News Updates

Triad Growth Partners
  • Home
  • Solutions
  • About
  • Leadership
  • News + Blog
  • Opportunities
    • Partnerships
    • Inventors
  • Contact

Dr. James Canton, CEO of Institute for Global Futures, Joins Triad Growth Partners

1/4/2017

 
Dr. James Canton, global futurist, social scientist, entrepreneur, author, and business advisor, has joined Triad Growth Partners as a Special Advisor. A former Apple executive and technology entrepreneur, Dr. Canton is Chairman and CEO of the Institute for Global Futures and has been recognized by “The Economist” as one of the leading global futurists in the world.

For 25 years, Dr. Canton has forecasted the key trends and technologies that have shaped our world, including  innovations in business, technology, globalization, health care, population, science, climate, workforce and security.  Canton advises his clients -- major corporations and governments -- on how to better predict and prepare for a disruptive future that could either be very risky or filled with opportunity

Dr. Canton’s  most recent book, Future Smart: Managing the Game-Changing Trends That Will Transform Your World, grew out of a five-year global forecasting study on the most urgent trends that will impact business, society, and individuals over the next two decades: the future of talent, climate, energy, technology, and business.  

Technology-driven disruption has kept us on our toes for the past decade. But, based on Dr. Canton’s study, the impact and complexity of changes he predicts over the next 10 to 20 years call for an unprecedented shift in thinking. Organizations can’t just be agile - and adapting is no longer good enough. They need to predict faster, predict with agility and, importantly, they need to act to position for game-changing opportunities.

“Today you need shape your future before someone else does. Those that lack the courage to predict and shape their future may become victims of an unwelcome destiny,” Dr. Canton said in an interview with Forbes contributor Greg Satell.  (You can read the full Forbes article here.)

I was part of Dr. Canton’s thought-provoking session at Triad Growth Partners’ 2016 Idea Institute Unconference in Greensboro, North Carolina a few months ago.  My brain nearly exploded trying to grapple with the pace of change, the scale of its impact, and the intertwined ecosystems - technology, science, health, natural resources, economies, politics, education and beyond.   Yet, Dr. Canton reminded us “this is (only) the early stage of the Global Innovation Economy.”   

By session end, Dr. Canton had deftly challenged us to shift our focus beyond what’s around the corner to understanding the longer term trends and become predictively aware and future ready.  In 20 years, what will be our greatest challenges?  Acting from that vantage point, we can leverage all of the knowledge, technology and innovation we have - or are developing.

Shifting the question from what the trends predict, which can feel fatalistic, to how to manage the changes these trends will bring, is both ambitious and empowering.  What types of solutions, products, technologies and innovations will we need?  What business models will get us there?  How do we find/create a new kind of talent -that can manage complexity, transform organizations and predict customers needs and desires?

Dr. Canton shares four high level strategies for enterprises to become future-ready: manage uncertainty and complexity, attract and retain talent faster, navigate geopolitical and climate risks, and leverage disruptive innovation.  

For those of us who aren’t steering major corporations, nations or institutions, being predictively aware helps us understand the world and our place in it, But Dr. Canton’s expectations for each of us as individuals is much higher.  In a recent interview with BizTechReports Editorial Director, Lane Cooper, Dr. Canton issued a challenge to each of us to flex our own capacity to define the future:

“While I write books like Future Smart to help my clients be ready for what’s coming and to become game changers, it’s not just about the organization. Individuals are really the game changers that change organizations; people change markets and industries.” 

“We all have the ability to be a game changer and that’s a big point of what my book is about – to challenge people. There are challenges facing the planet and I believe individuals do make the difference. The technologies that are emerging – whether they’re bio, nano, neuro, quantum technologies -- they are just the tool sets to help us make a better world.”

​* * *
More about Dr. James Canton
To learn more about Dr. Canton, his books and to sample his presentations, visit his website http://www.globalfuturist.com
You can get a taste  of Dr. Canton’s fascinating list of influential roles, “firsts” and achievements from his early role at Apple to today and his wide ranging interests and activities on LinkedIn and on Wikipedia.  
 
​* * *

About the author:
Monica Doss (Linkedin)
Works with companies, research/higher education institutions, communities and economic development groups to develop and implement entrepreneurship and innovation strategies that are both transformative and organic. She is inspired by cities and communities like Durham, Winston-Salem and Greensboro NC that tap into their intellectual, creative and entrepreneurial mojo to re-shape themselves for a new generation. ​

Triad Growth Partners Adds Colm Humphreys to Scientific Team

12/15/2016

0 Comments

 
AxNano, the technology development group of Triad Growth Partners, has added Colm Humphreys, its second scientist from Duke University’s Superfund Research Center, to support its expanding commercialization  pipeline of novel solutions for sustainable environmental remediation.

