{"232201":{"#nid":"232201","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Innovation Ecosystem Draws AT\u0026T, Other Corporations to Georgia Tech and Midtown Atlanta","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAT\u0026amp;T Inc. officially opened its Foundry product development center at Technology Square on the Georgia Tech campus Aug. 27. The move gives AT\u0026amp;T a prominent place in a company-support system acknowledged as a leader in fostering both technology and business innovation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn its new location in the Centergy building on the edge of the Georgia Tech campus, the AT\u0026amp;T Foundry connects to the Institute\u2019s students, research program \u2013 and dozens of early-stage technology companies being incubated through Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.atdc.org\/\u0022\u003EAdvanced Technology Development Center\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.venturelab.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EVentureLab\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/flashpoint.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EFlashpoint\u003C\/a\u003E initiatives. Georgia Tech\u0027s incubation\/acceleration services are rated among the top such efforts worldwide by observers such as \u003Cem\u003EForbes\u003C\/em\u003E Magazine and Stockholm-based UBI Index.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMoreover, AT\u0026amp;T\u0027s new location places it close to Georgia Tech\u0027s many faculty-student research teams, as well as a variety of business and startup-support groups located in midtown Atlanta. And the Foundry is just a few floors away from other major multinational companies \u2013 its Centergy building neighbors include the Panasonic Innovation Center and the ThyssenKrupp (TK) Elevator Americas innovation facility, while NCR Corp.\u0027s Hosted Solutions Group is headquartered a block away at the Biltmore on West Peachtree Street.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022When we locate a Foundry facility, our number one criterion is to be part of an ecosystem that fosters innovation \u2013 which usually occurs at the intersection of premier education, high technology and an entrepreneurial mindset \u2013 and those are all things that we found at Technology Square,\u0022 said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO, AT\u0026amp;T Mobility. \u0022When I saw the startup company incubators there, and the entrepreneurs and the high-quality technical people from Georgia Tech who are driving them, I knew this is where we needed to be. In fact, we\u0027re already talking with a startup whose technology could significantly benefit our product offerings.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECollaborative Environments\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to Georgia Tech, the Foundry is collaborating extensively with networking leader Cisco Systems Inc., which employs nearly 2,000 people in the metro area.\u0026nbsp; Working with Cisco, AT\u0026amp;T will concentrate on developing products for Digital Life, AT\u0026amp;T\u2019s home security and automation service.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team will also create new applications and services related to such focus areas as the connected car, mobility, emerging devices, and AT\u0026amp;T U-verse. Cisco will collaborate with AT\u0026amp;T on projects, and will also help identify key third-party developers, startups, investors, inventors and other entrepreneurs to bring into the facility.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe $3 million total Foundry investment stems from the joint efforts of AT\u0026amp;T, Cisco and Georgia Tech, along with state and local involvement. The Foundry in Atlanta is only the fourth such venture for AT\u0026amp;T \u2013 the company has similar centers in Palo Alto, Calif.; Plano, Texas, and Tel Aviv, Israel.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe many startups found on Technology Square are largely a result of the ATDC startup accelerator, which provides coaching, connections and even office space to many young Georgia companies. ATDC\u0027s work is aided by Flashpoint, which helps early-stage startups minimize risk and accelerate growth, and by VentureLab, which focuses on turning discoveries by Georgia Tech faculty, research staff and students into new companies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe collaborative environment of Tech Square extends to many Georgia Tech faculty-student research teams, which cooperate on hundreds of research projects with companies on campus and around the globe. These research teams often collaborate among themselves as well, reflecting Georgia Tech\u0027s strong emphasis on interdisciplinary cooperation among colleges, schools, departments and research institutes throughout campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I think it\u0027s widely recognized that the Technology Square innovation zone offers one of the world\u0027s top business-support infrastructures,\u0022 said Stephen Fleming, vice president and executive director of Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/innovate.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EEnterprise Innovation Institute\u003C\/a\u003E, which oversees ATDC and VentureLab. \u0022A critical mass has been forming around Georgia Tech based on a multi-faceted innovation environment, and companies come here because they\u0027re attracted by that range of capabilities, not just by a single center or research team or partner.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIncreasing Accessibility \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAT\u0026amp;T\u0027s interest in coming to Technology Square was supported by Georgia Tech outreach efforts aimed at helping potential partners with insight and ease of access to the innovations, new technologies and startup ventures developed and supported by Georgia Tech. Greg King of Georgia Tech\u2019s Strategic Partners office worked with AT\u0026amp;T as it examined the Georgia Tech and Atlanta environment.