Daily Business Report-Jan. 28, 2020
Northrop Grumman’s MQ-4C unmanned aircraft system deployed. (Credit: Northrop Grumman)
Northrop Grumman’s Triton drone poised
to support military commanders in the Pacific
Northrop Grumman Corporation’s MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system deployed for the first time Jan. 26 to provide military commanders in the Pacific greater maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data to inform critical decision-making in one of the most strategically important regions in the world.
“This is a significant milestone in the MQ-4C Triton program,” said Doug Shaffer, vice president and program manager, Triton program, Northrop Grumman. “Our partnership with the U.S. Navy has been crucial in developing this system that will help commanders build a better common operational picture.”
The U.S. Navy’s newest and most technologically advanced ISR platform, Triton’s autonomous suite of maritime sensors allows operators to detect, track, classify and identify vessels on the ocean or in the littorals in some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
Triton’s ability to fly at high altitude and remain airborne in excess of 24 hours allows commanders to surveil a larger maritime area than ever before. Designed to operate in a manned-unmanned teaming concept, Triton provides an unblinking eye over massive swaths of ocean and littoral areas, enabling manned aircraft such as the U.S. Navy’s P-8 Poseidon to focus on anti-surface and anti-sub-surface warfare.
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CEI Report: federal government
misled public on e-cigarette health risk
A new report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute calls into question government handling of e-cigarette risk to public health, especially last week after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tacitly conceded that the spate of lung injuries widely reported in mid-2019 were not caused by commercially produced e-cigarettes like Juul or NJOY.
Rather, the injuries appear to be exclusively linked to marijuana vapes, mostly black market purchases — a fact that the Competitive Enterprise Institute pointed out nearly six months ago. The CDC knew that, too, but for months warned Americans to avoid all e-cigarettes.
“The Centers for Disease Control failed to warn the public which products were causing lung injuries and deaths in 2019,” said Michelle Minton, co-author of the CEI report.
“By stoking unwarranted fears about e-cigarettes, government agencies responsible for protecting the health and well-being of Americans have been scaring adult smokers away from products that could help them quit smoking,” Minton said.
Now that the CDC has finally began to inform the public accurately, it’s too little too late, the report warns. The admission has done little to slow the onslaught of prohibitionist e-cigarette policies sweeping the nation, and the damage to public perception is already done.
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Algae shown to improve gastrointestinal health
Project is the first to test green algae on symptoms related to human digestion
By Mario Aguilera | UC San Diego
A widespread, fast-growing plant called Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is famous in scientific laboratories due to its position as the world’s most exhaustively studied algae.
For decades, the green, single-celled organism, which primarily grows in wet soil, has served as a model species for research topics spanning from algae-based biofuels to plant evolution. While other species of algae have been used as dietary nutraceuticals that provide beneficial oils, vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, antioxidants and fiber, the benefits of consuming C. reinhardtii were previously unexplored.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego recently completed the first study examining the effects of consuming C. reinhardtii and demonstrated that the algae improves human gastrointestinal issues associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) such as diarrhea, gas and bloating. Results of the project are published in the Journal of Functional Foods.
“People have been looking at this algae for decades, but this is the first study to show what many of us have suspected—it’s good for you,” said principal investigator and algae expert Stephen Mayfield, a distinguished professor in UC San Diego’s Division of Biological Sciences and co-director of the Food and Fuel for the 21st Century Program (FF21). “This is exciting because it demonstrates a clear benefit: If you have IBS-like symptoms, this is good for you.”
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$44 million project will launch to put clean freight
equipment at ports, rail yards, airports, warehouses
The California Air Resources Board will launch its Clean Off-Road Equipment Voucher Incentive Project (CORE) at the Port of San Diego on Friday, Jan. 31.
The new $44 million voucher project is designed to accelerate deployment of zero-emission off-road freight equipment used at goods-movement hubs, including ports, distribution centers, airports, and rail freight yards by bringing the cost of purchasing such equipment down.
