In its first four years, Birmingham’s Sloss Tech conference earned growing attention in technology, innovation and entrepreneurial circles in the Southeast and across the nation. Beginning in 2016, all four annual conferences sold out, with a collective attendance of about 3,000 people coming to Birmingham from 47 states to compare notes and hear from renowned […]

With the idea of “unlocking economic opportunity for Alabama women through the power of community partners,” the Women’s Foundation of Alabama, is set to take its grantmaking efforts statewide for the fall 2023 season. The foundation has been an engine for women’s philanthropy in the Greater Birmingham area for over two decades – granting more […]

HUNTSVILLE – In the United States, cancer is the second leading cause of death, behind heart disease. When it comes to cancer treatment and survival, two significant challenges can arise: metastasis and chemoresistance. Metastasis is the process by which cancer cells spread from the primary tumor to other parts of the body. This can happen […]

Each year, July 20 marks the anniversary of one of humanity’s biggest triumphs: Landing on the moon. On this day in 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to experience that “giant leap for mankind.” Few events in history capture the imagination as vividly as the launch of Apollo 11, […]

HUNTSVILLE – It was an innovative Biergarten evening at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center recently when start-up business accelerator gener8tor sponsored the second AgTech Accelerator Showcase. Hosted by the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, it seemed appropriate for cutting edge-technologies to be presented in the shadow of the […]

Southern Research, an Alabama company that’s been innovating for over 80 years, received a $20 million investment they say will accelerate the growth of the state’s biomedical industry and access to clinical trials.  The initiative is made possible by $1 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) approved during a special session of the Alabama […]

Taking full advantage of Alabama’s natural resources and recreational assets was high on the priority list as leaders with Innovate Alabama met, fittingly, this week at Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham. With the broad goal of helping nurture Alabama’s innovation economy, the Innovate Alabama board approved 13 recommendations for enhancing outdoor recreation resources throughout the state. The recommendations […]

HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology has grown its Southeast Alabama staff to three with the naming of Ann Marie Carr as economic development associate for HudsonAlpha Wiregrass. Carr is responsible for coordinating the Economic Development Mission’s work for the Wiregrass region’s entrepreneurship and recruitment with a focus on agricultural and agtech sectors. She was the executive […]

HUNTSVILLE — The U.S. Space & Rocket Center, a global leader in STEM training for students, is blasting into the future with a new state-of-the-art facility that will provide next-level education opportunities. Last week, Governor Kay Ivey and Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield joined Space & Rocket Center officials and local leaders in Huntsville for a […]

WASHINGTON — Deep Space Food Challenge – this competition won’t be on the Food Network, but is really out of this world. Angela Herblet, project manager for the challenge at the Marshall Space Flight Center, and Denise Morris, program manager for Centennial Challenges at Marshall, will take part in the event this weekend at the […]

Alabama-based Blair Block has begun producing the world’s first, ultra-low-carbon concrete blocks at its facility in Childersburg. The blocks, which cost no more to produce than those made with traditional concrete, will be used by C&C Masonry in the construction of several municipal projects across the state. The new blocks leverage proprietary technology from California-based CarbonBuilt that reduces embodied carbon by […]

Innovate Alabama is continuing its push to help fund small businesses throughout the state of Alabama. The organization announced this week that it will be opening a third round of applications for small businesses seeking funding beginning June 1. The businesses can be awarded up to $250,000. Innovate Alabama CEO Cynthia Crutchfield said she is […]

Alabama officials announced this week that Tquila Automation plans to open a regional delivery center in an historic downtown Birmingham building, creating 200 jobs over the next five years and providing a boost to the city’s growing high-tech sector. The jobs include roles for software developers, business analysts, consultants and business managers. Austin, Texas-based Tquila Automation […]

HUNTSVILLE — SAIC recently received the Edison Gold Award for Product and Service Development and Innovation for its Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems. The Edison Awards, named for Thomas Edison, honor innovation and innovators that create a positive impact in the world. “Believe it or not, we have a very lean CUAS team of about a […]

The University of Alabama in Huntsville notched a record $169.5 million in research and development expenditures for Fiscal Year 2022, a 13% increase over FY21, the university announced. This announcement accompanies the National Science Foundation Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey findings which cover FY21. This marks the 10th year in a row UAH […]

Fuel Alabama (FuelAL), in a partnership with Innovate Alabama, is working with nine Alabama communities to offer summer programming for college students. The communities will offer professional development, service opportunities and social events to summer interns, focusing on their experience outside the workplace. FuelAL is a talent attraction and retention program of the Economic Development […]

HUNTSVILLE – Polaris will be shipping the first of its all-new electric Ranger XP Kinetic vehicles from its Huntsville manufacturing plant this week. Polaris manufactures the fully electric vehicle at the more than 900,000 square-foot plant in Huntsville. The company said this week it plans to take additional orders on the Ranger this summer. The […]

“The technology available to consumers that allows us to communicate with ease everyday is vastly ahead of the resources available to first responders, the people literally tasked with saving our lives.” – Ellie Johnson, Tango Tango COO  HUNTSVILLE — Tango Tango is working to bridge the gap in communications faced by many first responders across the […]

A new campaign is charging up support from drivers across the state. The Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition debuted an official Alabama license plate available for pre-commitments now. With new manufacturers taking electric vehicles to market and it being easier than ever to make the switch, a lot of Alabamians are starting to ask good questions. […]

The Alabama Innovation Corporation awarded two University of Alabama at Birmingham startups with grants during the second round of Innovate Alabama Supplemental Grant awards. The Innovate Alabama Supplemental Grant Program awards funds to Alabama-based companies that have been granted Phase I or Phase II awards through the Federal Small Business Innovation Research Program or Federal Small Business Technology Transfer […]

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Toyota Alabama’s engine manufacturing facility will soon be relying on the sun to generate over 70% of its power needs thanks to a 168-acre, $49 million solar project announced this week. At a press briefing, Toyota Alabama, Toyota Tsusho America Inc. (TAI) and Huntsville Utilities outlined a power purchase agreement to support the […]

It’s inspiring to see what aspiring entrepreneurs can do in just 54 hours. From Friday evening to Sunday evening, a group ranging from 16-year-old students to well-versed businesspersons gathered for Techstars Startup Weekend in Mobile at Innovation Portal. The creative and collaborative three-day event had individuals and groups develop and pitch new business ideas to a panel of […]

Researchers at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology will create genomic data at a scale beyond anything previously possible, thanks to a new PacBio Revio sequencing machine. HudsonAlpha researchers are some of the first in the world to have access to the new DNA sequencing technology. The Revio will support much of the Institute’s Genome Sequencing Center (GSC) work on plant, […]

ATHENS — The drama and anticipation were soon replaced with humor Monday when Nathan Tucker and Ash Moorer, founders of Rocket City Electric Bike Rentals, won the Singing River Trail Launch Tank pitch competition. The Singing River Trail Launch Tank is a “Shark Tank” style competition without the actual sharks, to help entrepreneurs start or […]