Daily Business Report-Oct. 23, 2017
Stefan Savage (Photo by Erik Jepsen, UC San Diego Publications)
Cyber Crimefighter Wins Genius Award
Stefan Savage awarded $625,000 from MacArthur Foundation
for unorthodox approach to cybersecurity
A few weeks ago, Stefan Savage, a UC San Diego computer science professor started receiving calls on a daily basis—sometimes more than once a day—from a phone number with a Chicago area code. The caller didn’t leave a voicemail. Savage never answers calls from a number he doesn’t recognize. He is a security researcher and at least one of his collaborators has been targeted by cybercriminals. So he looked up the phone number. To his relief, it tracked back to the MacArthur Foundation’s headquarters in Chicago.
A few phone calls later, after he was asked to prove his identity, Savage found out that he was one of the 2017 MacArthur Fellows. Better known as the MacArthur “genius” award, the prestigious, no-strings attached five-year fellowship awards a total of $625,000 to each recipient.
The MacArthur fellowship recognizes individuals whose work has demonstrated exceptional creativity; promise for important future advances based on a track record of significant accomplishments; and potential for the fellowship to facilitate subsequent creative work. Some of the better-known recipients of the MacArthur fellowship include paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould, writer and cultural critic Susan Sontag and Lin Manuel Miranda, the creator of the wildly successful Broadway musical “Hamilton.”
Savage is being recognized for “identifying and addressing the technological, economic and social vulnerabilities underlying internet security challenges and cybercrime.”
It’s easy to see how his track record and the impact of his work attracted the attention of the MacArthur Foundation. Savage, his students, and academic and industry collaborators have hacked into cars remotely to point out security vulnerabilities. They’ve tracked the financial transactions responsible for funding email spam campaigns and botnets around the world. And they’ve found ways to pinpoint the source of attacks that cripple the internet and large websites such as Amazon and Facebook.
“There are not that many people known for being a world leader in any single area of science, but Stefan is known for being a world leader in multiple areas, including the study of botnets and worms, the criminal underground economy, and cyber-physical systems and modern automobiles,” said Tadayoshi Kohno, a cybersecurity expert in his own right at the University of Washington, who earned a Ph.D. here at UC San Diego.
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County Jobless Rate for September: 4.1 percent
Nonfarm employment down, 1,300
over the month; up 16,100 over the year
San Diego County’s unemployment rate for September fell to 4.1 percent, down from 4.7 percent in August and below the year-ago estimate of 4.6 percent, the state Employment Development Department reported. California’s jobless rate for the same period was 4.7 percent. The national rate was 4.1 percent.
Between August and September, total nonfarm employment decreased from 1,444,700 to 1,443,400, a loss of 1,300 jobs. Agricultural employment remained unchanged.
- Leisure and hospitality (down 3,200) posted the largest month-over employment decrease as the summer tourist season ended. Most of the employment reduction was concentrated in arts, entertainment, and recreation (down 1,800), with the remaining losses allocated in accommodation and food services (down 1,400).
- Other notable job losses were reported in professional and business services (down 2,300), and trade, transportation, and utilities (down 1,100). No changes were noted in mining and logging.
- Government led the month-over gains, adding 4,000 jobs. Local government (up 4,600) accounted for all the job gain in this industry, bolstered in large by seasonal gains. Federal government remained unchanged over the month, while state government declined by 600 jobs. Between September 2016 and September 2017, total nonfarm employment increased by 16,100 jobs, or 1.1 percent. Agricultural employment increased by 200 jobs or 2.2 percent.
- Other services reported the greatest year-over gain, adding 5,000 jobs. Gains in this industry included religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations (up 2,100), personal and laundry services (up 2,100), and repair and maintenance (up 800).
- Five other industries also posted gains over the year: construction (up 4,000), educational and health services (up 3,900), government (up 3,500), financial activities (up 3,100), and leisure and hospitality (up 300).
- Professional and business services posted the largest decline, losing 2,500 jobs over the year. Losses by administrative and support services (down 1,500) and professional, scientific, and technical services (down 1,300) offset a small gain by management of companies and enterprises (up 300).
- Trade, transportation, and utilities (down 800) and manufacturing (down 400) also reported losses over the year.
“Even with the seasonal decline in Leisure and Hospitality jobs, San Diego’s unemployment rate is at its lowest September rate in the past decade. Trade, Transportation, and Utilities should start seeing an uptick in jobs in the coming months as we head into holiday retail season,” said Phil Blair, executive officer of Manpower Staffing/San Diego
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NASSCO Christens USNS
Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams
General Dynamics NASSCO hosted a christening and naming ceremony on Saturday for the Navy’s newest Expeditionary Sea Base, the USNS Hershel “Woody” Williams. The ship’s namesake, Hershel Woodrow “Woody” Williams, spoke at the ceremony, and his two daughters, Travie Ross and Tracie Ross, officially named and christened the ship with the traditional break of a champagne bottle alongside the ship.
