Daily Business Report: Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Ericsson, Qualcomm Technologies
and Thales to take 5G into space
Ericsson, Qualcomm Technologies Inc. and French aerospace company Thales are planning to take 5G out of this world and across a network of Earth-orbiting satellites. After having each conducted detailed research, which included multiple studies and simulations, the parties plan to enter smartphone-use-case-focused testing and validation of 5G non-terrestrial networks (5G NTN).
The result could effectively mean that a future 5G smartphone could use 5G connectivity anywhere on Earth and provide complete global coverage for wideband data services, including places normally only covered by legacy satellite phone systems with limited data connectivity capabilities.
The benefits of 5G connectivity via low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are expected to include coverage in extreme geographies or remote areas across seas, oceans and other locations where terrestrial coverage is absent. Such widespread connectivity would boost 5G smartphone subscriber roaming service capabilities, as well as enabling global connectivity for transportation, energy and health sector 5G use cases.
The space-based network could also be used as back-up support to terrestrial networks in the event of major network outages or disasters.
Top Photo: Ericsson, French aerospace company Thales, and Qualcomm Technologies have joined forces to make a global 5G network of Earth-orbiting satellites.
UC San Diego awards first surf scholarship
By Amanda Rubalcava
As a global academic powerhouse with an iconic ocean backdrop, UC San Diego is known for making waves in research, athletics and beyond. Recently, the university awarded the first college surfing scholarship ever recognized by the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA).
Makena Burke, a first-year student studying public health, has been named the inaugural recipient of the $5,000 scholarship award ($2,500 per year for two years). She is the president of the UC San Diego Surf Team, which competes in the NSSA college league. The NSSA, which governs youth surfing competition in the country, requires its members to maintain good grades as well as serve the community.
Tyler Callaway, head coach of the UC San Diego Surf Team, says the goal of the scholarship is twofold. “Firstly, championships are won by having a depth of talent in the roster, and the creation of the first-ever surf scholarship will help us attract the top surfing scholars from high schools and junior colleges across the country and the world to compete for UC San Diego. The goal is to have a surf team that is always in the conversation to win a national championship,” he said.
“Secondly, we want to attract attention to the surf team from both inside and outside the university and celebrate the heritage of surfing at UC San Diego,” added Callaway. “The surf team has a long history of incredibly successful alumni—some who have gone on to make an impact locally and globally—through their career paths and the businesses they’ve built.”
General Atomics welcomes new SkyGuardian
Mission Trainer to Flight Test and Training Center
The first MQ-9B SkyGuardian Mission Trainer has been delivered to the Flight Test and Training Center (FTTC), a facility in Grand Forks, N.D. owned and operated by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI). The new Mission Trainer is designed and delivered by CAE to provide realistic synthetic mission training for both pilot and sensor operator aircrews on the GA-ASI SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA).
The SkyGuardian Mission Trainer will be used to train the initial UK Royal Air Force (RAF) Protector crews at Grand Forks. The RAF, in partnership with GA-ASI, will conduct training at the FTTC to learn how to operate the next generation Protector RPA system. Protector is the RAF’s version of MQ-9B.
“We’re thrilled to get this new mission trainer in place at the FTTC to support our customers’ training needs, said Dean Gorder, director of GA-ASI’s FTTC. “In addition to our customers, we’ll also use the simulator to train operators for GA-ASI and affiliate companies.”
Former President Barack Obama to take part
in Illumina’s inaugural Genomics Forum
San Diego’s Illumina Inc., a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, announced that former President Barack Obama will participate in a moderated Q&A conversation at the inaugural Illumina Genomics Forum. the company’s global event-focused on advancing genomics-driven health.
The Forum will take place in San Diego from Sept. 28 through Oct. 1, with virtual sessions to be held on Oct. 4.
Obama will participate in a fireside chat on the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 28.
Twelve years after the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Obama will discuss the continued need for equity, accessibility and smarter health care to improve the human condition.
The Illumina Genomics Forum will convene global leaders from across the genomics and healthcare ecosystems to discuss the collaborations and actions needed to make genomic health a more inclusive, accessible standard of care.
It will also showcase advances in genomic technologies that are positively impacting the world by powering better predictive care, diagnoses, and the development of new therapeutics.
Palomar Health and Kindred Behavioral partner
to build the Palomar Behavioral Health Institute
Palomar Health and Kindred Behavioral Health, a business unit of LifePoint Health, have entered into a joint venture partnership to build and operate the new Palomar Behavioral Health Institute. Projected to cost $100 million and employ more than 200 health care professionals, the three-story, approximately 90,000-square-foot facility will include 120 inpatient beds and provide outpatient services. It will help meet the growing need for mental health services in North County.
Palomar Health has been planning a comprehensive expansion of its Behavioral Health Services, and the construction of a new Behavioral Health Hospital will allow Palomar Health to provide equitable, person-centered services across the continuum, treating the most vulnerable members of the community with dignity and the appropriate level of care. The new hospital’s highly-specialized and compassionate environment will foster healing and reestablish patients’ connections to the community, which is critical for long-term recovery.
National University to merge with Northcentral University
National University a veteran-founded nonprofit university that serves approximately 30,000 working adult learners, online students, educators, and members of the military community, announced plans to merge with Northcentral University, an adult-serving institution offering doctoral degrees in an exclusively online format. Approval was granted from the WASC Senior College and University Commission.
