Indy boasts innovations others could copy
It’s tough to look at your own community and figure out what it’s doing that no one else is. But IBJ gave it a shot. Here are four things other cities could copy from us.
Innovation Issue
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Innovative ideas from across the country we could copy
A struggling mall turned into a co-working space? An auction that connects startups with C-level execs? Inmates-turned-entrepreneurs? Check out programs and projects in other cities that have garnered national attention and could prompt discussions locally.
GARG: The so-called internet of things is not actually about ‘things’
The internet of things isn’t about making your toaster self-aware, it’s about making you more aware.
Engineers use shipping containers for new spin on ancient practice of hydroponics
Greenfield-based Rubicon Agriculture turns discarded shipping containers into self-contained, fully enclosed hydroponics units that cost less than $100,000.
The quest to make Indiana an IoT hub
Business leaders and public officials say Indiana can turn its manufacturing base into an even bigger advantage by harnessing the power of the internet of things.
Duo disrupts Indy’s live music scene with web of related companies
Josh Baker and Craig “Dodge” Lile are considered among the most influential movers, shakers and tastemakers in the Indianapolis arts and culture community.
DINING: Chef Alan Sternberg’s Maple Leaf Duck Breast
Rising Star chef Alan Sternberg dissects a favorite Cerulean dish
IMS Productions races beyond motorsports
The company created to broadcast the Indy 500 is using innovations to diversify its customer base and fuel double-digit percentage growth.
Medical firms, universities drive increase in Indiana patents
Indiana inventors secured 30 percent more patents in 2015 than they did four years earlier.
And at more than 2,000, last year’s number is double the patents granted to Hoosiers in 2008, a low point for patents in the past two decades.
Circle of innovation: Tech firms flock downtown
Since 2014 alone, 14 tech or tech-related companies opened offices within a quarter-mile radius of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. And all told, 26 such companies inhabit that roughly 16-block cluster.
LOU’S VIEWS: Zack Neiditch and Zach Rosing playfully tweak local theater
The duo has built a reputation as innovative independent producers and a go-to, work-for-hire team that actors hunger to work with.
PitchFeast helps grassroots entrepreneurs turn business ideas into reality
The PitchFeast crowd votes on the best pitch, and the winner gets 75 percent of admission proceeds plus pro bono business services.
WILLIAMS: How to make your firm truly innovative
One of the biggest barriers to innovation is aversion to risk. This starts at the top. Nothing stops innovation faster than the executive kill card.
BROWN: Don’t stand still as change whizzes by
Embracing change and disrupting yourself isn’t easy, and sometimes it’s not much fun. But it may be better to try to ride the tsunami than to outrun it.
ANING: Leveraging diversity to fuel innovation
If a team is homogenous, its members will more likely arrive at similar conclusions in thought. Conversely, dissenting opinions lead groups to look at problems and evaluate solutions differently.
JONES: ChaCha was a great idea that ran out of money
I still believe my decade-old vision is sturdy and world-changing, because even the best computers and algorithms are still able to answer only about 60 percent of the random questions asked by on-the-go people, doing real life.
CHAMPION OF INNOVATION: Engineer develops wallet-size plan to fix health care
In his engineering career, Robert Higgs has earned patents for the processes used to make everything from the heat shields on the Space Shuttle to the impact-resistant plastic covering car headlights to the Fig Newton.
CHAMPION OF INNOVATION: Rose-Hulman sophomore leads design of Web-connected wheelchair
It’s never too late to reinvent yourself. Or in the case of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology mechanical engineering sophomore Tim Balz, too soon.
CHAMPION OF INNOVATION: Researcher churns out patents, producing millions in revenue
Dr. Keith March at the IU School of Medicine is almost like a medical superhero, churning out patents at warp speed.
CHAMPION OF INNOVATION: College-sports guru puts Final Four on map
Tom Jernstedt has his fingerprints on almost every aspect of the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments—not to mention the association’s move to Indianapolis.