwest Michigan businesses, residents, foundations, schools and others put their money behind a new fundraising partnership meant to bring additional services to people needing help.The Lifeline Initiative grew out of a partnership between Kalamazoo Community Foundation and the Greater Kalamazoo United Way.Leaders of the two organizations conceived the initiative in response to the economic downturn. Through the initiative, about $4 million dollars over the next three years will be invested in local programs that address joblessness, emergency food assistance, emergency shelter and transitional housing, and health care access.Over the last eight months, more than $2.7 million was raised."Kalamazoo's charitable spirit is alive and well. ... People and organizations that care deeply about our community have stepped forward to support this effort...," Juan Olivarez, president and CEO of the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, says.His comments came during a Feb. 9 announcement of the partnership and its outcome.The Lifeline Initiative is described as a "unique and targeted collaborative fundraising effort" that took care not to adversely affect other charities."Our board leadership wholeheartedly endorsed the partnership between the Community Foundation and the United Way. We are proud to partner with the Community Foundation, and we are pleased to be a part of this unique and powerful response to help address the increased needs of our community," says Mike Larson, president and CEO, Greater Kalamazoo United Way."These funds will have an immediate impact and will play a major role in helping to address the increased basic a human needs we have witnessed in our area. While we applaud and thank both boards for their vision and leadership, the true credit for this effort goes to the incredibly generous donors who saw the need, and responded with tremendous compassion and generosity."The effort won't end here, they say.Community Foundation and United Way officials expect additional donations from donors who have expressed an interest in long-term support. This is only first grant-making cycle for community investments from the Lifeline Fund, they say. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Community Foundation, Greater Kalamazoo United Way

Kalamazoo and People’s Food Co-Op partner on $1.7 million expansion

By Newsroom

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Development News

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March 11, 2010

People's Food Co-Op, a 40-year-old natural grocery business currently at 436 S. Burdick St. in Kalamazoo, is working with the city's Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to relocate and expand into a block-long, mostly food-business development at 507 Harrison Street in the River's Edge district.People's Food Co-Op will build a larger 6,000-square-foot building and hire at least six part-time employees. The new store would be located near MacKenzie's Bakery and One Way Products, two other brownfield relocation and redevelopment projects meant to make the most of land that was contaminated by a paper factory while also bringing cohesiveness to similar businesses.The new facility will increase People's Food Co-Op by more than four times its current size and will make room for a larger prepared foods section, with seating, as well as the addition of a fresh meat section and expanded local and organic produce, grocery, bulk foods, frozen, and refrigerated items.By expanding its storefront, the Co-Op expects to increase the amount it purchases from local farms and processors by more the $100,000 it spent in 2009 and to expand on existing programs, including the relocation of the 100-Mile Farmers Market to the new site. In addition, the project will include 1,400 square feet of space to be leased to Fair Food Matters' Can-Do Kitchen, a food business incubator which will expand their support of local entrepreneurs in the creation of unique products for resale.People's Food Co-Op is a community-owned business with over 750 individuals and families owning a shares and receiving discounts and rebates as a return on their investment.People's Co-op hopes to raise at least $450,000 in loans and equity from owner-members."We are so excited to be able to offer a way for the community to invest in good food, in local farming, and in our own economic success" says Chris Dilley, General Manager of People's Food Co-Op.Writer: Kim North ShineSource: City of Kalamazoo, People's Food Co-Op

Wind-turbine technician academy ready for second go round

By Newsroom

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Innovation News

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March 11, 2010

If you can function in tight quarters and work at great heights Kalamazoo Valley Community College's unique wind-turbine technician academy is looking for you.Applications are being accepted for the second 26-week program slated to begin June 1.The academy has 16 openings for students this year and the program is growing with funding from the federal government and instruction opportunities from a private donor.The federal government, through the United States Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education, kicked in $550,000. KVCC is awaiting word on how it will be able to spend the money on the program.A new opportunity for hands-on-experience comes from Crystal Flash Renewable Energy, of Grand Rapids. Academy trainees will work under the supervision of professional wind-turbine technicians, climbing the tower with them to learn preventive and corrective maintenance."This represents a way for us to invest in the future of the industry," says Martin Hamilton, of Crystal Flash Renewable Energy.The academy can be completed in six months, making the program attractive to retraining workers. The program also provides graduates with the credentials that are highly sought after by the wind-power industry for the construction, operation and maintenance of utility-size wind turbines, according to Cindy Buckley, executive director of training.KVCC's wind-technician academy is certified by the leading trainer for wind-turbine technicians across Europe and Asia — Bildungszentrum fur Erneuerebare Energien (BZEE). (That's "Renewable Energy Education Center" in English.) The certification makes academy graduates that much more attractive to employers.Companies already are contacting KVCC to find out how they can meet the academies graduates, Buckley says."The projection is that between 1,500 and 2,400 new technicians are needed annually to support the growing wind-energy industry," Buckley says. "Starting wages range from $14 to $21 per hour."Applications to the wind-turbine technician academy are accepted throughout the year. Qualified applicants who do not get into the June 1 class will be placed on the waiting list for training that begins in December. A math test, results of a medical exam and documentation work experience in technical fields are part of the screening process. Writer: Kathy Jennings Source: Cindy Buckley, KVCC