Daily Business Report-Feb. 17, 2017
1st module on an air transporter being moved from join station to heat treatment furnace. (Photo courtesy of General Atomics)
General Atomics Completes Important Step
In Making World’s Largest Fusion Device
General Atomics on Wednesday completed an important step in what will be the eventual construction a magnetic fusion device — ITER — designed to demonstrate that fusion power is a feasible carbon-free source of energy that can be be realized on a global scale.
The San Diego-based company said it completed construction of the ITER Central Solenoid’s 1st module. “GA engineers and technicians have now successfully joined the nearly 240,000 pounds of superconductor that make up the module and are preparing to start the heat treatment process,” the company said in announcing the development.
The Central Solenoid is essentially the heart of ITER, the unprecedented international tokamak facility being built in France to pursue fusion energy. Comprised of six modules and standing over five-stories tall, the Central Solenoid will be the most powerful pulsed superconducting electromagnet in the world.
“After spending months carefully winding the seven individual sections of the coil, our team has now completed joining together the four miles of superconductor to form the core of the module,” said John Smith, GA’s program manager. “Completing the 1st module required a team of dedicated engineers and technicians, which was quite literally a huge undertaking, as the 1st module is approximately the weight of 80 mid-size cars.”
Fabrication of the Central Solenoid requires many custom-designed processes, including the 1st module’s next step: heat treatment in a furnace reaching temperatures of 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit. Over the next month, the 1st module will receive this heat treatment to form the superconducting alloy.
“The completion of this critical step in the fabrication process confirms GA’s work on the Central Solenoid is on schedule to support ITER’s construction,” said Smith. “As the 1st module receives heat treatment, GA’s ITER team will commence joining the 2nd of the seven modules (one spare). We are immensely proud of our success with the Central Solenoid fabrication process to date, and look forward to our continued contributions to the ITER project.”
ITER is a collaborative scientific partnership between 35 nations representing more than half the population of the world. This research and development project aims to build the world’s largest tokamak. The U.S. ITER project is a collaboration of over 500 companies, laboratories, and universities across 43 states and the District of Columbia and is hosted by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. This work is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, and the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences.
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San Marcos Industrial Site
Acquired for $1.65 Million
GRL Property Management has acquired a 1.74-acre industrial site in San Marcos for $1.65 million. The site, located at 2638 South Santa Fe Ave., has several warehouse and showroom structures. It was previously occupied by a granite fabrication and slab yard. The seller was Bruno DeAngelis
Lee & Associates represented the seller in the acquisition. The buyer was represented by Cushman & Wakefield and Asset Management Specialists.
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USD and Clarity Design Part of Team
Selected for $100 Million Competition
The University of San Diego Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering and San Diego-based Clarity Design Inc. have partnered with the Himalayan Cataract Project, an organization which was recently selected as a semi-finalist for a MacArthur Foundation competition that will award $100 million to solve a global challenge.
The Himalayan Cataract Project works to end blindness in developing countries in Africa and Asia, including the remote regions of Nepal and the Himalaya Mountains.
USD engineering students and Clarity Design have been working on prototypes to diagnose glaucoma in the developing world where limited access to treatment often leads to blindness, unemployment and poverty.
The Himalayan Cataract Project was selected this week from among 1,904 applicants as one of eight semi-finalists for the MacArthur Foundation 100&Change competition. The foundation will select up to five finalists in September to present their proposals during a live event on December 11. The foundation will select a single recipient to receive $100 million over six years.
USD engineering students are working with Clarity Design on the development of two tonometers – one hand held and the other non-contact – to diagnose glaucoma. The teams have completed several prototypes and are focused on making the designs accurate and robust enough for long-term use in the field.
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Ilan-Lael Foundation and Pacific Rim Park
to Host Gateway Conversations April 28-30
The Ilan-Lael Foundation will host Gateway Conversations, a three-day event exploring the role of art in international relations, from April 28-30. The foundation will welcome representatives from the eastern and western Pacific Rims, along with members of the San Diego and Tijuana communities, to build an ongoing conversation with individuals across the globe about the role of art in public places and its ability to bridge cultures.
The events will take place in San Diego on Friday and in Tijuana on Saturday.
San Diego artist James Hubbell and President of the Pacific Rim Park, Kyle Bergman, will lead a series of dialogues designed to transcend language barriers and cultural differences
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Personnel Announcements
Julio Frizza Appointed Director
of Education for Platt College
When Julio Frizza attended multimedia design courses at Platt College 20 years ago, he never dreamed he would one day serve as the school’s director of education. Nonetheless, he is delighted by the turn of events which lead him from the classroom to the dean’s office.
In addition to Frizza’s Multimedia and Design diploma from Platt College, the new Director has also earned a Bachelor of Arts from University of California San Diego, and his MBA and CPA from universities in Paraguay, where he was born and raised.
“Of all of the schools I’ve been to, Platt College is the one I’ve gotten the most from because it’s hands-on, direct application of what you’re learning,” says Frizza in his new office in the administration wing at Platt College. “So much is theoretical and not grounded in real work possibilities, but Platt College is a career college intensely focused on getting students ready to succeed as commercial artists.”
In addition to being an alumnus of Platt College, Frizza has also taught graphic design classes at the school, a role that gives him a perspective of the needs of students and faculty alike. “I will continue teaching because I don’t want to lose that connection,” Frizza says. “Being in the classroom helps me gain a better understanding of what students need to succeed and what faculty need to support them.”
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Taylor Design Names Alejandra Nadal
To Project Manager Post in San Diego
Taylor Design, an architecture, environments and strategies firm, has named Alejandra Nadal to project manager in the firm’s San Diego office.
Nadal will use her project management and market-specific knowledge to collaborate with project owners and various other project stakeholders in Taylor Design’s core markets of health care, education, and science and technology.
Nadal has over 21 years of leadership and design experience in managing a variety of health care, commercial and education projects, primarily in San Diego County and Mexico. Her areas of expertise encompass space planning, construction documentation in AutoCAD and Revit, consultant coordination, code research, permitting, construction administration and active participation in project team and client-architect collaboration.
Nadal joins Taylor Design after serving as project manager/project architect at Mascari Warner Architects in San Diego and in project management positions for other prominent architecture firms in the area.