Williams, a retired U. S. Marine, received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. He is the last surviving recipient of the Medal of Honor from that battle.
USNS Hershel “Woody” Williams is the Navy’s second ESB ship. The 784-foot-long ship will serve as a flexible platform to support a variety of missions, including air mine countermeasures, counter-piracy operations, maritime security and humanitarian missions. The ship will provide for accommodations for up to 250 personnel, a 52,000-square-foot flight deck, fuel and equipment storage, and will also support MH-53 and MH-60 helicopters with an option to support MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft. Currently nearing the end of construction, the ship will be delivered to the U.S. Navy in February 2018.
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Congressman Scott Peters, World Trade Center
San Diego Lead Successful UK Trade Mission
Strengthening ties between San Diego and the U.K., Congressman Scott Peters and World Trade Center San Diego, an affiliate of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, led a delegation to London and Cambridge, United Kingdom from Oct. 15-19.
“The relationships we forged and strengthened over this trade mission are important for San Diego in today’s increasingly global economy,” said Peters. “The U.K. is a long-standing partner of the U.S. and San Diego shares many similarities with London and Cambridge, from our burgeoning life sciences sectors to smart cities technology. It was an honor to lead San Diego business and organizations as we enhanced collaboration while promoting San Diego’s key industries. I know this trip will open up new doors for San Diego and U.K. businesses alike.”
Peters and World Trade Center San Diego were joined by more than two dozen San Diego delegates from Cubic Transportation Systems, Qualcomm, San Diego Gas & Electric, Edico Genome, Takeda California, NuVasive, Forge Therapeutics, BioMed Realty, Alexandria Real Estate, Biocom, UC San Diego, San Diego State University and others.
San Diego became the first West Coast city to enter London’s Business Welcome Programme. Additionally, San Diego-based Forge Therapeutics announced the launch of BLACKSMITH, a new platform being developed in partnership with Evotec AG’s U.K. team. With more than 23,000 people dying in the U.S. annually due to resistance to anti-biotic superbugs, Forge’s new platform will aid in bringing lifesaving drugs to the market. The partnership will also enable Forge to create additional jobs in San Diego.
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New UC San Diego Master’s Degree
to Train for Drug Development Careers
The Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of California San Diego now offers a Master of Science in Drug Development and Product Management. This is the pharmacy school’s first master’s degree program. The program is intended for experienced professionals to gain managerial and regulatory knowledge required to lead all aspects of the drug development process, from discovery to clinical application in managed markets.
The program is now accepting applications at dump.ucsd.edu. The deadline is March 14, 2018. The first class of 24 students will enter the program in Fall 2018.
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Personnel Announcements
Jenna Brossman Promoted at J. Walcher Communications
J. Walcher Communications has promoted Jenna Brossman from senior account executive to integrated marketing communications manager. The position is a first for the agency. The promotion reflects Brossman’s role at the company, where she manages a wide variety of full-service clients by collaborating with and overseeing staff and partners in implementing integrated marketing campaigns. Services she manages include brand development, public relations, website design and development, advertising, digital and social media, events and partnerships.
Brossman joined the agency in 2013, working with clients that include retail, real estate, associations and nonprofits. During her time with the company, she’s volunteered with the SDX 2017 American Advertising Awards committee and was recently elected to the San Diego Press Club’s board of directors.
Prior to joining JWC, Brossman worked at Cook + Schmid and the historic Hotel del Coronado. Brossman graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in journalism with an emphasis in public relations from San Diego State University, and an associate degree in television, film and new media from Saddleback College.
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Robert Prine Joins Haeggquist & Eck as Associate
Employee rights and consumer advocacy law firm Haeggquist & Eck has hired Robert Prine as an associate. Prine joins the firm’s employment practice, where he will handle cases involving wage disputes, sexual harassment, discrimination or wrongful termination.
A 2016 graduate of California Western School of Law, Prine joins the firm from Vista-based Winet Patrick Gayer Creighton & Hanes, where he was the primary attorney on a variety of matters and engaged extensively in law and motion and oral advocacy work. Other past legal experience includes stints at Potente APLC in La Jolla, where he assisted clients with a variety of corporate matters (including entity formation, mergers, and employment counseling), and in the Special Litigation Section of the San Diego City Attorney’s Office.
Prine placed first in the California State Bar Student Environmental Negotiations Competition, first in the 2015 California Western Intra-school Mediation Competition, and fourth in the 2015 National Sports Law Negotiation Competition.
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Retail Insite Adds John Still as Retail Specialist
Retail Insite has hired John Still as the newest retail specialist on its team. Still has over 30 years of retail commercial real estate brokerage and advisory service experience, having spent over 26 years with Flocke & Avoyer Commercial Real Estate in San Diego, and the past four years as a private adviser to several institutional property owners throughout various markets in the country.
Still specializes in landlord representation, asset repositioning, development consulting, and is active in individual and portfolio asset sales. He also is active in client advisory services, and has had extensive assignments across the United States. This expertise will continue to be offered through Retail Insite’s Advisory Services Platform.