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022When you look at everything we\u0027re doing in the intersection of people and technology, the startup community, and the exciting faculty and student innovation \u2013 a Technology Square location was a great choice for AT\u0026amp;T, as it has been for other corporate partners like NCR, Panasonic and ThyssenKrupp,\u0022 King said. \u0022The \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ipat.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EInstitute for People and Technology\u003C\/a\u003E, the Georgia Tech Research Institute and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/atdc.site-ym.com\/?IndustryConnect\u0022\u003EATDC\u2019s Industry Connect\u003C\/a\u003E program that helps larger companies connect with relevant startup companies \u2013 all played a part in the selection of this area for AT\u0026amp;T\u2019s Foundry.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMaking Georgia Tech accessible to potential industry partners is a top priority, said Stephen E. Cross, executive vice president for research. The institute\u0027s expanded outreach toward industry \u2013 which organizes more than 200 research centers and laboratories into about a dozen core research areas \u2013 helps make Georgia Tech more accessible and understandable.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201dGeorgia Tech was founded with a mandate to foster economic development and to conduct research with relevance,\u0022 said Cross. \u0022Our innovation ecosystem helps give Georgia businesses \u2013 and multinational partners such as AT\u0026amp;T and others \u2013 straightforward access to our world-class basic and applied research capabilities and our \u0027One Georgia Tech\u0027 collaborative environment.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPanasonic Innovation Center at Centergy \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPanasonic Automotive Systems Company of America opened an innovation center in the Centergy Building in November 2012. Initially Panasonic opened the facility to gain access to Georgia Tech students and to north Atlanta residents for its Peachtree City, Ga.-based headquarters, said John Avery, group manager for the Panasonic Innovation Center.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut once the new innovation location was up and running, he said, it became clear that the Georgia Tech and Technology Square environment could directly benefit product development at the Automotive Systems division, which focuses on infotainment systems, sensors, switches, power systems and other products for vehicles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We\u0027re increasing our innovation focus, connecting with the startup community in midtown and participating in all the good things that are going on there \u2013 ATDC and Flashpoint and the Midtown Alliance and the Hypepotamus startup support group,\u0022 he said. \u0022There\u0027s a lot of great things happening at once, which are making midtown into a really significant location.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPanasonic\u0027s Centergy offices currently have space for about 40, Avery said. The center employs a number of Panasonic staffers, along with Georgia Tech students in intern and co-op roles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPanasonic recently sponsored the Convergence Innovation Competition (CIC) for students, and plans to sponsor other student efforts such as senior capstone projects. In addition, Avery said, innovation center executives plan to approach companies incubated at Georgia Tech and in the metro area about potential business opportunities with Automotive and other Panasonic divisions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENCR Expands in Midtown\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENCR opened an R\u0026amp;D center in the Centergy Building nearly three years ago to hire Georgia Tech students and work on mobile applications and cloud computing technologies. That effort was successful \u2013 so much so that the center soon moved to a larger space in the nearby Biltmore, which became home to the NCR Hosted Solutions Group.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022That first little office in Centergy really exceeded our expectations \u2013 we soon had formed a phenomenal team made up mostly of new Georgia Tech grads and interns,\u0022 said Mike Finley, chief technology officer for NCR\u2019s Hosted Solutions Group. \u0022It hit us right away what a focused and clever group of people we had. They were very entrepreneurial and very engaged \u2013 not only in the technology, but also in the kind of business that was being built.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EToday, the Hosted Solutions Group\u0027s R\u0026amp;D center has more than 50 employees \u2013 mostly full-time \u2013 at its Biltmore location, and expects to add up to 15 new people each year, he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECurrently, NCR is collaborating with a Georgia Tech faculty-student research team on a project involving the unstructured analysis of \u0022big data,\u0022 massive information sets that require special computation tools. In addition, the group is engaged with several small Georgia companies through the Flashpoint accelerator, and expects to be involved in Capstone Design courses in which Georgia Tech students develop real-world prototypes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We\u0027re working on a whole array of products \u2013 cloud and mobile applications, social applications and both consumer and business applications \u2013 and access to the skilled and highly motivated people we encounter at Georgia Tech is a vital part of our development strategy,\u0022 Finley said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThyssenKrupp Elevator Selects Georgia Tech\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThyssenKrupp Elevator Americas is heavily invested in the U.S., with a manufacturing plant and research center in Tennessee. The company conducted a lengthy assessment of U.S. engineering colleges before deciding to site its innovation facility at Georgia Tech, said Thomas Felis, vice president for innovation management.