Blockchain 101

By Craig A Ruark, Freelance Writer

When you talk about mining to most people, the image of house-size earth moving equipment and gigantic craters, or long dark tunnels are generally what come to mind.

However, a new mining industry has been evolving since 2009, and it involves what is called cryptocurrency. Perhaps you have heard about Bitcoin. But in reality, Bitcoin, along with other popular cryptocurrencies, (Litecoin, Ethereum, Zcash, Dash, Ripple, and Monero) are not hard currency at all; they exist only in cyberspace.

But how these currencies exist is becoming more important than the existence of the currencies themselves. What do you know about distributive ledger or blockchain technology?

To explain the process, we start with the mining of cryptocurrencies which requires a dedicated and very powerful computer with specialized processors, a reliable power source, an internet connection (2 megabits per second or faster), and a cooling system to dissipate the substantial heat that is generated. Depending on the cryptocurrency, establishing mining operation can cost a minimum of between $5,000 and $10,000, and requires many hours of constant study.

The mining process itself involves computing the answers to intensely complicated algorithmic equations. Once an equation is solved and a coin mined, that coin is registered with a number and placed into a password-protected electronic coin wallet.

Notice that I said the wallet is password protected. Unlike the passwords that you set up for access to the internet, bank account, or computer programs, these passwords consist of a long string of numbers and letters that are randomly generated when the wallet is initiated. A typical password may look like this: 34fe9f09e27cc9057e03d29e5ebde996be2869ac1a412e9188f023165df39e74.

The wallet holder cannot change the password and must keep it in a very safe place because, without it, the cryptocurrency is impossible to access, and the passwords cannot be recovered. Without that password, the wallet and its valuable contents are lost forever.

Each crypto wallet is tracked through a series of connected computers called a node, each with a matching ledger system referred to as distributed ledger technology. Hundreds of node computers are located around the world with matching ledgers.

Every cryptocoin transaction is recorded in a block on the ledger sheet that identifies the product sold and the cryptocoins used. Every subsequent transaction generates a new block which is verified against the previous block in what becomes a Blockchain. It is because of these individual node computers, each with their matching ledgers, that it becomes impossible for someone to hack into the system to steal information.

These ledgers keep track of every cryptocurrency transaction that has ever taken place and processes the information through what is called “Distributive Consensus” whereby each node on the network mathematically verifies that the transaction is accurate and has not be modified.

During a transaction, the network receives three pieces of information. The purchaser’s digital wallet address, the amount of currency to be spent, and the recipient’s digital wallet address. The blockchain computers verify that the person sending the currency is the actual owner of the account and that the funds are available. Once a consensus of the ledgers is verified, the transaction is completed, and each of the ledgers is updated to transfer the cryptocoins from one wallet to the next.

The advantages of cryptocurrency are numerous, including the fact that Cryptocurrency is completely decentralized. No single person or institution controls the network. Its structure, money supply, and transaction record cannot be manipulated by any bank, government, organization, or rogue bad actor. Also:

• No bank or credit card company taking a cut
• No third party holding the funds
• No monthly account charges
• No overdrafts
• No convenience fees
• Transaction fees range from free to just a few cents

On June 5, 2017, Nevada became the first state to ban local governments from taxing blockchain use. In addition to preventing local governments from taxing the use of a blockchain or smart contract (or requiring a licensure for their use), the bill stipulates “if a law requires a record to be in writing, submission of a blockchain which electronically contains the record satisfies the law”–meaning that data from a blockchain can be introduced in “proceedings.”

While the distributed ledger technology and blockchain verification system is the backbone of the cryptocurrency world, it is also finding its way into other industries.

For instance, in the real estate sector, the demand for international property is up 334% since 2009. But since there are no international real estate standards, rampant fraud and bureaucratic red tape make it almost impossible for Americans to buy property overseas.

Propy, a global property store and decentralized title registry, is using blockchain to become a safe and secure global property solution. On Sept. 24, 2017, the purchase of an apartment in Kiev by TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington using Propy made history—it is the first real estate purchase with cryptocurrency, and the first real estate transfer on the blockchain.

Propyuses the nearly impenetrable Ethereum blockchain to record the proof of ownership and is the most secure real estate system to adopt worldwide to standardize the industry. Blockchain simplifies a complicated buying process that ordinarily takes months, into a simple online transaction—opening the international market to American investors and allowing hundreds of billions of foreign dollars to flow into the American residential sector.

In the same way real estate transactions are recorded and held secure, healthcare providers are looking at a blockchain-enabled health information exchange that would alleviate security concerns related to data-sharing between different providers. A patient would be able to access and share their data from the blockchain, and each provider would be able to update relevant information with an individual key.

In the world of finance, a financial technology company called Populousis using blockchain technology and digital tokens as a secure, transparent, and modern solution for businesses to get immediate funding for international financial transactions including bank loans and invoice factoring.

The transparency of transactions recorded via Blockchain is a major enabler of faster payments and improved financing across international borders. It reduces risks such as currency exchange fluctuations, fraud, and lowers cost. Populous created a Blockchain-based Smart contract platform to autonomously perform all necessary functions connected with funding, releasing payments, and the distribution of recorded data. This technology eliminates manual error and the need for any services from third parties. Of course, local onsite verifications are still necessary.

Since the time when man first bartered for goods and then developed a currency system, the business of doing business has constantly evolved. In order to grow, businesses need to keep up with current technologies.

Every 15 Minutes

It is 9:30 on a Thursday morning and nearly 900 juniors and seniors of Faith Lutheran High School are called from their classrooms and instructed to take a seat in the bleachers that have been temporarily placed curbside along the street outside the school.

In front of the bleachers, an all too real looking and somewhat gruesome, automobile accident has been staged.

Students watch as the scene of a drunk driving accident unfolds.

A white four door automobile with a heavily damaged front end has apparently rammed into the back of a red pickup truck a few feet away. The bloody body of a teenage boy lies motionless on the street in front of the stands. He had been driving the red pickup and without wearing a seatbelt was ejected from the truck when it was hit. The passenger of the pickup was also not wearing his seatbelt and upon impact, hit his head against the windshield and is now semi-conscious and trapped in the crumpled cab of the truck with serious head injuries to his head and body.

The passenger of the white vehicle is badly injured, unable to move and crying out in pain. The young female driver of the white vehicle has suffered a few cuts and bruises, is conscious but dazed by the event.

