Curiosity Lab Peachtree Corners – the nation’s first smart city environment powered by real-world infrastructure and next-generation connectivity – today unveiled the city’s new solar roadway system which produces energy for a solar-powered EV charging station located at city hall. The installation also marked the first road surface-powered solar panels to be activated in a United States city.

• The solar roadway is located in a section of Technology Parkway’s autonomous vehicle test lane and was provided to the city through a partnership with The Ray, a nonprofit living laboratory and proving ground located along an 18-mile stretch of Interstate 85 spanning between LaGrange and the Georgia/Alabama state line.
• The new system at Peachtree Corners will produce more than 1,300 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually for a Level 2 EV charger at city hall at no cost to EV motorists. The charger is also equipped with an energy storage system for nighttime charging.

• The Wattway solar roadway panels, manufactured by French transportation innovator Colas Group in partnership with the French National Solar Energy Institute, were engineered to be more durable and efficient – resulting in a 21 percent performance increase over previously deployed panels.
• Solar roadway brings renewable, off-grid, Level 2 EV charging to City Hall; use of charger is free to motorists.
• French-engineered road surface solar panels, installed for the first time on an American city street, may power more parts of the city in the future – from streetlights to other cityinfrastructure, including backup for grid outages
• Solar roadway system highlights the city’s leadership in testing the latest green-energy, offgrid technologies in a smart city environment

“As further reinforcement of Peachtree Corners’ leadership in introducing and developing the latest technologies in a real-world environment, we’re excited to have been working with The Ray to install the country’s first road surface solar panels manufactured by Wattway, within our one-of-a-kind autonomous vehicle lane,” said Brandon Branham, chief technology officer and assistant city manager of Peachtree Corners. “While this new form of 100-percent green, renewable energy will begin with supplying power to an EV charging station, our vision is to begin to power more existing infrastructure across the city, off-grid. We look forward to installing more panels throughout, which may include sidewalks, bike lanes and many more surfaces.”

“We are thrilled to be installing a solar road for the first time in an American city,” said Harriet Anderson Langford, founder and president of The Ray. “Our entire organization, with the help of key corporate partners, is dedicated to advancing the future of transportation infrastructure around the world. We have had lots of success using roadways, as well as unused interstate right-of-way, to generate massive amounts of electricity for EVs. Proving this technology in an environment like Peachtree Corners helps us further demonstrate its effectiveness while moving us toward implementation on a larger scale.”

The Ray was a 2018 Finalist for the Fast Company “World Changing Ideas Award,” and was featured on The Weather Channel as one of “Ten Best Ways to Save the Planet!”

Source: Press release by the City of Peachtree Corners

GeneCure Biotechnologies, a clinical stage biotechnology company located in Peachtree Corners and developing novel human vaccines based on its patented SimVec platform technology, announced August 10 that it has launched a therapeutic vaccine program for Covid-19 infection.

The outbreak of Covid-19 has spread to 5 continents and caused near 20 millions confirmed cases. Recent clinical evidences suggest SARS-COV-2 may have a long incubation period and infected individuals may take several weeks to develop symptoms or disease. After infecting with Covid-19, the majority of individuals develop mild symptoms, yet some still transmit virus to others even without clinical symptoms. The treatment option for patients with mild or no clinical symptoms is very limited at this time. This situation becomes a serious public health issue — community transmission.

Dr. Tung, CEO, stated “Traditional vaccines are given to healthy people to prevent infection. However, a therapeutic vaccine is given to infected or uninfected high-risk people to prevent disease and infection. A therapeutic vaccine aims to prevent severe complications of an infection by reinforcing or broadening defenses when specific immune responses are unable to do so during the natural course of the disease and when a conventional antiviral therapy is not sufficient.” 

GeneCure’s therapeutic Covid-19 vaccine is based on the SimVec platform which has been utilized for therapeutic vaccines for HIV and HCV. The SimVec delivery platform elicits rapid and strong cell-mediated immune responses, which play critical roles in eliminating viral infected cells. Pre-clinical and clinical studies have shown that the therapeutic HIV vaccine was well tolerated and effective in boosting cell-mediated immunity in HIV infected patients. Durable control of viral load was seen after a 12-week treatment interruption in vaccinated participants. Furthermore, the markers of systemic immune activation/inflammation were also significantly reduced in vaccinated patients.

Dr. Tung also stated “We believe that an effective therapeutic vaccine will prevent disease progression in infected persons and reduce viral transmission which will not only be critical for people at risk for Covid-19 infection but also alleviate the excessive burden on our healthcare system.” 

Source

Press release from Genecure Biotechnologies.

COVID-19 has created a whole new reality to doing business. Startups are uniquely positioned to be able to pivot and make the most of opportunities as they arise. But, how do you know when it is time to change your “north star” and pivot? What does a successful pivot look like (and how do you avoid the pitfalls)? Join us for this interactive virtual series, led by experienced inventor and Professor of Practice at Georgia Tech School of Industrial Design, Stephen Chininis, IDSA.

This class is appropriate for:

• Founders or startup leaders

• Product developers, inventors, designers

• Makers considering launching a business

This 3-part series is open; please feel free to join one or more that is of interest to you.

Wednesday, July 22nd – 6:00-7:00 PM – Creativity & Design Thinking– Register at this link for session 1

1. What is design thinking and how could it reshape your business or product?

2. How can you challenge yourself as a leader to expand your thinking?

3. Tips & Techniques for Creativity and Curiosity as essential business functions

Wednesday, July 29th – 6:00-7:00 PM – How to Pivot and When – Register online at https://tinyurl.com/CLPTCAP2

1. What are the different types of pivots?

2. When should a company choose to pivot their overall approach?

3. Challenging your own assumptions about the business and eliminate bias.

Wednesday, August 5th – 6:00-7:00 PM – Experts Share their Pivots – Register online at https://tinyurl.com/CLPTCAP3

1. Join us as we hear from other leaders who have pivoted products and businesses – what they learned, what they wish they knew, and what ultimately changed.

About the Speaker

Stephen Chininis, IDSA, is a Professor of Practice in the School of Industrial Design at Georgia Tech and the principal of Chininis Product Development Group. He specializes in the integration of invention, innovation, and an entrepreneurial spirit in the work he does and the design studios he teaches.

His Make10 initiative at Georgia Tech, now in its 9th year, has grown into an exciting incubator environment for students to test new product ideas. He also is a coach and mentor for the CREATE-X program on campus. CREATE-X is a Georgia Tech initiative to instill entrepreneurial confidence in students and empower them to launch real startups.

Chininis’ ongoing professional work includes developing products for the toy and housewares industries. With more than 30 patents, he has licensed more than 100 products. His designs have won several awards, including “Parenting Magazine’s 10 Best Toys” and the “2001 Design Plus Award.”

Recently, using 3D printing, Chininis has been working to develop a mashup of design, craft, and technology to explore the micro factory environment through his Etsy Store, as a means to launch new products. In 2017, Chininis and a few friends formed a startup to explore new product ideas called Block Party Games.