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We evaluated the scores of major U.S. engineering programs on a national basis, and considered what you might call the personality of each university,\u0022 he said. \u0022Georgia Tech was a more hands-on school than MIT and certain others \u2013 which is what we were looking for. And when we also considered the infrastructure, the lab space available, and the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute, we decided to come here.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFelis said that the ThyssenKrupp Elevator Innovation Center, which opened in January 2013, is already working with two Georgia Tech startup companies. The aim of the collaborations is to develop human interface improvements that could enhance elevator technology.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We also think a lot about lightweight material, vibration and noise cancellation, and about technologies like additive manufacturing and 3-D printing \u2013 and Georgia Tech is very strong in these areas,\u0022 he said. \u0022We have several research projects lined up with Tech, and we expect to start work on them very soon.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, GA\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contact\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986)(\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Rick Robinson\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAT\u0026amp;T Inc. officially opened its Foundry product development center at Technology Square on the Georgia Tech campus Aug. 27. The move gives AT\u0026amp;T a prominent place in a company-support system acknowledged as a leader in fostering both technology and business innovation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"An innovation ecosystem fueled by Georgia Tech is attracting AT\u0026T and other companies to Technology Square."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2013-08-27 20:25:03","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:14:46","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-08-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-08-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"232151":{"id":"232151","type":"image","title":"Foundry Visitors","body":null,"created":"1449243627","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:40:27","changed":"1475894906","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:26","alt":"Foundry Visitors","file":{"fid":"197580","name":"att-event-013.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/att-event-013_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/att-event-013_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":295432,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/att-event-013_0.jpg?itok=E6ue0-Xk"}},"232171":{"id":"232171","type":"image","title":"Foundry - Visitors","body":null,"created":"1449243627","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:40:27","changed":"1475894906","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:26","alt":"Foundry - Visitors","file":{"fid":"197582","name":"att-event-008.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/att-event-008_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/att-event-008_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":515528,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/att-event-008_0.jpg?itok=i3MYwJxq"}},"232161":{"id":"232161","type":"image","title":"Foundry - Dr. Peterson","body":null,"created":"1449243627","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:40:27","changed":"1475894906","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:26","alt":"Foundry - Dr. Peterson","file":{"fid":"197581","name":"att-event-003.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/att-event-003_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/att-event-003_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":190120,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/att-event-003_0.jpg?itok=4HZj269s"}},"232181":{"id":"232181","type":"image","title":"TK Elevator","body":null,"created":"1449243627","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:40:27","changed":"1475894906","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:26","alt":"TK Elevator","file":{"fid":"197583","name":"tkelevator2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tkelevator2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tkelevator2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1634904,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tkelevator2_0.jpg?itok=LpzGF8h5"}},"235591":{"id":"235591","type":"image","title":"Panasonic Innovation Center","body":null,"created":"1449243641","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:40:41","changed":"1475894779","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:19","alt":"Panasonic Innovation Center","file":{"fid":"197660","name":"panasonic1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/panasonic1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/panasonic1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1774848,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/panasonic1_0.jpg?itok=etnN9em9"}}},"media_ids":["232151","232171","232161","232181","235591"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"143","name":"Digital Media and Entertainment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"61391","name":"AT\u0026T"},{"id":"291","name":"Bud Peterson"},{"id":"4239","name":"incubator"},{"id":"341","name":"innovation"},{"id":"339","name":"NCR"},{"id":"49201","name":"Panasonic"},{"id":"2840","name":"Research Center"},{"id":"3263","name":"technology square"},{"id":"72441","name":"Thyssen-Krupp"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71901","name":"Society and Culture"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}