The scene is very realistic and brilliantly staged by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s “Every 15 Minutes” program. The program’s name was derived from the fact that in the early 1990s, every fifteen minutes, someone in the United States died in an alcohol-related traffic collision.

According to Detective Kenny Salisbury of the LVMPD, Fatal Detail, there are over 220 fatal accidents in Clark County each year. Of those accidents, 33 percent of the drivers are of high school age, and 40 percent of those accidents involve alcohol.

“In the last five years, I have witnessed the death of 400 students,” Salisbury told the audience.

From speaker system placed behind the viewing stands, the first words that the students heard, was the panicked and screaming voice of a teenage girl calling 911. The recording was that of an actual 911 call from an accident that happened last year near Bishop Gorman High School.

The dispatcher responded by telling her that help was on the way and subsequently summoned the police, fire, and paramedic teams to the scene of the accident. Complete with lights and sirens, motorcycle officers, Clark County fire and rescue vehicles, and Medic West Ambulance arrived on the scene and immediately went to work assessing the situation.

Emergency crews work to assess the scene of a drunk driving accident.

Students watched as the first responders assessed the scene and began moving among the injured. Front and center police and then paramedics searched for a pulse of the driver who had been thrown from the pickup, not finding one they pronounced him dead at the scene and respectfully covered his body with a white sheet.

Simultaneously, the fire department worked with the “Jaws of Life” to cut the injured passenger from the pickup truck while paramedics approached the passenger side of the white car to assess her injuries.

When Police officers opened the driver’s door of the white vehicle, beer bottles feel to their feet, and they could see that the young driver, though only slightly injured with a few cuts and bruises, was not very coherent. At the age of 15, she was drinking and driving without a license and could not pass the sobriety test. The police placed her under arrest, handcuffed her, and drove her to jail in the back of a police squad car.

A teenage drunk driver is arrested after an accident.

Overhead, came the sound of a helicopter as Mercy Air flew onto the scene and landed in the middle of the street. The fire department had successfully cut away the top of the pickup truck and removed the door, allowing paramedics to remove the injured passenger from the pickup, place him on a stretcher and then into the helicopter which rushed him to the hospital.

Mercy Air arrives on the scene of a drunk driving accident.

The passenger of the white vehicle was taken to the hospital in an ambulance

The passenger of a drunk driving accident is placed in an ambulance.

At the end of the demonstration, it was reported that the passenger of the pickup had died at the hospital.

Detective Salisbury carried a microphone to the middle of the scene and solemnly read the obituaries of the two fellow students who had passed away.

However, this was not the end of the event. As the students filed back into their classrooms, camera crews followed the student actors (known as the “walking dead”) and their parents to record the drama that was continuing to unfold.

The drunk driver was taken to the booking facility where she was fingerprinted; blood was drawn to check the alcohol content and then sent to court where her parents would watch as she appeared before a judge and sentenced to time in prison.

The two injured actors would go through simulated treatment at the hospital while their parents sat in the waiting room, not knowing if their children would survive. The two students that were pronounced dead would be taken to the morgue where the coroner will place toe tags, and ask the parents to identify the bodies.

At the end of a very emotional day, law enforcement personnel with the assistance of community member chaperones took the students to a local hotel for an overnight Student Retreat. By this time, the students will have been out of communication with their parents and friends since the day started, giving the program more of reality.

At the Student Retreat, the students participated in team building activities. They also heard from impact speakers who related firsthand stories about how their lives have changed from losing a loved one to a drunk driver.

According to Detective Salisbury, “the devastating effects of each person that is killed by a drunk driver constitutes a lifelong sentence that the family and friends must endure without their loved one.” The evening of the Student Retreat will end with some very emotional exercises where each student will be asked to write a goodbye letter to a loved one.

The parents of the participating students will also attend a Parent Retreat. This debriefing allows the parents to come together and share with each other, their experiences of receiving death notifications. Additionally, the parents of the DUI crash students can share their emotions after seeing their child in a serious car crash situation. The parents, remembering that they have not spoken to their child since they left for school and, having since received a death notification, will also participate in writing a goodbye letter to their child.

Day Two of the project.

The next morning, all of the juniors, seniors, parents, school staff, sponsors, volunteers, officers, emergency personnel, and guests were assembled in the school gymnasium. Even with school championship banners lining the walls, this normally cheerful sports venue was amazingly silent as the students focused their attention on posters that displayed accident scenes.

After everyone is seated, the sound of a bagpipe playing “Amazing Grace” is heard as a kilted police officer enters the gym leading a procession of student pallbearers on each side of a mahogany casket followed by mourners. As the casket is positioned front and center, the mourners file past, each laying a flower in the casket.

A bagpiper plays while students place flowers on the casket of a fellow student.

Projected onto a screen above, begins a video. The upbeat music shows the vibrant lives of the students who had died in the crash, their childhood photos, and accomplishments in school, cheerleading, sports, and theater performances.

Suddenly the music changes and the video transitions to scenes from the prior day’s accident. The music stops, and the frantic 911 call is heard. The entire prior day’s event once again unfolds, but this time the camera brings the audience up close, and the injuries of the accident victims are all too real looking. The video, in the form of a news report, showed students what happens when an accident victim arrives at the University Medical Center trauma, the morgue, Clark County Detention Center, and the Regional Justice Center. And even though the parents know that their child is not actually dead, seeing their son for the first time as the blue body bag is unzipped and his bloody body reviled, is still shocking and true emotion overcomes them.

By this time, looking around the gym, I saw many of the students are wiping the tears from their eyes. I watch as one of the mourners seated up front, reach for a box of tissues to hand to the young lady next to him as he nervously tries to soothe her emotions by rubbing her leg and holding her hand.

At the end of the video, Dr. Jim Preddy of the UMC Trauma Center walked to the microphone. Preddy told the audience that 23 years ago while driving home from work, he witnessed a head-on collision and stopped to lend what assistance he could. It was that incident that inspired him to become a physician.