A native of central New Jersey, Colm received his BS in Environmental Science with a focus in Ecotoxicology from Duke University where he researched the bioenergetics effects of selenium exposure in zebrafish under the guidance of Professor Rich Di Giulio, Director of the Duke Superfund Research Center. Bioenergetics provides important information about energy transformations and exchanges within and between living things and their environments.

“With Global industrial waste at 11 billion tons annually and increasing exponentially, especially in developing regions, the world needs novel and sustainable waste management solutions,” notes AxNano CEO Charles Gause. “By recovering habitats and remediating land and water safely and quickly, regions gain land for agriculture, population and development reuse.”

In the last half of 2016, AxNano has been awarded three grants totaling more than $500,000 from the NSF, NIST and the NIEHS Superfund Research Program. “We’re working with universities, federal laboratories and commercial partners to advance multiple novel discoveries through our RemRx solutions platform. These products will provide less costly, safe and sustainable solutions for the far-reaching human health and environmental effects of groundwater pollution,” notes Gause.  

“Colm is essential to Triad Growth Partners’ efforts to develop and commercialize sustainable solutions for environmental applications.  His Ecotoxicology background is important and he’s a quick and determined problem solver in the lab” according to Triad Growth Partners Principal Investigator, Dr. Alexis Carpenter, who was a postdoctoral  Superfund Trainee at the Duke Superfund Research Center working with Dr. Mark Wiesner prior to joining Triad Growth Partners in January 2015.
​

For Humphreys, his position at Triad Growth Partners is allowing him to work on a variety of remediation projects and to understand the process of technology development and commercialization.  

“I've loved my experience at Triad Growth Partners so far!  I am learning more and more about what makes remediation technologies tick, and daily problem-solving in the lab.” says Humphreys. “Working here has better equipped me to move forward by giving me real exposure to the technology development process and more clarity about what I want to pursue in graduate school and beyond.”

About Triad Growth Partners:
Triad Growth Partners is a technology accelerator that advances discoveries that solve important problems for large global markets through its unique commercialization process, network of experts, and strategic relationships with academic research centers, federal research laboratories, commercial companies and funding sources. In 2013 Triad Growth Partners acquired AxNano as its Technology Development Group and is located in the Gateway University Research Park in Greensboro, North Carolina, adjacent to the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering and in Danville, Virginia.


​​Author: Monica Doss
0 Comments

AxNano Showcased at NIEHS 50th Anniversary Environmental Health Science FEST

12/12/2016

0 Comments

 
By Monica Doss
​
​AxNano was among 30 teams showcasing their cutting-edge technology at the Sensor and Technologies Fair, at EHS FEST, the 4-day 50th anniversary National Institute for environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) celebration that took place in Durham from Dec. 5th - 8th. More than 1200 researchers, trainees, young investigators, community partners, stakeholders and NIEHS leaders came together from across the US to talk about the future of environmental health science. The NIEHS is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC.

​
Axnano, Triad Growth Partners technology development group, is currently working with the NIEHS’s Superfund Research Program (SRP) to develop, commercialize and scale-up its patented RemRx-CRP technology which was invented at NC A&T State University.  Using a versatile, controlled release biodegradable polymer structure (CRPS) technology, RemRx-CRP is a breakthrough in sustainable water remediation because it is safer, easier and less costly to deploy to treat contaminated groundwater.

When we think about hazardous waste, the EPA is usually the first agency that comes to mind, but the NIEHS and its Superfund Research Program are part of the National Institutes of Health. Superfund Research Program provides practical, scientific solutions to protect health, the environment, and communities. It funds grants on basic biological, environmental, and engineering processes, to find real solutions to hazardous waste problems.

For a very readable overview of  the NIEHS Superfund Research Program, you can download this fact sheet.

​About Triad Growth Partners:
Triad Growth Partners is a technology accelerator that advances discoveries that solve important problems for large global markets through its unique commercialization process, network of experts, and strategic relationships with academic research centers, federal research laboratories, commercial companies and funding sources. In 2013 Triad Growth Partners acquired AxNano as its Technology Development Group and is located in the Gateway University Research Park in Greensboro, North Carolina, adjacent to the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering and in Danville, Virginia.
0 Comments

Triad Growth Partners Technology Development Group, AxNano, Awarded $598,879 in Grants in 2016

11/30/2016

1 Comment

 
By Monica Doss
In the last half of 2016, AxNano, Triad Growth Partners technology development group, has been awarded four grants totaling $598,879 from the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST), the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Research Program. and the NC One 
Phase I Matching Funds Program.

