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George Soros to Pour $1B into Clean Energy Technology |
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bridges vol. 23, October 2009 / Noteworthy Information
By Camille Ricketts
George Soros
George Soros, famed currency speculator and Democratic party-backer, announced during a speech (aptly in Denmark, where Copenhagen will host the largest climate summit in years in December) that he will be sinking $1 billion into the development of clean energy development . On top of that, he will contribute $100 million ($10 million every year for the next decade), to support a new foundation creating relevant policies called the Climate Policy Initiative.
No further details were given on the types of technologies or companies the $1 billion will help finance. Soros said only that contenders will go through a rigorous evaluation process to make sure they are feasible and able to scale. But his earlier investments in the sector may be indicative of his current interests. For example, he has funded several clean coal companies, including carbon sequestration provider Powerspan . He has yet to express much interest in solar or wind - suggesting that he will focus more on strategies to clean up and improve the efficiency of fossil fuels.
"There is no magic bullet for climate change, but there is a lethal bullet: coal," he said. "I will look for profitable opportunities, but I will also insist that the investments make a real contribution to solving the problem of climate change."
Soros said former vice president Al Gore influenced him to take a closer look at cleantech. And he must have been pretty convincing. Soros' Climate Policy
Initiative will launch next month in Berlin. Half watchdog, half
lobbying firm, its mission will be to "protect the public interest
against special interests" when it comes to energy legislation. Based
in San Francisco, it'll be headed up by Stanford professor Thomas
Heller - perhaps taking advantage of the proximity of Silicon Valley as
it rebrands itself as a cleantech hotspot.
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Working Together to Strengthen Research in Europe: European Research Area Conference October 21-23, 2009 in Brussels |
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bridges vol. 23, October 2009 / Noteworthy Information
The European Research Area (ERA) will host, "Working Together to Strengthen Research in Europe," ERA Conference this month in Brussels. This is the first major conference since the 2007 ERA Green Paper consultation. The conference aims to contribute to the development of key ERA policy initiatives dealing with researchers, joint programming, knowledge transfer, infrastructures and international cooperation. It will also address issues such as open access, S&T specialization, funding of research institutions, progress indicators, etc. as well consider how to strengthen research and research policies in the medium to long-term.
In keeping with the new partnership approach to EU research policy, the conference will engage a wide range of stakeholders - policy makers, industry, foundations, universities, other research institutions and researchers associations - in open, focused and action-orientated debate. The expected outcomes of the conference are:
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Medtech New Ventures 2009 Conference Draws Over 300 Investors and Entrepreneurs |
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bridges vol. 23, October 2009 / Noteworthy Information
Medtech New Ventures 2009 was hosted in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, on July 29, 2009, by the North Texas Enterprise Center for Medical Technology (NTEC) , directed by Austrian Hubert Zajicek. The event is an annual, regional, early-stage investment conference, and showcased companies focused on the rapidly growing medical technology sector. This sector, with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 10 percent over the last 25 years, includes medical instruments and devices, diagnostic equipment, medical therapeutic devices, medical monitoring equipment, and other health-related products. The program included an industry panel discussion, a venture capital panel discussion, and a showcase of six emerging medical technology companies.
The purpose of the conference is to connect quality emerging medical technology companies seeking capital with investors that focus on their industry sector. In addition to investment opportunities, the conference strives to deliver useful, timely, and relevant educational content to medtech entrepreneurs and to those that service the medtech industry. Finally, Medtech New Ventures Conference provides a "trade show" venue for vendors and service providers seeking to exhibit their capabilities at the conference. This year's conference drew over 300 attendees.
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The 2009 R. John Rath Article Prize Awarded to Alison Frank, Assistant Professor at Harvard University |
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bridges vol. 23, October 2009 / Noteworthy Information
The R. John Rath Article Prize is awarded annually by the Center for Austrian Studies at the University of Minnesota for the best article published that year in the Austrian History Yearbook. It is funded by the estate of the longtime Habsburg scholar and founder of the AHY, R. John Rath (1910-2001), and by contributions in his memory. The 2009 winner is Alison Frank , assistant professor of history at Harvard University and former bridges contributor, for "The Pleasant and the Useful: Pilgrimage and Tourism in Habsburg Mariazell," in The Austrian History Yearbook, vol. 40 (2009), pp. 157-182. The article prize carries an award of $600.
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