Providence. Photo Credit: Courtney Gabrielson
At the end of every month, we recap the biggest tech and startup happenings in Rhode Island. We have an archive of past roundups here. To get this info weekly (Tuesday afternoons, to be exact), sign up for the Rhode Island Inno Beat newsletter.
Let’s take a look.
- Gov. Gina Raimondo has signed an executive order in favor of net neutrality. “A free and open internet is essential to our democracy and economy,” she said. “Rhode Island was founded on a principle that there is a place here for everyone. By protecting a free and open internet in our small state, we’re renewing that promise.”
- Innovative human therapeutics development company Amgen has announced that it will build a “state-of-the-art, next-generation” biomanufacturing plant at its West Greenwich location. The plant is considered the “first of its kind” in the country, and will manufacture products for both the U.S. and global markets.
- CommerceRI has announced the recipients of three more Innovation Vouchers, a program created to increase research and development work in the Ocean State. This round, East Providence-based Aspen Aerogels, NuLabel Technologies and Woonsocket-based Bouckaert Industrial Textiles, Inc. received vouchers. Read more here.
- Defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions company Raytheon, based in Waltham, Mass., has received an $83 million mine neutralizer contract. What does that mean for Rhode Island? Ninety-six percent of the work will happen Portsmouth, with the other 4 percent occurring in DeLeon Springs, Fla.
- Brown University’s Brown Institute for Brain Science has received a $100 million donation from alumnus Robert Carney and Nancy, his wife, which will go towards neurodegenerative disease research, the AP reports. Meanwhile, researchers at URI’s Coastal Resources Center have received a five-year, $25 million sustainable fisheries grant for their Philippine fishing industry project, Providence Business News reports. The grant is the largest in the school’s history.
- The Rhode Island Commerce Corporation and Governor Gina Raimondo announced the reopening of applications for the Wavemaker Fellowship, a program that looks to inspire graduates to pursue their careers in STEM and other key sectors via student loan reimbursement. The fellowship provides graduates who are working in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and some design fields with a refundable tax credit that covers student loan payments of up to $6,000 per year for up to four years. Read the full story on Rhody Inno here.
- The New England Business Association announced 20 finalists for its 2018 New England Innovation Awards, and the Rhode Island Quality Institute made the list, the Providence Business News reports. The Institute works to bolster the state’s health care communication via its database, CurrentCare.
- Eva Agudelo of Hope’s Harvest, Erminio Pinque of Big Nazo Lab and Kate Lentz of Raising Readers in RI were named the Rhode Island Foundation’s 2018 Carter Fellows for Entrepreneurial Innovation, the Providence Journal reports. Each fellow will receive $50,000 a year for four years.
- The University of Rhode Island has received a $1 million gift that will go towards scholarships for its College of Nursing students, the school announced. The estate of Eleanor and Edward Ferrante Barlow bestowed the gift.
- The Rhode Island Commerce Corporation released its Amazon HQ2 proposal in response to the Providence Journal’s Access to Public Records Act complaint, the Providence Journal reports. Details from the proposal included the team’s hope to bring HQ2 into Providence’s “Superman Building.”
- The Rhode Island Commerce Corp. has announced the participants in the seven-member committee that will review the 16 submissions for the Rhode Island Innovation Campus, Providence Business News reports. The members were chosen by Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor “in consultation with URI leaders,” the report states. Participants include Peter Snyder, vice president for research and economic development, URI; Abigail Rider, vice president for administration and finance, URI; Hannah Moore, chief of staff, R.I. Executive Office of Commerce; Macky McCleary, administrator, R.I. Division of Public Utilities and Carriers; Mike McNally, R.I. Commerce Corp. board member; Vanessa Toledo-Vickers, R.I. Commerce Corp. board member; and Steven King, managing director, Quonset Development Corp.
- Sproutel, a Providence-based "patient-centered R&D workshop," has been named the big winner of Rhody Inno's inaugural Tech Madness. The company is perhaps most know for its interactive toy, dubbed "Jerry the Bear," that helps children better manage their illnesses.