“The US Environmental Protection Agency reports that one of every four Americans live within three miles of a hazardous waste site. These grants fund three collaborative projects to develop and commercialize a platform of novel products that will provide low cost, safe and sustainable solutions for the far-reaching human health and environmental effects of groundwater pollution,” says Charles Gause, Co-Founder/CEO of AxNano.

AxNano was awarded the following grants in the second half of 2016 (read more at www.triadgrowthpartners.com):
NSF Phase I STTR: $224,934 grant to develop a safe, less costly and adaptable technology that uses a controlled release biodegradable polymer technology to reduce groundwater pollution. The technology was invented at North Carolina A& T University by Dr. Stephanie Luster-Teasley, Chair of the Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering (CAEE) Department and at North Carolina A&T State University.   This project  was also awarded a $50,000  NC One Phase I Matching Funds Grant

NIST Phase I SBIR:  $99,275 grant to work in collaboration with the University of Arkansas to develop a sustainable, low-cost zero-valent iron based remediation technology to safely address a broad range of toxic groundwater contaminants. The technology was invented at NIST by Dr. Lauren Greenlee who now holds the Louis Owen Professorship in Chemical Engineering at the University of Arkansas.

NIEHS Superfund Research STTR Phase I: $224,670 grant to evaluate effectiveness of its patented biodegradable controlled release remediation technology for two classes of Superfund-relevant contaminants, and to design a plan for scale-up manufacturing and pilot field testing. 

More details on this program can be found here:
​AxNano and NCAT with National Insitute of Environmental Health Sciences
Picture
On November 30, 2016, Collaborators AxNano and NC A&T hosted a Kickoff Meeting with NIEHS discussing the scope of their work and commercialization efforts for their innovative remediation technology. SRP Health Scientist Administrator Heather Henry, Ph.D., joined the team at the Triad Growth Partners offices at the Gateway University Research Park and Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering. Pictured left to right: Stephanie Luster-Teasley, Alexis Carpenter, Nafisa Sirelkhatim, Heather Henry, Colm Humphreys, and Charlie Gause.

“Global sustainability and food security depend on recovering depleted water and land sources,” says Gause.  “Triad Growth Partners is committed to collaborations with universities, federal laboratories and commercial companies to develop safe, sustainable and less costly solutions for the $60 billion remediation market.”

About Triad Growth Partners:
Triad Growth Partners is a technology accelerator that advances discoveries that solve important problems for large global markets through its unique commercialization process, network of experts, and strategic relationships with academic research centers, federal research laboratories, commercial companies and funding sources. Triad Growth Partners is located in the Gateway University Research Park in Greensboro, North Carolina, adjacent to the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering and in Danville, Virginia. In 2013 Triad Growth Partners acquired AxNano as its Technology Development Group
1 Comment

Triad Growth Partners’ Charlie Gause to Attend Global Action Summit

11/9/2016

 
By Taylor Pipes
When it comes to industrial waste, rarely do we think how it impacts our food supply.

As global industrial waste continues to rise to staggering levels, especially in emerging economies, there remains a striking disconnect in understanding its direct relationship to food production, transportation, and ultimately what we eat.

Sustainable solutions for food, health, and prosperity will be the topic du jour at the fifth annual Global Action Summit, November 14-15, 2016 in Nashville.

Charles Gause, President and co-founder of Triad Growth Partners will be a panelist at the convention, featuring more than 400 leaders representing a broad swath of international delegations, corporations, governments, foundations, NGOs, and universities. Together, they seek to discuss innovations and solutions relating to food, health, and prosperity.

Gause will be participating in the panel, “Food Security: No More Food to Waste.”

“Global industrial waste is at 11 billion tons annually and increasing exponentially, especially in developing regions,” Gause explains. “We need novel and sustainable waste management solutions that can recover habitats faster and remediate land and water for agriculture, population and development reuse.”

Gause will share examples of work Triad Growth Partners (TGP) is doing in collaboration with multiple universities, federal laboratories, and corporations to develop and commercialize innovative waste remediation solutions. These solutions aim to decrease cost and increase efficacy, restoring waste sites to usable conditions in a sustainable manner.