Dr. Jim Preddy describes an x-ray taken of an accident victim

With a clicker in hand, Preddy gave descriptions of slide after slide. First, a view of the bloody ER room floor after an event. Then, a series of x-rays including the head trauma of a driver that was ejected from his car because he was not wearing a seatbelt; the teenage girl who was riding with her drunk boyfriend, without a seatbelt and her entire body was ejected from the vehicle—except for her arm.  One of the most dramatic is the description of the x-ray of a young teenage girl who is partially thrown out of a vehicle and internally decapitated where the spinal cord is completely snapped from her neck.

Preddy gives the audience some very sobering facts.

• One-third of drinking and driving accidents involve teens between the age of 16 and 20.
• Thirty-one percent of all automobile fatalities involve drinking and driving.

After Preddy’s dramatic presentation, Detective Salisbury once again stepped to the microphone. “I would like to introduce…,” Salisbury started to say when suddenly his voice cracked and he paused to try to gather his composure. “I would like to introduce,” he continued, clearing his throat, “one of the strongest women that I know—Joan Eddowes.”

Joan Eddows describes what it is like to lose her son, just 17 years of age, to a drunk driver.

Eddowes 17-year-old son Mark, was killed on Memorial Day Weekend, May 24, 1991. Mark’s work had called to offer him an extra shift that day, which he took to earn some extra money for a date with his girlfriend. After riding the city bus from work to a stop near the entrance to his subdivision, Mark was hit by a drunk driver while walking home. His body so badly injured that it was impossible to have an open casket funeral. Eddowes’s tearful heart-wrenching story moved nearly everyone in the gymnasium.

Following Eddowes, one of the walking dead students read a letter that she had written to her fellow students, urging them to think about what they had seen and to remember the pain that is caused by one careless act. A second letter, written by the parents of a walking dead student, was emotionally read as if it were real, and perhaps to them, it was, where they talked about how much they loved and missed their child and how life would not be the same without him.

Parents of a “walking dead student” read a heartfelt letter to their son.

Faith Lutheran High School has a Mission Statement, “Everyone Prepared! Everyone Saved!” While the description of this two-day event and accompanying photos cannot come close to the powerful message that was delivered through this program, I hope that this article will at least cause the readers to at least think.

Everyone Prepared! Everyone Saved!

Think about drinking and driving. Think about wearing your seatbelts. Think about calling someone for a ride home rather than getting into the car with a drunk driver.

The Clark County Metropolitan Police Department stages about four of these dramatic learning events each year. The officers, fire department personnel, paramedics, and everyone else involved at the hospital, court, and coroner’s office either volunteer their time or work the shift as part of their regular duty. In a community effort to promote safety and save lives, there are approximately 50 sponsors of the “Every 15 Minutes” program, and despite the amount of time and logistics involved, the total out of pocket cost of this exercise is only around $5,000—but the impact is priceless.

For more information about the “Every 15 Minutes” program, contact officer Justin White at every15minutes@lvmpd.com.

 

Aftaz Aquaponics Systems wins Southern Nevada Business Plan Competition

By CRAIG A. RUARK SPECIAL TO LAS VEGAS BUSINESS PRESS

July 17, 2017 – 7:52 am

  

Leith Martin director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, left, and Anthony Marrocco present a check to competition winners Claudia Andracki and Stephanie Kramer-Vega of Aftaz Aquaponics Systems. (Courtesy UNLV)

Beyond the glitz and glamor of the Las Vegas Strip, sequestered behind office doors, in garages and tiny laboratories, visionaries work tirelessly, often foregoing life’s luxuries, in a quest to create something incredible and perhaps life-changing.

Such is the case of the five teams that made the final cut in the eighth annual Dominic Anthony Marrocco Southern Nevada Business Plan Competition, this summer.

The competition is managed by the UNLV Lee Business School Center for Entrepreneurship.

“Through these types of events we can continue to help diversify the local economy, as well as support local entrepreneurs in their efforts to build companies here in Las Vegas,” said Leith Martin, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship.

 

On June 9, Aftaz Aquaponics Systems was selected as the winner. Designed to grow vegetable crops in the arid desert, Aquaponics is a two-stage system that uses hydroponic technology combined with aquaculture (the raising of fish) to grow vegetable plants. The plants are grown in a hydroponic tank and the fish are raised in their separate aquaculture tank. As waste from the fish builds up, it is pumped from the tank and treated with natural bacteria that converts the waste matter to nutrients that are usable by the plants. In exchange, the plants absorb the beneficial nutrients and provide fresh, clean water that is transferred back to the fish tank. Because of the closed loop system, very little water is lost except through natural evaporation making the technology highly water efficient. Also, the plants survive on natural nutrients without the need of chemical fertilizers. For more information about the company, visit aftazgrowingsystems.com.

Other contenders for the top prize included

• RADs (Resilient Arthroplasty Devices), which was developed by R. Thomas Grotz, M.D. as an alternative to knee replacement surgery. RADs are 3-D printed polymer caps that are arthroscopically fitted over arthritic knee joints to preserve joint integrity, reduce pain and improve function with the goal of avoiding radical knee replacement surgery.

• Tech Start Academy, a program designed to teach children as young as 4 how to build websites using WordPress. The company also teaches students how to create professional graphics and a YouTube channel, techstartacademy.com/pages/academy.

• Window Magic is developing a product that combines existing computer and smartphone technologies to control your living environment beyond what is currently available today. The key to its success is an organic light emitting diode that is installed into a window and is used to change the glass from transparent to a visual scene like a painting. The team plans to market Window Magic to high-end resorts.

• Revive, makes sports gear and its biggest seller is a round bag with a handle and shoulder straps for carrying a basketball. The trio of partners, who in 2011, started their company in the garage of their east Las Vegas home, have already achieved moderate success. They will be featured on an upcoming episode of Steve Harvey’s “Funderdome,” a new series developed by Mark Burnett where budding entrepreneurs go head-to-head to win over a live studio audience and win a cash prize, revivebrandco.com.

Aftaz Aquaponics Systems won $10,000 in cash from the competition sponsor Dominic Anthony Marrocco. In addition, the winner received over $41,000 in prizes were awarded, including $10,000 in legal services from Howard and Howard, $11,500 in accounting services from Eide Bailly and $9,600 in virtual office services from St Rose Executive Suites and $10,000 in advertising from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The winner of this competition cannot collect its prizes unless it incorporates and take its product to market.

During the past seven years, more than $600,000 in cash and prizes have been awarded to the winning teams.

