Via the Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina:

“Julia Rugg has joined WINGS for Kids Inc. as chief program officer. She is a former attorney. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and a law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law.”

See the original announcement.

Demand Response; What is it and
What are the Business Opportunities?

Dr. Bjorn Frogner

4:00pm Wednesday, 17 August 2011
Maryland Clean Energy Technology Incubator
UMBC South Campus

Bjorn will discuss the aspect of the Smart Grid called Demand Response (DR). DR is where the action is in the Smart Grid. Implementation of DR is made possible by the merger of the following two forces.

• The State of Maryland has set the goal of reducing average electricity consumption by 15% and reducing the peak-to-average consumption by 15%. These two requirements will reduce the peak capacity needs by 30%. The goal is to reach these goals by 2015. This makes DR more valuable than all other renewable energy sources combined for the next five years.
• Smart Meters are already available in many businesses and they are soon going to be installed in 1.5 million homes in BGE and PEPCO customer residences. These meters will provide two-way communication and data readings from our homes as frequently as every 15 minutes. This provides tremendous opportunities for changes in the way we consume electricity.

These forces will rapidly transform the electric utility industry. DR will make the cost of electricity become a function of supply and demand which will make electricity be like other commodities where the market determines the price. If you are well-informed, you may save money. And, if you are real well-informed, you may be able to see some of the many new business opportunities that are being created by DR.

Bjorn Frogner has a PhD in Nuclear Engineering from University of California at Berkeley. He worked for about 35 years across a broad range of technologies, primarily related to energy and IT, while he lived in Silicon Valley in California. He moved to Annapolis, Maryland, in 2009 and he now works part-time as Entrepreneur-in- Residence at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His function there is to help startup companies in the clean energy field. He had many years of experience with the electric grid during the 70s and 80s. He has spent significant amount of time during the last 18 months making himself informed about the cyber security for the electric grid.

From the Baltimore Sun:

It takes a little time to unroll “Scroll,” a composition by Baltimore composer Will Redman, since it’s on paper that measures 8 feet long, 8 inches wide. It takes even longer to digest.

Although there are four distinct lines of music on the elongated page, indicating at least four players, there’s no specification of instruments.

So how do you perform such a piece? Ask Redman and he’ll just say: “That’s up to you.”

Read the full story.

Via the Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina:

“Julia Rugg has joined WINGS for Kids Inc. as chief program officer. She is a former attorney. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and a law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law.”

See the original announcement.

For some students it’s third grade, for others it’s sixth, and for others it is completely different, but it’s a problem each child encounters at some point in his or her education: a grade that they find uncommonly challenging. Maryland Family Magazine recently reported on the problems children face when a class challenges them an August 15 story entitled “The Grueling Grades.”

What makes a grade tough ranges from lengthy writing assignments to hours of homework. Nancy Rankie Shelton, an associate professor of education, argues that a focus on testing may be part of the problem.

“With the focus on testing the way that it is… it makes it really difficult for teachers and students,” she said. “There’s more and more focus on one right answer and less focus on critical thinking and exploratory education.”