Enterprise Center To Ramp Up To Spur Gig Research, Digitally Enabled Applications

  • Friday, March 18, 2016

Ken Hays said Friday that The Enterprise Center plans to ramp up its staffing to help spur research putting to use Chattanooga's high-speed fiberoptic network and to develop digitally enabled applications.

 

He said one idea is a research project by several professors related to using the digital network to develop an app that helps in diagnosing particular allergies causing major health problems for many.

 

Mr.

Hays said, "We've got the fiber. The real story is what you do with it. We want Chattanooga to become a living laboratory for researching applications from the network."

 

He added, "We believe we have unbelievable opportunities here."

 

Mr. Hays said he and one assistant operate the center that is located at the Development Resource Center.

 

He has gained $540,000 in funding to hire the additional personnel.

 

The funding partners will make payments over a two-year period.

 

U.S. Ignite is providing $35,000 per year, and the Lyndhurst Foundation, the Benwood Foundation and EPB $78,300 per year.

 

Joe Ferguson said the project is directly in line with goals at EPB, which led in the development of the city's far-advanced fiberoptic network.

 

The staffing will include:

 

The manager will be in charge of implementing the TEC’s strategic goal for the development and testing of digitally enabled applications in Chattanooga. This will require:

•             Identifying ideas and opportunities

•             Creating a prioritized research agenda to focus development and testing efforts

•             Working to help establish an effective R&D-to-market pipeline

•             Creating and maintaining connections and liaison among local research and applications development partners and with external partners and researchers

•             Coordinating with other TEC strategic goal areas as appropriate and as directed by the President of TEC  

 

This position will require one FTE.  The manager will work in close coordination with the TEC Technologist in Residence.

 

The person in this position will be expected to fulfill the following responsibilities:

•             Create and maintain an inventory of existing and potential research and applications ideas and opportunities.

•             Identify and develop relationships with individuals and entities offering funding for research and applications.

•             Develop and maintain strong informed connections to local research institutions and departments as it pertains to the potential for applications research and development, and in particular with UTC’s new Vice Chancellor for Research.

•             Monitor and assist ongoing research applications such as GASP and the 4K Microscope project to ensure effective use of the partnerships and funding. 

•             Assist in developing scaled use of successful local demonstrations such as the USC-STEM School demonstration using a 4K camera and microscope to enable broader applications of this educational resource.

•             Assist in promoting and developing new research projects in partnership with EPB and ORNL and other institution embedded researchers and in connecting them as appropriate to local and national partners.

•             Facilitate connections with entrepreneur pipelines to effectively connect entrepreneurs and innovators to the market potential of local applications research, development and testing.

•             Work closely with the TEC’s Technologist in Residence to ensure the success of applications’ research, development and testing projects.

•             Raise Chattanooga’s profile in the national arena with regard to GENI capacity in a community smart-grid and gigabit fiber test-bed environment, participating in regional and national conferences and meetings as appropriate.

•             Explore how TEC may serve as a project investigator on various research grants.

•             Field and follow up on all inquiries with regard to applications research, development and testing in the Chattanooga test-bed environment.

•             Coordinate with local partners, including EPB, CO.LAB, Lamp Post Group, and CRF,

•             Assist with special events that maximize the research agenda potential

•             Create and maintain a clearinghouse of relevant grants and grant cycles and assist in grant writing as appropriate

 

The Enterprise Center Technologist in Residence

 

The Technologist-in-Residence provides technical depth and expertise for all endeavors and projects of The Enterprise Center and contributes strategic direction with regard to technology needs and opportunities. The technologist is responsible for researching and understanding each initiative’s technology stack, and ensuring that the appropriate resources are obtained and applied. Further, the technologist uses understanding of the technology, and the economic and social constraints of a project to assist in selecting the most effective initiatives, as well as developing an efficient execution strategy.

 

 The Technologist reports directly to the President of the TEC while coordinating with other TEC staff, stakeholders and partners.

 

The Technologist in Residence will be expected to:

•             Apply specific knowledge and bandwidth to research and understand the technical underpinnings of potential and in process projects.

•             Provide backup in network operations and management to support various project partners’ internal teams.

•             Provide breadth of knowledge across many technical sectors to enable strategic thinking during the project planning phase before execution.

•             Consulting and engaging as appropriate, a network of technical and scientific resources to assist in deep domain specific endeavors.

•             Connect and engage resources available in our community and maneuvers the organizational dynamics required to access them.

•             Determine the technical feasibility of applications and research opportunities as well as the capabilities of necessary project partners.

•             Assist in developing the appropriate partners, resources, and strategy for the execution of specific projects.

•             Identify and develop relationships with potential technology partner teams, at a working level both local and remote.

•             Maintain an inventory of technical expertise within our community, and how to leverage it.

•             Once projects are funded and selected, lead the technical execution of projects, in coordination with the A&R Manager.

•             Serve as the primary technical resource for the A&R Manager 

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