In late May, 18 teams submitted a three- to five-page executive summary, outlining the key aspects of their business concept. All submissions were rated by at least two judges from the community and UNLV Lee Business School faculty. The 10 highest-rated summaries advanced to the semi-finals.

The teams selected to be semi-finalists were required to submit a full business plan, including financial projections, for review by a panel of judges, comprised of professional investors, entrepreneurs, and advisors. However, unlike other business plan competitions, specifically organized around academics and based solely on the business plan composition, this contest looks at the viability of the proposed business. One of the questions the judges had to ask themselves was: Would you consider investing in this team? The five highest-scoring teams then advance to the finals.

In the final round, the five finalists were asked to give a 15-minute investor pitch, followed by a 15-minute question-and-answer period in a daylong event held at UNLV.

Oquendo Center provides surgical training to veterinarians and physician events

In 2009, WVC opened the Oquendo Center at the corner of Eastern Avenue and Oquendo Road across from the McCarran International Airport. (Courtesy)

By CRAIG A. RUARK
SPECIAL TO THE LAS VEGAS BUSINESS PRESS

The WVC is a Las Vegas-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that has been providing comprehensive, progressive and practical continuing education to veterinary professionals since 1928. Prior to their name change in 2014, the WVC was known as the Western Veterinary Conference. Since that time the group has expanded its physical presence and extended surgical training to medical doctors across the globe.

In 2009, WVC opened the Oquendo Center at the corner of Eastern Avenue and Oquendo Road across from McCarran International Airport. The 66,000-square-foot facility includes a 190-seat theater, flexible meeting space accommodating various capacities, and clinical and diagnostic laboratories. In 2016, more than 3.500 people attended a veterinary course and expansion is underway to increase the campus size to more than 134,000 square feet by 2019.

Since its opening, the Oquendo Center has hosted over 1,000 veterinary and human medical events, training over 23,000 veterinary professionals and nearly 24,000 medical doctors and surgeons. Participants in Oquendo Center courses experience a variety of learning styles from hands-on labs and lectures to professional and career development workshops; as well as networking functions and special events.

The technologically advanced WVC also provides access to an online community forum where participants can exchange ideas, network and increase industry knowledge through shared experiences. With 36,000 opt-in subscribers, the community forum continues to build momentum.

Each year, the Dr. Jack Walther Leadership Award is given to 33 doctor of veterinary medicine students and two veterinary technician students who are actively involved in their school and show long-term leadership potential.

Nearly 500 students have received the $1,000 award along with complimentary registration, lodging, airfare and a daily stipend to attend the WVC Annual Conference.

While most people think about veterinary medicine in connection with their pets, The Dr. W. Bruce Wren Food Animal Incentive Award offered by WVC, recognizes five graduates from veterinary colleges/schools who enter the food animal practice or other careers directly related to food animal practice. These veterinarians are responsible for the health of animals that provide a food source for humans. Award recipients are interns or first-year residents in theriogenology (the study of reproduction), production medicine or food animal medicine/surgery with a training program recognized by The American Association of Veterinary Clinicians.

In addition to ongoing studies, the WVC Annual Conference, now in its 89th year, hosts one of the largest gatherings of veterinary professionals.

In 2016, nearly 15,000 participants from the 50 states as well as 43 countries spanning six continents converged at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Attendees were able to choose from more than 1,000 continuing education hours in avian and exotics, equine, food animal, practice management, small animal and veterinary technician. When surveyed, 85 percent of the participants said they are “extremely likely” or “likely” to recommend the WVC Annual Conference to a colleague.

Because of the history and success of the WVC Annual Conference, it was chosen by CadmiumCD to launch eventScribe Boost, an “enhanced meeting planning application” during the 2016 event. The eventScribe App allows meeting planners, speakers or vendors to log in and view conference information that is related to their specific role.

The WVC also is very involved with the Las Vegas community and provides a variety of resources, supplies and staff time in support of local charities.

Since 2014, the WVC has worked with the Desert Tortoise Group to help control the domesticated tortoise population in Nevada, providing health checks, microchipping, tagging and sterilization procedures.

The staff participates in a variety of programs to donate gifts and food to local schoolchildren and military personnel and their K-9 colleagues, stationed overseas. They also have participated in the Three Square program that seeks to meet the needs of almost 300,000 food-insecure people in the area.

The Oquendo Center staff works closely with local animal shelters and ensure that all animals are properly sterilized, health-checked and, in some cases, socialized for a better chance of adoption. Facility space is donated to nonprofit groups such as K-9 Medic, when the center is not booked for other courses. The Oquendo Center staff also volunteers its own time to community vaccination events in low-income areas.

Downtown learning center supports businesses with classes, resources

The RedFlint Experience Center, 300 S. 4th St. in Las Vegas (Bill Hughes/Las Vegas Business Press)

Stephenie Golden, vice-president of enterprise resource management for the University of Phoenix, left, helps Fred Loguidice create a framework for his new business at the RedFlint Experience Center. (Bill Hughes/Las Vegas Business Press)

Part of the interior of the RedFlint Experience Center. (Bill Hughes/Las Vegas Business Press)

By CRAIG A. RUARK
SPECIAL TO THE LAS VEGAS BUSINESS PRESS

RedFlint is an extension of the University of Phoenix. Located at 300 S. Fourth Street in downtown Las Vegas, the facility has an open-door policy that encourages intellectual collaboration and exchange of ideas. To accomplish its goal, RedFlint features a rotating showcase of technologies that are designed to inspire entrepreneurs and demonstrate the ways that technology can help enhance and advance their business.

The showcases update on a quarterly basis and feature on-going classes that teach the use of tools such as SAS Analytical Software that uses technology to gather, analyze and manage business intelligence; and Toolwire Cybersecurity Experience, enabling students to walk through scenarios to see how cybersecurity impacts real world situations.

RedFlint offers training for Double Robot and virtual reality software and the role it will play in the future of business.

Many of Redflint’s classes are held on weekends and in the late afternoon or evenings to allow students to attend after normal work hours.

RedFlint’s innovative Iron Yard Ventures is a 13-week program that works with startup companies to solve problems in the hospitality and entertainment industries. Startups receive equity investments to help grow their company and present their progress to investors at the end of the program. Iron Yard Ventures is privately owned and is the sister company of Iron Yard Code Bootcamp. IYV manages the accelerator aspect of RedFlint.

