by Steve Bares (RSS) Economic Development | December 21st, 2012 3:00pm CDT | Comments Off
Recently, a group of scientists, academics, government officials and agriculture experts gathered at the Pommery Vineyard in the heart of the French Champagne region. But the subject wasn’t the making of the world’s most famous sparkling wines. Instead, the gathering was designed to discuss, critique and highlight the benefits of a potential bio-refinery and to [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Economic Development | October 8th, 2012 3:00pm CDT | Comments Off
As you read this blog entry, deep in the heart of the Memphis Bioworks offices, five “companies to be” are deep in preparations to take the next step toward commercialization and ultimately, they hope, business success. The five companies have very different products – a device that uses bionanotechnology for rapid diagnosis of bacterial infection, [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Economic Development | August 23rd, 2012 3:16pm CDT | Comments Off
Bioworks recently hosted Brad Smith, the interim director of Launch Tennessee. Brad was here for a quarterly review of the Greater Memphis Accelerator Consortium’s activities and an overview of the progress made in building the entrepreneurial landscape in Memphis. We had the opportunity to discuss more ways in which Memphis can partner and engage in [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Economic Development | July 2nd, 2012 3:07pm CDT | Comments Off
In early June, I had the privilege of attending the Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America) 2012 meeting in Chicago. I was there to represent the Memphis Bioworks AgBioworks Regional Initiative as one of the programs being recognized for its innovation and goals in terms of job creation and a combination of economic and environmental [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Economic Development | May 18th, 2012 1:06pm CDT | Comments Off
Memphis Bioworks Foundation Memphis is currently in the midst of one of its most important tourism months of the year. For most people, May in Memphis means music, barbecue, cultural events and a sunset symphony. What is often overlooked is that the Memphis in May International Festival is also about business exchange. It is in [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) City of Memphis Government | April 27th, 2012 12:08pm CDT | 1 Comment
I recently was privileged to be one of the Memphis attendees at a meeting for the Strong Cities, Strong Communities Initiative (SC2) at the White House. The meeting featured representatives from all six of the cities engaged in the initiative, with a panel of mayors from those communities. The meeting was positioned as an opportunity [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Economic Development | March 13th, 2012 12:26am CDT | Comments Off
One of the most important aspects of bioscience business development success for a community, and one of the often-repeated mantras of Memphis Bioworks, is the concept of building from your positions of strength. In Memphis, two undisputed and historical positions of strength have been the leadership we demonstrate in the field of medical devices and [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Economic Development | February 27th, 2012 3:00pm CDT | Comments Off
I have to say, it is great to see cranes, cement trucks and construction on the UT-Baptist Research Park. The great recession that brought about the national quagmire in the banking and commercial real-estate sectors, made it very difficult for the construction industry in Memphis. Perhaps a symbol of a return to normalcy, a lot [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Uncategorized | December 28th, 2011 8:00pm CDT | Comments Off
Ten years ago, as I looked forward to the new year, I was just beginning what has been the most rewarding, challenging and engaging phase of my career. Just a few months before, I was an executive with International Paper and Pitt Hyde asked a very direct question. He simply asked if I wanted [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Uncategorized | November 18th, 2011 11:10am CDT | Comments Off
By Dr. Steve Bares and Dr. Steve Schwab This is Global Entrepreneurship Week. In celebration of the rising level of entrepreneurship in our community, Dr. Steve Schwab, chancellor of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, and I submitted a guest editorial to the Commercial Appeal. As my submission to Smart City this [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Uncategorized | October 24th, 2011 2:00pm CDT | Comments Off
I was recently doing an interview with Delta Sky magazine, which is covering business and tourism in Memphis for an upcoming issue. One of the topics we discussed was the growth of biomedical business in our community. That discussion soon led to a discussion of personalized medicine and this community’s competitive advantage over other areas. [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Uncategorized | September 15th, 2011 12:49am CDT | Comments Off
Dr. Jerry Caulder, the managing director of Finistere Ventures, a leading life science venture capital firm based in San Diego, has an unparalleled record of success in the life sciences industry. Many people refer to him as the “father of agricultural biotechnology,” so it was an honor to welcome him recently in the Memphis Bioworks [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Uncategorized | August 18th, 2011 1:52pm CDT | Comments Off
