The 2019 Tech Briefing showcased some of Winston-Salem’s most innovative projects and ideas, highlighting the ways that local startup incubators, higher education institutions, and premiere healthcare organizations are creating a culture of collaboration and innovation that’s reimagining the future of Winston-Salem.
The first Tech Briefing was held in 2001, the same year that Apple introduced the first iPod and Ericsson came out with the first phone that had a color screen. The phone you carry today proves that there have been many people reimagining the future of technology since those devices came out in 2001.
The presenters showcased at this year’s event illustrate how Winston-Salem is the ideal place to create, innovate, and reimagine the future through their groundbreaking work.
Kevin Clark, Founder & CEO
Point Motion’s motion control software is accessible on a computer or tablet by children at-risk or diagnosed with special needs or developmental delays such as Autism, ADHD and Down Syndrome. Children receive musical enrichment through gamified assessments that collect and convey data to their doctors and caregivers.
Iris Cole, Founder & CEO
“Unseen” is a virtual reality interactive experience designed to shed light on human trafficking. The user must navigate a warehouse, avoid guards, and find their missing mother or daughter. As they navigate the experience, information about human trafficking is delivered through details of their stories and those they have come across during their journeys.
Susan Donahue, Director of Clinical Trial Operations
Javara is an Integrated Research Organization (IRO) that is driven to change the clinical research experience and expand access to clinical trials. Javara delivers first-class clinical research services to healthcare organizations, bringing a turnkey infrastructure to engage more participation. Recognizing the administrative and resource burdens associated with clinical trials, Javara aims to make research more efficient and accessible.
Karen Hegarty, Director, Insight & Analytics
Novant Health has launched an Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Innovation which fosters and supports the internal development of machine learning, natural language processing and image analysis while gleaning new insights from rich clinical data sets. Key lessons were discovered as the team took these developments from concept to implementation.
Diana Medina, Director, eCommerce Solutions
Inmar has developed a grocery e-commerce platform that enables retailers to offer an online store to shoppers available across devices, to make grocery shopping easier and more convenient. Inmar’s retail e-commerce platform includes white label web and mobile applications where shoppers can plan their in-store shopping trip or order groceries for pick up or delivery. It also offers an order fulfillment application for store employees, and an administration tool to allow the retailer to customize the experience.
Wake Forest School of Medicine
Dr. David P. Miller, Professor of Internal Medicine
mPATH (mobile Patient Technology for Health) functions as a digital health navigator. It uses electronic data queries to identify patients who may benefit from a preventative service, educates them about their choices, and helps them receive the care the choose. The mPATH platform currently has two modules. The mPATH-CRC module is designed to increase screening for colon cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States.
Kristen Nicholson, Director
The vision of the pitching lab is to transform the future of baseball by combining baseball, science, and medicine to revolutionize the way pitching mechanics are analyzed and taught. Thousands of young athletes seek medical treatment every year for elbow and shoulder injuries, with many occurring among baseball pitchers. To help identify the causes of many of these injuries and find ways to prevent them, Wake Forest Athletics and Wake Forest Baptist Health have partnered on a new state-of-the-art pitching lab.
George Peterson, Executive Director
MRC is a facility for students to utilize in order to succeed in building robots and learning about technology. They host and assist local robotics teams, such as the all-girl teams Girls on Fire and Salem’s Sisters of the Motherboard and Code Sisters.
Caleb Rollins, Student
The Atkins High School Cyberpatriot team was the first in school history to win a team state championship two years in a row, building the team over the course of three years into the best team in NC and one of the top teams in the nation. The Cyberpatriot competition is a national contest sponsored by the US Air Force Association to foster skills in cybersecurity among our next generation. Nationwide, over 5,000 teams compete. The competition requires skills in IT security, Windows, Linux, and Cisco networking. Teams compete to find and fix security vulnerabilities on computer systems run inside a virtual environment.
Carmen Wright & Edward Renfroe, Students
Grow lights are the alternative to direct sunlight for plants that would otherwise be limited to, or exempt from being cultivated indoors. Current grow lights come with several disadvantages. As a solution, the students are proposing the FIPEL (Field-Induced Polymer Electroluminescence) grow light. This can make urban farming a viable alternative to traditional food sourcing.