One of the Iron Yard Ventures success stories is a company called MentalHappy that delivers a “Cheerbox” that is customized for the recipient.

In 2016, RedFlint received the Elearning! Media Group’s Learning! 100 Award as one of the top 10 leaders in innovation and the forward thinking design of education.

Lotus introduces all-new Evora 400

Bill Hughes is shown during a test drive event April 22 in the parking lot at Lotus of Las Vegas

By Craig A. Ruark, Special to Drive

To say that driving the new Lotus Evora 400 is exciting would be an understatement of major proportion. Potential customers got the chance to test drive the vehicle April 21-22 at Lotus of Las Vegas, 6401 Centennial Blvd.

As you approach the Evora from the side, you cannot help but notice the sleek lines that somehow make it look as if the automobile is flying, even while standing still. Part of the illusion is created by the fact that the rear tire rims are 20 inches in diameter while the front rims are 19 inches.

The midengine placement also makes the exterior features much higher in the back while allowing the front end to cut a deep sloping angle into the wind. Looking at the Evora from the front, it almost takes on a human-like, mischievous facial expression, with its slanted hood, wide grill and deep-seated headlights.

It is not until you sit inside the Evora, however, that you realize that this is a truly well-built machine. The Evora 400 weighs in at only 3,179 pounds, yet the doors feel heavy and solid. And despite the aerodynamic windshield and side windows, there is plenty of room for the driver and passenger in this two-seater. Oh yes, there is a little bench seat in the back, which is not very practical for human passengers but great for carrying groceries, a couple of overnight bags, or perhaps a medium-size dog.

The bucket seats are covered in a rich-looking hand-stitched leather with firm but extremely comfortable cushioning and contoured support that will accommodate most any body shape and size. Adding to the luxury look and feel of the interior is the matching hand-stitched leather center console, dashboard and steering wheel.

The Evora comes with a sports ratio six-speed manual transmission or optional six-speed automatic. While the automatic transmission is faster than the manual transmission, due to the human aspect, the “Quaife Limited Slip Differential,” only available with the manual transmission, does allow the car to get more traction and hold the road better. Also helping the Evora hold the road is an exceptionally rigid and strong chassis with a fully independent suspension, anti-roll bar, Eibach springs with Bilstein dampers and a lightweight rear sport diffuser that delivers an extra 50 pounds of downforce.

The car that I drove was an automatic and, unlike most cars, the shifter was replaced with buttons for park, neutral and drive, all within comfortable reach on the center console. The dashboard is well laid out with easy-to-read instruments including a display screen for viewing the rear-facing camera and rear parking sensor, Satellite navigation, entertainment options and Bluetooth communication.

OK, time to start the engine, and words can hardly describe the low throaty sound that comes out of the 3.5-liter V-6, 24-valve, water-cooled, 400-horsepower, all aluminum, Toyota Camry engine with Edelbrock supercharger. The all-titanium exhaust system almost makes the car sound like it is purring at idle with a deep burble that gets your attention but is not too loud.

Step on the gas and this baby goes from zero to 60 mph in just 4.1 seconds, and you can hear the power as it shifts through the gears.

On the day of my test drive, Lotus of Las Vegas set up a test track in the parking lot behind the dealership. Arthur Merabian, internet sales manager, took me for a two-lap spin around the track to show me how the Evora 400 performs and to familiarize me with the track. In the hands of an experienced driver such as Merabian, you feel like you are strapped into an Indycar and racing the Grand Prix; this car was made for tight turns and open-road driving.

Even with an automatic transmission, the tires squealed off the starting line, and at over 55 mph through the first sweeping 60-degree turn, the car had a solid grip on the pavement without any sideways movement. Shooting the short straightaway, the Evora wasted no time building speed then shot through the four zig-zag obstacles with superb precision.

The straightaway at the end gave the Evora some running room and, while we didn’t hit the 185 mph top end that this vehicle is capable of doing, Merabian set me firmly against the back of the seat when he floored the accelerator. Even at high speed, stopping was not a problem with the Servo-assisted two-piece cross-drilled and ventilated brake discs with AP Racing four-piston calipers.

I took the wheel and did three laps around the track, each one progressively faster but nowhere close to the speed that Merabian was driving. But I could feel the power of the engine with each millimeter of pressure on the gas pedal and the response of the incredible steering system with each subtle movement of the wheel.

Everyone who drove the Evora 400 that day had nothing but praise for the automobile.

Jill Halverson, a mild-mannered middle school teacher by day, but an experienced SCCA AutoCross driver in her spare time, drove the Evora around the track in nearly record time.

“I’d sell my first child for one,” Halverson said after her test run. After hearing the Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price of $89,900, Halverson decided that she would have to look for an alternative way to raise the money.

“My son’s probably not worth that much; he doesn’t do chores very well,” she said.

Halverson described the handling as “very intuitive.” She also thought the seats were very comfortable for normal street driving.

“But on the track, the all-leather seats tend to be slippery, and I would rather have cloth seats if I were to race the Evora,” she said.

Lotus actually has an answer to the slippery seat problem and offers a bucket seat with a combination of suede in the seating area and finished leather around the outside. No cloth seats for this race horse.

Frank Leonard is a competitive go-cart racer in his spare time and described the Evora’s handling as “crisp and tight.”

Check it out

The Evora 400 can be seen at Lotus of Las Vegas, 6401 Centennial Center Blvd. For information, call 702-784-1111 or visit lotusoflasvegas.com.

Industry leaders gather at Convene for Green Conference

Jan Jones Blackhurst and Tom Perrigo present the Lifetime Achievement in Sustainability Award to Gary Wood, Green Chips co-founder and Renewable Energy Program manager for the Las Vegas Valley Water District/Southern Nevada Water Authority. (Craig Ruark/Las Vegas Business Press)

By Craig A. Ruark

Special to the Las Vegas Business Press

On March 9 at the Rio, Green Chips held its annual Convene for Green Conference with panel discussions about past community successes and future needs.

One of the highlights of the event was the debut of the nine-year-old public-private group’s new name and logo. Green Chips’ tree sprouting green poker chips was replaced with a modern logo showcasing the new name, Impact Nevada.

The initial idea and conversation for the development of Green Chips revolved around green practices. Today, that conversation has changed or evolved to include environment, nature, health, economy, energy, social equity, transportation and other elements that create a sustainable community. The Green Chips board elected to rebrand the organization to reflect this philosophy.