You can’t pick up a publication these days without seeing some reference to “green jobs” – who has them, what they do, what regions are taking a leadership role, etc. That kind of attention on the green economy is certainly good, but so many of the studies and articles seem to miss the point [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Uncategorized | June 16th, 2011 2:56pm CDT | Comments Off
Make no mistake; the goal for the biosciences in Memphis is national and international leadership. In particular, it is leadership in the core areas in which we have a strong foundation. These include biomedical research, orthopedic devices, biologistics and bioagriculture. In each case, we have a firm foundation and a leadership position already. It has [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Uncategorized | May 11th, 2011 12:08pm CDT | Comments Off
For two days last week, the State of Tennessee leadership focused on Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development at the Tennessee Technology Development Corporation’s (TTDC) 2011 Tennessee NEXT Conference. Billed as the state’s premier event devoted to innovation-based economic development, participants met and heard from more than 40 panelists, presenters and speakers about all that is [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Uncategorized | April 13th, 2011 3:26pm CDT | Comments Off
In today’s economy and today’s business environment, all business advances have an international impact. Every new development, every advancement is embraced across the globe. While that may be very evident in such industries as computer technology, wireless connectivity, and automotive advances, it is perhaps most important in the world of bioscience. Whether you are talking [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Uncategorized | March 16th, 2011 2:08pm CDT | Comments Off
With the national unemployment rate at 8.9 percent (U.S. Department of Labor, March 4, 2011) and the rates in our region hovering from 8 percent to more than 10 percent (Tennessee 9.4%, Arkansas 7.9%, Mississippi 10.2%), talking about job training and talent development may seem out of place to some. However, I believe now is [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Uncategorized | February 10th, 2011 2:01pm CDT | 1 Comment
If you are in the biosciences or for that matter any area of biotechnology innovation, commercialization or economic development in Memphis, January was a pretty good month in terms of support and endorsement. In fact, the support came at every level – local, state and federal. Locally, it was rewarding to see the positive coverage [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Uncategorized | January 21st, 2011 10:24am CDT | Comments Off
In a year-end 2010 wrap-up story, the Memphis Daily News referred to the Year of Resilience in which the bright spot in the local economy was that “Memphis’ hospitals, health care companies and biotechnology sector remained strong throughout 2010.” As we look toward 2011, there is no reason to think that this segment won’t have [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Economic Development | December 12th, 2010 3:33pm CDT | 3 Comments
In late November, I was privileged to be a part of a team from Memphis participating in a series of meetings in Paris. Representatives from the Greater Memphis Chamber, FedEx, Memphis International Airport, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development and me – representing Memphis Bioworks Foundation – met with various officials and representatives from [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Uncategorized | November 22nd, 2010 4:00pm CDT | 1 Comment
November 15-20 was observed in communities around the world as Global Entrepreneurship Week. Memphis had its share of events and news on the topic, which the local print media covered very nicely, thank you. This seems like an appropriate time to step back and look at the state of entrepreneurism in Memphis. We are a [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Uncategorized | October 11th, 2010 12:43pm CDT | 1 Comment
In just a few days, on October 14 and 15, some of the best minds in the field of biomass, bioenergy and our bio-economy will gather in Memphis for Biomass South. This gathering comes approximately one year after the release of the eye opening study from the Battelle Technology Partnership Practice and sponsored by the [...]
by Bill Day. Memphian Bill Day is two-time winner of the RFK Journalism Award in Cartooning. His cartoons are syndicated internationally by Cagle Cartoons. Cartoons Archive →
Photograph by Amie Vanderford
This ongoing series of photographs is intended to show the daily lives of these single mothers in order to invoke recognition of their similarities to all mothers, along with understanding and empathy from the viewer of the strengths that these single mothers possess within the challenging situations they face. My hope is that newfound empathy with these mothers’ lives will give people some pause before they condemn single mothers when discussing issues such as welfare and other politically charged hot buttons.