In addition, TPG’s solutions support global sustainability, including food security, by replenishing our depleting water and land sources.  TGP's new RemRx treatment technologies provide a low-cost, safe to handle / transport, slow-release biodegradable solutions that remediate contaminated soil and water. Advanced technologies and the use of biodegradable agents bring together a proprietary innovation to address the needs of global development leaders looking for sustainable solutions.
​
Triad Growth Partners is a technology accelerator that advances discoveries to solve important problems for large global markets through its unique commercialization process,  network of experts, and its relationships with academic research centers, federal research laboratories, commercial companies and funding sources. Triad Growth Partners is located adjacent to the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering in the Gateway University Research Park in Greensboro, North Carolina and in Danville, Virginia.
​

The Global Action Summit is an annual forum held in Nashville, Tennessee, that fosters cross-sector perspectives on food, health, and prosperity. The aim of the Summit is to create, guide and facilitate leadership initiatives. Summit participants include senior-level business leaders, research scientists, global agencies and NGO directors.

The proceedings of the annual Global Action Summit are published and distributed by the Global Action Platform and include summaries of major ideas, recommendations for action, long range vision frameworks, and exemplary stories and analysis relevant to creating abundance through innovation in food, health, and prosperity. Select articles are republished annually in the materials of the G7, G20, and APEC summits. To learn more, visit the Global Action Report.

Picture
Triad Growth Partners President Charlie Gause participating in the panel, “Food Security: No More Food to Waste.”

Read More

AxNano and North Carolina A&T Partner to win $234,934 NSF STTR Grant

10/25/2016

 
By Monica Doss

AxNano LLC, the technology acceleration arm of Triad Growth Partners, has received a $224,934.00 Phase I STTR Grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a slow release technology for remediation of contaminated waters that is safer and allows for sustained treatment over extended periods with fewer applications than conventional methods.


AxNano has partnered on the STTR with co-Principal investigator Stephanie Luster-Teasley, Ph.D., North Carolina A&T University, inventor and Chair of the Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering (CAEE) Department. Charles Gause, CEO of AxNano and President of Triad Growth Partners is the Principal Investigator for the project. Also involved is Alexis Carpenter, PhD,  Principal Investigator for Triad Growth Partners and AxNano.

AxNano’s proprietary platform technology is a versatile new controlled release polymer structure (CRPS) being developed for In Situ Chemical Oxidation (ISCO), an advanced remediation technology that has proven efficacy in reducing groundwater pollution.

“There are over 1300 sites on the EPA’s National Priorities list where hazardous contaminants have been or are expected to be released into the environment One out of every four Americans lives within three miles of a hazardous waste site. With aging infrastructure that compromises water sources compounded by growing water scarcity, CRPS can transform the $60 billion global remediation industry as a lower-cost, safer and more flexible remediation material” notes Charles Gause, CEO of AxNano.

Current ISCO remediation methods are expensive, time-consuming and disruptive, depending on strong liquid oxidizers that create serious worker safety hazards and are not effective in all environments. Some ISCO compounds disrupt the aquifer through reactions that cause unwanted effects on microbial life and may generate unwanted or toxic oxidation products. AxNano’s CRPS technology can be delivered as an easy to handle solid designed to treat specific contaminated zones over the course of months or years under natural conditions.
​

The objectives of the Phase I project are to optimize the formulation, evaluate the performance in realistic environments and determine scale up design, manufacturing cost and deployment strategies in order to transition the technology to a commercial project.

Author: Monica Doss

The Disruptors: The Greatest Change is Ahead – Are You Ready? 

10/21/2016

0 Comments

 
Notes from the Triad Growth Partners 2016 Unconference

By Dennis Stearns

Disruption was a key theme at the Triad Growth Partner’s 2016 Unconference in late September, the invitation-only gathering of over 50 entrepreneurs, innovators, scientists, angel investors and venture capitalists (in sum, generally interesting people doing interesting things). Several researchers profiled their work to commercialize environmental remediation technology that would help change the pace and effectiveness of water clean-up, an important theme in an age when clean water is becoming an increasingly important topic in the U.S. and around the world.

Dr. James Canton, a former Apple executive who worked with Steve Jobs, successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur, researcher and global futurist, presented his 5 game changing technologies that are still in their early innings, and will change our world (for better or worse) forever. They are:
  1. Nano-technology
  2. Bio-technology
  3. Information technology
  4. Neuro-technology and,
  5. Quantum technology.
Rather than get bogged down in the technologies themselves, or the convergence of multiple technologies where much of the real change will occur, let’s look at Dr. Canton’s future predictions. Before you dismiss any out of hand, it’s good to remember that Dr. Canton’s FutureSmart predictions have been analyzed by multiple entities, including CNN, the Economist magazine and Financial Times, and found to be among the most accurate of any futurist. Perhaps it’s because he is more of a doer than futurist, working closely with the people and companies that are making the future a reality.