During the afternoon and evening event, 140 attendees, which included politicians, corporate executives and community organizers, heard four presentations that included:

■ Our Future in Energy:This addressed recent renewable energy initiatives’ impacts on our community and how the public and private sectors are working to achieve goals.

■ Art in Focus: This talk was presented by Jean-Francois Michaud, director of corporate social responsibility for Cirque du Soleil.

■ Our Future in Medicine: This presentation included a deep dive into individual and collaborative goals toward making our region a global center for health and wellness. (Highlights on page 7.)

■ Collaboration in Focus: This discussion showcased federal, state, regional and local collaborations that are scaling urban agriculture in our region. Highlighting the discussion was the development of the Zion Choice Neighborhood Community Garden Park, a vacant desert lot that is being converted to a community garden to teach residents how to grow vegetables and cook healthy meals.

To close the conference, Jan Jones Blackhurst, executive vice president of government relations and corporate responsibility for Caesars Entertainment, former mayor of Las Vegas and one of the founding members of Green Chips, along with co-founding member Tom Perrigo, director of planning and chief sustainability officer for the city of Las Vegas, discussed the influence that Green Chips has had on the community.

The group was founded in 2008, when a small group of five individuals decided that it would be a great idea to promote a green agenda to the local businesses and community leaders. It was organized to become a public-private partnership that advances environmental sustainability initiatives by bringing together major employers, utilities and public agencies to collaborate on the idea of sustainability.

“What was unique about Green Chips at the time and what I have always liked with Las Vegas is taking the opportunity to surprise people. People have perceptions about who we are, what we are, what we stand for and what we do. So putting together a program that defined this community as a leader in sustainable practices was just too good of an opportunity to pass,” Blackhurst said.

“When you step back and look at what we have accomplished together and as individuals, in our companies and our organizations, it really is phenomenal what has happened over these last nine years, and a large part of that is because of Green Chips,” Perrigo said.

Some of those successes are:

■ Introduction of the annual Green Chips State of Sustainability Report.

■ Powering the Welcome to Las Vegas sign with renewable solar energy.

■ Sean’s Park at Opportunity Village, a 2.5-acre park designed for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

■ More than 5,000 residential homes placed on sustainability programs.

“When we first started with Tom, there were five of us, and we were hoping that we could find some other interested corporate sponsors. And what really happened is that the community came together as it has done so many times and said, not only are we going to do this, but we are going to do it bigger and better and with more enthusiasm than anybody else could imagine,” Blackhurst said.

“We do things, and then we become the model for the rest of the country, and that is what is so amazing about all of the people in the room today,” Blackhurst said.

“A lot of the conversation today at Convene for Green has been around how do we create that perception of our community that is going to draw in the talent, the companies, the workers to create the workforce and that is really important to our community moving forward,” Perrigo said.

Rounding out the event were the 2017 Community Sustainability Awards, given to those who have shown exemplary effort and achievement in making Southern Nevada a better, more productive and sustainable place to live. Receiving awards were:

■ Sustainable Leader Award– Arash Ghafoori, executive director, Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth

■ Sustainable Community Award – Conservation District of Southern Nevada

■ Sustainable Future Award – West Technical and Career Academy

■ Lifetime Achievement in Sustainability – Gary Wood, Green Chips co-founder and Renewable Energy Program manager for the Las Vegas Valley Water District/Southern Nevada Water Authority.

Green Chips, being rebranded as Impact Nevada, is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that assists partner agencies in aggregating federal, state, local and foundation financial resources to encourage clean energy, environmental conservation projects, social equity initiatives and improving the quality of life in Nevada.

Capriotti’s founder dies at Las Vegas home at Age 68

Capriott’s founder Lois Margolet

By CRAIG A. RUARK
SPECIAL TO LAS VEGAS BUSINESS PRESS

If you mention the names Ray Kroc, Dave Thomas, Carl Karcher and Col. Harland Sanders, most Americans will recognize them as giants in the fast food industry.

However, while few people would know the name Lois Margolet, millions would certainly recognize the name Capriotti’s, the sandwich brand she created that would ultimately set the standard for quality.

On Jan. 12, Margolet died in her Las Vegas home as the result of lung cancer. She was 68.

Capriotti’s moved its headquarters from Wilmington, Delaware to Las Vegas in 2008, when Ashley Morris and business partner Jason Smylie acquired the company. Capriotti’s has 105 restaurants, largely in Nevada and the Mid-Atlantic states.

The news spread quickly from one coast to the other as politicians and loyal patrons of the 105 sandwich shops in Las Vegas and the mid-Atlantic states mourned her death.

Cindy Cutler, Margolet’s niece and manager of a Capriotti’s near New Castle, Delaware, called her aunt a “tremendously smart” businesswoman.

“She had an incredible drive and did everything possible to make her dream come true,” Cutler said. “But Lois, the person, was also the most generous and loving person you would ever want to meet.”

Her sister, Ann Gwinn, said: “Those who knew Lois will (remember her) for so much more than a sandwich, but for how she treated everyone around her. She always worried about that faction of business — not just what it would bring to her but how (it was) going to impact somebody else’s life.”

In 1976, at the age of 28, Margolet quit her job at Military Base Management to open the first Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop at 510 N. Union St. in Wilmington, Delaware, the same Little Italy neighborhood where she grew up. Securing a $13,000 bank loan to purchase a $10,257 storefront, Margolet had exactly $2,743 to start her mom-and-pop sub shop, which she named after her grandfather, Philip Capriotti.

“She opened at a time when women in business wasn’t the norm,” Cutler said. “Everybody told her she wouldn’t survive.”

According to a 1976 Census Bureau report, women owned less than 5 percent of all businesses and produced less than 1 percent of total sales in the U.S.

“All the equipment she bought was used, and she even borrowed from some of the local bookies to get what she needed,” Gwinn said. “All she wanted was her own business.”

In the early years, Margolet struggled. There were times when she was forced to go out and get second jobs — side jobs — to make sure she had enough money to keep the business going.

Margolet’s mother even talked her youngest child, Alan, into leaving his job at Rodel, a small automotive repair and maintenance company in Newark, N.J., to help his older sister at the new shop.