CORE also seeks to address climate concerns and cut emissions from a booming industry still reliant on heavy fossil fuel powered equipment. Businesses interested in buying or leasing clean, heavy-duty, off-road equipment through CORE can receive point-of-sale vouchers of up to $500,000 per vehicle/piece of equipment. Additional funding is available for facilities that deploy clean technology in communities overburdened by pollution and for infrastructure connections.
State-of-the-art heavy equipment that qualifies for CORE vouchers — including electric terminal tractors, railcar movers and transport refrigeration units — will be on display at the kickoff event.
CORE is a California Air Resources Board project, administered by clean transportation accelerator CALSTART and funded through proceeds from California Climate Investments. A fact sheet about CORE is available here.
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UC San Diego hosts Cultured
Data Symposium Feb. 7-8
On Feb. 7 and 8, UC San Diego will host the Cultured Data Symposium, bringing together experts from data science and the arts and humanities to examine the emerging relationship between data and culture. The event will provide a forum for artists, historians, philosophers, literary scholars, political scientists, and computer and data scientists to engage with the public, exploring how analytic techniques can unveil new understandings of culture, and how the proliferation of data in everyday life changes how culture is produced, distributed, and influenced.
Organized by Glass and Robert Twomey, postdoctoral scholar at the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination and data science lecturer at UC San Diego, the symposium will feature two keynote speakers (one per day), four panels, an adjacent art exhibition, and sound performances. Speakers on each panel will share perspectives from academia, industry, and the arts, giving attendees a well-rounded viewpoint on the topic.
All events are free and open to students, faculty, staff and the public.
Registration is required. Click here.
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Cubic awarded contract to deliver P5 combat
training system to Republic of Korea Air Force
Cubic Corporation announced its Cubic Global Defense (CGD) business division was awarded a contract to supply the Republic of Korea Air Force with its P5 Combat Training System (P5CTS).
Under the contract, Cubic, along with principal subcontractor, Leonardo DRS, will deliver P5CTS airborne subsystems and associated ground subsystems to be integrated with Republic of Korea aircraft and training infrastructure. The P5CTS is the only fourth- and fifth-generation interoperable Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation system flying in the world today. The P5CTS provides high-fidelity, live mission training capabilities for advanced weapons and tactics training.
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Rady School of Management earns ‘Top 100’
global ranking from the Financial Times
The Rady School of Management at the University of California San Diego has been ranked as one of the top 100 business schools in the world by the Financial Times. The Rady School ranked 50th in the U.S., 22nd among U.S. public institutions and 6th among the schools ranked in California. The graduate school is the only institution to achieve a ranking in San Diego.
The school’s MBA program received high marks for the quality of its faculty research, the percent of international faculty working at the school and the percent of female students.
“The Financial Times ranking demonstrates the commitment by our faculty and staff to provide our students with a quality business education that prepares them for the innovation economy,” said Rady School Dean Lisa Ordóñez.
The Financial Times methodology is based on 20 different metrics that were collected from both school-reported data and a survey of business school alumni. The two measures with the greatest impact on the ranking results are the salary figures of alumni three years after graduation, as well as the percentage increase on salary – the average difference in alumni salary before starting the MBA to now.
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Kids on the Go moves into expanded
space at Otay Ranch Town Center
Kids on the Go has moved into a new, 11,000-square-foot facility at Otay Ranch Town Center, located at 2015 Birch Road, space 210, in Chula Vista.
Kids on the Go has been at Otay Ranch Town Center since 2014 and this move to an expanded space features multi-function areas that enable the store to offer new enrichment classes (activities), events and support services for children and families in eastern Chula Vista.
“We moved our space within Otay Ranch Town Center to secure more area for additional services such as free preschool in partnership with the California Department of Education, more amenities, programs and to serve more families in the region,” said Kids on the Go owner Lynn Twork. “This has been our goal for some time — to continue to be a ‘third parent’ for families and adjust our service offerings to fit the community’s needs.”
In addition to new services and enrichment programs, Kids on the Go will continue to offer preschool, before and after school care, homework assistance and camps throughout the year for kids age 2-12.
