Daily Business Report – March 10th, 2021
Engineering researcher Junfei Xie received a National Science Foundation CAREER award to develop a flying cloud computing system in the air.
Drones that can calculate, communicate and solve complex problems
By Padma Nagappan | SDSU
Imagine a drone that can perform complex calculations while up in the air, communicate with other drones in its network and harness artificial intelligence to provide smart services, such as crowd control, traffic monitoring, and emergency response.
If it sounds far-fetched, it’s actually not — a San Diego State University engineering researcher is working on developing a theoretical framework for networked airborne computing that will make this a reality sooner rather than later.
Junfei Xie is an assistant professor in SDSU’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, whose background as well as research focus combine interdisciplinary knowledge from both these fields. She recently received the CAREER award from the National Science Foundation (NSF), given to promising early career researchers to further advance their research.
Spread over five years, the $550,000 award will help Xie build on her previous work and develop a system for drones to have networked airborne computing capability.
Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine arrives in San Diego
The arrival of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine will make it easier for San Diegans to be vaccinated against the virus. The one-shot vaccine has arrived in the region and is being distributed the same way as the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
Some people have shown hesitancy to getting the latest COVID-19 vaccine given that it was 72 percent effective in research trials in the United States, compared to about 94 percent for Moderna and 95 percent for Pfizer after those vaccines’ required two doses.
However, health officials say the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is just as effective as its counterparts at preventing serious illness from COVID-19 and was tested against virus variants. Also, all currently available vaccines were 100 percent effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths during trials.
‘Wearable Microgrid’ uses the human body to sustainably power small gadgets
Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a “wearable microgrid” that harvests and stores energy from the human body to power small electronics. It consists of three main parts: sweat-powered biofuel cells, motion-powered devices called triboelectric generators, and energy-storing supercapacitors. All parts are flexible, washable and can be screen printed onto clothing.
The technology, reported in a paper published Mar. 9 in Nature Communications, draws inspiration from community microgrids.
The wearable microgrid is built from a combination of flexible electronic parts that were developed by the Nanobioelectronics team of UC San Diego nanoengineering professor Joseph Wang, who is the director of the Center for Wearable Sensors at UC San Diego and corresponding author on the current study. Each part is screen printed onto a shirt and placed in a way that optimizes the amount of energy collected.
Journalism professional Dean Nelson leads San Diego Press Club writing seminar
Dean Nelson, founder and director of the journalism program at Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU), will share his favorite writing tips for the San Diego Press Club’s next “Write Better Right Now,” a one-hour, writing improvement webinar from 6 to 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 16. The free webinar, held over the Zoom video-conferencing platform, is open to the public. To register, visit www.sdpressclub.org.
The webinar will include Nelson sharing his best writing tips he’s learned during his 40-year journalism and teaching career, followed by a question-and-answer time. Moderator for the March 16 webinar will be Cliff Albert, a San Diego Press Club board member and news director at KOGO-AM Newsradio 600. Albert also has served as a guest lecturer and adjunct professor for journalism classes at San Diego State University and PLNU.
Nelson, a frequent speaker at writing workshops and retreats, has a doctorate in journalism from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri at Columbia and a bachelor’s degree in literature from MidAmerica Nazarene University in Kansas City. He has written or co-written 15 books.
Therapy sneaks into hard layer of pancreatic cancer and destroys it from within
Every 12 minutes, someone in the United States dies of pancreatic cancer, which is often diagnosed late, spreads rapidly and has a five-year survival rate at approximately 10 percent. Treatment may involve radiation, surgery and chemotherapy, though often the cancer becomes resistant to drugs.
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center, in collaboration with Sanford-Burnham-Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and Columbia University, demonstrated that a new tumor-penetrating therapy, tested in animal models, may enhance the effects of chemotherapy, reduce metastasis and increase survival.
The study, published online March 9, 2021 in Nature Communications, showed how a tumor-targeting peptide, called iRGD, can sneak inside the armor that the tumor built to protect itself and use the fibrous tissue as a highway to reach deeper inside, destroying the tumor from within.
GSA to hold first cryptocurrency auction
GovCon Wire
The General Services Administration will allow investors to bid on a 0.7501 share of a Bitcoin as part of a two-day auction starting March 15. GSA said Monday the first cryptocurrency auction will run through March 17 via the GSA Auctions website.
Interested stakeholders should register in order to place an offer for the Bitcoin. The winning bidder should have a digital wallet to receive the cryptocurrency and should make the payment through wire transfer by March 19.
GSA Auctions serves as the online clearinghouse of the federal government for excess office furniture, scientific equipment, vehicles and other federally owned equipment and assets.
San Diego Community College District and San Diego Unified School District to hold joint meeting
Eliminating equity gaps and strengthening career and educational pathways while navigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will be the focus of discussion when the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) and San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) governing boards hold their annual joint session on March 16.
Accomplishments and highlights during the pandemic will be among the topics discussed, but the focus will be on looking forward, while reviewing past accomplishments. Future goals include strengthening alignments between the two education systems and expanding early college credit opportunities for high school students, such as dual enrollment.
San Diego Padres and Tappit partner to take Petco Park cashless
Tappit, the global payment and data ecosystem for sports, events, stadiums and venues, announced a multi-year partnership with the San Diego Padres. The partnership, which marks Tappit’s first with an MLB team, will help ensure a safe return when Padres fans are allowed back into Petco Park for the 2021 baseball season with the implementation of safe and seamless contactless mobile payment technology throughout the stadium.
Tappit will provide its white label mobile payment technology for Padres fans through the team’s MLB Ballpark app, which will allow fans to make purchases using only their cell phone. Fans can link their preferred payment method to the app to enjoy a frictionless experience at concession and merchandise stands throughout the stadium to purchase food, drinks and merchandise quickly and efficiently.
Franklin Templeton partners with iGrad on new personalized financial wellness platform
Franklin Templeton has partnered with San Diego-based financial education company iGrad to develop MyFi Guide, a financial wellness digital platform designed for financial professionals to share with defined contribution plan sponsors and participants.
Powered by iGrad’s award-winning Enrich financial wellness solution, MyFi Guide features the Your Money Personality financial behavior assessment, which analyzes each user’s financial “personality.” The MyFi Guide financial wellness platform also offers:
• Financial education courses with personalized action plans on topics including budgeting, mortgages, healthcare, college savings, student loan repayment, banking, credit, financial planning and more
• Retirement and home affordability analyzers
• A suite of student loan and higher education tools
• Personal finance calculators and a real-time budget tool