What made Capriotti’s different from all of the other sandwich shops was that Margolet insisted on using the finest natural ingredients. She did not use processed meats.

One of Margolet’s biggest successes and what would become her signature creation is the Bobbie, a sandwich made of turkey with cranberry sauce, stuffing and mayo on a sub bun — in the spirit of a sandwich her Aunt Bobbie used to serve on the day after Thanksgiving.

Initially, Margolet put the sandwich on the menu for a limited time during the holidays, but it became such a great success that they couldn’t take it off the menu. Today, each shop slow-roasts eight to 10 whole turkeys for 12 hours every night and pulls the meat by hand every morning.

In fact, the Bobbie tastes so good that it was responsible for the USA victory in the 2014 World Cup of Sandwiches final. The Bobbie, the Capriotti’s sandwich appointed as the nation’s standard-bearer, defeated the German Döner from Döner Bistro, taking 61 percent of the 1,476 votes, according to the contest’s judges.

The Capastrami (hot pastrami, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing and cole slaw) stacked high with premium ingredients is another signature favorite among patrons.

In Nation’s Restaurant News’ Top 200 census, Capriotti’s reported 2015 U.S. system-wide sales of $63.7 million across 90 units, including 13 company locations and 77 franchised restaurants. System average unit volumes in fiscal 2015 were $707,410.

Company’s goal is to become Silicon Valley of water technology

WaterStart Executive Director Nathan Allen, left, with staff members Rebecca Shanahan, Secilia Sample, and Raja Bushnell, pose in front of the WaterStart booth at the Water Smart Conference, which was held in Las Vegas in October. (Craig A. Ruark, Las Vegas Business Press)

By CRAIG A. RUARK
SPECIAL TO LAS VEGAS BUSINESS PRESS

 

WaterStart, a Las Vegas-based nonprofit partnership of public- and private-sector organizations, is working to diversify the Las Vegas economy, create job growth and provide answers to drought and water quality issues in Nevada. Its goal is for Las Vegas to become the Silicon Valley of water technology.

A spinoff from the Desert Research Institute, WaterStart is a 501(C)6 organization that gets its funding from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. It also receives matching funds for specific projects from its public and private partners, Southern Nevada and Truckee Meadows water authorities, MGM Resorts, Winnemucca Farms, LVGEA, Reno Sparks Tahoe Economic Development Authority, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and University of Nevada, Reno.

Entering its second year of funding, WaterStart was networking with more than 1,500 water conservation professionals from the U.S., Canada and Mexico during the ninth annual Water Smart Innovations Conference and Exposition at the South Point in October.

Nathan Allen, executive director of the WaterStart initiative, explained that there are three basic drivers to the organization: to solve water challenges in Nevada through the use of new and innovative technology, build partnerships between private industry and the academic community and diversify the economy by attracting new businesses that create jobs.

To find these innovative technologies, Allen, with a Bachelor of Arts in environmental science and geology and a master’s degree in environmental education, has participated in the Governor’s Trade Mission, most recently to Australia, in an effort to facilitate an exchange of ideas.

The WaterStart team is not looking at conceptual ideas; it is only interested in prototypes that have been proven in the laboratory but have not had the opportunity to bring the product to market.

In the past 23 months, the four-member WaterStart team has vetted more than 150 technologies, received proposals from more than 60 companies that want to work with them and funded eight projects.

One of the projects is the installation of more than 3 miles of leak detection equipment on the water line that runs below the Las Vegas Strip. Edchologics, a Canadian company, is the first to develop this technology using a special microphone called a hydrophone that can hear water escaping. Another company, Syrinix, headquartered in the U.K., also is testing their TrunkMinder and PipeMinder on water lines in the valley to monitor pressure and flow data.

WaterStart is also responsible for bringing IONEX, a California company that builds customized, small-scale water treatment plants to Nevada. IONEX plans to build an assembly and research and development facility in North Las Vegas, and estimates are this company will bring $2.5 million in tax revenue to the state.

IMGeospatial, a British company, has worked with utility companies throughout Europe to supply water managers with automatic cloud-based analytics for their internal geospatial platforms. WaterStart paired the company with the Desert Research Institute to utilize its automated, patent-pending flood-modeling solutions. WaterStart is also close to completing a deal with IMGeospatial that will establish a Las Vegas branch office to house a software development team.

Winnemucca Farms, the largest agricultural producer in the state with 35,000 acres of irrigated land, has adopted water-saving irrigation technologies from around the world. Working with WaterStart, it is experimenting with a company that uses drone technology to measure plant stress from the air and improve irrigation precision while saving even more water.

All 17 counties in Nevada have been under a Drought Emergency Declaration since 2012. Besides having a lack of water for drinking, the drought has caused major problems with the buildup of nitrates in the groundwater.

Its goal is for Las Vegas to become the Silicon Valley of water technology.

A spinoff from the Desert Research Institute, WaterStart is a 501(C)6 organization that gets its funding from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. It also receives matching funds for specific projects from its public and private partners, Southern Nevada and Truckee Meadows water authorities, MGM Resorts, Winnemucca Farms, LVGEA, Reno Sparks Tahoe Economic Development Authority, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and University of Nevada, Reno.

Entering its second year of funding, WaterStart was networking with more than 1,500 water conservation professionals from the U.S., Canada and Mexico during the ninth annual Water Smart Innovations Conference and Exposition at the South Point in October.

Nathan Allen, executive director of the WaterStart initiative, explained that there are three basic drivers to the organization: to solve water challenges in Nevada through the use of new and innovative technology, build partnerships between private industry and the academic community and diversify the economy by attracting new businesses that create jobs.

To find these innovative technologies, Allen, with a Bachelor of Arts in environmental science and geology and a master’s degree in environmental education, has participated in the Governor’s Trade Mission, most recently to Australia, in an effort to facilitate an exchange of ideas.

The WaterStart team is not looking at conceptual ideas; it is only interested in prototypes that have been proven in the laboratory but have not had the opportunity to bring the product to market.

In the past 23 months, the four-member WaterStart team has vetted more than 150 technologies, received proposals from more than 60 companies that want to work with them and funded eight projects.

One of the projects is the installation of more than 3 miles of leak detection equipment on the water line that runs below the Las Vegas Strip. Edchologics, a Canadian company, is the first to develop this technology using a special microphone called a hydrophone that can hear water escaping. Another company, Syrinix, headquartered in the U.K., also is testing their TrunkMinder and PipeMinder on water lines in the valley to monitor pressure and flow data.