Top Ten forecasts for 2030
  1. Africa becomes the next China – a bold prediction given the amount of corruption and ethnic clashes still taking place in many parts of Africa. But even today, researchers have noticed positive trends beginning to emerge. Interesting that China itself is trying to transform Africa, in some cases to ship resources home to their citizens rather than help the local people build their society.
  2. Computers become as smart as humans – known as the “singularity”, the definition of smart needs to be considered. IBM’s Watson technology is already diagnosing diseases faster and better than humans, but it’s too soon today for most people to put their faith entirely in a computer. As computers increasingly work in the background as they already are in cars, humans will respond better to computer help.
  3. Managing climate change becomes a new industry – beyond the arguments of natural forces or human involvement, Dr. Canton suggested the changing climate is already creating unusual weather patterns around the globe that goes well beyond melting ice.
  4. Space mining takes off – if Elon Musk maintains his ability to raise money for pushing beyond frontiers, this may well begin even sooner. Mars could be terraformed by autonomous robots before humans get there. Will the Starbucks be open?
  5. Robots are everywhere – a key Canton prediction. The day before the Unconference, he was a key note presenter at a major global robotics conference. Expect robots helping humans in both expected and unexpected ways. And autonomous robots are already in production in the U.S. and overseas.
  6. Smart drugs enhance 60% of the population – I’m surprised this % isn’t higher. We already see smart drugs being used in breast cancer that are tuned to certain DNA characteristics. Work is going on all around the world on using targeted therapies to deliver the drug more effectively to the disease. But this is only the tip of the smart drug iceberg.
  7. Digital entrepreneurs make up over 70% of the global economy – it feels a bit like this prediction has already come true if you count entrepreneurs using advanced digital techniques to enhance even mundane product design & manufacturing, not to mention a host of new services, many of which we have found indispensable in only a few short years.
  8. Regenerative medicine extends life and health – We already have scientists close to growing a variety of organs, often using adapted 3D printing technology. Today for every year we live, we add 3 months to our longevity absent life threatening disease. What if this extends to “live a year, buy another 6-9 months of longevity”? And what if the quality of life extends out even further? And what if this happens sooner than 2030?  
  9. Mobile commerce becomes the new driver of economic growth – every year, more and more consumers use the internet to shop. Many brick and mortar retailers are already feeling the “Amazon effect”. And many retailers are embracing Amazon to help them disrupt other less tech savvy competitors.
  10. Global prosperity decreases terrorism – this coincides with studies that show when a person exceeds $5,000 of income (inflation adjusted into the future), they are more likely to become a more responsible, consuming member of society, and less likely to be trying to blow their (or someone else’s) society up.

McKinsey & Co. says we are living in a time of change that is 10 times faster and 300 times more powerful than the first industrial revolution. Exciting times, but how do we navigate through this period of unprecedented change that lies ahead?

The next 2 installments of the Disruptors will tackle:
  1. The important difference between demand side and supply side disruption, and how different types of disruption require different business tactics, and the follow on theme of Dr. Canton and other successful and innovative business people:

  2. How to disrupt yourself before someone else does, while keeping your co-workers and banker happy, and your mental health and bank account intact.

Dennis Stearns is a partner in Triad Growth Partners, a technology business accelerator that grew out of the enhanced commercialization focus of the Gateway University Research Park and the Joint School of Nano-Science and Nano-Engineering (JSNN). He is also President of Stearns Financial Group, a fee-only, award winning wealth management firm with offices in Chapel Hill and Greensboro, NC.

Dennis regularly uses his firm’s study of colliding “Super Trends” (technology accelerators, globalization, the global age wave and urbanization), to help clients navigate threats and opportunities in their personal and business financial planning and investment strategies. He has been called “one of the leading scenario experts and futurists” by the Financial Planning Association. Recent awards have included being named one of the Triad’s “Most Admired CEOs” and “Most Influential People” by the Triad Business Journal.  
0 Comments

A Model for Innovation

7/7/2016

0 Comments

 

Read More
0 Comments

Results from Environmental Health Summit: The Safe Water from Every Tap

6/25/2016

0 Comments

 

Read More
0 Comments

AxNano Invited to Present in Superfund Research Program’s Water Innovation Webinar Series

6/12/2016

0 Comments

 

Read More
0 Comments
<<Previous
Forward>>
  • Home
  • Solutions
  • About
  • Leadership
  • News + Blog
  • Opportunities
    • Partnerships
    • Inventors
  • Contact