The merger will bring together the complementary strengths of the two institutions. National University brings experience in providing career-relevant degrees and credentials for adult learners at the undergraduate level, and its growing focus on graduate will be enhanced by Northcentral’s diverse and well-established master’s and doctoral offerings.
Under this new structure, National University will grow to become a fully-online university serving approximately 45,000 students, with a comprehensive suite of academic programs from the pre-college to doctoral level and a unique focus on microcredentials and workforce training programs designed with input from top employers.
General Atomics to supply Marine Corps
with eight MQ-9A unmanned aircraft
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. has been awarded a U.S. Marine Corps contract for eight MQ-9A Extended Range (ER) Unmanned Aircraft Systems. General Atomics anticipates awards later this year for Ground Control Systems, spares, and Ground Support Equipment as part of the first increment of the Marine Air Ground Task Force Unmanned Expeditionary Program of Record.
General Atomics will begin first delivery of aircraft and support equipment this winter to facilitate the fleet standup in late summer 2023 for U.S. Marine Corps’ Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron (VMU) 3 located at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. As part of the Marine Corps’ Force Design 2030 efforts, VMU-3 will operate these MQ-9A ERs with their unique sensors and network capabilities to support training for the Marine Littoral Regiment.
Pop culture to take over San Diego
with return of Comic-Con in full force
Times of San Diego
It’s baaaaaaack!
After a two-year, pandemic-induced absence, San Diego’s uniquely own Comic-Conconvention returns to the Gaslamp with celebrities, world premieres and thousands of fans no doubt thrilled, and maybe a little worried, to return for an in-person gathering.
The giant pop culture convention has been a San Diego success story that celebrated its 50th anniversary in July 2019. That was also the last time fans gathered at the San Diego Convention Center to celebrate their favorite comic books, movies and television shows.
A few months later, Coronavirus would be unleashed in America and in 2020 and 2021, organizers were forced to hold an online-only version of the Con. Then last fall, after vaccines became available, organizers held a stripped down, much smaller Comic-Con over the Thanksgiving weekend.
But starting this week, Comic-Con is back full force, with events, panels and other happenings scheduled to be held at the Convention Center July 21-24, with a Preview Night on July 20.
Illumina invests in $36 million venture fund
San Diego-based Illumina, Inc. will contribute to a new $36 million venture fund created to help seed the next generation of genomic startups. Illumina Ventures’ investment in the Time Boost Capital I LP Fund, which is managed by U.K.-based Time Partners, will benefit startups coming out of Illumina Accelerator Cambridge.
Illumina Accelerator, the world’s first business accelerator focused solely on creating an innovative ecosystem for the genomics industry, is actually co-located with Illumina’s R&D facilities in the Bay Area and Cambridge, England.
Read more…
Mission Healthcare unveils redesigned website
San Diego-based Mission Healthcare, one of the largest home health, hospice, and palliative care providers on the West Coast, announced the launch of its newly redesigned website at www.homewithmission.com. The comprehensive website features a clean and responsive design, enhanced functionality, alongside easy access to essential information about our services.
“We are thrilled to debut our new company website to our patients, families, referral partners, and visitors who are looking for services,” said Mission Healthcare’s CEO Paul VerHoeve. “The website redesign truly ties together all of our family of companies and services into one place, allowing each visitor to experience and access information, education, and get to know our team and culture.”
San Diego’s Project Design Consultants
acquired by Bowman Consulting Group
Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. of Reston, Va. announced the purchase of San Diego-based Project Design Consultants. Founded in 1976, PDC and its 65 employees provides civil engineering, surveying, planning and landscape architecture to a variety of public and private clients throughout Southern California.
Under the leadership of Greg Shields, the company’s CEO, PDC provides engineering services that manage change and add value to infrastructure projects involving public works for municipal agencies, utility service providers, urban and suburban mixed-use developers, hospitality and entertainment venue owners, and commercial and health care facility operators.
“PDC presents a compelling opportunity for Bowman to advance our market expansion and service diversification initiatives,” said Gary Bowman, CEO of Bowman. “California is a new frontier for us, and we are fortunate that Greg and the PDC management team will be leading the effort.”
Task force to host program on homelessness
with Biden appointee Jeff Olivet
The Regional Task Force on Homelessness (RTFH) will host a “Community Conversation on Homelessness” with Jeff Olivet, the executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.today at Saint Paul’s Cathedral, Guild Rooms A and B, 2728 Sixth Ave, San Diego, CA 92103. Masks are strongly encouraged for this event.
The public event will feature an update from Olivet about homelessness from a federal perspective as well as local opportunities to tackle this crisis. Additionally, Olivet will take part in a Q&A with audience members
A President Biden appointee,Olivet came on board with USICH in early 2022. As the executive director, Olivet leads the agency, which is committed to the belief that housing should be a right and to the core values of racial equity, Housing First, decriminalization, and inclusion. He collaborates with the 19 federal agencies that make up the council to develop and will release the federal strategic plan later this year.
Salk researchers discover how RNA
processing goes awry in rare immune disease
Researchers at the Salk Institute and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia have discovered a new underlying cause of Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, a rare genetic disease that leads to bleeding and immune deficiencies in babies. Their findings, published in the journal Nature Communications on June 25, 2022, revolve around how cells cut and paste strands of RNA in a process called RNA splicing. The genetic mutations associated with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, they found, disrupt this process which, in turn, prevents numerous immune and anti-inflammatory proteins from being made correctly.