WaterStart is also responsible for bringing IONEX, a California company that builds customized, small-scale water treatment plants to Nevada. IONEX plans to build an assembly and research and development facility in North Las Vegas, and estimates are this company will bring $2.5 million in tax revenue to the state.

IMGeospatial, a British company, has worked with utility companies throughout Europe to supply water managers with automatic cloud-based analytics for their internal geospatial platforms. WaterStart paired the company with the Desert Research Institute to utilize its automated, patent-pending flood-modeling solutions. WaterStart is also close to completing a deal with IMGeospatial that will establish a Las Vegas branch office to house a software development team.

Winnemucca Farms, the largest agricultural producer in the state with 35,000 acres of irrigated land, has adopted water-saving irrigation technologies from around the world. Working with WaterStart, it is experimenting with a company that uses drone technology to measure plant stress from the air and improve irrigation precision while saving even more water.

All 17 counties in Nevada have been under a Drought Emergency Declaration since 2012. Besides having a lack of water for drinking, the drought has caused major problems with the buildup of nitrates in the groundwater.

UNLV to capitalize on patent technologies

By CRAIG RUARK
SPECIAL LAS VEGAS BUSINESS PRESS

COURTESY Zachary Miles, attorney and associate vice president for economic development at UNLV.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ Office of Economic Development is working to finally capitalize on years of research and development programs that have resulted in successful patents.

Most longtime Las Vegas residents may not realize that UNLV even engages in research activities.

“You could have told me they owned a unicorn and it would be just as believable.” said Bob Glennon, a 40-year resident of Las Vegas and managing partner of Las Vegas Sign and Flag.

The fact is that since 2009, UNLV’s staff and students have applied for and been awarded 179 patents, according to a report compiled by Zachary Miles, attorney and associate vice president for economic development at UNLV.

“Prior to 2009, nothing existed in the way of records for tracking patents owned by the university,” said Miles, who came on board in December 2013.

After organizing his department, Miles, who spent 10 years at the University of Utah in the technology commercialization office, began contacting with his network of individuals and organizations to track down current and future users of UNLV’s patent portfolio.

“We only have two or three technologies that are generating funding right now,” Miles said.

Miles connected with UNLV’s International Gaming Institute to compile a list of low-hanging fruit, such as software programs that were developed by the university and are being used in gaming applications. The next step was to sign agreements to collect revenue on UNLV’s intellectual property. In fiscal year 2013, which ended June 30, 2014, revenue from that low-hanging fruit amounted to $32,281.

Up until 2013, the university received zero dollars for its intellectual properties, but FY 2014 saw revenues climb to nearly $58,000. The revenue more than doubled to just more than $126,000 for FY 2015 and then doubled again in FY 2016 to over $252,000, according to a UNLV report.

This year, UNLV received $53.3 million in funding from federal grants, federal pass-through accounts, the state of Nevada, private industries and foundations and local businesses. This funding allowed for the continuation or startup of 389 research projects.

The UNLV International Gaming Institute averages about 15 disclosures each year. A disclosure is a document that announces a potential discovery or modification of an existing product or process that could result in the filing of a new patent.

“Of those, at least half, if not a little more, we are filing for a provisional patent,” Miles said. “Quite a few are being looked at by either gaming companies or resorts as possible licensing opportunities.”

The Institutes’s Center for Gaming Innovation enables students to create intellectual property, including casino games and innovations that have generated more than 30 patent applications to date. These patents and licensing agreements make up the majority of the $252,000 in revenue. The products are just starting to hit casino floors, according to a UNLV report.

But gaming is not the only research area benefiting from grants.

Recently, UNLV filed a patent on behalf of Zhiyong Wang, associate professor at the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering. Wang and his son developed a process that can increase the strength of a diamond by 5 percent.

Even though a diamond is the hardest naturally occurring substance found on Earth, it falls into the “crystalline solid” category, possessing microscopic defects, fault lines, dislocations, occlusions and inclusions that are points of weakness.

The discovery made by Wang and his son is that when diamonds are immersed into a low-temperature — below 212 degrees Fahrenheit — plasma environment on a vibrating surface, the plasma fills the voids and chemically bonds with the carbon elements of the diamond, thereby increasing its crushing strength index by at least 5 percent.

While the strength of the crystalline structure of a diamond is of no importance to the jewelry industry, the majority of diamonds mined are used for industrial purposes. Small diamond particles are embedded in saw blades, drill bits and grinding wheels. The strength of these diamond particles determines how many times a bit, blade or wheel can be used before its abrasiveness wears out.

Miles is working with his contacts to sell this patent process to manufacturers of diamond-embedded cutting tools to monetize this intellectual property. Miles also has reached out to UNLV’s Center for Entrepreneurship to build a business plan around the process and promote it to industry.

UNLV, like most universities, encourages research and development but retains the rights to intellectual property. The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 permits a university, small business or nonprofit to pursue patent ownership of an invention, even though the research may have been funded using government money. The act also specifies a reasonable split of the proceeds with the researchers.

UNLV is very generous to its research staff, allocating 60 percent to inventors; the norm at most public universities is 30 to 40 percent. The university department with the patent receives 25 percent of the revenue, while the remaining 15 percent is retained for administrative purposes, Miles said.

While UNLV has not had any truly life-changing patents to date, research is ongoing in two different areas that could put the university on the map.

One research team just developed a compound to prevent the Clostridium difficile bacterium from germinating and spreading. Often referred to as C. difficile or C. diff, this bacterium can cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation of the colon and most commonly affects older adults in hospitals or in longterm care facilities and typically occurs after use of antibiotic medications. Because of testing requirements by the Food and Drug Administration, Miles expects it to take about eight years before it becomes available for use.

Faculty and students of the College of Engineering teamed with Lockheed Martin to test materials and protocols for their Orion project. The Orion spacecraft is being designed for long-duration, human-rated deep-space exploration and is expected to take astronauts to Mars and return them safely back to Earth.

“This partnership will provide unique opportunities for our students to enhance their knowledge and research capabilities in exciting new areas and help accelerate the efforts of Lockheed Martin research activities and the nation’s ambitious space program,” said Rama Venkat, dean of the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering.